Still Friday . . .

Morning Mist Campground
Site #17 - $29, p/w/s, Temp 30C & MUGGY!!

We were too tired to drive the last 2 hrs. to Ottawa, so decided to stop at a Prov. Pk. Only problem is?? THEY ARE CLOSED!! And you don't know that until you head up the driveway and see the closed gate!! So, we were trying to back out of a very tight spot and we ended up stuck in the soft gravel shoulder (on a downhill !!). No way we were going ANYWHERE~!! (yes, Jim Kesslar, I know what you are saying!! A 4x4 Dodge would do the trick!!)

Well, we are stuck but, no problem, right??  We will just call our "Good Sam" service.  OH YEH !!! NO CELL SERVICE HERE!! Telus doesn't work ANYWHERE in ON!!

Ron stands on the side of the road trying to wave someone down, but of course noone's going to stop! So I make this big sign:  "NEED CELL PHONE TO CALL TOW" and some kind gent pulled over right away!! Before the "Good Sam" people got their truck dispatched, a highway service truck stopped and he provided the tow we needed!

We then drove back 10 min. to a campground we had passed and knew was still open.  We are now having a much needed relaxing evening.

                                             (Ron is on his 3rd beer!! it's been that kind of day!! *smiley*)

We WILL see you tomorrow Greg & Kim.  We would have loved to have been there for Connor's swim class, but, we just won't get to Ottawa & set up in your driveway on time. (Maybe next Sat??? Hope he has a class!!)

It's FRIDAY!!

Lakeside Park, Thessalon, ON
Site #45 - $22, p/w/s, Temp 29C & cloudy

We arrived at Thessalon on the North Channel of Lake Huron around 5 pm.  From this campground you can walk across the street to the beach. It feels very hot & humid to us 'dry country' folk. We sat at the fire until about 10 p.m. when it started to rain. 
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Friday:  It is 1 p.m and we are almost there! But would you believe we ran out of fuel -- just a few km out of Sudbury. We barely got pulled off the highway!! yikes! Luckily Ron carries a jerrycan with some extra!! So we are now stopped in Sudbury for fuel (for the truck AND us!) and we are about 500 km from Ottawa.

The heavy traffic, high winds and driving through the small towns along the way certainly slows the trip down!  It will likely end up taking us another 7 hrs!

We haven't seen a lot of sun the past few days and we are a little early for the fall colours. However, some of the maples are starting to show red. It will be beautiful in another couple weeks.

We are looking forward to meeting Carter and we will be celebrating Connor's birthday on Sunday with friends.  It will be fun!!

Note: The "check engine light' wouldn't go off after fueling up. Ron ended up calling the dealership in Sudbury. He suggested disconnecting the batteries for 2 min. Luckily that did the trick !! Ron was a little concerned something else may be wrong!

Mon, Tues & Wed: humming along . . .

Well, if you can call a diesel "humming' !!!?

Redden's Trailer Park
Site #18 - $30, p/w/s, Temp 21C

We spent Monday night at this campground that we had stayed at 2 yrs. ago.  It is just past Kenora on the lake. We are in the same site even. It was another good travel day except for the last 55 km. THE DREADED CONSTRUCTION!! You think you'll be there in 1/2 hr and then the signs appear. It seems like a LONG stretch at 60 km/hr with stops, and it took well over an hour to travel that last leg!

Anyway, we arrived at 6 pm (local time) and enjoyed another relaxing evening around the fire sipping wine.  And we had a good night's sleep without the trains!
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Tues. Sept 4:
Our goal was to go beyond Thunder Bay to Rossport area at the northern tip of Lake Superior. However, once again we were slowed down for road work.  As in stopped and/or reduced speeds. One section was completely stripped down to the gravel. This seems strange on the #1 Hwy! For the most part and in our favour, the traffic is light. In fact we've commented that at times it seems like we are the only ones on the road!

So it was a gruelling trip but we made it to Rossport.  Driving 9am to 6pm is just about too much for us old folks!! We didn't make good time with all the road work and then the traffic picked up considerably after Thunder Bay. Also, we ran in to some pretty thick fog just before we stopped for the night. Very scary!! (Glad it wasn't dark yet!) We hit a bird - a large yellow one, so felt bad about that! and we got a stone in the windshield, damn!! We'll take it a little easier the next couple of days!
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Rossport Campground
Site #E2 - $29, p only, Temp 18C & cloudy

Once again, Rossport was a beautiful camping spot. It provides such a picturesque view of Lake Superior and there's the soothing sound of the waves lapping on the beach -- Love it!!  And then the TRAIN rolls by AGAIN!! What a way to ruin perfection!

We enjoyed another campfire but it was early to bed.  We are trying to adjust to the time change. We were so tired and slept so well that we didn't even hear the trains through the night! There was more fog when we left at 9 a.m.

Night at Grenfell, SK

Grenfell Regional Park

Site #1 - $15, p only

We made pretty good time today and drove until 7 p.m. In Ron's words: "It is so nice not to be driving in the wind." That was the deciding factor to keep going!  The trip went pretty quick for me. I worked on the computer most of the way -- getting caught up with my 'scrapbooking" or my digital photo albums. I hadn't worked on them all summer.  And then we arrived in Grenfell.

It's a good thing we don't speed.  There were 3 cop cars sitting in the ditch between Regina and Grenfell. Guess they were picking up all the speeders heading home after the long weekend!

This is a decent little campground. We pulled in to a drive through site that was completely level and it even had  a box of wood sitting by the firepit for us. Nice welcome!!  It was almost too good to be true. And, yes it was !!! There were TRAINS!! ALL NIGHT LONG!

Anyway, it was a beautiful evening.  We hadn't anticipated that we'd have any fires along the way -- and we may even do some Walmart parking lots, but it was nice to relax here last night.

I didn't sleep well, but Ron seemed okay with the trains. He said "there were only 2 through the night".  I said if that is all you heard, you were lucky!! There were at least 6 !

We were on the road by 8:45 am.  Tonight we'll make Kenora or beyond. The wind is coming straight at us today, so it's not smooth sailing like yesterday.

Fall 2007 - Ottawa & USA

Well, we did it... all packed and ready to hit the road....  We are getting away a day early as Ron's team had to cancel tonight's windup for lack of caterers on this holiday Monday!!! They'll get together tomorrow night, but we don't want to stay the extra day...

so we'll be in touch along the road when we can...  We hope to be in Ottawa by Saturday for a week to 10 days.... (if Greg & Kim will have us that long)... we should be able to park in his driveway as it is long enough to accommodate us.... so that will be nice!

and then from Ottawa to to states etc. and take our time home...

Probably won't get home until mid October...
anyway... must go...

Wedding Bells, Calgary, AB

Calgary West Campground
Site #407 - $29 (x3), p/w, Internet

We arrived Friday. After setting up we headed shopping for shoes and corn!

The "I Do's" were Saturday morning.  It was a lovely wedding in a really nice wedding pavilion just five minutes from the campground. There was light lunch and cake after the ceremony.





Bob and Marilyn came back to the campground and the evening reception/dinner was held at the Hotel.  We met back at the Hotel on Sunday morning for breakfast.

On Monday morning we dropped off my camera at the Canon Shop for repairs before heading home.  Lanny Church was the hired photographer for Deb's wedding and we ran in to him again at the Canon Shop!!  What are the chances after all these years. (Note: The Church family lived across from us on Ashley Drive when we were growing up!)

Hwy 41 near Hilda, AB

Sandy Point Campground, S SK River
Site #? - $5, n/s, Temp 30C+, no cell except from top of hill

Again, it was VERY HOT.  Also? Bugs!! Sandflies, mosquitoes and blackflies. Between the bugs and the heat, our stay wasn't great.  We ended up using the fan with the inverter for night two which helped with sleeping somewhat.

Although we were parked on the river, it wasn't easy to get down to it from our site plus the shore was rock and mud.  Anyway, we stuck it out two nights though it was not the best camping experience.

Curling at Bindloss, AB!

Thursday - Saturday:  We arrived with 5th wheel at the Fieldberg farm at 2 pm on Thursday and we parked on a cement pad in front of garage. Thankfully there was power was available!  It was HOT HOT at 35-40C and we ran the air conditioner.

The Fieldberg's daughter and young son live on the farm and were around during our stay.  She is a distributor for some oil field products and raises chickens on the farm.

The spiel was at the Empress Curling Club and Hills and us played at 7 pm. Ack! the ice was HORRIBLE.  It was very slippery underfoot and yet heavy for the rocks. We looked like real amateurs out there slip sliding everywhere!  The Fieldbergs/Elders curled at 9 pm and both of us lost our first games.  We were back at the farm at midnight.  Nightcap and bed 2 am!

On Friday the guys went fishing and the ladies played cards. We also headed to Tish and Harold's son's place and met their family.

Dinner was chili and salads. We didn't play again until Sat. at 2, but we headed to the rink to watch the Fieldberg's 9 pm game.



We had breakfast in town on Saturday and watched the town parade.



Three Medicine Hat teams ended up in the "C" Finals and we decided to split the winnings 3 ways and we said our goodbyes on Sunday morning.

Good to be Home!

It was a very windy wet drive home. We considered pulling in to a Walmart parking lot and spending the night as it's not easy driving in those head & side winds!! Anyway, made it home and didn't unpack any more than we had to in the pouring rain. Everything certainly looks green and lush around here though!!

Our home seemed pretty big after the month of trailer life !!  The best part was the long soak in the jet tub!! Now our 5th wheel is back in the compound and I am just finishing up the last of the laundry. Ron's checking out the ball schedule.

That's all for this trip. We'll pick up Greg & family in Calgary at 10 a.m. Saturday.

south of Pincher Creek, AB

Beauvis Lake Prov Pk
Site #6 - $18, p only, Temp 23C

The weather was good, so we decided on one more night of camping south of Pincher.  This campground is nice, but the sites are quite close together and a bit open.

We set up, had a beer and went for a quick bike ride.  There were thunderstorms developing all around us and it began to rain during supper hour.  It was over by 6:30 when we were done our perogies and sausage, so we went for another bike ride and then had an evening campfire.

It rained on and off through the night and we made use of the heater.  It was raining lightly when we left in the am.

At any rate, we were able to see a bit of the area. It's really a very pretty area of the province. I can see why people would be enticed to move to this area.  There are some really nice acreages in the area.  And now, we are homeward bound!