From vintage Bolers to tiki bars, Sask. campers get creative with their sites

The CBC Saskatchewan campsite contest is open until Aug. 14, 2019. Find out the details and enter here.

About a month ago, we asked you to share photos of your campsite and tells us what makes it standout. You delivered in droves.

As the entries came in, a few themes emerged; among them, vintage aesthetic and going all out with customized add-ons. Here are some of the standout contest entries so far.

Reflecting the past

J.J. McColm said his campsite could be called "All the Orange." He submitted his car and matching renovated Boler. They even have orange accessories. 

Jim Gerlinsky was at a vintage trailer rally a couple years ago when he snapped his contest picture. His 1962 Safeway TeePee has a couple of accessories that match the era.

Patsy Wiebe was in Manitou Beach, Sask., for a fibreglass trailer rally when she snapped her contest photograph. Her campsite has an obvious theme: Coca-Cola. 

Her love for the brand started with her husband working for the company. They had collected many items from his work, from lawn chairs to dishes, and when they bought their Boler, they could only think of one design: a classic Coca-Cola fridge. 

"It's just fun for us to always include our Coca-Cola collecting hobby with our other activities as far as visiting family, travelling holidays, and such like that. It was a perfect fit," Wiebe said. 

When it comes to camping in Saskatchewan, Wiebe prefers Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. 

"The landscape is so different," she said. "It just feels like you're in a totally different environment."

Modernizing the outdoors

Karla Sastaunik said her family's campsite has taken six summers to get exactly right. Now, it's a place to relax and rejuvenate, she said, as well as for family and friends to visit. 

Sarah Peet's campsite travels with her: it's a completely converted old bus that she, her husband and their seven children (all under age 12) live in.

Peet and her husband were teenage sweethearts growing up in British Columbia. They currently live in the Indian Head, Sask., area.

"We never really imagined having this big of a family or moving around," Peet said. "I just like the new experiences that we get from travelling around, or even when we moved here it was a new experience."

They bought the bus in May 2018 and are now finishing up renovations. It has a full bedroom with a queen-sized bed, washing machine, sink, bathroom, shower and more. In the future, they hope to add solar panels.

"It has all the amenities to be a tiny house," Peet said. 

For others thinking about renovating a bus, she advised to "take your budget that you think it's going to cost and essentially double it. And take your timeline and pretty much at least double that as well."

Marilyn Hector's husband surprised her with a tiki bar at their cabin. It has lights, signs, shells and more. 

"It is five o-clock somewhere," Hector said in her submission. 

Camping means family time to Robin Henry, he said, as him and his wife used to take their children all the time. Now his kids are 23, 20 and 17, so camping means spending time with their neighbours at the Cozy Creek Campground south of Spiritwood, Sask. 

Their campsite has been a progression, he said. It started with land that was just bush, and grew until Henry found a tiki bar last year as a new addition. Each night they play music and shine dancing, bright lights on the trees around them. 

Henry hopes to retire at the campsite with his wife.