Camping on the Banks of the Iroquois

Imagine being camped in 78-degree weather at the bend of a lovely river, which roars over high rocks above and then rolls calmly downstream around an elbow and small beach. That was the lovely view we enjoyed for two weeks. We had a lot of rain during the first week, and the river rose. But the weather was perfect during week two. Our traveling buddies, Lloyd and Elaine, and we have known Eric and Norma, owners of Riverside Campground on the Iroquois in Saint Basile, New Brunswick, for several years. They are fellow Airstreamers, and we all belong to the same Northern Virginia club. As well, Eric and Norma lease a home in the North Texas Airstream Community (NTAC) where our home is located, so in the winter months they close Riverside and move to Texas just a few homes up the street from us.

Over a year ago, we committed to visiting our friends/neighbors in Canada and working as campground volunteers for a couple of weeks. Our jobs consisted of painting, light carpentry, serving free morning coffee to guests, collating and folding newsletters and hosting a couple of happy hours for campers. Jerry developed an evaluation form for registrants, which was immediately implemented. It must be added that the first group of evaluations we read rated the campground as outstanding, and it was the best one we found in Canada.

The six of us had a lot of fun reminiscing about old times, eating, socializing, and attending a couple of community events. We learned that owning an RV park is a deminding business, which requires about 12 hours per day, seven days per week. While Eric and Norma’s summer travels are limited, they have six months off to do Airstreaming in gentle winter climates like Texas. Eric is like a big human machine as he vigorously tackles the ever-changing tasks of the day. Norma is the quintessential helpmate, computer guru, and business partner. Things really wind up from 4:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. as new campers arrive. Both of them are moving rapidly during these hours, and their golf cart seems to accrue more mileage than their car and van. They have one full-time maintenance man and a couple of trusty volunteers. One of the latter, Pierre is shown left fleeing as he dropped a rotten tree. Roger, the former owner, has a tractor and looks after the place during the winter months. The awesome Iroquois River, which parallels the campground, is both friend and foe. It is the gorgeous focal point of the park. Yet, twice in the last two years, when the dam is opened upstream near Toronto, the park has been completely flooded except for the office and doublewide home that serves as their summer quarters. A campsite bathroom and laundry are both mounted on wheels so they can be pulled to the high ground in off-season.

We did some touring while in Edmundston. We crossed over the St. John River into border-town Madawaska, ME to pick up our mail, visit McDonalds, and purchase fuel and milk as a price much cheaper than in Canada. On one trip we also visited the library and did our laundry. Supposedly this is the most northerly laundromat in the contiguous U.S. One Saturday the six of us attended a festival in Edmundston and another Saturday we visited awesome Grand Falls several miles downstream from the camp. There we went to the farmers market and toured a small local museum. Gloria was delighted to find an antique hair curler like the one in her hometown beauty shop. Once each year, she departed from the shop looking like Little Orphan Annie.

We searched for a church in Edmundston, but sadly most of the protestant churches have closed. On our first Sunday, we finally elected to attend a bilingual Pentecostal Church with Lloyd; Elaine had a headache. The music was clamorous, the hand clapping was vibrant, and the pastor’s message was on target. However, speaking in tongues is foreign to us, and when uttered in both French and English, it was a bit overwhelming. The next Sunday, we attended “TV church” in our rigs beside the sunny, bubbling river.

The first night we arrived at Riverside, Norma (left photo) already had dinner prepared for us. Before we departed two weeks later, she and Eric served a wonderful lobster feast for all six of us.