Arrowhead Provincial Park

On Sunday we travelled 30 minutes north to Sprucedale, a small village where Joanne's brother Jim lives with his family. After attending church at the Sprucedale Faith Chapel, we stopped by for a coffee.

Jim just finished building a beautiful home set back in the midst of a large treed property

Inside there is a sense of country warmth and open wonder as this house reflects the spirit of its natural surroundings.

In addition to visiting, we also were enriched by a number of visitors to our campsite. Jim, Claire, and their three children brought along a truckload of wood in addition to their good company.

Joanne's uncle and aunt were also camping a few days in the park.

Some visitors were not quite as welcome. We got a little nervous when this fella wandered on our site...

... and he didn't appear to be too happy about getting his picture taken! Actually, I took these pictures at MarineLand, all from a safe distance away :)

Treasure hunting was another popular activity. Treasure was either in the form of wood, left behind by previous campers...

... or bottle caps for Jared's bottle cap collection. There was quite a bit of excitement when someone found a new bottle cap that we did not previously catalogue. He currently has approximately 400 different types in his collection.

The closest we got to a bear, was this rather human looking sample. The park offered a number of programs in the evening. The funniest one was a mock trial acted out by park staff, accusing a notorious camper of luring a bear onto his campsite.

After several animal witnesses testified, we got to act as the jury. The poor camper was judged to be negligent. As punishment, he would be sedated, tagged and shipped off to a new environment.

A tournament of Bocce always added a little competitive flair to the day...

... with some of the players being a little more aggressive than others.

It's surprising how a simple bread tie...

... can turn into a contest of skill and marksmanship.

A dozen worms, neatly cut in half, provided hours of fishing pleasure.

Josiah waits patiently for that perfect catch.

"We've got one!". Time for dad to extract the fish and engage a fresh worm.

Karla fed her prize to an appreciative seagull lurking nearby. He quickly swallowed the flailing fish whole.

The fish continue to tug on Derek's line as dusk falls and another day's adventure draws to a close.

On the final day, we regretfully pack up our temporary home, and say good bye to this world of wonder. Each of us carries a little piece of Arrowhead Park in our hearts, precious memories to cherish as we continue the extended adventure of the rest of our lives.