Ontario Experiences Camp Wanna Be Free

Although disappointed after hearing from a lifer that highway bison sightings were a rarity, our time in the "friendly province" was overall quite good. Winnipeg airport was a breath of fresh air after experiencing the early morning rush at Pearson (6.30 is an ungodly hour).

Who knew that vast yellow fields were canola? We didn't. That's why we stopped just outside of Winnipeg to take some glamour shots in a bright yellow field and investigate this oddity. We were informed by a nice local about the crop we were standing in, who gave the trademark "friendly Manitoba" smile after learning we were from Ontario. He was only about a kilometer down the road when an unmentioned member of the Ontario team stripped down past his unmentionables to streak through the canola.

The PT Cruiser is a car designed for baby boomers cruising down the strip reminiscing about their earlier years, a fact that we learned first hand. It is not a car designed to travel Highway 16, the one lane “new Trans-Canada” highway from Winnipeg to Saskatoon rife with tractors, RVs and generally slow-moving, lane hogging vehicles. Passing required accelerating from a few kilometers back, but nevertheless we made it to Saskatoon in reasonable time.

Camp Wanna Be Free was everything and nothing like I expected. As an Ontario Summer Fling regular I was used to regimented weekends with pulling and politicking – capped off with a generous dose of hospitality each night. At CWBF things seemed to meld together; fun, politics, sessions and beach time were indistinguishable but it worked. Overall CWBF was a great experience, one that I hope to experience annually!

-Kevin