MAY 5TH 2014 MACGREGOR POINT

Yes, here I am, finally.  It has been a while since I was last here.  Few problems getting Blog to continue working.  Hopefully I have managed it.
Only recently(in April) did Old Man Winter seem to give up.  Can honestly say we have never lived through a winter such as this one. 

As you can see the snow banks were getting close to 8 ft tall and were the same right across the yard.  

We managed o keep the driveway clear, meaning it was cleared two or three times a day.

Must admit the town did a great job doing the roads and sidewalks.

Yes the back yard was just as full of snow as the front.

El Campista not quite ready for a road trip.








May 5th was the first time this year we had a window with three not bad days, so we packed up El Campista and headed off to Mac Gregor Point.    It felt good to be going off camping even for a few days.      318070

Took site #13.  It is a good site for some sun, if it should show it's face.

It was still quite breezy and cool, so we did set up our dining tent.  Which proved to be a very good move.

After lunch we hit the trails for a while and we were lucky enough to see a rabbit with the biggest white feet, several turtles, squirrels,  mallards, sparrows, nuthatches and of course our friendly
chickadee's.  Who still appear to be in need of feeding.

We even saw a partridge on our way into the park.

Due to all the snow, ice and rain so far this year Lake Huron is a fair bit higher than it has been for a while.  Which is a good thing. 

You can see there is still a good deal of ice on the lake.

The breeze off the Lake made for a very brisk walk along the shoreline.     

 However, the trails through the sheltered areas were really nice, and not so cold.  That was until we came across a trail still covered with a good deal of snow.

Oh well, may be if we come back in July it will all be gone!

Really nice afternoon walk, but time to head back to camp and get the fire going.

Sitting around the campfire was great.  That was one part of camping we really missed for the last 6 months.  Guess we will have to camp a lot in the next 6 months to make up for lost time.

My Chef did an excellent BBQ supper, missed that too in the last 6 months

So, it was a really good day.  El Campista ran like a charm, the weather, although cool, was good.  the hiking was great and the birds and animals welcomed us back here.
Hope tomorrow turns out that good too.

TUESDAY MAY 6th.

Woke late to brilliant sunshine.  Nice BBQ breakfast, then planned the rest of the day.  Do not want to waste a minute of this wonderful sunshine.  Still a little cool.  It was a cold night last night -4c.

Had a really good hike.  Left our site about 10.45 am heading along the Old Shoreline Trail towards Merganser cove.

Quite a few of the trails were still water logged, but it didn't deter us any.  It was still fun.

Just before we reached Merganser Cove we came across a smaller cove to the right of the trail.  Here we saw  two Mergansers, but too far out for a good photo shot.

As we approached Merganser Cove we saw two Egrets just taking off and two more further along in the scrub along the shore.  Once again too far away for a picture.  Really neat to see though.

A short way back on the trail we saw a small Garter Snake who was not at all co-operative to having pictures taken.

The sunshine stayed with us all the way and it felt so good.  Can we really think that Spring really is finally here to stay?

That was a fun hike and a great way to spend a few hours,   Hiking through the trails certainly works up the appetite.

Time for a late lunch and enjoy a visit from the chickadees.

Relaxed with the Chickadees and this little visitor for a while after lunch.  

Did some reading and writing before it was time for another walk.

This time we headed towards Sunset Point.

We could not believe the difference in the way the ice was moving on the Lake.   You could see so much more ice and even see some of the ice burgs breaking away from the huge portion of ice. 

So very different to what we had seen 5 hours earlier - fascinating!

Wandered along the boardwalk of the Huron Trail and saw another Garter snake sunning itself.  This one moved quickly into the water, but not out of sight from my camera.

From there we walked to the Turtle pond.  
Although it was cooling off we did find some turtles braving the elements and finding a sunny spot to enjoy.

The turtle pond was calm and clear for the afternoon, making for a very relaxing walk.

Just past the pond, on the camp road way we saw a Three Toad Sloth up a tree.

Could not believe it.  We have only seen them in a zoo.

Then back to camp to sit around the fire and discuss what a great day we were lucky enough to have.

My Chef did another magnificent meal, so time to relax for the rest of the evening.
Listened to some of the Blue Jays game, but it faded right out before the end of the game.






WEDNESDAY MAY 7th      318132

Nice morning, a few clouds, slight breeze, but not as cool as it has been.

This morning we had a guest join us for breakfast.

After breakfast we packed up ready to head home.  There are storms rolling in again tonight.

 Before leaving our campsite we headed to the shoreline to check out the ice flow.   Once again it had changed a fair bit to what we had seen yesterday.

Then we had another wander around the Turtle pond, where we did see quite a few turtles enjoy the wonderful spring sunshine.

Then back to our site to get going.

However, we did not leave the park right then.   We headed to the Tower Trail, where we found some very friendly frogs.

A little further along the trail we could see a pair of swans and their nest, but could not get a good shot of them.

We carried on to the tower and checked out the water area from the tower.

Always an interesting place.  Sometimes you see many different types of birds and sometimes, as today, there are very few to be seen.

When we reached the Bird Blind there were not any birds to be seen there either.  But there were quite a few families of Canada Geese.

From the Bird Blind we just walked the trail heading back.  There we came across another snake enjoying the sunshine.  This time not a Garter Snake.

Not too much to comment on for the rest of the trail.

However, this is always a very interesting trail, and you never know what you will see.

Time to get back to El Campista for lunch.

This friendly Goose decided he would be our Tour Guide and led the way along the road.
He was not at all worried by El Campista following him.

Had lunch near the Turtle pond and ready to leave the park about 3 p.m.

Stopped in Port Elgin for a while.   Then on to Owen Sound for a few supplies, and a stop to our friendly Home Depot for a few more house goodies.

Good drive back to Durham.                       318250

Always fun to take off camping, back good to get home again as well.

One again, a great few days away, and so good to be camping again after "the Winter from 
H---!

Catch you all soon.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Yes - we made it again.  We managed to drive to Port Elgin to the beach once again for Christmas.

 

It was a snowy drive, but believe I or not, it was still pretty.

 

We had a huge ice storm just before Christmas.  We were some of the lucky people and did not get any damage or power failures.

 

 



There  was a huge wind off the lake this year, and reports stated the wind chill was -20c.

 

 



Believe me - it felt like it.  We really did not stay around the beach very long this year. 

It was an invigorating walk, and as you can see Natalie was not going to hang around too long either.

 

 You  can imagine how good it was to pull into the driveway ready for a few bevvy`s and a nice Christmas lunch.  Plus we needed to know if `The Jolly Ol` Fellow`` had actually left us some gifts.

 

YES! Thank you Santa.  This is going to be fun.

 



 

We spent quite a while enjoying all the gifts, along with lunch.  Then later after dinner we spent some time on Skype with Vince Barb and Kayleigh.  So once again, another fabulous Christmas.   We hope you all had a great time too.

 

 

 

Boxing Day, here I am on our trail in the Conservation Area.  Yes, it was really pretty and one real good work out walking through there.

 

 

McGowan Falls and the Saugeen River.

 

And a Very Happy New Year to one and all.

Catch you in 2014!

 





MACGREGOR POINT NOVEMBER 4TH 2013

Monday November 4th 2013.                      317879

Although cool we got El Campista packed up and headed to MacGregor Point.  We have been having some really unsettled weather in the past three weeks, including 15cm of snow.  That was followed by high winds and torrential rain.  So with the forecast for fine weather for a couple of days it was time for us to head out.  Time for a break from routine again.

Arrived at the park about 12.30.   317958
Took site #65, and it turned out to be a good site.  Not very many people around right now, but quite a few getting ready for their winter camping.

Due to the wind we decided to put our "tent add - a -room" up. and it didn't take too long to get cozy warm, even though we were outside.

Not sure how the trails will be this trip due to all the heavy rains and winds in the past 72 hours.  In fact parts of this area was without hydro for at least 24 hours.

Luckily the turtle pond has the board walk around it so that made the walk easy.  The water was quite high and for a pond to almost have waves, you can tell how windy it had became this afternoon.

It remained cloudy and windy but still great to be out enjoying our walk in the fresh air.
It felt good to be back here again.

We lit the campfire early as we could tell the evening was going to get quite cold and probably quickly.

It was good to sit around the fire, even though the wind was not being too kind to us.

After a late BBQ dinner we sat inside listening to our music and telling our usual silly tales, and just enjoying the fact we were able to be back camping.


Tuesday November 5th 2013.  (Guy Fawkes Night in England)
Growing up in England, as kids, we celebrated Guy Fawkes night by lighting a huge bon fire and letting off fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes.  Why?  To remember the Gunpowder plot of 1605.  A conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament.

But today we are happy to be out here camping, and very pleased to say the wind has dropped quite a lot from yesterday.  So we are looking forward to hitting the trails.

We headed towards The Old Shoreline trail, and then on to sunset point.  Although there was still no sunshine it was a good deal warmer than yesterday.  The forecast does promise some sunshine.

We walked along the beach and it was unbelievable to see that the 5 swans that were here earlier in the year were still here.  We thought they would have headed to warmer climes.  If that is what they do.

Then we headed to Merganser Cove.  Always an interesting spot along the trail to stop and visit.

The visit here this time was quite different.
The cove was completely cut off by the flooding of the streams running into the lake. 

As you an see the trail was under water.  Note how clear the water the water is.

Continued along the trails, which were still amazing.

This is usually a tiny trickle of water.  Not so today.

From this shot you can see the "trickle" of water is close to a stream today.

There were quite a few downed trees along the trail.

And we found some camps sites surrounded by water.  The water was not like that in the area we are camping.

 There were parts of the trail completely under water.  In fact we had to blaze our own trail to the road way for a while.  Then return to the trail at an area on slightly higher ground.

There were  a lot of signs that the storms had been quite brutal in areas around here with floods and downed trees.

However, still a fun hike.

Back to our site after a good couple of hours hiking and definitely ready for lunch!

Nice surprise through the afternoon, Jeff and Elijah drove in for a visit with us.  They had been to Port Elgin, so only a few minutes away from us.  We really had a fun visit with them.

Rest of the late afternoon and early evening was spent around a great campfire, followed by BBQ, then time for our Dominoes Game.

No! I didn't win this one.  Mike was the champion.






Wednesday November 6th 2013.                                                     317958
Woke to rain today.  Not so nice, but today it is time to pack up and head home anyway.  It just made packing up not quite so much fun.

Left the park about 12 noon, still raining.  Headed into Port Elgin before a soggy drive home.  No big deal we had a great time and it's been a nice break from routine.  We will try to get another visit in before the winter really hits us.  Catch you all then.           318043