Always Check the Gas Tank: Lessons Learned at Lake Diefenbaker.

Just over a week ago, our good friends Jordon and Jill Henry accompanied us on a camping adventure (we were excited to sneak in a camping weekend before the end of summer). Lake Diefenbaker was our chosen spot. The Henrys met us out at Caronport by 7:00pm or so, and we were off. It was dark by the time we arrived at the camp ground, so it was a lot of fun finding a vacant place to pitch our tents. Finally, by 11:00 we were sitting in front of a sheepish fire (sheepish because, in that provincial park, you can only light a fire in those little cooking stands...). The next day we explored the place. We learned from the local store that if we drove into the next town, we could rent a fishing boat and go out onto the lake. That sounded like a great idea, so we promptly left in search of some outboarding fun.

The family running the boat shop was very friendly. The husband loaned Jordon a fishing rod free of charge, and only asked that he bring it back in one piece. Then we skipped down the dock-stairs to find our boat. The guy in charge was no where to be seen. We waited for a few minutes, and, when he didn't appear, we jumped into the only boat that looked prepared for people -- there was only one with life-jackets and paddles. I took the "captain's chair" since Jordon wanted to fish. We made our way out of the harbor, and onto the choppy water.

It was great fun! The waves (for Saskatchewan) were swelling, and gave a triumphant spray when we smashed through them. We got pretty soaked... After 15 minutes or so, Jordon decided he'd like to try some fishing. I stirred the boat closer to the shore where we were told the fishing is better. It was there that we made a destiny-changing error... I turned off the engine. It started up well enough when we started out, so I assumed we'd be on our way just fine...

After Jord had tried his luck with the fish for 20 minutes, and found that the fish weren't up to being fooled, we decided to go on shore to explore a little. However -- the engine would no longer start. I tried, Jenn tried, Jordon tried, but it refused to catch. We washed ashore, tied up the boat and made the best of it. It was a neat little beach (pictured above) with little inlets and multi-colored rocks. The water was too choppy for skipping stones, but the day was perfect for a miscellaneous excursion. We sat and chatted for a while, and decided to try the boat again. Jill walked back to the harbor (since she didn't want to become sea-sick), and the three of us tried to convince the boat to start again. Jordon and I took turns in the water, holding the boat in place and away from the rocks (this was necessary since the waves and wind were quite forceful). No luck. Thankfully, a boatload of cowboy-fishermen found us. They called out, "Hey there! You folks need help?" We threw them our line and they towed us back. They admitted to us that we were the only "catch" they made that day.

Finally, we were back in the harbor. We docked, and found ourselves face to face with the man who rented us the boat. "What happened? Why'd you guys leave?" We explained that he was no where to be found, and that we saw this boat stocked with life-jackets and paddles, and assumed it was ours. We had just missed each other, however, and our mis-hap adventure was the result. If we had waited around a few more minutes, he would have come down, explained how to best work with the engine, and would have made sure the gas tank was full. That was the main problem we discovered. He told us, "It's amazing that you got as far as you did with that little gas."

When it was all said and done, he only charged us for one hour's use, and no gas... since there wasn't any in there to begin with... Needless to say, we were glad to be on our way back to camp, to a fire, and to some supper.

Perhaps it wasn't the most flawless of camping adventures, but it was memorable anyway. Just what was needed before another busy school year.

Take care out there.