POINT FARMS PROVINCIAL PARK

Tuesday September 19th 2017                                                         166346

All packed and ready to leave when the heavens opened, and it remained that way for most of the day.  Probably the last remnants of Hurricane Irma. 

So - camping was put on HOLD.

Wednesday September 20th 2017

We will try this again today.

 Although a damp cloudy start to the day, the forecast is for summer type weather so we are ready to head out to Point Farms Provincial Park.

It's always an easy drive with lots of country roads.

We left about 10.30 a.m. and we were enjoying our lunch, in bright sunshine, on site #122 by 12.30 p.m.

After lunch we sat around our site  for a while, enjoying the peace, quiet and beautiful bright "summer" day.

Then time to explore.

It was quite misty out on Lake Huron by the time we got there.

It did clear some what, and made for a very pleasant walk.

Lake Huron was very clear, and not at all cold today. 

May be the temperature was thanks due to Hurricane Irma sending the warm southern weather north to us, without the accompanied damage.

We were not the only ones out enjoying this glorious summer day.   When we reached The Doggy Beach "man's best friend" was definitely having a grand time keeping cool.

Also there was a lone seagull enjoying a stroll along the shore line.

There were quite a few people out making the most of the weather, the beach and the lake.

We walked the beach for another hour or so. Then decided we should head back and try to find our site.

That meant climbing the cliff with 128 steps.

From there we got back on the trail which took us back to our site.

It was really warm by the time we got back, so we sat in the shade to cool off.  Hadn't had too many of these hot days this summer, so we didn't mind at all.

A couple of squirrels came running through the site, but far too quick for pictures.

We could just see the sun setting over the Lake through the trees at our site.

After my Chef had worked wonders with the BBQ we settled down around the campfire. It was a very pleasant evening.  So many bright stars to look at tonight.

About 10 p.m. we heard a very large plane over the lake, sounding as if it was circling all around the area.   Then it got a lot closer and very low with extremely bright lights.   All we could guess was some sort of search and recuse over the lake.

And so the evening disappeared into the night and we headed inside while the Hercules was joined by other planes and helicopters.   All of which kept circling around the whole area.   We were able to see all the bright search lights through the windows.

I managed to drift off to sleep, regardless of the noise and lights, somewhere after 1.45 a.m.  Only to be woken again, about 3.30 a.m., when a helicopter flying so low, actually shook El Campista.   That was followed by continual air activity.

Have no idea when I managed to drift of to sleep again, but I was awaken again about 7 a.m. and the search was still going on.

Thursday September 21st 2017

Yes, it was a restless night,  so we turned the radio on at 7 a.m. to  catch the news,  It turned out that a plane had supposedly gone down over the lake, somewhere near Goderich (only a short distance from where we are camped).  It happened approximately 8.45 p.m. last night, and search and rescue, plus ground crews and K9 had been searching all night, and were still doing so,

White eating breakfast outside in the glorious "summer" sunshine, Hercules flew over.  Wish I had the camera outside with me then.

Breakfast all done, so we got ready for our morning walk.  We planned walking the Ravine Trail this morning.  We could hear and see search and rescue were still busy at work.

So first we headed to the beach.

A very different looking Lake Huron today.   No mist, just deep blue sky and very clear.

As was the Lake also.

There were quite a few people out enjoying the wonderful summer weather this morning.

We could see the search and rescue boat out on the lake and could hear the helicopters.

One of which gave us the honour of seeing it do a fly by along the shore line.

We walked the length of the beach to the Northern perimeter of the park.   Which was where we found this great "track"!

To actually get to the tail, we had over another 100 steps to climb.  We didn't count them this time, but on a previous trip we counted 145.  It was much steeper than yesterdays climb, as it is right on the Ravine.

This shot was taken about 2/3 of the way up.

The Ravine Trail is a very pretty trail and a good portion of it is along and above the tree tops.

In many places you cannot see how deep the ravine is, as you cannot see the bottom.   

Now if the plane had gone down right here it would be difficult to locate it in a deep wooded ravine.

We did see and hear search and rescue looking in this area.

The trail is fairly easy to walk, although a good amount of hills to conquer.

At the end of the trail we could see,  from the bridge, the river that runs at the base of the ravine into the lake.

Sometimes you cannot see the river, as it has been too dry,  but today it was flowing good.

Then we got on to the Tortoise Trail, followed by Old Farm Trail back to #122.

Which was a welcome sight after a lot of climbing.

It had become quite warm now so we  relaxed in the shade before it was time for a late lunch.

We also enjoyed part of the afternoon relaxing here too.

We did have the honour of a furry visitor this afternoon.

Later in the afternoon we decided to walk to the lake again, taking the same route as yesterday.

The lake looked great again, and it was a wonderful warm late afternoon.

At this time there was no sign of search and rescue.  All was very quiet.

Yes, we had to climb all the steps again to get back to our site.  Guess we will be in good shape when we get back home.

We managed to find a news station on the radio when we got back to 122, and it appears that some pieces of the plane have been found, along with one body.  They are still searching for another body.

After dinner we settled around the fire.  Hercules flew over along with the helicopter.   A little later there were many flares sent from the plane and they really lit the sky up like daytime.   About 10 p.m. all went quiet and Hercules left.  Have no idea if that was good or bad.

And so time for bed.  It had been a long night, last night, and a busy day climbing and enjoying the weather.  Wonder if we can sleep tonight.

Friday September 22nd 2017                                                   166455

Bright sunny morning, and at the start of 8.30 a.m. there were no sounds from the lake.

We are heading home today, which is a shame, as the weather is so good right now.

After breakfast we heard the helicopter again.

Managed to get everything all packed up and ready to leave about 11.30 a.m..

As the weather was so good we took a nice drive into Goderich, then made our way through the countryside to Kincardine.   Where we stopped for our usual delicious lunch at the Erie Belle.

It was such a nice day we could have sat outside, but the wind off the lake was so strong we sat inside.

Took our time over lunch, and also took a leisurely drive  back home.   Another fun filled adventurous trip.

Checked out the news on the Internet when we got home, and the plane and the pilot had now been found in the Lake.