ADHD Brain Strikes Again
Days 10–12 of our cross-Canada camping (mis)adventures
Our son (and my inner child) having had their fill, we left West Edmonton Mall and headed North — well, East, then North.
We made our way up to Prince Albert National Park, in Northern Saskatchewan. It’s gorgeous up here. It’s on the border of the Parklands and the Boreal Forest, where there is a mixture of spruce, aspen, and birch trees.
We didn’t see any bears on this leg of the journey, but we saw lots of deer, including a young Buck (male white-tailed deer). One of the Does (female white-tail) was hanging out in the long grass right across from our campsite, we only saw her ears peeking up over the grass, it was adorable.
We spotted a coyote in a nearby field as we were driving into the National Park, which is always exciting. We saw evidence of black bears, including scat right on the path beside our campsite, but no real-life sightings this time.
We did, however, see a female Elk! We went into the little nearby town to explore and as we were walking around, a female Elk strutted casually through town, stopping occasionally to graze on some grass.
We don’t see elk in Manitoba as they tend to live further West from where we are, so this was a cool sighting. It was also nice to see nobody bothering her. Everyone kept a respectful distance and enjoyed watching her go about her elk business, and no one tried to get any selfies with her or anything stupid like that.
One thing Canadian campers will know very well is the further North you wander, the more bugs you will encounter, and this campground was no exception. We were grateful for our kitchen tent and a steady supply of firewood and bug spray to help keep the bugs somewhat at bay.
I enjoyed many hours of reading by the campfire, and slept much better in the fresh air than I did in a stuffy hotel room.
We also got very lucky with the weather. The forecast was calling for rain and thunderstorms from late afternoon well into the evening, but they mostly held off until we were asleep.
As we were packing up, I realized something.
ADHD brain strikes again
When you book campsites, you have to book your departure from one and arrival at the other for the same day, otherwise you’ll be left with nowhere to stay for a night.
I’ve been camping for most of my life, so I know this well. I have booked most of our trips myself, including this one. Well, we’re leaving Prince Albert today and I only realized while packing up the booking for our next site begins tomorrow.
Oops.
Luckily I was able to find a site halfway between the two campgrounds, so we won’t be setting up our tent at the side of the road somewhere tonight, but this is yet another prime example of how executive dysfunction can have a significant impact on everyday life.
Home stretch
We have two more stops (I think) before we head home for a brief interlude. Then we hit the road again for the longer stretch of our journey — a five week trip!
You can follow our journey here.
© Jillian Enright, Neurodiversity MB
When you join medium, as a member you’ll have access to unlimited reads for only $5 per month. If you use my referral link, I’ll earn a small commission, and you’ll earn my undying gratitude.
