A FANTASTIC FAMILY REUNION

26 Erickson cousins and second cousins
ages 13 to 1 1/2 years
July 16, 2011

Number shirts, in order of age
Draven #1 to Katie #26

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll post these two pictures and that will be 2,000 words!  I arrived home this afternoon after visiting Howard for a couple hours on the way.  I left Cypress Park after five on Sunday afternoon with Laurel and Ashley travelling with me this time. That worked out well as Laurel drove the last stretch to Milestone when it was getting dark.  Ashley was so fascinated by the almost full moon that came up like a big orange ball in the eastern sky about nine pm. I spent the night at Laurel and Greg's and shared Ashley's brass bed with her. 

On the way out on Wednesday, I enjoyed having Dawson and Abbey with me.  We were the first ones to arrive at the reunion.  Do we get a prize?  We stopped at Caronport for gas and treats, then at the DQ in Swift Current for lunch.  Next stop was the Co-op in Maple Creek for gas and a few groceries, especially milk and eggs for the homemade ice cream.  Soon we were registering at the entrance to the park.  I thought that the lady had a very polite way of asking if I was a senior citizen to qualify for a free entry permit.  She asked if I was born in 1946 or earlier.  When I stated that I was, she asked for my driver's license to confirm the date and I was handed a free pass to the park.  There are benefits to being a senior!

The reunion started off with a bang, actually two of them.  The first happened shortly after the Diekragers and Peakmans had arrived.  The boys went for a bike ride down the hilly road that went by Hidden Valley campground, where we met.  Soon Eric came back with news that Ty was hurt. Eric had stopped at the bottom of the hill and Ty had collided with Eric's bike.  Mandy hopped on her bike to check out her younger son.  Then Ty's older brother, Drew, came riding back to get his dad to bring the truck.  We didn't know what to expect when they came back.  Ty was crying, had a bloody nose and a very swollen lip, along  with bruises on his side.  Doctor Morris hadn't arrived yet, but Mandy and Rick took care of Ty and soon he was wanting some supper, puffy lip and all.  It was swollen for a couple days.  He also had a tooth missing but he had lost that naturally before he arrived at Cypress!

The weather that night also produced some loud bangs when a thunder storm moved through the region.  Mareena and Gavin's, Shauna and Kirk's drove through heavy rain and wind, but fortunately no hail.  Getting their campers unhooked and set up was a challenge and I'm sure they were glad they weren't tenting!  Clare and Jodi's spent the night at a campground in Moose Jaw as a friend had warned them about the wicked weather they would run into if they kept heading west.

Actually, the reunion ended with bangs too, this time from a wonderful fireworks display on Saturday night at Loch Leven, the manmade lake in the centre of the park. The weekend was Canada Park's weekend and special events were planned, including a concert by Saskatchewan Express on Sunday afternoon. Saturday evening was perfect for fireworks, not a cloud in the sky and even on the warm side.  Cypress is the highest point east of the Rockies so nights there are cool.  It felt good to sit around a campfire in the evenings.

While I think of it, I need to correct some information that was not correct in my last blog.  This was our fourth Erickson reunion, not our third one.  The first was in 2002, then 2005, 2008 and now 2011.  We are already looking ahead to the 2014 one and hope to hold it in the same campground as it was so perfect for us.  It had 11 sites with power, we had 11 campers.  There was a log camp kitchen with power and a cement floor that was surprisingly cool even on the hot afternoons.  A bathroom with flush toilets was cleaned by park staff twice a day.  Drinking water was provided at a hydrant.  The 26 children had room to run around, even bike around without leaving the area.  A grassy hill at the back was a challenging climb and led right up to the golf course.  We couldn't have asked for a better facility and it will be booked again as soon as they take reservations for 2014!

That's really only an introduction to our reunion so watch for updates to follow in the days ahead.  Now I better leave my cool air-conditioned office and start unpacking my Escape in the not so cool garage!