Summer Holidays

All told, I spent over one month out at Rowan's Ravine this summer. It was much needed rest for me. The first three weeks Ken and I went were in June. We came home about once a week due to rain, but the hour's drive and puttering around the house was nice, too. My book reviews were from the summer, and there are more to come. We got some television series DVD's from the library, so that kept us busy, too. This is my camera phone pictoral essay for you. Enjoy!

This is my signature photo. I can't believe how great this turned out with a camera phone. It was the perfect day outside; the best of the summer, I'd say. The rays are gorgeous, eh? I have this on my phone desktop so I keep the summer holidays fresh in my mind.

The reflections are beautiful, aren't they? Again, with the camera phone.

You may wonder why we go in June, and then again in September. Get a load of the lack of people in these shots. That's right. No kids. No adults. Just Ken and I with the entire beach to ourselves. Crazy, eh?!

This is where I liked to bike to sit at a picnic table to read and reflect.

Ken bought me a fold-up bike for the beach. Although they've been around a long time, they haven't always been available to our income bracket. Very "Inspector Gadget."

This may look like nothing but the sky was so perfect one day I snapped a picture of it.

Ken wasn't so eager to spend every day and night at the campground. 3 weeks was enough for him. He went home to catch a football game while I enjoyed the solitude and retreat time.

After a few more days at the beach, Ken and I were having supper and decided we needed to paint our house the colour of an eggplant. We ripped an eggplant out of an art magazine we had bought for a dollar, and Ken went home to paint the house!

For several nights I was all alone at the campground. Not one camper to be found! Kind of eerie. I was in the 5th wheel wondering if I should lock the door. I mean, no one is there. But if a bad guy came, I'd be the only one at his disposal. But if I locked it and had to go to the outhouse in the night, it might take too much time to unlock in the dark if I'm in a hurry! Oh, and do I leave the porch light on? For whom?

One evening alone (literally!) I cycled to the lake to watch the sunset. After it was over, and not anticipating the utter darkness, I made my way to my bike and managed to fall... SPLAT! on my face thanks to a gopher hole. Stung my wrist and hurt my foot, but I was okay. I was wondering what I would have done if I had sprained my ankle. No vehicle. I could call Ken but it would be 2 hours before getting back to a hospital in Regina. I quickly became grateful for being alright!

All kidding aside, I think my time during those few days of "seperate vacation" all alone at Rowan's Ravine Provincial Park were the best. I didn't realize how tired I was! I should have, since even earlier in June I had slept and slept and slept. I promised Ken I would stay up past 8:00 but by the time 7:45 rolled around, Ken would just look at his watch and say, "Wait for it..." and then, BLAM! Like a ton of bricks, I was hit with tiredness and off to bed I went. I was up with the birds, though!

I guess that's why I forced myself to capture the one sunset I stayed up for! All in all, it was the cheapest vacation--the trailer seasonal site was paid for by the Mission for all the staff to enjoy, we brought our own food (some from the Mission!) it was only a short drive away, and there was nothing to do but enjoy each other's company, read, rest, swim, lay on the beach, and bikeride. Yes, having a provincial park all to ourselves was an amazing treat. I hope to do it again next summer!