Good day to get up and get going, sunny but not too hot, and the forecast sounds good for the next week.
It appeared to be a good time to head to Mac Gregor as we hadn't been there for some time. Easy ride to the park, but a little disappointing when we arrived. At that time there were no sites available, so we had to take a ride into Port Elgin and return to the Park after 12 noon. On our return we were indeed lucky and given site #31. It turned out to be a really good site. We had never stayed on that site.
However, when we arrived at the site the folks that had it were still there. So we took a ride and parked near the Turtle Pond, which you can see was almost dry. Very little water there and no turtles, but quite a few frogs.
We slowly walked around the Turtle Pond and the Fringe Trail. Considering the park was supposed to be full we saw very few people.
Then we tried to get into our site again, but still no luck. The folks there were in the process of packing up but not ready to leave yet. So this time we drove out to the Lake Ridge Trail. We haven't done this trail for ages. It is, for us, one of the most difficult trails in the park.
It is a really beautiful trail, and always there is something new to see. But you have to pay attention to where you are walking as the boulders are quite large. You can also wander off the trail very easily without realising you have done so.
150,000 years ago this was Lake Algonquin. Now the trail goes along the Lake Bed.
From the Lake Bed you climb to the top of the ridge, which is several hundred feet above here the lake was.
You then reach an area where you can still see the remains of a stone wall around the farming area. Quite a few apple trees are still growing there.
The last cattle to be moved from this area was in the 1970's. So not that far back in history.
A little further along the trail we came across the remains of a 1890's hand made water well for the farm house.
Cannot imagine what it was like to live here then.
So yes, lots of interesting things to look at along this trail.
Not to mention the friendly little snake we came across.
And we are not even half way into this hike yet.
Quite a way into the trail we came across a Quartzite Rock, supposedly 2,000 million years old.
It was extremely large and very cold to the touch.
Yes, it was unfortunate that we could not get into our site when we arrived. But we have had a fantastic hike, and enjoyed every minute of it.
We were all set up ready for a well earned late lunch about 3.45 p.m. 310194
It was brilliant sunshine and a really good site.
Relaxed for a while, then just wandered the camp or a while.
After such a late lunch we didn't have dinner until later in the evening. Then just relaxed around the fire.
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Another great day, BBQ Breakfast then time to hit the trails.
We had decided to hike the Old Shore Line Trail, Merganser Cove and the Deer Run Trail.
The cove was extremely quite, but very relaxing.
As you can see there are some very artistic people around this area.
There were quite a few people we met along the trails today.
It was a good 3 hour hike, so time for a reward before we made it back to our site, and relax for a while.
Some of our friends were really happy to see us back at camp, especially this little Nuthatch. We called it "The Attitude Bird".
As tiny as it was it chased all the other birds away.
Like us, this little squirrel was enjoying a relaxing afternoon at the camp site. No doubt waiting for us to have our late lunch again, and see if he would be lucky enough for a few crumbs.
After a relaxing afternoon catching up on some reading, we decided to take a nice slow walk though the Deer Run Trail before dinner.
Cooked dinner on the fire, then spent rest of the evening there.
It was a really great day, thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thursday 23rd August 2012
Another really nice day, but for one thing. Time to head home again.
After packing up we drove to the Tower Trail. This is another trail we do not do very often.
This year the trail had been groomed and bird watching area's added. It was really good to see all that.
All the work certainly added to the adventure of this trail. We saw two Great White Egrets, a couple of beavers building a dam, several frogs an many different birds. The hike took a couple of hours and was well worth the trip.
We had some shopping to do in Port Elgin before heading home.
This had been a couple of excellent days away. Really looking forward to the next one.
See you then!
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