Yes - 4th July - so what else should we do, but camp?
It appears to be a good way to celebrate 4th July, .and may be, try to bring an end to our July 1st Canada Day celebrations.. Not that we want to do that anyway. It has been fun.
We did get to see a really good Fireworks Celebration here in our little Durham Town
For a small town, it really was very well done.
July 2nd we drove to Clifford for their annual Truck Show.
If you like motor cycles, there is always a good show of them along the parking lot.
July 3rd we celebrated at home with a family BBQ. Now that is always a good time.
Back to July 4th 157178
We are heading to Selkirk Provincial Park, which is about 15 minutes from Port Dover. We had a fairly busy drive along highway 6 south , Hamilton was very busy, so we may try a different route back home.
It is a really clean tidy park with lots of large grassy sites. The park is on the Lake Erie shore Line. 157412
We took site #75. Whenever we return, which may be quite soon, we would hope to have this site again.
There is a large tree on one side giving us a lot of shade, to help keep us cool right now. Plus a lot of sunshine for the cooler times.
After a leisurely lunch and a time to relax after our drive we decided it was time to explore, as we have never been here.
Naturally for us, our first part of the exploration was the shore line. It was really quite nice. A lot of very small rocks along the shore.
There were several small inlets here.
There were some interesting wild flowers growing along the cliff edge. Small cliffs that is.
The next section of the shore we came across was mostly shale, and much to our surprise, it was an OK place to see some fossils.
Another "old fossil" Mike found on the beach.
I couldn't resist this picture of a bridge with over grown bush and flowers.
The bridge being just a downed tree trunk
On the way back to #75 we came across this bird house.
Guess camping here "is for the birds" too!
Just to the side of our site is a magnificent Weeping Willow tree.
I must try to wake up my poetical brain and try to write about this tree.
No - we did not really need a camp fire, it was 26 c, with a slight breeze. However the camp fire added ambiance to the evening and the area.
Yes it has been a very good day.
Tuesday 5th July 2016.
Already hot by breakfast time. We are hoping the walk we find will be shady.
We headed to Wheeler's Walk Trail. This trail is split into two loops, East Loop and West Loop, which is linked together by crossing a boardwalk over the marsh.
It was a perfect walk for a day like today, as most of it was in the shade.
Wheeler's Walk was a great trail. Very well groomed and sign posted.
It is mainly a hardwood forest trail. There was certainly a lot of different vegetation, but unfortunately I still do not have a book on flower, plant and vegetation, so I have no names for the ground coverings.
The Boardwalk area that links the two trails was really quite pretty.
There was an abundance of bull rushes.
This has been a very pleasant walk. The trail was great. Yes, we took our time as it was quite hot, but there was a breeze helping to make it fairly comfortable, and of course a good amount of shade.
Got back to #75 just before lunch, so we sat in the shade for a while.
After lunch as spent time going from sun to shade and back again.
My poetical brain tried to kick in, but not one of my best.
The Weeping Willow.
The Weeping Willow
Standing so tall,
With a summer breeze
To help keep us cool.
The long, slim branches
With leaves hanging down,
Swaying like a dancer
Touching the ground.
Beneath the Willow
Is a good place to be.
The cascading leaves
Hiding you and me.
After taxing the brain it was time for another walk.
OK, yes, it is the same beach, just a different day. Lots of waves.
I was watching a large bird eating right at the edge of the lake. I though it to be a Vulture. When it took off and soared over us, what a surprise, it was an Eagle. It circled around a couple of times, but I just could not get the picture. We certainly did not expect to see an Eagle here on the shore.
Further along the beach, towards the shale area, we saw a long dark snake heading away from the water and disappearing in between some larger rocks.
Too much excitement for one little beach walk so we headed back to our site,
Once there and settled in the sunshine, a woodpecker landed in the small tree near our fire pit, and several very large dragon flies skimmed over the vegetation at the back of our site. Not wanting to be left out, quite a few Gold Finches had a lot of fun in the trees at the side of our site. Turned out to be a fun afternoon watching all the wild life.
Once the fire was going, and darkness descended up on us, there were hundreds of Fire Flies, (OK, well I didn't actually count them all). They are always a favorite of ours to sit and watch.
It was another really great camping day, and a bonus for us - our TO Blue Jays won!
Wednesday 6th July. 157412
The day started just as yesterday, may be even a little warmer.
We have decided to take a drive into Port Dover today. It has been many years since we there, so no doubt we will see a lot of changes.
WOW - it was a fabulous trip to Port Dover, and really it hasn't changed very much over the 40 years we have been going there.
The Erie Beach Hotel still looks the same, and the gardens are still immaculate.
We have stayed there at times, and I think every time we returned to Port Dover we would have a Perch Dinner here. Good food and great place.
The beach is still as busy as it used to be.
As was the pier and the stores.
Some stores have changed names, but some still remain the same. That's a good thing. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Yes - I could have bought a truck load of things, but I refrained - we only have El Campista with us, not our Western Star.
Callahan's Beach House was still there, and that is where we had a late lunch today, sitting on the patio.
Life is good.
After lunch we decided we would head back to Selkirk P.P.
It was a very warm 40 c through the evening and we could see what appeared to be a storm brewing over the lake. When the rain started we moved under the awning, too warm to sit inside. It felt very tropical.
The rain continued into the night, not any heavy rain, and none of the storms that were threaten.
It certainly was a fun day.
Thursday 7th July. 157466
Very warm, humid, misty morning. Time for us to head to the Homestead once again.
We took one more drive through Port Dover.
Then along the way we stopped here - hope you can work out where it is.
If you guessed PARIS - you are right.
The Grand River - Paris.
We enjoyed the river in Paris and then wandered around the town and the stores.
Such a pretty town and very interesting.
From there we headed through Cambridge, which was really busy with traffic, then on to Guelph. Where we stopped at The Shakespeare Arms for a delicious late lunch.
It was so good - as always.
From there home to Durham. 157693
Fuzzy was happy to see us.
We have both rally enjoyed this trip. Look forward to doing it all again in the near future.
