We went boondocking for a few days near Limestone Mountain, Alberta, during the Calgary Stampede.
Note: A Public Land Camping Pass is currently required in order to camp on Alberta Crown land.
Random Camping in Alberta’s Wildland Provincial Parks
Although our favorite spots were occupied, we discovered a lovely new location nestled among the trees, which we’ve nicknamed "The Cul-de-Sac".
We were initially hesitant to try a new spot because Erik is blind, but he adapted beautifully and loved his new surroundings.
About a year ago, Erik began to lose his vision. Retinal atrophy, which appears to be inherited in Blue Heelers, was the diagnosis made by the specialist we saw. It is untreatable. Thankfully, he is highly adaptable.
One day, while I was reading, I looked up to see two white-tailed deer strolling just a stone’s throw away. I didn’t have my camera, so I sat perfectly still, simply living in the moment as they watched me, their ears and tails flicking away flies.
View through our camper's window.
The weather was wonderful, the bugs were manageable, and despite having other campers nearby, it was incredibly quiet.
We also had some cattle grazing nearby, as the owners hold Crown land grazing leases.
br />
Of course, no boondocking trip is complete without a visit from the wild horses.
“WHOAS estimates there’s approximately 900 wild horses across Alberta with the majority of the wild horse population hanging out in and around the Sundre / west-central Alberta region. Literally, you can just drive west of Sundre and you’ll find wild horses in fields and grazing along the highways all over the place!"—Sundre.
On a previous trip to one of our regular spots, someone had left two frog ornaments behind.
On a previous trip to one of our regular spots, someone had left two frog ornaments behind.
I bought a frog ornament to leave for them, but because other campers were present, I wasn’t able to. In the end, I decided to leave it at our new spot instead.
These small garden frogs from Dollar Tree are available in a variety of postures.
Click on the image above for more Boondocking Chronicles.
"These three wild horses visited us at our favorite camping spot almost every day. You can even see our truck parked on the left!"
It was neat to find a path of stepping stones put in place by previous campers down to the stream.
Our little off-grid home, as seen from the edge of the rushing stream.
The nearby gravel road sees plenty of logging and oil workers traffic during the week, but fortunately, our campsite is tucked far enough back that the noise and dust don't reach us.
It was wonderful to see this rock painting still here, just as it was during our last visit.
We added Fire Colour Changing Packets for Fire Pits to our fire.