RONDEAU {RPVINCIAL PARK

Sunday August 13th 2017                                                                165324

Today we are up and away at 9.15 a.m. heading to Rondeau Provincial Park.   It's been quite a while since we were there,   The weather this morning is really good for a nice drive through the countryside to the park.   There were a lot of very tidy colourful farms through Perth county.  As we have had a fairly wet summer so far everything looks so clean and bright.   The wheat fields show off all their gold, and everything that is green, is a really lush green, and any of the flower beds or plants that are filled with flowers are a blaze of colours.  All very impressive to look at.

By the time we reached South Middlesex county the countryside was certainly different looking,  It was obvious that the rain here was nothing like we have been having in Wellington or Grey county.  The lawns around here looked more like we were used to seeing in mid August,  a dry, almost brown straw shade.

It was a pleasant drive all the way into Rondeau Park.                                     165606

Luckily there were quite a few sites to pick from,  and we took #29.  A good sized site, with both sun and shade.

By the time we had set up and had lunch it was about 2.30 p.m..  Nice sunny and beautifully warm.

We listened to the Blue Jay's game.  Then it was Happy Hour! 

It seemed a shame to waste such a lovely day sitting around the camp site, but after a month of work around the house and gardens it felt so good to sit back and relax.

My Chef worked wonders with the Salmon Steaks for dinner.  Then we got the camp fire going and continued to enjoy a very relaxing evening.

Monday August 14th 2017.

It looks to be another really super day here on the shore of Lake Erie.  So today we will get exploring.  No more relaxing for hours.

First stop, The Rondeau Bay.

Which was very calm and quiet.

Then on to the Yacht Club.

It was quite busy.

From there we hit the trails.  Our goal is to do The Spice Bush Trail.  It is a Loop trail.  We really enjoy doing loop trails.   This one is only a 1.5 km trail, which really isn't too bad, as it is about 3-4 km from our
campsite.  So it will be a good mornings work out.  

Luckily the weather is co-operating, and it's nice and sunny, but not too humid.

We hope the wild life abide by this sign, and actually use the crossing right here!

No sign of any wild life at this time.

The trail was edged with many colourful flowers and blooms.

When we reached the Spice Bush Trail it appeared to be a very interesting and fairly easy trail to wander around.

Almost half of the trail was done in sections of board walks and the remaining areas were grass or gravel walkways.

There was a lot of vegetation and a numerous amount of small frogs.  So many frogs you had to watch every step you took.

May be it should be renamed "The Frog Trail"

When we completed that trail we decided we would take a different trail back to our campsite.   It turned out to be a very good trail and quite interesting.  We shared it a number of squirrels, Robins and Blue Jays.

After two hours we made it back to #29.   Time to stop for a while, relax and have a late lunch.

The weather was still beautiful this afternoon, so we sat around the campsite and read for a while before we headed off to
"Rondeau Joe's Pub".

Now this is good civilised camping.   A nice friendly "local" just outside the park entrance.

Joe was great, very polite, friendly and promoted a good selection of locally brewed beers and wines.   Which we were very willing to check out..  And yes, they were all good, at least the ones we tried.  We may just have to return here to try some more.

Joe had a really nice patio Right on the bay.

It was great to sit there and enjoy the view, sunshine and the brews.

Several boats entered the slipway to the pub area while we were there.

Joe had some interesting things inside the pub.

                                              

                                             It was fun spend time and wander around.

However, we did have to get back to our campsite.

It was a really nice evening.
Dinner was great.
The fire was very good
And the Blue Jays won!!
Could be classed as a perfect day.

Tuesday 15th August 2017.                                                                           165606

Woke up a bit late this morning.  It had been a very strange night,

Have no idea what was going on, but about 4.45 am we heard a large plane or helicopter coming close to the park, not only close to the park, but now extremely low and close.   All the lights of the aircraft lit up the whole area, and it was extremely loud.

We looked outside but could not see anything out of order anywhere.   Naturally it took a while to get back to sleep.   Then at 5,45 am it all started up again.   This time the lights were not switched on over the camp ground.   Managed to get back to sleep again.

After we woke up and had breakfast there appeared to be nothing strange going on, and everyone was just enjoying a really nice day.

So back to our plans for today.   We planned to leave Rondeau and head to Selkirk Provincial park, near Port Dover.    After the plane incident maybe it's a good thing to be leaving - who knows.   Will have to check internet when we go home, if we do not hear what was going on.

All packed an on the road by 11.15 am.   It's about 21/2 hour trip, so not too bad.
There were about 10 raindrops when we were packing up, but nothing came of it, and the sun came out and chased the clouds away;

JULY 23rd 2017

Celebrations!

It has the makings  of a gorgeous summer day.  Or so the weather forecast tells us.    Today we have been in Canada for 44 years, and with a great looking day we decided we would celebrate.

We took a drive to Georgian Bay.  

First stop was Meaford Marina.  It was great to wander around and enjoy the area.

Then we headed to Thornbury.  The  bay looked wonderful.

As did the Thornbury Marina.

It really was a great summer day.

It was getting to be time for a late lunch then, so we headed to "The Dam Pub" in Thornbury.

That is always GOOD.

As it was such a great day, we sat outside on the Patio.

It was so relaxing we were in no hurry to get going.

Then time to get going and drive through the countryside back to Durham.

It was certainly a wonder celebration.   Which wasn't about to end at home, as Natalie, Elijah and Mario were joining us for a BBQ.

EARL ROWE PROVINCIAL PARK.

Monday July 17th 2017.                                                                    165130

After an early appointment in Hanover we were all set ready to leave and had out to Earl Rowe Provincial Park.   The day started off cloudy but bot cold.   Once again it was a quiet, easy drive to the park.  Very little traffic around and most of the trip was through the countryside.

There was a line up at the park to check in, but luckily it didn't disappoint us, and we managed to get the site we really wanted, #274.                                        165227

As we had left home later than usual we enjoyed our late lunch sitting outside in the sunshine.   Yes,  all the clouds had disappeared.

Luckily you can follow the shade around this site, and that is what we did this afternoon, right up until about 6.30 p.m. when it had finally cooled down enough to take a nice walk.

We made our way to the river bridge area.  It is always so picturesque around that are, and also Earl Rowe Lake, which was very quiet and calm this evening.

Our plan was to head towards the beach area from there, but unfortunately we were out when it was time for the bugs to have supper!  They were very hungry tonight, so we decided to head back to our site while we still had some clear skin left.   We had hoped to have a longer walk, but at least it was a good hour of walking.

My Chef did another great supper, then changed hats and arranged the entertainment for the evening )Blue Jays vs Red Sox) and made a great campfire.   What a guy!   Even arranged for the Jays to win.

And so on to the close of another good day away camping.

Tuesday 18th July 2017

Cloudy, cool start to the day, but by the time breakfast was over. which was not early, the sun was out and most of the clouds had blown away.

We hoped it might stay a little cool this morning as our plan is to walk to the Look Out Tower, and it is a good climb to the Tower.

We were on our way to the Tower by 11 a.m.  The Look Out Trail is a 4km walk, with may be a 1-2 km walk from our site to the trail.  So, a  good mornings work out.   It was quite warm, but a good portion of the trail is through shady areas, which are very damp right now due to the heavy rains recently.   Consequently, there were a good many hungry mosquitoes.   However, today we came prepared, and had our bug spray done before we left.

There were quite a few flowers blooming along the start of the trail.

This is the up hill portion of the trail.

As usual we stopped before we reached the tower, to catch our breath and rest our legs.

The view is always worth the break too.

And so on to the Tower.

The view was as spectacular as usual'  It is never boring looking around here.

Today there was a slight haze on the horizon, so it was difficult to make out the CN Tower.

The rest of the trail was  "all down hill from here".

There were a good number of wild flowers and berries along this part of the trail.

Made it back to #274 by about 12.30 p.m., so time to relax before lunch.

After lunch we remained in relaxation mode.  Not entirely by choice, but due to the
hot humid afternoon.

I managed to keep busy reading!  I don't mind that at all.

We wandered around Earl Rowe Lake late in the afternoon., when it had cooled down a little.

It cooled down some more early evening, so we did light the campfire.  It always adds to the ambiance.







Wednesday July 19th 2017.                                                           165227

Time to head home again.  It's still warm and sunny, may be not quite as humid right now, but storms in the forecast for the afternoon.

Very easy quiet drive home, and made it back without getting any storms.

Home in time for a late relaxing lunch on the back deck - a great way to end a great trip.