Friday, September 2, 2011 (Travel to Coleman, AB)

Man oh man, did the wind blow last night!  At least there was some blue sky this morning but there still some very ominous clouds lurking in the distance.  Of course, they were in sky in the direction we were heading.

We pulled out of the campground at 9:15 and made our way through town and out towards the highway...goodbye Waterton...

Along the main road, Steve spotted a black bear...it's a little blurry...

It wasn’t long until we hit the rain...and it poured all the way to Pincher Creek.  It wouldn’t have been so bad but we had to drive through some road construction in Pincher Creek and the road was covered in mud...lovely...now so was our truck and 5^th wheel!

We had a stop to make on our way to the Crowsnest Pass...the Super Walmart in Pincher Creek where we needed to do a major shop.  Not only was our fridge and cupboards bare but we also needed to restock on a lot of the basics.  So about an hour and a half later and paying a hefty bill, we loaded everything into the trailer and were on our way to our destination...Crowsnest Mountain Resort, just a few kilometres west of Coleman, Alberta.  At least the rain had stopped by this time and there was actually some sunshine coming through.

We arrived at the campground around 12:15 and found the office...it had been moved to a house across from the main building (wow, is it the end of the season for them already?)  The place is advertised (and called) an RV “resort“ but we really weren’t impressed.  The roads are narrow and the sites are close together.  There are a number of seasonal sites nestled in the trees.  The site we were given is open with beautiful mountain views (no trees) with good southern exposure...so the site area is fine but there just isn’t much room between sites...and not a lot of manoeuvrability.  Good thing we were given one of the two pull­-through sites.

We got all set up and after some lunch, I put the rest of the groceries away while Steve started to set up the satellite dish.  Before actually tuning in the signal, though, we thought we would drive back into Coleman, check in at the Quad Squad office (Crowsnest ATV Club) and get gas for the quads.

We were back after about 40 minutes.  We had no problem finding the quad office and met Julie who helped us with directions to where some of the club members were camping for the long weekend.  They were going out on rides from there and we plan on joining them tomorrow.

We sat outside for a bit but when the sun decided to go under a cloud, we headed inside. 

We are expecting Jon and Jen Cawsey to pop by for a visit.  They are from Victoria and are visiting the area...Jen grew up in Fernie, BC but has family all through the area.  Jon is the son of our very good friends Rob and Nancy...and we are finally meeting Jon and Jen's son, Jackson!  He is going to be one year old in a few weeks...and what cutie-pie!  I can see why Gramma and Grampa are so proud of their first grandchild!  

We had a great visit with Jon, Jen and Jackson...and after about an hour or so, they headed back to where they were staying (relatives of Jen) in Blairmore.  We had burgers for dinner and then settled in front of the TV for the rest of the evening.

We will be heading out at about 8am in the morning to find the spot near Lynx Creek where the Quad Squad group is meeting for the ride.  The ride isn’t until 10am but we want to give ourselves lots of time since we have no idea how long it will take to get there.