Our camping trip started out like it usually does - with some sort of issue or adventure. This time, just outside of Humboldt, our exhaust system split into two pieces, thus releasing the muffler from doing anything useful. I used my newly acquired degree in Engineering to fix it up. Nearby there was a farmer's fence and breaking off a section of barbed wire resulted in a nice piece of material to tie the exhaust system away from scraping on the ground.

Camping for me is different than most would define it - I don't like going to campsites where people are loud right next door and kids are playing and screaming everywhere. This of course is shared by most of my male friends. So taking our wives on a different sort of camping experience was a little hard at first. Especially when we reached the shore of a deserted island in the middle of the lake to set up camp. Luckily the girls were ready for new experiences and that is what we all got!

-steve-

Gone Fishin' Six people. Two canoes. A whackload of gear. Beautiful sunny weather. A ton of food. It all makes for one fantastic August long-weekend. The only thing lacking was a little more bugspray...those mosquitoes were FEROCIOUS!!! Steve and I took off for the August long with two other couples...the guys all went to university together. Apparently us three girls have married into the bushwacking, boonie-stomping, back-to-nature variety of camper. Man we're lucky! I definitely assumed that camping a-la-boy would be an introduction to how things were in cave man land. Boy was I wrong!

The weekend involved a lot of feasting, fishing, relaxing, canoeing and simply enjoying each others' company. God is one creative genius. Weyakwin Lake, an hour and a bit north of Prince Albert National Park, is gorgeous. We were blessed with amazing weather all four days we were gone. The lake itself was abuzz with long weekend activity, but the boys with their outdoor prowess suggested we got to one of the lake's three islands. Perfect idea. Quiet. Peaceful. And far from the noise of long-weekend beerfesting partyers. Steve and Doug had been to the island a few years earlier...we're pretty sure they were the last ones there too the way the bush has grown up....and the way the mosquitoes attacked us. Clearly they hadn't seen human flesh in a long, long time. The guys went wild in the brush clearing a space for the tents and a campfire and by the end of the first day we had a great little site for the six of us, including a hammock.

Some of the weekend's highlights:

*Catching a fish in Saskatchewan! (The last time I went fishing was in grade four, so this was quite the experience). A half hour later, Steve caught one too...we filleted them and ate them with lemon and pineapple for supper one night. Scrumptious! *Canoeing on the glassy lake at sunset Sunday night. I'm still a firm believer in the splendour of Saskatchewan sunsets unparalleled anywhere else I've been. (All you Albertans reading this are going to have to come for a visit so you can experience first-hand what I mean!).

*Walking out to what we coined as "Bird Island" one afternoon before supper. A natural jetty had formed between the big island we stayed on and a smaller island (now home to hundreds of birds), so we walked out as far as possible and the boys tried to bring home a pelican kill. No such luck.

*Talking about the goodness of God over bushpies and s'mores and banana boats. Saskatchewan Camping Terminology you won't find in the dictionary: Bushpie: involves a bushpie maker (two pieces of metal that clamp together and have handles)...and you take a piece of bread, butter it on both sides, top the bread with cheese and egg and veggies, or whatever else, and top that with another piece of buttered bread. Sandwhich them in the bushpie maker and stick it on the open fire. Wait a few minutes. And Voila! An egg mcmuffin camping-style. For a sweeter treat, try pineapple or cherry pie filling and you've got bushpie dessert. Banana Boat: take a banana, slice a flap out of the skin on top, eat out some of the banana. Layer marshmallows and chocolate chips onto the remaining banana inside the skin. Cover with the banana peel flap. Stick it in the fire. Wait until the banana is slightly soft and the chocolate is melted. Tasty, tasty snack.

-amie-

The Humboldt Polkafest. A sea of RVs, piloted by a majority of Western Canada's retirees, descended on Humboldt this weekend for the annual polkafest. There was no way Steve and I were going to miss the opportunity to join the polka-circuit. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.

So what is a polkafest?

Well in short, it's where a bunch of seniors get together and polka the weekend away. And eat German sausage for a bit. And drink beer. And then dance some more. At any given time there's a couple hundred people in their dancing shoes polka-ing. Not wanting to be outdone by people three times our age, Steve and I got out there as soon as possible and grooved to the accordian too.

Apparently we blew them away. Not by our phenomenal moves. But by our age. We kept on getting comments and dance tips from the best of the oldie goldies.

Highlight: The Circle Shawtisse - I'll give you a little description. About 100 old people (in great shape mind you) get into a big circle and do a whole community group dance. We had the elders roaring, let me tell you. German sausage. Sauerkraut.

-amie-

After nearly a month in the Boldt, we've discovered it's the epitome of all things rural: Canola. Cows. Grain elevators. And...Beer.

Somehow fermented barley manifests itself on any occasion...Rodeos, Golf Tournaments, Mud Bogs, History Book Launches, and the visit of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. Yes, reps from Beijing came all the way to Humboldt to investigate different types of farms - everything from turkey to bison to meat packing to berries - as part of their three-month intensive English program in Saskatoon. Interesting to say the least. Especially when a local 3rd generation German berry farmer, clad in Liederhosen, seranaded us with the accordian. Finding a church is another adventure! We're not sure what it is about Humboldt, but churches have a hard time making a go of it in this little town. One church had, oh, around 30 people there. But halfway through the service, the music leader asked the congregation to welcome his five brothers and their families who were all visiting for a family reunion. Church total minus visiting families? Approx. 5.

-amie-

We have been in Humboldt for about a week now and the place really has a "local" feel. People are very friendly and strike up conversations all the time. Amie has been running around with her camera, snapping pictures of various events for the Humboldt Journal. Steve is working with Earthcare - The manager, Duane Guina, has many innovative sustainable agriculture projects on the go for the summer.

Last weekend was the Humboldt Sizzler, which coincided with Canada day celebrations as well as Saskatchewan Centennial celebrations. We went to various events including a parade, rodeo, and live music.

-steve-