Saturday, May 31st – 9:30am – Mission (McGrane Rd), Lac La Biche Lake
Things don’t always go as planned, but they often turn out even better. 🛶
The day started off warm and a little smoky. 🌫 The wind was light from the south-east, and was only supposed to pick up in the afternoon. Our original plan was the north shore, just west of poplar point towards the Lac La Biche river, but the wind direction changed that plan.
With the canoe loaded the night before, we met at 9am, at old trail boat launch off Mission Rd on the south shore. As I stared to unload, I noted the water was a bit rougher than we would like to start out. Tie downs undone, it occurred to me, 2 very necessary items were missing…paddles 🙄. I informed Jen of my rookie move🤪, and we decided it was for the best. We would head to where the water was calmer.
After some backtracking, paddles collected, we met on the quiet spot off Mc Grane road. Yes, the water was perfect.
We took our time paddling towards the mission, chatting and admiring the lakeshore. The lake is shallow enough that some residents have their boat hoist about 50ft out from shore. There were 2 men were hip wading it out to their boat. If their attire and fishing gear gave them luck, they were in for a remarkable day. 🎣😄
Once at the mission, we checked out the remains of an old dock/warf, and decided the lake was getting choppy, so we turned back.
It was time to go ashore, stretch our legs, and to be honest, see about finding some cool rocks or treasures. We beached it and with the 1st step out of the canoe, JACKPOT! There was a small, white, broken piece of pottery! Ok, it may not be as old as Oak Island pottery, but it was a top pocket find.😂 This little spot was amazing. A couple more pieces of pottery (Oh, FYI, we have never found any before this), some cool old bones, and a small haul of precious rocks (found the pail that day too).
By about 1pm, we stated to leisurely paddle back to the truck. Sheltered along the south shore, the lake was pristine. Calm, with sunshine and even some blue sky poking out. It was so nice, we floated past our launch point to check out the point just across from Black Fox Island, where it’s a bit of a bird sanctuary. We saw grebes, black winged black birds, ducks, and could hear an orchestra in the grass and trees. Peacefully floating along the shore, the Merlin app gave us an impressive variety of birds near us. (You can see the smoke came and went through the day).
We were going to try one more treasure hunt and found a small spot to land it. It was short-lived, a pungent,🤢 rotting weed odor, had us back on our seats to end the trip. That’s when Jen noticed something out in the water…2 things, in fact, swimming from the island. Holy cow! Literally lol! It was a cow moose and her baby. We quietly watched as they came ashore, what an amazing thing to see…how lucky. Once they came out of the water, we couldn’t see them any longer, so decided to try to peak around the point to get a glimpse. The mom was in the trees, and the very small calf was on shore making soft noises. Not to cause more distress, we turned back and headed for the truck.
It was one of those days that starts out with some frustration and a change of plans, and turns out as one of the best, most memorable. A truly perfect day. 
It was smiles all around with our matching wide brimmed purple hats. 😂 (Yes, pelicans on Jen’s shirt). #sillysisters
Upcoming canoe trips; Crow Lake, Lac La Biche (from Whitesands down part Lac La Biche River), & McGuffin Lakeland Provincial Park, some water body by Smoky Lake too.😉
#greenbeancanoeadventures #sillysisters #mission #laclabiche #canoe #birding #fishandwildlife #rocksofalberta #laclabicheandarea #laclabichecounty
