Uneventful night: Slept
Uneventful morning: Read for a while. Swatted 100,001 Mosquitos.
I lied breakfast wasn’t uneventful. We had omellets with spinach and mozzarella. It was quite delightful. Of course so was the coffee.
Our plan of the day was to do a loop through Wood Buffalo Park and come out at the Salt Plains. This did not happen.
We started on down the road to Pine Lake. This road was, last week, closed and for good reason. As we drove through the forest you could clearly see where the forest fire had been. Trees along the road were burnt on one side and green on another. A very two-face real to them.
Down the road we did discover that the road all the way to Pine Lake was indeed open again, however we find out that our plan to make the trip a loop was diminished because the bush road was still closed.
Just like the night before when the heavy smoke come into our campsite in Kakisa, we didn’t realize how fragile the situation was. As we drive down the highway we kept passing smouldering spots were smoke still billowed from the ground. In other area forest crews were loading up water trucks or cutting down decrepit trees on the verge of toppling over.
Down the road we found Pine Lake. I completely unexpected oasis. The water was so blue you would have thought your self in Kelowna or Mexico. On the south end of the lake, passed what I believed to be several cabins, was a large stretch of sandy shore. A day use area, complete with shelter, fire pits, tables and playground was found at this end of the lake.
This lake was practically demanding that we swim in it. If not the lake the heat was certainly encouraging us. On came the trunks and into the warm water we went. Wading around in the water was hugely gratifying after copious amounts of bug spray and sweat coated our skin. Have I mentioned the bugs yet?
Back out of the water and up the road into Fort Smith again, we made our first visit of the trip to the Rusty Raven. The best place to get coffee in Smith. An ice coffee with caramel was in order and drank with a satisfying desire.
After some visiting with a friend we tried out hand at fishing right off the boat launch on the Slave River. No luck. It was dinner time.
I love cooking and doing it was camping is no exception what so ever. Steak and potatoes were in order and thanks to Toni and Peanuts (Campground mangers), we ended up with a BBQ to use. Right at our site I might add. Now that is service.
As the sun set – I know. Hard to believe in the NWT, but Fort Smith has big trees – we strolled through town taking photos off the different sights. I have often found that what lacks in tourism guides are real down to earth photos of a community. This is what I was trying to strive for. However the bugs started to come out as the wind died out and my ambition slowly evaporated.
And just like that I find myself writing this for you. Tomorrow is another new day.
Also I bought a new pillow. Hoping for a better sleep tonight.