My first solo camping trip!

Part of the series: Experiencing Saskatchewan, The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List

I have been camping my entire life. When I was younger, my family went at least once every year, and then when I got older and moved away from home, we still went together as a family, but once a year my siblings and a few friends would get together and rent a couple of sites at some park we'd never been to before for a weekend. The weather is always hit-and-miss (one year we actually went to the nearest Tim Horton's to get a break from the rain) but the memories are second-to-none.

Since moving to Saskatchewan, I've had new camping companions, and we've been slowly trying new parks every year. We started in Cypress Hills, and the next year we were at Sask Landing, last year we went to Rowan's Ravine, and this year we were feeling very adventurous and booked three weekends of camping at three parks: Rowan's Ravine, Echo Valley, and Buffalo Pound.

As it turned out however, our plans changed unexpectedly and very rapidly. We had a great weekend in June at Rowan's Ravine, and two weeks later, Doug had a job and was living in Edmonton while Anita packed and listed their house and she and Hayden were moved before the end of July, which was our next planned camping trip.

Blue Moon, July 31, 2015

I bought out the campsites, and when all of my potential companions were unable to join me, decided to experiment and see if I would be okay spending a weekend alone at a campground. I've been hesitant to do this for a few reasons (I'm very nervous about using an axe) but decided to "Just Do It."

I solved the axe-wielding problem by bringing pre-cut kindling in the form of left-over cedar shingle scraps from a co-worker's newly re-done roof, bought myself a camp stove and dining shelter, and off I went. I also bought fire-starter, just in case. (Didn't need the firestarter... #winningatlife)

I left Regina at 8:30 Friday night, and arrived at Echo Valley campground around 9:20. There was a blue moon in the sky, and it was just coming up, pale yellow and hanging so close in the sky it looked like you could almost touch it. I'm sure that was the kind of moon that inspired the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". I tried to get a picture of it, but my camera did not see the same thing my eyes did, plus I was driving while trying to take the picture, and so what I got is a slightly out-of-focus, completely crooked picture of a small moon in the sky. Sometimes, the lies our eyes tell us are so much better than what a camera can see... or I need to get better at using a camera.




I set my tent and bed up by the light of a few lanterns and my headlights, and crawled into bed. Two books and 2 1/2 hours later, I went to sleep, with no alarms set and some vague plans for Saturday.

My camp site

Camping easy chair

Saturday morning, I woke up around 8, then laid in bed reading for another couple of hours. At 10 I finally decided to get out of bed, and set up my new camp stove to make coffee and breakfast. I puttered around organizing the campsite, then set up my chair and drank my coffee while writing in my diary. I started breakfast with my second cup of coffee, solved the minor problem of a missing foot-rest by using one of my storage tubs, and finished lazing away the morning.

Me and my new hat

After breakfast and dishes, I found the showers, got myself cleaned up and ready to explore, and also found the woodpile to make sure I had firewood ready for supper time. I discovered that I had forgotten my hat, and so my first stop was set as Fort Qu'Appelle, where I was able to find a hat as well as a few other supplies. Stocked with mostly healthy snacks, I made one more stop at the Fort Qu'Appelle tourist information centre just to confirm my initial direction, and set off to find the Fort Ellis Trail, which would hopefully get me to Ellisboro and then I figured I could find my way back to camp. Neither the Fort Ellis Trail or Ellisboro was on any map, and so I was a little bit leery about my chances with this adventure, but having confirmed a starting direction, off I went.

The Qu'Appelle Valley is beautiful. It just has to be said. A small paved highway winds along the lakes heading east from Fort Qu'Appelle, with enough pullouts along the way to satisfy any photo hungry tourist (namely me).

Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church

My first stop was in Lebret, because there is a lovely massive park with shade trees that runs along the lake that caught my eye. I turned off the highway to go find it, and came face to face with a massive stone church. Looking behind me, up the valley wall, there was another small white chapel, with crosses marking the path up the hill to it. On my way out of town, a train came along the tracks, providing me with my first really good picture of a train since moving here.

Chapel Shrine overlooking Lebret

Train crossing at Lebret

I found the Fort Ellis Trail!!

Arriving in Katepwa Beach, I started looking for the Fort Ellis Trail, which I had been told would be off to my left somewhere. Which it was, sure enough. The sign for the road, included a warning that it was a "dry weather road" and so I was very glad that the torrential rains we'd had earlier in the week had ended on Thursday, allowing enough time for the road to dry up (hopefully).

Qu'Appelle Valley

Fort Ellis Trail

The trail started out as a fairly decent gravel road, and quickly narrowed into a one-vehicle wide trail that was more dirt than gravel. I drove around a few puddles, and pulled off to the side to let some vehicles that were travelling faster than me go by, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself along the way.


Every once in a while, the "main" road would turn and I would have to decide on a route, always choosing to go forward, which generally meant a smaller, less used route. Eventually, the road turned and crossed the river, and then I made a much deliberated decision to turn to the left (having no signs indicating which way the "Fort Ellis Trail" went) with the hope that eventually I would end up in Ellisboro. My guide book promised that it was a "perfectly picturesque little village" and I really wanted to find it.

Bridge across the Qu'Appelle River

United Church, Ellisboro

It was with a great sigh of relief that I finally came up to a cross-roads with two churches, a community centre, and a Saskatchewan flag with a plaque, indicating that I had, in fact, managed to find my way to the picturesque village of Ellisboro. I stopped, got out for a little break, took pictures of all the buildings, read all the plaques, signed the guestbook, and eventually continued on my way.

Community Hall, Ellisboro

Postal service & Visitor register display at Ellisboro

Trans-Canada Trail marker, Ellisboro

Anglican Church, Ellisboro

Dirt road beyond Ellisboro

Hard though it was for me to believe, the road got smaller after that. It was so easy to imagine wagons winding their way along the edge of the valley. It was harder to believe that anyone had actually kept moving west past this little piece of paradise. (I actually have no idea if it was wagons that came along that trail or not, and I'm a little hesitant to ruin the pretty picture my imagination put together...)

Caution sign on the dirt road

The (Washed-Out) Road Not Taken - past the POI at Melville Beach

Eventually, the track I was on widened out to a gravel road again, and that (eventually) ended at a highway. I found myself at the turn for Melville Beach, and decided to follow the road in that direction. Just after Melville Beach, I followed a Point of Interest sign up a washed out road to a lookout point, and then decided I had better make my way back to camp. It was 6:30, and according to my GPS, it would take me about 2 hours to get back to my campground following the highway.

Sitting on a turtle's knee in Fort Qu'Appelle

Success! My first (solo) campfire

While I was on the road, (and had cell service) I made a few calls to figure out where I could go to meeting the next day, and once I got back to my campsite, I lit a fire, cooked my supper (burger and sausage with lettuce buns) enjoyed the fire for a while, and then tidied up the camp and went to bed.






Sunday morning meeting was just down the road about 20 minutes away, and as it happened, Sherylene was there. That was a pleasant surprise, as we haven't been in meeting together since she switched from my Regina meeting to one closer to her in White City. We decided to have lunch together, and spent our time catching up amid much laughter.

After lunch, I went back to camp, and settled in for an afternoon nap which lasted until about 6:30. It was so relaxing, laying in my tent reading and sleeping without a care in the world.

Eventually, I got up and went to find the park lookout where I sat and wrote in my journal again while I watched the sunset. Back at camp, I made myself a fire, cooked another burger and sausage (for-going the lettuce buns) and then watched the fire for a while before heading to bed.

Sunset over the Qu'Appelle Valley

Monday I actually had a bit of a schedule; Jamie had invited me to a bbq at his place at 2pm in Regina, I wanted to see the Motherwell National Historic Farm, and I also wanted to try to get back to Regina by following the valley westward instead of taking the highway.

Motherwell Farmhouse

I was up at 7:30, packed away my bedding and tent, cooked breakfast, did the dishes, finished packing away the rest of the campsite, and then got cleaned up and headed out of the campground by 11:30, a bit later than I wanted, but still time to do everything. First stop was the Motherwell Farm, which I found easily and then took the self-guided tour; wandering through the yard and along the paths by the gardens, into the tool shed, house and barn. It was very interesting, and I quite enjoyed seeing it and learning a bit more about Saskatchewan's history.

Old Stone Church

After leaving the farm, I made another unplanned stop, having seen a sign for an old stone church. I stopped for a while there, as well, wandering through the small graveyard and reading the headstones. Once I'd finished there, I was on the road again, heading home. As planned, I went along the road on the north side of the lake from Fort Qu'Appelle, hoping that it would eventually take me close to Hwy 6, which would then take me straight into Regina.

End of the road

Eventually, I came to a dead end, and despite my GPS saying that I could just take a left (into someone's driveway) and then a right (through a field) I decided I would cut my losses and head back to better known roads. I made it back to Regina in time for a delicious supper (Jamie makes really good jerk chicken) and then went home to unpack my SUV and get ready for work the next day.

"Lake's End"

My conclusion? My first solo camping trip was an absolute success. and while I might not want to always camp alone, I won't avoid it in the future.

Part of the series: Experiencing Saskatchewan, The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List