Fall Camping Reverie

T ime for one of those             the opposite side of the highway.  columns journalists pull        The surrounding area is also a     out of their hat when no        hiker’s haven.                     single thread wants to develop                                           into an article…                      We took an afternoon to drive the                                        Ram River Falls Loop which goes    • Our family camped and toured        south from Nordegg and returns at  through the Rocky Mountain            Rocky Mountain House. The falls    House/Nordegg area of western         are impressive, and there are a    Alberta this summer. Base-camp        number of primitive camping spots  for a week was at David Thompson      located along the loop, many of    Resort located just off Highway       which are free. Though the main    11 and backing onto Abraham Lake.     road is good (gravel), you should  For raw beauty, there are few         have the right vehicle to access   areas in North America that           the remote camping areas. (Your    compare to it. One afternoon, as      Honda Accord with a tent trailer   we stood overlooking the lake, a      behind may not cut it.) Again,     couple from Washington exclaimed      the scenery is splendid. Friends   they had never seen anything like     of ours have even observed one of  it. The pristine shade of blue        the few remaining herds of North   waters combined with the              American wild horses that roam     snow-covered, jagged peaks of the     the area. We hoped to see them     Rockies made for postcard             ourselves but were disappointed.   material. Facilities at the                                              campground were comfortable with      We also made it to another of my   most amenities available right on     favorite spots this summer:        the grounds, including gas. A         Marten River Provincial            half-mile down the road               Campground on Lesser Slave Lake.   helicopter tours were available,      The lake is very large, like       as well as horseback riding on        being on the ocean, except that    the water is shallow for quite a      trailers with tent trailer         distance from shore. This, along      extensions). Look for this trend   with the beautiful sandy beaches,     to continue.                       makes for lots of fun for the                                            kids. The campsites are spacious,     • There is a strange policy among  level and private (surrounded by      many campground owners regarding   large evergreens and lush             reservations/refunds that the      foliage). This campground is          industry needs to re-evaluate.     reasonably priced and well            One resort we stayed at this       maintained, has showers and free      summer (booked by phone well in    firewood. The amenities are           advance) required the full week’s  basic, but clean. Excellent           payment by credit card with no     summer getaway spot.                  cancellations within 14 days and                                         no leaving early (if you wanted a  • Rising oil prices are becoming      refund, that is). Apparently this  an issue for the camping/RV           is quite common.                   industry. We spoke with Carston                                          Urban of the RVDA to see if the       The hotel industry is much more    Association has noticed any           reasonable. Many hotels require    trends. Are people venturing out      only a partial deposit and allow   less, making vehicle changes,         refunds up to 24 hours before      etc.? The only significant thing      arrival. In chatting with the      he has noticed is a swing from        owner about this he cited the      fifth wheels to travel trailers.      need to recover costs from         They are lighter and allow more       vandals and deadbeats, and the     options for pulling. Certainly        difficulty of re-booking a site    manufacturers have made some          if vacated early. The logic        excellent advancements in the         doesn’t add up though. If the      variety and quality of                campground is busy (and the        ultralights and hybrids (travel       customer wants to leave early),    there certainly will be no            way to recover costs from vandals  trouble in re-issuing the site.       and deadbeats is to keep your      And if the resort isn’t busy,         good customers happy and coming    well, what’s the problem? There       back. And making them swallow      are plenty of sites to choose         half a week’s deposit or forcing   from for any new customers.           them to endure three more days of                                        rain-soaked camping is not the     Owners need to remember the best      way to do it…                      About the Author: Jim Alseth is the editor of one of the largest free portals of campground and camping information on the Net, Great Camping Spots. http://www.greatcampingspots.com Published At: www.Isnare.com