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Outdoor pursuits more accessible in Lakeland

My nephew Wallace’s favourite place in the world is St. Paul. He just turned eight and lives in Calgary with my sister, her husband, his two siblings, and their nine-week-old puppy. A big part of why he loves it here is because of how much more accessible the outdoors is. 
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We woke all the kids up in time to watch the fireworks in St. Paul for Canada Day.

My nephew Wallace’s favourite place in the world is St. Paul. 

He just turned eight and lives in Calgary with my sister, her husband, his two siblings, and their nine-week-old puppy. Typically, we get down there a couple of times a year, they make the trip north a few times, and we meet in the middle once or twice as time and other engagements allow. 

Regardless of where we are, four adults and seven kids aged eight and under is a crowd.  

They all came here for the Canada Day weekend, and it is a good thing the guys remembered to take some pictures because neither my sister nor I remembered to get a single one. We were too busy having fun. 

Those extended weekends together are why St. Paul is Wallace’s favourite. But another big part of why he loves it here is because of how much more accessible the outdoors is. 

We spend a lot of time outside when they come. I will admit, some of it is a chaos management strategy. But a much bigger part is how much more accessible outdoor pursuits are – they are closer and cheaper to do here. 

In Calgary, they can’t go to the beach after church on Sunday. It is nearly two hours away, so by the time they get there, there is only an hour or two to play before it is time to turn around and head home.  

It is 20 minutes to the lake here. There is no fee for using the boat launch (not that this matters to an eight-year-old, but it is something parents think about!), and there is an abundance of 44cm walleye to catch and release with whichever combination of kids wants to be on the water. Back on the shore, there’s sand sculptures to build, frogs and leeches to be caught, a playground to be conquered and no time limit on the parking lot. 

Since they couldn’t quite stretch a fish the extra centimetre to fry for dinner, we ordered pizza when we left Bellevue and only missed bedtime by a little bit – an impressive feat considering all seven kids required soap and water baths after their exploits. 

With all the rain we have had, we felt good about a campfire with s’mores one night; and Wallace and my oldest also went hiking on the grazing lease which has miles of trails to explore and is just a short drive from town. (They were accompanied by their fathers.) My husband is an avid hunter and spends most of the summer scouting the perfect spot for deer season in the fall. 

We got soaked at the parade in Elk Point and enjoyed some of the festivities there before sending the kids to bed at their usual time on Canada Day with promises to wake everyone in time for the fireworks, which were a hit as expected. 

They are back in Calgary now, but Wallace is already asking when the next time they can come to St. Paul is. 

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