FAMILY REUNION Pigeon Lake, AB

Wednesday to Sunday. Busy busy time with the Kesslar's in charge.

It was pretty stressful beginnings with the set up and registration as not a lot of help in place at the start.  Assigning rooms was a nightmare as beds had been moved and layouts had changed from when our original 'maps' had been drawn up.

However, we survived and it appeared that fun was had by all.

*Reunion Planning* Beaumont, AB

Michaud acreage (3 nights, Sun to Tues.)
power outlet available

We parked beside Bob home alongside Ed & Marie Schmidt (Bob's sister) to finalise the plans for the Seemann Family Reunion.

We had supper at Jim and Jan's on Sunday and at Larry/Phyllis on Monday eve.  Lots of running around and last minute prep work included photocopying, renting and picking up a supply trailer, then loading up groceries and supplies from Jim and Jan's garage.

Wednesday it was on to Pigeon Lake. Ready or not!

Moose Jaw, SK

Prairie Oasis Campground

Site #2 - $23 p/w, Good Sam price

Temp 18C

We arrived in Moose Jaw mid afternoon.

In the morning we headed out in the rain. The truck seemed to be lacking power so we ended up pulling in to Besant campground where we unhooked and left the 5th wheel then headed back to the Moose Jaw Chrysler dealership.  They replaced the fuel filter. It seemed to work better but there was still some pulsating.

Back at Besant we had lunch in the trailer, hooked up and continued home.

Spruce Woods Prov Pk, Brandon, Man

Kiche Manitou Campground
Site #I-10, $17+$5 park fee, p only (x3)
Free wood

This is a beautiful camp spot. It is a very sandy area throughout the park and the sites were sandy and soft. It took us a few tries to level out and be clear to open the slide.  We were more than ready for that beer!

After supper we biked about the park.

On Saturday, we went to Glenboro for a few groceries and more beer!  We spent the day hiking and biking and had our evening fire.

We did a 7.2 km hike on Sunday to the "Spirit Sand Dunes" and the "Punch Bowl".  It took us approximately 2 hr 20 minutes.  Hiking in the sand is extremely tiring! It's good the weather wasn't too hot.  Still found some energy for more biking.

All but 6 units left on Sunday evening.  We hit the road at 9:30 am Monday.

Kenora, ON

Redden's Trailer Pk
Site #18 - $29 p/w/s buy wood
Temp 23C

This Campground was just off Hwy 17 before reaching Kenora. It's a good camping spot as it is close to the 17A bypass. A nice campground that is close to the lake. There are a lot of "permanents" camped here.

We drove in to Kenora for a few groceries at the Safeway and bought a cooked chicken for supper.

We went for a walk between rain showers. The bugs were so bad that we decided to head in. 

During the night, we awoke to the propane alarm. Figured it must be the bread maker yeast smell. We were back on the highway by 9 a.m. . It was pouring rain through Winnipeg.

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Happyland Campground
Site #47 - $27. p/w/s (Good Sam)
Temp 22C

The bugs were extremely bad here also. We stopped at a amethyst mine along the way. It was not a great idea when pulling an RV.  The road was narrow, very dusty and a high-grade. I didn't particularly enjoy the tour.

The campground had wireless, but I couldn't get on on in the evening for some reason.  I was able to connect in the morning. The same (no arm) camper from last night was also camped in this campground.

Wawa, ON

Wawa RV Resort and Campground
Site #12 - $24. (Good Sam discount) p/w 

wood cost

There were plenty of annoying black flies and mosquitoes in this campground. There were two other Alberta units staying here. We had a fire and sat out until after 10 p.m. Still very bright outside.

We were on the road at 9:30 in the morning.

Sudbury, Ontario

Carol Campground
Site #40 - $21 p/w

We arrived at this campground about 4:30 pm.  It alternated rain and sun. After supper we picked up a few groceries at the Independent Grocery store.

We walked around the campgrounds and we were able to sit outside for a bit in the evening.

Ottawa, ON

Hither Hills Campground
Site #34 - $22. p/w/s (x9)

It was rainy and cool when we arrived in Ottawa. We picked up a few groceries and did a little bit of shopping. In the evening we went to Kim and Greg's for a visit. Tracy and Ella were there. Tracy and Kim went shopping and we visited with Greg. I was able to get a load of laundry done.

On Sunday, Ron and I stumbled across a First Nations museum as drove about Ottawa. They were doing renos, but it was still a good tour and a way to pass some time. We went to Greg and Kim for a shish-kabob supper.

Tracy flew home on Monday and we went to G & K's for lunch. The Tulip Festival was on and we wandered around many displays at the parliament buildings. We went on a bus to the Casino and back. It's it began to rain.

On Tuesday Greg had to work so Ron and I went to the archives building.  I found some old Swift Current Henderson Directories and a listing that showed Dad working at a local downtown cafe. We headed over to the Nortel site later to watch Greg play ball. Kim prepared ribs for supper.

We biked around the Rideau Canal for 20 plus kilometers on Wednesday.  On Thursday Ron took his truck to the dealership for a new transfer pump. 

After lunch we went to G&K's house.  We drove to Quebec side and toured Gatineau Park and Mackenzie King's summer home.

We went to the Museum of Civilization and to the IMAX on Friday. They were showing a great film on the Nile. Very awesome to see it on the Imax screen. That evening we watched a movie

We were at Greg's house by 9:30 and went to the Glebe area Garage Sales. They were blocks and blocks of people participating in this event. We got some beer holders and a lighter. Greg and Kim bought some small baby toys. We had strawberry pancakes for brunch and then fajitas for supper. We were back home by 9:30. 

On Sunday we picked up a few groceries and headed to Greg's after lunch. More biking along the river and we stopped at the market for Beaver tails. We went back to Greg's for supper. I prepared chicken breasts. We played tile rummy until 11:30 and then headed back to the RV. 

We were on the road by 9:30 on Monday morning, but it took us till 10:15 to get out of town by the time we fueled up and made our way through the city. The temp was about 19 C as we Ottawa. We ran into rain as we neared Sudbury area.

Charleston Lake Prov Pk, ON

Site #261 - $33. p only (x2)

This was a beautiful Park but it was way too expensive! Although it was almost empty when we arrived, it was fully reserved for Saturday night -- including the first come first serve sites which doesn't apply long weekends. Not happy re this. We couldn't stay beyond Friday. However, we rode our bikes around the park and enjoyed two nights here.

We toured about the town of Gananoque.

And we spent time doing research at the Gananoque Library and touring the countryside. There was a lady in library who happened to be Geraldine Chase. I had come across her name posting Shook info on the Shook family tree so it was quite a coincidence to meet her. She seemed to be getting a bit forgetful, but she did give us some info re home and grave locations.  We drove to the Pine Grove Cemetery where Pearl was buried and found her grave.  Drove by the old Shook home..

The Campground filled up on Friday night. We had an evening fire but it was cool outside. 

No cancellations, so we left Saturday morning and drove to the Athens (ON not Ohio this time!) graveyard. We found Noah Shook and Mary Ann Townsend's graves.  

We then drove to Plum Hollow Cemetery to see brothers Adam and Phillip Shook's grave. They had married Soper sisters.

And then it was on to Ottawa.