APRIL 2015. MAC GREGOR POINT PROVINCIAL PARK.

Tuesday April 14th 2015.

It felt as if spring would never arrive this year.

As you can see the build up of ice on the Saugeen River near McGowan Falls in Durham was quite the sight.  This shot was taken on March 18th 2015.

We have just lived through the coldest winter we have experienced  living in this fabulous country since our arrival in 1973.

Many communities near by us have had to run their taps 24/7 from January through to the end of this month of April, to help prevent frozen  and burst pipes or water mains.  A great number of people went without water in their homes for several weeks.  We were lucky, and just had the odd morning where there was no water, and a few heaters helped the thaw along its way.

We checked the weather forecast last week and it sounded good for a trip to MacGregor Point for a couple of days before the rain hit up on us again.   Yes, after extreme cold we were blessed with a week of rain, more snow and  the odd thunderstorm.  Oh yes, I almost forgot, there were a few nice sunny cold days thrown in there,  heaven.   You gotta love that Mother Nature! 

So here we are April 14th and all packed up heading to MacGregor Point in brilliant, warm sunshine.                                                                                                                                148686

Thankfully an uneventful drive to the park.

No one else was camping in this area right at this time, so we had the pick of any site we wished.

We took #8.  We like this one because there is a lot of sunshine there, and luckily the forecast is for that beautiful sunshine.  It was so nice we even managed to sit outside with lunch where it really was nice and warm.

After lunch we made our way towards the Turtle Pond.  

It was unbelievably clear water and as it was warm we counted as many as 16 turtles sunning themselves on the fallen logs. 

I do not remember if we have ever seen so many turtles lazing in the sunshine at one time before.

This guys was just swimming towards the log for an afternoon nap.   

You can see how clear the water in the pond is.

From the turtle pond we wandered the Old Shore Road Trail.   As you can see there was still a fair amount of snow on the trail.

The lake itself had a good amount of ice still on it.   Consequently it was quite cool along the edge of the lake.

Near Sunset Point we encountered  a large "flock" of Canada Geese (not sure if it is a flock or gaggle of Canada Geese - anyway we saw them).  They too were busy sunning themselves.

It was not too easy to get close to them, they kept moving to another area of the ice.  This was the best I could do.

There really was an icy breeze off the lake so we wandered the trail  inland  a little where it was more sheltered.  Heading towards the Huron Fringe Trail.  Still snow here too.

We wandered along the boardwalk and the nearer we got to the water the louder we could hear what we thought to be a great number of birds.

However, there were no birds to be seen, but the water was alive with frogs.  We had never seen or heard so many frogs calling at the same time.  

It was fascinating to both watch and hear.

After such a fun walk we started to head back to our site and along the boardwalk we were greeted by this friendly little red squirrel.

We got back to #8 with some time to spare to relax in the sunshine for the remainder of the afternoon.

Dinner was a pleasure! 
 
Finally, my Chef woke up from hibernation, after a very cold winter, and cooked a delicious  BBQ dinner.

The rest of the evening was spent around the campfire, toasty warm, listening to the ball game and telling our usual stories.

Great first day of camping in 2015.  It felt good to be back.


WEDNESDAY APRIL 15TH.
Nice to wake to bright sunshine, especially after a very cool night.

A very shy squirrel snuck around to see if it could join us, as a guest, for our first BBQ breakfast of this camping season.  No luck for the squirrel, but breakfast was a huge success and set us up for an invigorating day of hiking the trails.

Although bright and sunny, the wind had quite the icy bite to it.  We were glad to have put on extra layers.

It was, once again, amazing to see the difference a day makes when it comes to ice on the lake.

Today the ice was a lot closer to the shore and it was really making the breeze quite cool.   Luckily the sun helped with some warmth.

We walked along the board walk towards Merganser Cove, and like the turtle pond, the water was very clear.

As you can see there were turtles here sunning themselves too.

There were no Mergansers to be found at the cove, just a good deal more ice on the lake.

We enjoyed the walk back heading along the Deer Run Trail.

However, there were no Deer today, just a huge puddle right across the trail.   We had to back track a way and get onto the road for a short distance before being able to rejoin the trail.

Managed to stay on the trail right back to our site., where we rewarded ourselves with a beverage and lunch.

Although cool out we were able to sit outside until we were ready to hit the trail again.

From the trail we headed for the turtle pond once again. 

This time the Chick-a-dees were waiting for us.  I am sure they always know we have sunflower seeds for them.

Today there were no turtles to be found.  Guess it was a little too cool for them.

As you can see, still a beautiful day.

From there we decided to head to the Fringe Trail again to see how many frogs we could see today.

Along the shore line we could see the ice had moved in further towards the shore than it was this morning.

There were no frog to be seen in the area we had seen them all yesterday.

However, we could hear a good number of frogs further along from where they were yesterday.

These frogs today looked completely different to what we had seen previously.

Slightly different one again.

The wind began to get quite cold off the lake so we headed back to camp to light the campfire.

Another good BBQ and relaxing evening, cozy warm around the fire.

So far this trip has been a lot of fun.  The forecast for tomorrow is for rain late afternoon, so time for us to return home again.


THURSDAY APRIL 16TH 2015.                                                                          148756

Pleased to say it wasn't quite so cold last night, and in fact it felt considerably warmer outside this morning.

Today a Chipmunk wished to join us for breakfast.  One again - no luck for the chipmunk.

We were all  packed up ready to leave by about 11 a.m.

Stopped in Port Elgin for a while, then on to Owen Sound.

It had turned into a really nice day.  Now wondering if we should have stayed another day.

Decided to have a picnic lunch in Owen Sound where the Chi-Cheemaun docks for the winter.
Always a nice spot to stop by.

Then off to the homestead.           148858

We really enjoyed this trip.  It seemed to take far too long to arrive.

It was still really nice out when we had unpacked so we walked through our park, Durham Conservation Area.

The Saugeen river was flowing very well over McGowan Falls.

Truly, a great way to end a great trip.

Hopefully we can hit the road again very soon.