Around the Next Bend: Volunteer Host at Crimson Lake Provincial Campground June 26

So I have switched allegiance - from BC to Alberta, and from the national parks to the provincial parks. Crimson Lake is a couple of hours on the west side - equidistant from Edmonton and Calgary. It's located about 15 minutes NW of the small town of Rocky Mountain House.The lake has a boat launch and a terrific 10km trail around the lake which you can walk or bike. Also,there are other trails through the forests of spruce, pine, and shivering aspen - lovely. There's only one teeny problem - millions of voraciously hungry mosquitoes - that chase me as if I am a special treat. I have learned to walk really fast because I found out that they can fly at 2.4km per hour. And I never stop, unless I do the calculation - take photo of a flower, have a drink of water - is it worth 5 to 6 bites? So you can do the math for these photos.

Today, I got out my new giant sized bottle of bug deterrent and vigorously sprayed my legs and arms, and then spread on a layer of sunscreen on my neck and face, and thus fully armoured with a thick layer of chemicals of who knows what, I headed out with confidence to meet the kids. The mosquitoes were lying in wait outside the door and attacked me in a grey whining cloud. I lost all decorum and scrambled onto my bike and set off down the road hell bent for leather. I never looked back because I was sure the little bastards were tracking me like a grey funnel cloud,ready to descend as soon as I stopped.

Every little kid today had a can of bug spray with them and I watched with amazement as they cheerfully sprayed it in a thick mist all over their bodies including their heads, only narrowly missing their faces. But it evidently wasn’t enough because there was a steady swatting and scratching that went on throughout the interpretation program. I wonder if the mosquitoes here have learned to adapt to the poison Deet, perhaps it's now just an early warning of a ripe human nearby.

Before I came to Alberta, I had read in a pamphlet that mosquitoes attack most heavily around dawn and dusk, and so I figured that left a lot of hours during the day and evening for hanging around outside, but now that I am here, I have come to understand that the dawn bite lasts until noon, and right after that the dusk bite begins, and that keeps on going until you are ready for bed. And if you have left a screen open for even a moment, then you can look forward to the dusk bite lasting until dawn.

Anyway the school program was fun today; one frog, two beautiful swallowtail butterflies, and a multitude of bugs were captured with great gusto. We only ended up with one butterfly for the group sharing though because as we were trying to put the 2^nd one in to the bug box, the first one flew out. I looked up, and six inches away was the sweaty face and sad shocked eyes of an 8 year old boy, I am sure he will never forgive me.

I found the most interesting moment to be when the park ranger pulled a leach caught from the lake out of the water tub,and as he began to talk about it, it proceeded to stick so fast to his hand that he had difficulty shaking it off. He gave it a big pull, and the slimy black thing stretched and stretched until it finally let go. Leaches in the lake, mosquitoes by the millions, and that leaves me with, oh my gosh, 70 days to go…

I have located the library in town, the swimming pool, and the grocery store so all is good. I have also visited the pharmacist to find out what is more potent for mosquito bites - after bite products or hydrocortisone - his vote - hydrocortizone. So be it.

The other thing of note around here is the thunderstorms -T-storms - with an early warning from the CBC they arrive in the late afternoon or evening of each hot day. The wind picks up, down goes my awning and antenna, off goes my electronic gear, and then down comes the rain and or hail. It makes a terrific noise hammering on my thin fiberglass roof. At first, Baloo would bark loudly and fiercely at the thunder, but now he just lies down and gives a big sigh. We are getting acclimatized to this wonky place.