Our second annual Deadly Dads Family Camp is in the books. Leading up to the camp a lot of people asked “what’s on the agenda?” and the answer the past two years has been “we’ll figure it out together at camp”. Now that it happened we can share what we did.
On day 1 we started packing at Mosom Rick’s at 10am and got to Jasper around 5:30. Chad and Dylan Lightning got there early with their boys to start setting up tipis. The rest of us got there in time to help finish putting up tipis, canopies for the rain, and everybody’s tents. Deadly Mom and camp cook, Bobbi, made us pasta and garlic bread. We took it easy and sat by the fire that night.
On day 2, we woke up early for breakfast and started getting ready for rain. So we hauled wood, put up more tarps, and made sure everything would stay dry. Before supper, we decided even though it was cold and raining we wanted to go for a swim. So we loaded everyone up into a couple vans and went for a drive. Roads to Edith and Annette lake were closed because of bear sightings so we ended up at Beauvert lake. Everyone walking by had on their warm hiking gear, tuques, puffy jackets, but our brave, young campers didn’t hesitate to jump in the lake. Eventually the dads got in too. It was cold, but worth it because we got to wash up and share laughs. On our way back, right at the gate to the camp we saw a young grizzly. Later that night, at a circle in Mosom Patrick Lightning Sr.’s tipi, someone mentioned they saw a deal for white water rafting while picking up souvenirs in town. We decided that if there were still spots left in the morning we’d go check it out.
On day 3, we woke up early again and a few of us went to town to pick up coffee and check out white water rafting bookings. We booked for 12:30, then went back to camp to eat breakfast and get ready. While we were rafting the sun came out. Our group took up two rafts so we had a friendly water fight with each other. After that, we went back to camp to regroup and have lunch. Bobbi cooked us bannock burgers, and we decided that since it was going to rain overnight we’d take down the both tipis so they weren’t damp when we put them away. We set up some extra tents we brought and Mosom Rick showed us how to take down the tipis. Everyone still had energy and wanted to explore, so we decided to go cliff jumping. We loaded up a truck and the van to head to Horseshoe lake. We got to the lake around 9:15pm, so we couldn’t stay long. Since it was raining again, we were the only one’s in the water. We all overcame our fears and braced the cold. It was great way to top off an awesome camp. We got back to the van just as it was starting to get dark out.
On day 4, we woke up early, finished packing up the vehicles at around 12 again and went home. We shared a lot of memories and learned a lot from each over the two days and three nights. Throughout our time together we had several lessons, about not making excuses, humility, good relationships, bravery, and humour.
We had a bit of a smaller group this year. There were some last minute cancellations due to vehicle issues, weather, or unforeseen circumstances. Even so, for everyone who was able to come out it was clear that the camp was deeply impactful. We do our best not to cancel events and activities because we know that even if one family shows up there will be positive unnoticed impacts. Also, this year’s camp was possible because of our consistency over the past few years and the effort of everyone involved, and future activities and camps will be possible because of the effort we put in this time.
Next year our plan is to look early and book a bus as soon as we book the camp to support more families attending. We’ll also choose a more free weekend to help with timing. There are lots of insights to build on and learn from as we continue to build connections and support families in Maskwacis.
We’d like to thank our partners and sponsors including Videa, the Indigenous Peoples’ Resilience Fund, Ermineskin Cree Nation, and the Maskwacis Maternal, Child, and Family Wellbeing Research Group for helping us rent a U of A van.
