Sons Of Norway (Private) Campground

[Doug Mager]

RAIN, Rain, rain!!!
It reared its UGLY wet head for the whole weekend and put a huge damper on our activities. I didn't take ANY pictures because of the rail, but many others did and hopefully some pics may find their way to our pages. For those of us with some free time on our hands and were able to move in early, the weather only made things worse. We were slated to have 75 trailers in attendance, with a handful staying the extra week to attend the Canadian version of the Tin Can Ralley, but alas the rain took its toll on us Eggers and we only mustered about 60 (+/-) trailers.

This was our first venture at this park and right from the git-go, there seemed to be issues as the park had overlapped bookings (with previous campers) till the Friday of the meet. There are NO designated sites at this park which is something we all were not expecting and although there was power/water available for those that had booked it(28 with hookups), having no site-lines for parking and setting up became an issue. What campsites there were were deemed to be too small because if you parked full sized motor homes on the sites, you could NOT open an awning between yourself and your neighbour.

The park itself was VERY delightful and has something to do for almost all ages. Heated (outdoor) pool, tennis/basketball court, a large childs play area, a communal firepit with 2 or 3 small 'pit' facilities located right next to the rushing creek that runs along the park. The campground is located in a treed area nestled aside a mountain (well, out here it'd just be called a hill!). The management had just installed some KILLER (gravel) speed bumps which sometimes were doubled up. Signage warning of these bumps was non exsistant till you were half way into the park. 'S O N campground' has all the makings of a real quality park except (IMHO) for one sore spot. It has 2 sets of washrooms, one at/near the office (which is not labeled as such) and the remote site (close to the serviced sites). There are however only showers (that I could see) in the remote washrooms. This seems weird as one would expect shower facilities at/near the swimming pool, so MAYBE I missed these showers?? The kicker with the shower rooms (which I did see) is that there is NO heat (or posibility) of adding heat in the shower/washrooms . With the chilly/damp weather this issue meant not too many souls braved the elements to shower. This meant that our pot-luck supper and get together meeting was attended by some rather 'high' members.

It should be noted that we have decided to hold our fall semi-anual meet here as well, but it will have some changes to it, mainly for people requesting services. Changes are planned for reservations or LACK there-of, so for those on here interested in coming (and needing/wanting serviced sites) PLEASE keep an eye out for our event postings and be prepared to act fast, as the alotted serviced sites are going to be reduced in number and we do have a following of well over 120 people/trailers on our mailing list(s) and most are not members of this site.

Our fall event will be on a first come, first served basis with NO sites being reserve/held for that 'special friend' or fellow egg owner who is coming "tomorrow", so this means NO POWER PARKING. If you want to get camped together, show up together. You will be assigned the next available site on the ground map. This new system does NOT apply to those wishing/willing to boon dock. There is AMPLE space to easily hold over 100+ trailers on a nice grassy field. These changes are NOT meant to inconvenience/slight anyone but rather to enhance the meet for other campers.

[Valerie G]

wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! were we at the same campground??? I had the bestest time in spite of the rain! We do live in the Pacific northwest. I do agree it was a big ol damper but look forward to a trip sans rain next time!

[Doug Mager]

Valerie, I purposely omitted the fact that the North central part of the grounds was deemed 'Party Central' by many attendees!! ....this post wasn't meant to be a depictation of how much fun we had or didn't have, but more a general overlay of the grounds and potential impact it could have on upcoming meets These events wouldn't be as great as they are WITHOUT the participation of great campers like yourself!!!!

[Flygal]

I have to post my POV about this campground since I had a completely different experience. When I pulled in Thursday it was an open field, Erik the groundskeeper, was eager to meet Valerie and I and let us know to take "whatever spot" (minus the electrical spots) There was a group of the extremely large motor homes who were in the electrical sites but most were leaving a day early. We secured a spot just outside the electrical border and proceeded to unpack. The group mentioned was nice and friendly offering us their wood pieces and picnic tables. The grassy open field was great, there was a small creek running behind the clubhouse, birds galore, random wood sculptures hidden throughout, and just a nice overall appeal.

With camping I've learned to take the good with the bad. The speed bumps (just installed) were to high and Erik made a point of apologizing as they were high, unmarked and freshly installed but there for a good reason…children and speeding, as a parent I can appreciate that. Thou it rained (okay poured) I was thankful to be on wet grass and not in a mud puddle. The place was extremely dog friendly and more than once Erik made a point of saying we needed to be a more rowdy bunch. The fact that while camping I can take a shower I am always grateful for them. They were a mere .25 and was an “on your honor” 4 minutes. The bathrooms had creative plumbing (but it WORKED), and pretty flowers. I don’t mind that that weren’t heated (it is camping right?). As far as the bathrooms in the clubhouse, it wasn’t overly obvious where they were but all one had to do was ask “where are the bathrooms”, they were super clean.

There was some fuss over the electrical spots, but again were camping with our friends, right? I see wanting to manage that a little better but I hope this doesn’t become a micromanaged event. I know I have been thankful that when I pull into a campground my friend has prepaid for my spot and yes, saved it. I would rather set up next to someone who wants me there versus someone whom is forced to stare at my disco ball and twinkle lights and loath my kid/dog/drinking/music. I see your point of organizing but again I hope this remains to some extent the light hearted easy going event that it has been and not some overly fussed over, overly thought out event. I had the best time!!!

[Carol H]

gee Doug did the rain get to you buddy? or did the pizza man fail to del'v??

Yup if wasn't the same lux conditions we had become use to at the Fort but I enjoyed the park. Yup not a lot of signs but keep in mind this is owned by a private club its not a public camp ground. The washrooms were clean and although a limited number of showers I never had to wait which I can say was not often the case at the Fort. There are also showers in the main club house but they were currently being rebuilt.

As you say there where no marked set out spots but I thought Craig did a good good of trying to lay it out and assign areas and he did send us all a lay out map ahead of time. Yup there were some close and cozy camping but suspect that on our next visit if some direction were give to folks ahead of time as to how much space to leave between and where to park their cars that there is more than enough room for all of us. Keep in mind that some wanted to be close to each other. LOL

I found the management to be very friendly and happy to do what they could to make our visit a good one. They did open up the club house to allow anyone who wanted to watch the hockey game and allowed parents to take their children out of the rain and play inside or watch videos. You may recall that Management did attend our meeting and say they were sorry about the lack of signs for the speed bumps and indicated they would try and improve on that before our next visit.

Not sure Doug that you are going to find another place so close by that can handle all of us and we all end up camped together. The price was also right.

I look forward to going back on a sunny day and enjoying the river/pool and the rustic fire pit and a few jello shooters. The weather just didn't seem to suit shooters this year.

[Marinab]

As one of the newbies there, I have to say that it has been one of the best camping exeriences I've had. I was soaked the first night out, never did dry out completely, took showers every morning to warm up, met some fabulous people to party with and made new friends with whom I've already shared e-mails with. Everyone was willing to share their knowledge and insite about these small trailers. In my books, it doesn't get much better than that. (Except for sunny weather) :-D