I love the mountains! My son and I just returned from a very quick camping trip out by Radium, B.C., another activity which people frequently express surprise at hearing that I do on my own with my son. We have been camping together since he was 6 years old, he is now almost 14. I have to confess it has certainly gotten easier the older he becomes, but even when it was more difficult it was a most worthwhile experience. It is probably not quite as entertaining for the surrounding campers now as it once was, some of those times when he was 6 or 7 or 8 and I was working on putting up our large family tent on my own, or with him "helping", would have been interesting to witness, to say the least. Now, well, he has become a much more accomplished helper, so there is less entertainment for the surrounding campers, and more relaxation for me!
My son and I live in Calgary, Alberta, which is very conveniently located within an hour's drive of beautiful mountain scenery with plenty of campgrounds. This makes it quite easy for us to get away on the spur of the moment for a couple of nights of nature. I have all of our camping equipment nicely stored in travel boxes, so all I have to do for these 2 or 3 night trips is make a quick trip to the grocery store for food and cooler ice, then load it up in the car. Provided we can find someone to care for our birds we can be out of here on one day's notice, fantastic!
This camping trip was prompted by my realization that the summer is almost over, how did that happen?, and camping time is rapidly running out. We were going to head to Two Jack Lakeside by Banff, but by the time we arrived at 3:00 in the afternoon the campsite was full. Hunh. I chatted with the most helpful campsite attendant about site availability at other campgrounds; the Two Jack Lake main campground had sites available, but it wasn't lakeside and my son and I were good for a bit more of a drive, so we decided to head down towards Radium and Macleod Meadows Campground instead. After an hour and a half along a beautiful road we arrived, and so glad we chose to drive the extra, the campground is beautiful! Right on the river, about 15 minutes to Radium, fantastic! Here's a view from behind the washrooms in G loop.....
 |
| The view from behind the G loop washrooms at Macleod Meadows Campground by Radium, B.C., Canada | | |
|
We arrived probably around 5:00 in the evening, chose a campsite, and then registered. This campground, like many of the less busy campgrounds in the Canadian Rocky Mountain National Parks, is a self-registration campground. Meaning there is a kiosk
 |
| Self-registration kiosk |
at the campground entrance with a map of the campground, a listing of the rates, envelopes to enclose payment, and a dropbox for the payment envelopes. Everything works on an honour system, something I appreciate very much about this country of mine. A recent development is the acceptance of credit card information for payment, previously it was cash only, which nowadays can be a bit of a nuisance. Anyways, after taking a look at the campground map we decided to try for G or H loops, which were right next to the river. It turns out H loop was closed, it looked as though perhaps it was flooded out by the June flooding. G loop was still there though, with beautiful sites. The 3 that backed onto the river were already taken, but G5, where we settled, was still beautiful - large, treed, and with a path off the back that led to the trail towards Dog Lake, a short walk of about 2.5 km which we did not do because of the small knee injury I sustained hiking last month and from which I was still recovering. The beginning part of the hike though, from our campsite and along the suspension bridges across the river, was quite beautiful.
 |
| Campsite G5, Macleod Meadows Campground, Kootenay National Park |
 |
| Path behind campsite G5 |
 |
| View from the beginning of the Dog Lake hike |
|
|
|
After a delicious, relaxing, dinner at the campsite we headed into Radium to pick up some milk, making it into the store barely 5 minutes before their 9:00 p.m. closing time. We would have had a few more minutes to spare except we ended up behind somebody going 40km/hr on the highway, my goodness! And on this highway there is no passing, it is far too narrow and winding. Thankfully however we did make it in before closing, so we were all set for our morning hot chocolate, yeah! After that success we decided a nice relaxing soak would be enjoyable, so we stopped at the hot springs,
(link), ahhhhhhhhhhh...... nothing like lying down in some nice hot water at the end of the day, looking up at the surrounding cliffsides and the emerging stars..... then back to the campsite and to bed, but not before spending some time looking up at those amazing stars again. So many! It was like the sky was made of stars, with occasional specks of darkness in between, and not the other way around as is the case in Calgary, or even some of the other places I've camped which evidently have a little more light pollution than the area around the Macleod Meadows Campground.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny and I enjoyed a few hours of rest and relaxation before my teenaged son rolled out of bed around noon. We satisfied our need to move by heading off on the Kimpton Creek trail, a trail along Kimpton Creek just a few minutes east of Radium. We chose this hike because it was supposed to be flat, and sounded as though it would be interesting to walk along just for the sake of walking, which was important since with my knee I was only supposed to be walking on flat, and for limited amounts of time. So I set us a time limit of 45 minutes each way, and off we went! Although, not before seeing some of the local wildlife.....
 |
| Deer by the Kimpton Creek hike |
 |
| Welcome to the forest |
|
And now off we were on our "hike"! One thing about this hike, if one is looking for some peace and serenity, this one will do it for you. Just look at the entry way!
The rest of what we did of this hike continued in a similar vein. Very limited on mountain views, but full to the rim of peace and serenity. Cool yet open forest, a stream, and lots and lots of mushrooms!
Actually, that is rather unusual, typically it's a little on the dry side on the eastern edge of the Rockies for mushrooms. But here there were plenty, and a great variety.... big ones, small ones,
red ones, brown ones, white ones, oranges ones, yellow ones. Circles, rods, and just globs.
On trees
And on the ground
Getting down and looking up lends a whole new perspective....
This was one Rocky Mountain hike where looking
down was the thing to do!
After finishing our hike it was once more to the hot springs, so nice! This time however we also visited the "cool" pool, which is a regular temperature pool. I really enjoy the Radium hot springs pools, their hot pool is large and pleasingly shaped, and they do have a cool pool for kids, and adults, to play in, complete with two slides and a diving board, fantastic! After our most relaxing time in the water we headed back to the campsite for a campfire, along that beautiful mountain road,
 |
| The view from the road from Radium, B.C., to the Macleod Meadows Campground |
and an easy dinner of some chili that I had brought from home. A campfire is a necessity for us, it and the associated s'mores are an
 |
| Our campfire |
integral part of any camping excursion. For those who don't know, s'mores are like little marshmallow sandwiches. Take two graham wafer crackers, fill with one beautifully roasted marshmallow, (and I am an acknowledged expert in marshmallow roasting), and your choice of chocolate bar pieces, (I have a fondness for Caramilk bars, or really anything that combines chocolate and caramel), and voila!, one beautiful s'more! Yummm! Wood at the national parks around here is generally provided,once a fire permit is purchased that is. And one is not permitted to have a campfire without a fire permit. This time the cost was $8.80 per day, including unlimited wood. The camper does need to come prepared with an axe or hatchet though, you'd have a bit of trouble getting the fire going with the sized pieces provided, and collecting from the forest is strictly prohibited. Bringing firewood in from outside of province is also strictly prohibited, in an effort to control pests and disease, I believe.
Three hours of poking the fire and eating, and it was time to end our last evening of camping, for this time. One last walk to the washroom under the stars, and it was off to bed. Ahhhhhhhhhh.....
The next morning I woke early, and had a nice surprise, I was up in time for the sunrise! One last relaxing adventure before heading home! So off I went in my pyjamas, settling myself in by the river to immerse myself in the changing colours of the coming day.
And with that, it was time to say good-bye to the local campsite wildlife,
 |
| Campsite wildlife, Macleod Meadows Campground, B.C., Canada |
|
pack up and head home, rested and rejuvenated and mentally prepared for the business of the fall...
 |
| The arrival of fall in Calgary, AB, Canada |
|
On trees 
The next morning I woke early, and had a nice surprise, I was up in time for the sunrise! One last relaxing adventure before heading home! So off I went in my pyjamas, settling myself in by the river to immerse myself in the changing colours of the coming day. 
