Greenwater Report for October 15, 2001

only one boat left in the marina

The Greenwater Report for October 15, 2001

Greenwater Provincial Park - Monday, October 15, 2001 - by: Jerry Crawford

rain
October 14th, 2001: Cool, but still above freezing, with a heavy overcast and light rain. There was only about a tenth of an inch in the gauge this morning, but it has been raining steadily ever since. It’s nice to see, but we sure hoped it would hold off until they got the expansion to Fisherman’s Cove in place. Trying to maneuver a big building in mud is not going to be fun!

coyotes
and
deer
One evening last week, just past the Big Hill, we saw a coyote in the left-hand ditch. It was a beautiful animal, sleek and well furred, with no sign of mange. We stopped beside it; it looked at us for a while then dithered; it looked as if it wanted to cross the road and in fact it did cross over to the right shoulder, then ran back to the left ditch. It picked up what looked like a Styrofoam cup and played with it for a while then ran along the ditch ahead of us. Another coyote, as healthy-looking as the first, ran across the road from the right to the left; it carried on into the bushes and didn’t come out again. The first one eventually followed it. About a hundred yards farther along, we saw three flags waving — I wonder if the coyotes were following them, hoping for a good meal? The deer must have been there all the time we were watching the coyotes, and didn’t seem in too big a hurry when they ran. Maybe they don’t consider coyotes a major threat.

road
edges
Coming back the same evening, there were lots of deer in the ditches, as usual. Since the road edges were mowed the grass has grown up again, and for long stretches the lights of a smaller car don’t reach into the ditch. Two half-tons thought we were going too slow and passed us, but I notice they slowed down again once they had the lead. I saw their brake lights flash a couple of times.

boat
and
dock
We thought we would leave our boat in the water and use it until bad weather came, but we were forced to admit that even a little breeze out on the lake makes it too cold for softies like us. Tuesday, then, was my day for taking in the dock. When we were in the US last spring, we bought some hardware for a dock that, in theory, would let one put out the dock and take it in without getting wet. It worked pretty well, too, for putting the dock out. I filled the main dock section with Styrofoam and was able to float out on it and put the legs down. Lloyd floated out the next section and I hooked it on, then we did the third section the same way, and I could walk to shore.

wet
Taking it in, though, was different. First thing I did was to unhook the section closest to shore, and since it was heavy I dropped it. It splashed water all over me, so I was wet before I started. Then I stepped on it to get to shore; it sank, and my feet were wet too. I went to the house and put on a dry shirt, shorts, and my water-walking shoes.

fourth
leg
The truck made easy work of snaking the dock sections to the top of the bank, then there was just the main section left. Being smarter than your average bear, I had left the boat tied up to shore so I could use it to get out to the dock. All I had to do was loosen four setscrews, raise the legs, and tighten up the setscrews again. Then I could paddle to shore. Loosening the screws was not too hard, but when the legs were raised, when I leaned over to tighten the screws, the dock wanted to tip over. I got three done, but just couldn’t do the fourth. Good thing, too — I had forgotten to take a paddle on board, and the boat had floated away. If I had been able to raise the fourth leg, I might be out in the middle of the lake yet, screaming for help. I bit the bullet, jumped in, and manhandled the dock to shore.

boat out
Getting the boat out was easy. I drove the motor home and trailer to the marina, then walked back and got the boat. I tied the boat up then backed the trailer down to it, breaking a tail light in the process. I got into the boat, lined it up, and gunned it; it rode pretty well up to where I wanted it, but as soon as I cut the engine it slid right back again. Since the boat is nineteen feet long and the marina is just twenty feet wide, it took some maneuvering to get lined up with the trailer again. This time, I hooked on the winch and winched it up, flipping a guide roller off into the drink and losing it. After all that, it was easy. Yesterday, I noticed the docks at the boat launch had been taken in. If I had waited a few days, loading the boat would have been a different matter.

Nature
Centre
I walked around to the marina yesterday, and heard a banging and crashing from the old Nature Centre. I walked over there, and Alex Dunlop and Ron Kun were getting it ready for demolition. I went back after coffee, and Eugene Kun was there with his backhoe, picking the building apart. Another landmark gone!

Progress
Alex said he thought the building was originally from the military base north of Dafoe, and was brought to Greenwater in the late ‘40s. It has certainly been around as long as I can remember, and we started coming to Greenwater in 1967. Alex said there was too much rot in the underpinnings to make it worthwhile saving. There was a time when people would be lined up for a chance to demolish a building like that for the material. Now it’s cheaper to chop down more trees. Progress?

Doreen & Jerry Crawford
Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg


	only one boat left in the marina
The Greenwater Report for October 15, 2001
Greenwater Provincial Park - Monday, October 15, 2001 - by: Jerry Crawford
rain	October 14th, 2001: Cool, but still above freezing, with a heavy overcast and light rain. There was only about a tenth of an inch in the gauge this morning, but it has been raining steadily ever since. It’s nice to see, but we sure hoped it would hold off until they got the expansion to Fisherman’s Cove in place. Trying to maneuver a big building in mud is not going to be fun!

coyotes and deer	One evening last week, just past the Big Hill, we saw a coyote in the left-hand ditch. It was a beautiful animal, sleek and well furred, with no sign of mange. We stopped beside it; it looked at us for a while then dithered; it looked as if it wanted to cross the road and in fact it did cross over to the right shoulder, then ran back to the left ditch. It picked up what looked like a Styrofoam cup and played with it for a while then ran along the ditch ahead of us. Another coyote, as healthy-looking as the first, ran across the road from the right to the left; it carried on into the bushes and didn’t come out again. The first one eventually followed it. About a hundred yards farther along, we saw three flags waving — I wonder if the coyotes were following them, hoping for a good meal? The deer must have been there all the time we were watching the coyotes, and didn’t seem in too big a hurry when they ran. Maybe they don’t consider coyotes a major threat.

road edges	Coming back the same evening, there were lots of deer in the ditches, as usual. Since the road edges were mowed the grass has grown up again, and for long stretches the lights of a smaller car don’t reach into the ditch. Two half-tons thought we were going too slow and passed us, but I notice they slowed down again once they had the lead. I saw their brake lights flash a couple of times.



boat and dock	We thought we would leave our boat in the water and use it until bad weather came, but we were forced to admit that even a little breeze out on the lake makes it too cold for softies like us. Tuesday, then, was my day for taking in the dock. When we were in the US last spring, we bought some hardware for a dock that, in theory, would let one put out the dock and take it in without getting wet. It worked pretty well, too, for putting the dock out. I filled the main dock section with Styrofoam and was able to float out on it and put the legs down. Lloyd floated out the next section and I hooked it on, then we did the third section the same way, and I could walk to shore.

wet	Taking it in, though, was different. First thing I did was to unhook the section closest to shore, and since it was heavy I dropped it. It splashed water all over me, so I was wet before I started. Then I stepped on it to get to shore; it sank, and my feet were wet too. I went to the house and put on a dry shirt, shorts, and my water-walking shoes.

fourth leg	The truck made easy work of snaking the dock sections to the top of the bank, then there was just the main section left. Being smarter than your average bear, I had left the boat tied up to shore so I could use it to get out to the dock. All I had to do was loosen four setscrews, raise the legs, and tighten up the setscrews again. Then I could paddle to shore. Loosening the screws was not too hard, but when the legs were raised, when I leaned over to tighten the screws, the dock wanted to tip over. I got three done, but just couldn’t do the fourth. Good thing, too — I had forgotten to take a paddle on board, and the boat had floated away. If I had been able to raise the fourth leg, I might be out in the middle of the lake yet, screaming for help. I bit the bullet, jumped in, and manhandled the dock to shore.

boat out	Getting the boat out was easy. I drove the motor home and trailer to the marina, then walked back and got the boat. I tied the boat up then backed the trailer down to it, breaking a tail light in the process. I got into the boat, lined it up, and gunned it; it rode pretty well up to where I wanted it, but as soon as I cut the engine it slid right back again. Since the boat is nineteen feet long and the marina is just twenty feet wide, it took some maneuvering to get lined up with the trailer again. This time, I hooked on the winch and winched it up, flipping a guide roller off into the drink and losing it. After all that, it was easy. Yesterday, I noticed the docks at the boat launch had been taken in. If I had waited a few days, loading the boat would have been a different matter.



Nature Centre	I walked around to the marina yesterday, and heard a banging and crashing from the old Nature Centre. I walked over there, and Alex Dunlop and Ron Kun were getting it ready for demolition. I went back after coffee, and Eugene Kun was there with his backhoe, picking the building apart. Another landmark gone!



Progress	Alex said he thought the building was originally from the military base north of Dafoe, and was brought to Greenwater in the late ‘40s. It has certainly been around as long as I can remember, and we started coming to Greenwater in 1967. Alex said there was too much rot in the underpinnings to make it worthwhile saving. There was a time when people would be lined up for a chance to demolish a building like that for the material. Now it’s cheaper to chop down more trees. Progress?



	Doreen & Jerry Crawford Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg