More Camping Stuff

All righty then, back to camping. Where was I . . . oh yeah, rain and lots of it.

But that's over now. It's Day 2 and the sun is shining. We are at Blue Lake Provincial Park, which is just north of Vermillion Bay, which is just east of Kenora, which is just east of the Manitoba border. Way up north, for most of you. A little south for us.

And today we are exploring . . . exploring Vermillion Bay and Bobby's Sport Shop at 6 a.m. because we didn't have electricity yet and they had hot coffee. Really friendly place, friendly people and everything a fisherman could ever need, or want, in one of the most awesome northern tackle shops EVER!

And, as the rain finally blew off to the east, and the sun began to shine we headed back to our campground to get a fire going. Breakfast that day was bacon and eggs, in a cast iron skillet. And it was awesome. Supper the night before was ribeye steaks, in a cast iron skillet. It was awesome. And over the course of the trip, I would cook pancakes, pork chops, potatoes and peppers and lots of other stuff that doesn't start with the letter P. 

And it was awesome.

I LOVE cooking in a cast iron skillet. The key, I discovered, is bacon. Doesn't matter what you're cooking, you start with at least six strips of bacon, just to wake up the skillet. Then pull the bacon, set aside in foil by the fire to keep warm, and make your pancakes, or stew, chicken, lobster, soufflé, whatever. It's all better in cast iron and bacon grease.

See?

Oh, one other thing. I took along, on a whim, my Starfrit silicone oven mitt. And I will NEVER camp without it again. It is perfect for the cast iron cookery and it even works for re-arranging the logs in the fire. It's that good. 

See?

Of course I don't recommend it for anything other than its intended purpose. Just telling you what I did with it. And what I will continue to do with it on all future camping trips.

Anyhoo, we had planned two full days in Blue Lake. The first was spent exploring the park and its surroundings, and much of the second was spent swimming in the beautiful, very clear water that bordered the long, long, sandy beach. 

The staff was impressive (even if they couldn't find my electrical outlet). They tried hard, were eager to please and friendly. Probably the top park staff we encountered on our 3-week adventure.

Recommend Blue Lake very highly if you're planning a little vacation. It's about 3 to 3.5 hours from Winnipeg. A little further from Toronto. But worth the visit either way.

Have a great Wednesday.

Vacation v.1.5

So, where was I?

Oh yeah, first night camping at Blue Lake Provincial Park in our new trailer.

It rained. It rained, it rained, it rained and it rained some more. The news folks on the radio the next morning used the word "torrential." I think the area got around 45 mm over night. That's about 1.75 inches. It's a lot of rain.

And I learned that sleeping in our new tent trailer was kinda like sleeping in a tin can, or maybe a drum, when it comes to raindrops and noise. It was noisy. It was never-ending. Oh, and it was dark too.

It was the kind of dark in which you can not see your hand in front of your face. And for two boys, ages 6 and 4, that can be a little frightening, when you're sleeping inside of a drum for the first time.

"Dad . . . DAD . . . I think I'm lost," Sonwun said, as we was pounded out of his sleep at about 1 a.m. He wasn't panicked or anything, but he was a little nervous. You could hear it in his voice. He just needed to know, basically, where he was and that he wasn't alone.

Okay, lights on, switch sleeping arrangements up. Me with Sonwun, Sontoo with Neomom. And it rained, and it rained and it rained . . . And, not lying, I actually dreamed the Red Cross showed up to move us to higher ground. Weird, I know.

But when dawn arrived, we were dry. Our beds were dry. Our clothes were dry. Yeah, we were tired as no one had slept much, at all. But we were dry and tired. Glass was half full. And we still had a little less than three weeks to go in our little road trip adventure.

Anyhoo, last time I think I mentioned that we couldn't find the electrical supply at our campsite. Upon arrival, we searched and we search. Parks staff searched. More parks staff searched. The closest one anyone could find would have taken at least two extension cords to reach.

We were assured by parks staff that, yup, that appeared to be the one we were supposed to use. And yup, sucks that it's so far away. And yup, we can rent you an extension cord for a small fee.

Wasn't happy with this. Rented an electrical site. Didn't want to have to rent a third extension cord to use the electricity within our electrical site.

And, without belabouring the point, eventually, the following day, another parks guy showed up and found the one we were actually supposed to use, buried in the trees. Now we had power, we had music, we had our own source of coffee. All was well.

So, that was night one, half day one of our 3-week vacation. 

More later.

So, in spite of the negatives, I am happy to report a very positive positive. Before we tucked in to sleep the first night, we met "Lynn" and her husband at a nearby campsite. Unfortunately, they had to leave the next day and they did so while we were exploring the campgrounds. But we returned to our site to find their leftover (dry) firewood and a bubble gun (yes spelled correctly) for the boys. A really beautiful gesture from someone we barely met. Thanks Lynn, of Oakbank, MB. The boys loved it!

What I did on my Summer Vacation

Good morning. 5:42 a.m.

The minions sleep. I am awake. 

So, I think I promised to write more about my vacation. Funny thing though. When you're out there, enjoying, relaxing, experiencing . . . you can't wait to write this stuff down, to share it. Then you get home. The rut is still there. The nuance of the experience seems to fade rather quickly. Didn't expect that.

But I'll do my best.

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION

The fun officially began July 15. Neomom had worked the night shift and we would hit the road when she awoke. This day was the culmination of about two weeks of list-making, shopping, packing, repacking, shopping again, list-scrapping and list remaking. And then packing some more. It was the first time we would camp in our new pop-up trailer. It was the first time I would ever really pull a trailer with the minivan. We were heading out for three long weeks. It was a little daunting.

But it was summer vacation. Temperatures had been holding near 30C (86F) for about three weeks now and we were looking forward to a whole lot of carefree sunshine, swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking . . . 

And so, when Neomom awoke, we headed out, in the worst rainstorm we'd seen all summer. Did I mention this was my first time pulling a 1,500-pound trailer? On the highway, with lots of water. And cars and trucks.

Fortunately, our first destination was Blue Lake Provincial Park, near Vermillion Bay, Ontario. It's a little east of Kenora, which is a little east of the Ontario/Manitoba border. Google Maps told me it was only about 400 km and would take about 5 hours. And, after a quick stop at the first of many Tim Hortons on this little journey, we made the trip in around 4 hours.

Now, if you have travelled on Hwy. 17, or on many of the other northern Ontario highways, you will know that most of them have a speed limit of 90 km/h, and most of them offer one lane of traffic in each direction. They are hilly, winding roads and they are beautiful. But passing other vehicles is a bitch.

Every 10 km or so, a passing zone is offered. An extra lane provided, giving the chance for the slow-moving moron in front of you to pull to the right, allowing a nice, comfortable pass on the left. As it should be.

But for whatever reason, almost inevitably, the moron in front of you, who has been slogging along at 88 km/h for the last half hour, suddenly feels the need for speed as he or she enters the passing zone. And when you're pulling a trailer, up hill, with a mini-van, it's not easy to get by a moron, who is suddenly channelling Mario Andretti. And it's a little frustrating when, at the end of the passing zone, the moron's speed, almost inevitably, drops down from 120km/h to the aforementioned 88 km/h.

And that's all I will say about that . . . for now.

Anyhoo, we made it to Blue Lake. The rain let up enough to let us set up camp and conduct a lengthy search for our electrical outlet. We didn't find it. Can't remember whether or not we had time for a fire that night. But I know that, eventually, we tucked ourselves into our tent trailer for a nice cozy sleep after a long, tiring day.

Campsite 1. Blue Lake Provincial Park

And then the real rain started . . .

More later.

Have a great Wednesday.