It's official we are going 'camping' the last weekend in May with another couple. I put camping in quotes because it's not exactly camping. I've reserved the same rustic cabin that we stayed at last year with S's parents. It is so much easier with Andrew. There is flush toilets, 2 bedrooms, cold running water, a fridge, a stove, and a very nice deck. It is $70 a night (split in half). It's at Camp Morton, which is just a little further north from Gimli and about an hour from Winnipeg.

Camp Morton is a Provincial Park in Manitoba. It's lovely and small and usually is not very busy. I like that it's not very busy but still closeish to the city. They have about 14 rustic cabins, 5 Yurts, 5 Group Use Camp Areas, and a small campground further down the road. It's also close enough to Gimli that we can go into town if we have forgotten something or for a stroll along main street. It will be very nice to go in May because hopefully there will be no mosquitoes. We might car pool with the other couple so that could potentially save us more money on the trip. Yay! Firewood is free at Camp Morton so that is another plus! I hate having to shell out $6 to $10 bucks for a bag of wood that burns in hours. The free wood is always kind of sucky and needs lots of attention but that's okay because our male friend that is coming is a good wood chopper.

The Budget so far:

Cabin - $85 for 2 nights
Gas - $50 (there and back--could be halved if we car pool) Food - $100 (quite generous amount) Park Pass - $5

Total of $240

Already we have $66 saved up (as of 23 March 09). By the time we leave for the trip we will have saved approximately $303 dollars, which is well over the generous budget! What's left in the holiday fund will go towards our UK 2010 trip.

I've also been real nerdy and already made our menu for the weekend.
It's not that hard, because I usually make the same things when we go camping.

Friday Night Supper - Campfire Chili with garlic cheese toast (I'm looking for a real rustic and kick ass Beef Chilli recipe so if anyone has one let me know please!) If we don't do the chilli we'll bring frozen meat sauce and have spaghetti and meat sauce.
Saturday Breakfast - Sausages and eggs and toast Saturday Lunch - I'm thinking hot dogs Saturday Supper - Steak, potatoes, mushrooms and carrots Sunday Breakfast - Bacon and eggs and toast

Even though the cabin has a stove I'll still try and cook everything over the fire. I love cooking over the fire. Everything tastes so much better when it's cooked outside.

Does anyone have any different ideas for cooking while camping before I finalize the menu? I'm always looking for new things to make/try.

While I was booking the cabin for May I also booked a YURT for the long weekend in September at Camp Morton. They are brand spanking new there. I've never stayed in a yurt before, so I'm very excited about that trip too! The costs will be about virtually the same for the May trip. So we will have our beginning of summer trip and then our end of summer trip. It will be lovely.