It’s November 1st and that means that winter is around the corner.  The forecast is already showing a solid week of below 0C temperatures and with only two days left before that hits, I decided to head out on another mini adventure.  Another one of these ‘closer than I thought’ places is Danielson Provincial Park which is located on the north end of Lake Diefenbaker.  With camera, fishing rod, and mother packed up in my car, I hit highway 219 and headed south!

Apparently, I have been to this park before as a young child.  It took awhile but eventually, things looked a little familiar to my mom as we headed toward the boat launch to get a view of the lake.  Turning into the parking lot, we got a bit of a surprise – a rather larger boat was just parked along the side.  No idea why and if anyone knows, I’d love to hear about it but it definitely looked a little odd sitting there, especially with winter coming soon!  Having rained the day before, the beach was a bit muddy but I still wandered around a bit to get some pictures.

The wind was absolutely insane down there!  I’m glad that I didn’t try to bring my kayak!  But I was determined to get a little hiking in and with the Trans Canada Trail running through the park, I had to see a little of it.  And I figured that since the trail was inland a bit, the wind might not be so bad.  Was I right?  Sort of but due to time constraints, I wasn’t out too long.  I can’t honestly say that it was the most impressive bit of trail that I’ve ever seen – although, I could see how it would be gorgeous in the summer – but it was still a lovey wander.  (Just a note about my pictures here: I bought a cheap circular polarizer filter a few years ago but always forgot to use it.  I think I remember now why I didn’t bother with it much.  As you may notice in some pictures, there seems to be a black vignette.  I kind of like the effect but…totally unintentional so no, I can remove it!)

One of the big attractions in this area is Gardiner Dam which – if you can believe Wikipedia – is the third largest embankment dam in Canada and ranks as one of the biggest in the world.  This is also a great fishing spot however, with the wind blowing so wildly, I didn’t even want to try!  However, there were plenty of fowl to watch.

Overall and despite the short time spent down there, I must admit that it was a lovely way to spend one of the last warm days of the year.  But I hope to be back there in the next season but this time, with snowshoes!