Campground Portrait

If it weren't missing a boat, this photo would cover pretty much everything that encapsulated our life in Leaf Rapids: the camper, Dad's Acklands hat, a library book, Sean's stuffed rabbit, a fishing pole, the axe and cords of wood, the grill, the pine needles and of course the endless woods that stretched for thousands of kilometres. During our time in Leaf Rapids we must have visited the Suwanee River Campground dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

I usually slept near the ceiling, in a cupboard that converted into a fold-out bed. One night I rolled out of bed and fell two and half metres to the camper floor. I woke up utterly unharmed, but startled, still nestled in my sleeping bag.

Two Views of the Suwannee River, Manitoba

Even today, a web search for "Suwannee River, Manitoba" still gives you a ton of hits for the American river of song rather than the far more remote Suwannee near Leaf Rapids. Mom or Dad (or maybe even I) shot these two photos from our boat while fishing on the Suwannee in the summer of 1976. The place existed, it exists today, and hopefully now the Internet knows it. POSTERITY.