Muriel Lake August 2010, Phase I

Every year we take a week or so to travel to Bonnyville in northeastern Alberta to spend some time with Martin's parents and family. This year we arrived on July 31st and stayed until August 5th.

Several of Martin's extended family got together and purchased a five acre parcel of land on Muriel Lake, 12 km from Bonnyville. This is a view of the driveway as it enters the property.

At the time the family acquired the property, Muriel was a large, deep and very clean lake fed by underground streams.

Martin kids spent much of their summers here when they were young, swimming in the lake and playing on the beach. Since that time, this and many other lakes in the province have receded dramatically, with Muriel being the most affected in Alberta. The water level in the lake has dropped by 20 feet from its high water mark. Years of drought are blamed for the drop, although locals are concerned that the use of the large quantities of surface water in the process of extracting heavy oil from the area have also contributed.

The lake is now more of a large slough with no outlet. It has become an important area for waterfowl, and very large number of pelicans, cormorants and other water birds arrive every summer to breed.It remains a very beautiful, secluded place, and we love to be here. Of course, visiting with family and getting a few rounds of golf in at the challenging Bonnyville Golf Club makes it even better.

The above picture is Marcel & Therese's home (Martin's parents). We spend many warm evenings out on their deck visiting with the family.

Ron & Lorraine's (Martin's sister) cabin where they were so kind to let us use it this summer. It is very comfortable cabin with all the amenities. This was the original cabin that was present on the property when it was purchased in 1978.

Martin's sister Florence & Ernie's beautiful home where they live here on the property. Florence always has such nice potted plants on their deck.

Dawn & Gerry's (Martin's brother) cabin which is very cosy and comfortable. They have also let us stay here on previous summers. Martin used to have a trailer out here but he had to get rid of it after it had deteriorated over the 20 years of use.

This is another view of the property from Dawn & Gerry's cabin. When they first got this property it was a forest of poplar trees that don't live very long (20 years or so) which meant that, mostly through Gerry's effort and direction, the poplar trees (including the stumps!) have been cleared and replaced with other trees, and the area has been seeded with grass that manages to survive well on the normal rainfall that the area receives.

View from the lake onto the property.

There is a large area for travel trailers where we gather around the fire pit and enjoy the summer evenings with sunflower seeds, popcorn etc.

The women in the centre of this photo are Martin's mother on the left and his aunt on the right.

Firewood supply for the winter. No, Martin didn't chop or cord any of it.

Another view of the surrounding property.

There are the most beautiful sunsets up here and gorgeous starry nights. Sometimes you can see the Northern Lights.

Martin with his Mom & Dad

The town of Bonnyville. Jesse Lake is in the foreground. It used to be the place where the town's sewage went without any treatment. It has since been rehabilitated, and is now a very well known waterfowl sanctuary. The abundance of wetlands in the area are a significant draw for tourism.

Bonneyville Golf Coure. This is a view of the clubhouse from the 18th hole.

This is the first hole, nicely done with the flowers beds.

This is looking back up the14th hole where you can see the left to right slope. Always a challenge to keep the ball from going into the bush!

9th green, just beyond the water fountain.

View of the 18th hole taken from the 19th hole. Challenging golf course but we love it. It gives us an opportunity to play with Martin's Dad, who is a very good golfer at 88 years, and other family members too.