SCAMPERING AROUND THE BACK ROADS OF THE BRUCE

(Kelly worked a little magic on her Blackberry today & our internet signal improved so I will try publishing tonight’s post with it.  If it doesn’t work I will post the blog sometime hopefully Thursday morning.  This is Wednesdays post)  This is coming to you from the back of the Jeep in front of the Tobermory Public Library Thursday June 5th at 10:40 a.m.

MORNING’S GOLDEN SUNRISE IS CAUGHT IN THE BABBLING WATERS OF THIS MEANDERING CREEK

First night in the rig went very well.  No problem to easily make the couch into the most comfortable RV bed we have ever had.  Using the same piece of quality foam I had in the Winnie I unrolled it on the bed & slept like a log.  Pheebs curled up in the leather tub chair but was beside me when I woke up.  Didn’t have to put the furnace on till this morning for a bit to take the chill off.  How nice to open our curtains & see a great big view going on outside.  Sunlight tickling the tops of Island trees a couple miles out in Myles Bay to the West.  Clear skies overhead with Seagulls swooping low over the water’s edge out over the lake.  A mighty fine way to start another day.

  

MORNING WALK ALONG THE BEACH

The Celtic camp bus driver had told us where to find a Beaver dam on one of the woodsy trails through the thick forest behind the beach.  We set off on our morning walk to find it.  How nice to be hiking along on a new trail.  Forest was thick with Cedar trees but the trail was in good shape.  We walked maybe a mile but did not find the Beaver’s lodge.  Found a nice inland lake but no Beavers.  Many birds in the trees & out of a dozen or so sounds I only recognized maybe 3 of them.  We are in the land of Loons & I did think I heard a faint weeble out on one of the nearby inland lakes.

 

WE NEVER DID FIND THE BEAVER DAM BUT I HAVE A FEELING WE WERE CLOSE

Why I did not end up with 2 very smashed Nikon cameras & lenses this morning I have no idea.  Just an unusual piece of luck.  It all started while loading the Jeep for a day trip around the area.  Tried carrying too much out to the Jeep at once.  Jeep was locked so set my 2 camera’s on the passenger side of the Jeeps hood.  Put the sack of egg salad sandwiches, maps, magnifying glass & my laptop computer in the Jeep, went back & locked the rig.  Ooops forgot my sunglasses which were in the coach but now we had a problem.  I could not get the rig’s door unlocked.  Kelly tried, I tried again but the key we had used to lock the rig while on our morning walk would not open the door.  Now we were locked out of our mobile house!!  Thinking of how to get into the rig I remembered I had left a living room window open.  I’ll just have to get a ladder out of the bin, climb up & punch a hole through the screen.  I was walking around the front of the rig to see how high up the window screen was when I walked past the driver’s door.  Driver’s door!!  Aha, a light bulb moment.  I did have a key for the drivers door on the rig’s key ring.  Presto, I unlocked the drivers door & crawled up inside to unlock the side door.  Oh thank heavens for that driver’s door.  A driver’s door was one of the things I was wanting when we were looking for another rig & this morning it paid off.

 

We decided to deal with the locking door problem when we returned so we jumped in the Jeep & off we went.  Have I forgot about anything??  Hmmmmmm.  Traveled about half a mile on a gently twisting gravel road to the highway.  Made a left turn & accelerated north up Stokes Bay road heading into Stokes Bay.  Had gone about half a mile when something caught my eye fluttering up by the windshield wiper on the passenger side of the Jeep.  We both saw it at the same time.  Holy Crap there were both my cameras still clinging to the hood of the Jeep.  First impulse was to get on the brakes but luckily I didn’t follow that impulse.  Braking would have slid the cameras forward on the hood, over the edge & down on the road where I would have promptly driven over them.  Very slowly slowed down to a gradual stop right on the highway expecting the cameras to disappear any second off the edge of the hood.  Kelly quickly jumped out & retrieved both Nikons.  Just an absolute sheer piece of luck both those cameras hadn’t slid off the hood when I made the left turn onto the highway.  Good thing I didn’t have that hood waxed to a slippery high sheen.  Talk about a mixed bag of feelings.  Sooooo mad at myself for making such a stupid mistake yet so happy & relieved my cameras were not lying on the road all broke to pieces.  Nearly lost one of my cameras about 4 years ago the same way but vowed at that time to never set a camera on a vehicle again.  Well there ya go………………………

THIS MORNING’S GEORGIAN BAY COASTLINE JUST NORTH OF LION’S HEAD

Our Blackberry internet is too weak for me to post my blog so we drove into the town of LION'S HEAD looking for a Wifi spot like maybe a Library.  Spotted RACHEL'S BAKERY & CAFE with Wifi right on main street so in we went.  Fired up our laptops & connected.  Each grabbed a coffee & split a Blueberry muffin.  Minutes later I was able to publish Tuesday’s post.  A little drive around the town of Lions Head & down around the harbor & marina.  Lions Head is probably the biggest small town on the Peninsula.  Many quaint & artsy homes & the town has a nice Mayberry feel to it.  Hopefully over the summer we will spend more time in the area & I can show you more of what this rustic & folksy area has to offer.  Hope Bay, Cape Chin, Dyers Bay, Cape Crocker, Colpoys Bay & the list goes on.  

 

RACHEL’S BAKERY & 50’S STYLE CAFE

LION’S HEAD MARINA

With map in hand plus a bunch of written notes we headed off on a bunch of winding twisty back roads snaking our way through heavy forests of Cedars, Pines, & hardwood trees.  We were curious to see what small properties were selling for on the Bruce.  Properties, not houses.  Looking for & finding properties for sale is a bit like Geocaching.  Directions off real-estate sites on the internet can be a challenge sometimes so it is always kind of fun trying to find what it is one is looking for.  We did manage to locate 6 out of 8 props.  Nothing of interest but we sure did get ourselves around a lot of scenic back roads. 

We were back to the rig by 1 p.m. & sorted out the locked door problem.  Just had to do with a mix-up in keys but that’s what shake down cruises are for……getting the bugs worked out & getting comfortable with our new to us rig:))

 

YEP THAT’S OUR RIG ACROSS THE BAY

We plan to Jeep ourselves up around the TOBERMORY area in the morning.  We will maybe drop into CYPRESS LAKE NATIONAL PARK as well.  We have camped here before but it was many years ago.  It was also at Cypress Lake back about 1991 when I was with a photo group in my Dodge camper van that 2 Bears rocked my rig as they hastily made their way through my campsite after destroying a fellow photo students tent looking for food.  I think I wrote a post about that a few years back.

We again spent our afternoon in relax mode just taking in all the beauty Mother Nature was again sending our way.  An early evening stroll along the beach with placid waters lapping at our feet rounded off another great day in another great way.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Bill and Doug went into a diner that looked as though it had seen better days. As they slid in a booth, Bill wiped some crumbs from the seat. Then he took a napkin and wiped some moisture from the table.
The waitress came over and asked if they wanted some menus.  "No thanks," said Doug. "I'll just have a cup of black coffee."  "I'll have black coffee too," Bill said. "And please make sure the cup is clean."  The waitress shot him a nasty look. She turned and marched off into the kitchen. Two minutes later, she was back.  "Two cups of black coffee," she announced. "Which one of you wanted the clean cup?"

BOONDOCKED ON THE BRUCE PENINSULA ALONGSIDE THE 3RD LARGEST FRESH WATER LAKE IN THE WORLD……'WOW’ :))

(This is Monday June 3rd’s post.  We have internet but not a strong enough signal to publish my post.  While on our explorations over the next few days I will watch for a WiFi hot spot to publish this)

Checking our live weather radar first thing this morning we saw the rain front had missed us & moved East.  Despite ominous looking skies we loaded up the last of our stuff.  Seems strange heading off somewhere with two thirds of our bins empty.  Hooked up the Jeep & we had the big wheels rolling by 9:35 a.m.

I had already picked out a nice traffic free scenic paved back roads route between Bayfield & the Bruce Peninsula & how nice it was on this beautiful early June morning just rolling leisurely through our southwestern rural country side.  Cloud shadows & sun splashes danced around us frolicking like happy little children dancing down the road ahead of us.  It all added to the magic of the morning.

 

TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY ON THE BACK ROADS:))

Rolled through the little whistle-stops of Ben Miller, Carlow, Dungannon, Lucknow, Hollyrood, Kinloss, Glammis, Paisley, Dobbington, Tara, Allenford & Avenly.  Most of these places just consisted of maybe a few houses.  A stop in the village of Hepworth netted us a couple Tim Horton coffees, a leg stretch & a doggy walk.

 

PHEEBS WATCHES FOR MOM & HERE SHE COMES NOW

Rolled right on through Wiarton Ontario which is known as the gateway to the Bruce.  Our destination was the Stokes Bay area about half way up the Peninsula.  Marianne from FRUGAL-RV-TRAVEL.COM had tipped us off on a possible boondocking site at Black Creek Provincial Park.  We had never heard of this place before & no wonder.  There are no signs anywhere telling one where it is.  We looked hard, were close, but it wasn’t until we stopped & asked a fellow that we found it at the end of a ‘no exit’ road.  Nice big beach here but no camping facilities.  Just a big turn around area & it is in that big turn around area where we are tonight.  Again a big thanks to Marianne for clueing us into this spot.

WE KNOW BLACK CREEK IS AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE

 

HAD A HARD TIME FINDING IT BUT AT LAST WE WERE THERE

OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT……MAYBE LONGER

The drive from Bayfield to the Black Creek Provincial took us a little over 3 hours.  We are parked about 50 yards from the shoreline of Lake Huron.  White caps out on the bay are being chased inland by gusting winds coming in across the open  waters.  What a welcome change in temperature for us.  We had to scramble into our warm duds.  My biggest fear had been a hot & humid day but we needn’t have worried.  In fact we might even have to kick the furnace on a tad tonight.  Give me cooler weather any day:))

VIEW FROM OUR SIDE DOOR LOOKING WEST

I was again soooooo pleased at how sweetly quiet & smooth this Triple E Commander drove today.  Despite heavy wind gusts we stayed the course & I think that is a combination of the Bilstein shocks, bigger 22.5 tires, rear air bags, & anti-sway equipment installed on the coach.  Just so happily satisfied with this rig’s overall road handling capabilities.

 

Upon arriving at our secluded little spot alongside scenic Lake Huron we just kinda walked around with happy faces as we easily deployed a couple leveling jacks & configured the stationary coach  Unlike the Damon there was no chairs to move or tables to set up etc.  Just pop the 2 slides out, sit down, put our feet up & relax.  We again marveled at all the windows & how bright & cheery our roomy interior space was.  Even our side door’s window is clear & not frosted.  A blind can be deployed at night to cover it.   We could also walk around again without bumping into each other, no ducking down to enter the front driver/passenger area & lots of room on the couch for all three of us.  Kelly rustled up some grub & how nice to have a table to sit at again after about 5 years without one.  And in this coach the engine temperature while driving heats the hot water tank somehow so when we get to where we are going we already have hot water without the use of propane.  So nice to be back in a Class A again.  Are we happy campers??  Ya dam right we are:))))))))))))))))

A school bus rolled in mid afternoon with a bunch of kids from a Celtic camp not far from here.  It’s a 3 day adventure for school kids around the area to experience the outdoors.  We watched as the organizers loaded a bunch in Kayaks & headed out into Myles Bay.  Others grouped up for a Yoga session on the beach while some just hung out around a few picnic tables.  A well behaved group.  Nice to see.

HAPPY CAMPERS:))

 

AND PHEEBS HAS LOTS OF ROOM TO PLAY WITH HER TOYS NOW

 

KELLY SNAPPED THIS ONE OF PHEEBS CHECKING OUT THE SCENERY 

A school bus rolled in mid afternoon with a bunch of kids from a Celtic camp not far from here.  It’s a 3 day adventure for school kids around the area to experience the outdoors.  We watched as the organizers loaded a bunch in Kayaks & headed out into Myles Bay.  Others grouped up for a Yoga session on the beach while others just hung out around some picnic tables.  A well behaved group.  Nice to see.

    

AND YEP ONE OF THEM DUMPED THEIR KAYAK….CAN YOU SAY ‘ICY COLD WATER’

 

EXERCISES ON THE BEACH

Other than a short walk along the windy shoreline we pretty much hung around the rig.  It was just nice to sit back, relax & take in the great Lake Huron shore stretched out before us.  Quite a change from our Arizona desert scenery.  I worked away at my post & edited another batch of photos.  Kelly caught up on her reading.  Soothing ambient music on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Our heavy cloud cover cleared by late afternoon taking with them the gusting winds.  Nice to soak up a little sunshine without all that oppressive heat & humidity.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Senior Ads seen in a Florida newspaper.....…………..

MINT CONDITION:  Male, 1932 model , high mileage, good condition, some hair, many new parts including hip, knee, cornea, valves. Isn't in running condition, but walks well.
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LONG-TERM COMMITMENT: Recent widow who has just buried fourth husband, looking for someone to round out a six-unit plot.  Dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath not a problem.
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SERENITY NOW:I am into solitude, long walks, sunrises, the ocean, yoga and meditation. If you are the silent type, let's get together, take our hearing aids out and enjoy quiet times.

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WINNING SMILE: Active grandmother with original teeth seeking a dedicated flosser to share rare steaks, corn on the cob and caramel candy.

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BEATLES OR STONES? I still like to rock, still like to cruise in my Camaro on Saturday nights and still like to play the guitar. If you were a groovy chick, or are now a groovy hen, let's get together and listen to my eight-track tapes.

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MEMORIES:  I can usually remember Monday through Thursday. If you can remember Friday, Saturday and Sunday, let's put our two heads together.
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FOXY LADY:Sexy, fashion-conscious blue-haired beauty, 80's, slim, 5'4' (used to be 5'6'), searching for sharp-looking, sharp-dressing companion. Matching white shoes and belt a plus.

HOPING TO ROLL OUT IN THE MORNING BUT WE’RE KEEPING A WARY EYE ON AN UNSTABLE WEATHER FRONT APPROACHING

Mosquitos were upon us on our morning walk, humidity built up & we had light rains coming down before 10.  Great for our little patch of backyard grass seed.  Rains only lasted about 15 minutes & sunshine returned for the remainder of the day. But ooooh, the humidity was totally dreadful.

I am still very much enjoying the Sunday evening COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY series.  Very educational, entertaining & well done.  Quality television in my opinion.  Also liked CNN's first episode of THE SIXTIES which aired this past Thursday night.  Also looks well done & I'm looking forward to catching the whole series.  Love re-living all those great old memories. They are mostly all good memories now but at the time I never would have guessed  I would one day consider many of them someday as great old memories. It was just the way it was.

KELLY IS BATHED IN SUNLIGHT COMING THROUGH THE RIGS SKYLIGHT WHILE SHE POURS OVER ONE OF THE ONBOARD MANUALS >>>

Using her Blackberry Kelly hooked us up for a month with 2 Gigs of internet service through Bell Mobility.  That means we will have a an internet connection while traveling.  Times sure have changed since we first started our RV journeys back in the Fall of 06.  At that time we usually had to search out a town's library hoping they had internet connections.  From there we moved to a cumbersome satellite system & lugged us around a big satellite dish & tri-pod.  That system didn't even last a year & it was problematic.  Oh how happy we were to switch over to Verizon’s air card technology way of doing things.  I remember in the early days thinking how nice it would be to have an internet connection while driving down the road although I couldn't see how that was possible.  But that's exactly what happened & we've had mobile internet for about the past 4 or 5 years now.  Technology is great when it works & especially great for people who have eagle eye vision to see those tiny little miniscule numbers & letters on screens about the size of a large postage stamp.  For me, I like stuff billboard size.

 

Today's heavy humidity finally drove us both indoors by noon to seek refuge in our refreshingly cool air conditioning.  Kelly busied herself fixin food for our upcoming venture up to the Bruce Peninsula.  I parked myself in front of our tower fan & watched a great biography on Johnny Carson.  I found it very moving & so much identified with the private side of that man's life.

THESE LOVELY GROUND COVERING BACKYARD FLOWERS ARE CROWDING OUT OUR PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS

  

We have been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast for this coming week so it looks like we may very well roll out in the morning.  If it turns out to be raining we will probably just hold off until we have dry roads & clear weather.  Not sure how my blog posting will go using the 2 Gig Blackberry idea but I guess we will find out.  I may be forced to cut way back on my photos.  We'll see.  If you don't hear from us for a couple days, not to worry because it probably just means we are having some internet issues way up there on the Bruce.  Some may have noticed the mention of Rattlesnakes in our Shout Box.  That’s my first cousin Norma & husband Jim way over there in that Waterloo town.  Hi Guys:))  Yes, Ontario does have Rattlesnakes in a few areas with the Bruce Peninsula being one of them.  The type of snakes we have here are called  EASTERN MASSASAUGA RATTLESNAKES & they are the only poisonous snakes we have in the Province.  This link is from a newspaper article with the heading, ‘‘Unusual’ number of snake bites in Ontario this summer, official says’.  Oh Dear:((

GROANER'S CORNER:((  While vacationing in Alaska, I couldn't help but notice all the warnings about bears posted in campgrounds, visitors' centers and rest areas advising people not to feed the bears, how to avoid bears, what to do if a bear sees you, what to do if a bear attacks, and so on.  My favorite, however, was a hand-lettered sign on the door of a small gas station in a remote area. It said: "Warning! If you are being chased by a bear, don't come in here!"

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Last summer my wife and I met a couple who were friends of my wife at a restaurant. After lunch, the women decided to go shopping, and I invited the man to go sailing. While we were out on the water, a storm blew up. The tide had gone out, and we were down wind trying to work our way back through a narrow channel. At one point the boat grounded and we had to climb overboard and shove with all our might to get it back in deep water. As my new friend stood there, ankle deep in muck, the wind blowing his hair wildly, rain streaming down his face, he grinned at me, and with unmistakable sincerity said, "Sure beats shopping." -  'RIGHT ON':))

BUSTLING ABOUT LOADING THE BIG EEE TODAY & MIKE HAS FIRED UP HIS BLOG UP AGAIN…..YAAAAY MIKE:))))))))

Majority of our Sunday was spent flitting, twitting, & bustling about around our Motorhome.  Clothes loaded up, etc.  Took on some fresh water & ran through some of the system checks again.  We're slowly getting there.  Hauled my self up onto the roof of the coach & installed a Sirius Satellite Radio antennae so now we are wired for good music.  While up there I cleaned all 4 dusty solar panels too.  Monday is calling for rain so I'm hoping maybe we can roll out of here either Tuesday or Wednesday morning.  This will be our shakedown cruise with the Triple E.   

WE SEEM TO HAVE SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF WILDFLOWERS COMING UP THIS YEAR INCLUDING THIS ONE WHICH MIGHT BE A KIND OF ‘JACK IN THE PULPIT’ >>>

Our destination will be somewhere on the Bruce Peninsula but not sure just where yet.  Thanks to an email from Marianne at FRUGAL-RV-TRAVEL.COM we do have some viable boondocking sites to check out.  We will spend 4 or 5 days up there doing a lot of exploring around orienting ourselves for future ideas & travels in that region.  We know from past trips to the Bruce many years ago that this is the area in Ontario best suited for us to spend time & travel in.  Maybe no tall mountains on the Bruce but it sure has a lot of scenic coast line complete with lighthouses, harbors, inlets, bays, outer Islands & genuine shipwrecks.   Looking forward to an actively exciting summer much different than our past bunch of summers.  I just love it when the winds of change are blowing:)) (And a big thank you again Marianne for putting this boondocking info together for us on such a short notice….appreciate it:))

 Saturday night I was just minutes away from publishing my post when I clicked on a photo to move it & my entire post vanished in a split second again.  This is the 4th time in the past 3 weeks this has unexplainably happened.  So discouraging.  I took Pheebs for a walk to get myself settled down.  Luckily I had typed the entire post in an email form first so just re-copied & pasted it back into Live Writer.  Had to start over adding all the pics again though.  I have no idea why my posts suddenly vanish & I do not think it has anything to do with auto-save or my own clicking of the 'Save' button as I go along.  When the post vanishes it usually does so in the final stages of my post's completion.  With one click of the mouse & 'Poof' it is totally gone.  Nothing saved.  Only recourse is to start over:((

And yes I did have my numbers wrong in Saturday's post regarding the mileage & travel time to Tobermory Ontario from Bayfield.  My numbers were mistakenly based on the town of Wiarton & I may have had some kilometers mixed up with some miles.  I have since corrected the numbers & corrected the destination.  Thanks to CLARK RAMBLING for bringing this mistake to my attention:))

How nice it was tonight when I clicked on my sidebar & saw Mike McFall had started his blog again.  I would occasionally catch a few things here & there on Mike’s Facebook page & have always been hoping he would fire up his blog & re-join the rest of us RV blog characters out here in the Blogospere again.  And now he has.  Yaaaaaay Mike:))  MIKE & PAT'S TRAVELS

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Two youngsters were closely examining bathroom scales on display at the department store.  "Have you ever seen one of these before?" one asked.  "Yeah, my mom and dad have one," the other replied.  "What's it for?" asked the first boy.  "I don't know," the second boy answered. "I think you stand on it and it makes you mad."

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In the men's room at work, the Boss had placed a sign directly above the sink. It had a single word on it -- "Think!"  The next day, when he went to the men's room, he looked at the sign and right below, immediately above the soap dispenser, someone had carefully lettered another sign which read -- "Thoap!"