OUR TRAVEL TALKS ARE BACK ON AND WE HAVE BOTH FINALLY AGREED ON A DESTINATION THIS WINTER:))

YES PHEEBS AND I SURE DO ENJOY OUR RURAL COUNTRY ROADS AROUND HERE ALIGHT:))

Without any significantly good rainfalls for a long time now things are drying up.  Some of our lush green ferns have already turned brown and died.  Several of our ground covers are wilted and shrinking up, various leafy plants are droopy, and green lawn grasses are also turning brown and brittle.  No sign of any positive rain in the near future and our days are heating up again.  Our pine forest is very dry and a tinderbox.

LOOKS LIKE HURON COUNTIES WHEAT HARVEST IS BEGINNING

I LIKE WHEN FARMERS GET AWAY FROM THEIR RECTANGLE FIELDS AND THROW A FEW CURVES IN

BEEN NOTICING A LOT OF WHEAT FIELDS THIS YEAR

THIS FARMER IS CUTTING GRASS FOR HAY

AND I WOULD SAY THIS FARMER IS A DEDICATED ALLIS-CHALMERS GUY

With a coffee in hand from Bayfield’s Shop Bike Coffee Roasters and a new box of Graham Crackers from Foodland stashed safely away under my drivers seat Pheebs and I were off out into the countryside.  Our travels took us down around the small town of Zurich this morning.

CORN’S UP ABOUT FOUR FEET

LOOKING WEST ACROSS A BEAN FIELD

LOOKING EAST ACROSS ANOTHER BEAN FIELD

JUST LOOKING

WON’T BE LONG AND THESE AREA CORN STALKS WILL BE SIX AND SEVEN FEET TALL

It was a nice sunny Tuesday morning with a refreshing breeze in off the lake.  Thought we’d take a chance on another forest walk so headed for the Klopp Tract east of Zurich.  With each day getting warmer I wasn’t sure if the Deer Flies and Mosquitoes were back in the air again or not.

THERE ARE ALWAYS A VARIETY OFFLOWERS IN BLOOM AT THIS COMMUNITY REST AREA ALONGSIDE THE ROAD

Parked the Jeep and slipped into the coolness of the forest and noticed the pleasant absence of flying insects right away.  Bonus.  Well it was not long lived and our presence was soon detected by a waiting armada of Mosquitoes.  No Deer flies just mosquitoes.  We could have turned and headed back to the Jeep but decided to to do the whole loop trail anyway.  So with arms swinging like windmill blades in a Typhoon we forged ahead at a brisk clip.  Didn’t take many photos because every time we stopped I got swarmed.  But here’s the upside of our trek through the woods.  Walking as fast as I did it was the best possible exercise for my aging arthritic legs and I was glad we decided to go all way around the loop trail.

ALWAYS NICE TO FIND A BIT OF SHADE TO PARK IN ON THESE HOT SUNNY DAYS

EVERY TIME I SLOWED DOWN ENOUGH TO SNAP A PHOTO THE MOSQUITOES GOT ME

MOSSY SHADOWS

THE BLUE DOTS ARE DAPPLES OF SKYLIGHT PEEKING DOWN THROUGH THE TALL THICK LEAF CANOPY OVERHEAD

NORMALLY THERE WOULD BE WATER IN THIS SWAMPY AREA BUT NOT THIS YEAR

<<< ANOTHER HOBBIT HOUSE IN THE FOREST

Heat and humidity were building so with windows down and the A/C keeping us cool we wandered a half dozen more country roads on our long round about way home.  Just so nice to be out and about in the freedom of our wide open rural countryside here in southwestern Ontario.  So many back road opportunities to go to so many varied places.  We are definitely in the right area for the things we like to do.

SPOTTED THIS FAMILY ENJOYING THEIR MORNING ABOUT HALF A MILE EAST OF OUR PARK AT THE WINDMILL LAKE WAKE AND ECO PARK

Well I had a very pleasant uplifting surprise later in the morning today.  Kelly her very self brought up the subject of this upcoming winter’s travels and I was so glad to hear we had finally landed on the same page.   Oh how nice it was to feel that early twinge of excitement stirring again and that little bit of hitch itch to go right along with it.  How nice to get all that indecision behind us finally.  Been awhile since I’ve felt that.  I have already written numerous times about our same old-same old south-west destinations and although we have not given up on them we have decided to first head for an area we have often talked about, an area we have never been before and where many other RV’ers have travelled and loved it.  We realistically understand we may very well be down to our last few remaining RV years.  We agreed if we don’t make the effort this Autumn to head for the Great American Northwest we are likely never going to see it.  Our aging Motorhome is still in good shape and despite a few medical issues with the occupants we’re not in too bad a shape ourselves, considering.  Yes that could turn on a dime but we’re basing our plans on how we feel right now and hope to feel for the foreseeable future.  We hope to finally dip our toes and paws into the Pacific Ocean somewhere in Oregon.  Now I caution, these 2018-19 travel plans could flip upside down at any time between now and then but if it all holds together we could be looking at a departure date sometime in September to take advantage of the better weather in the northwest States before winter sets in out there.  From the northwest we will probably flip around down through the southwest to many of our old favorite spots before pointing the nose for home possibly for the last time.  If all goes well and we still have a couple dollars left then next year at this time we may very well plan an Autumn trip out to Canada’s east coast.  But wait a minute, I had better not get too far ahead of myself.  First things first…….now where’s my dusty old Atlas for the Northwestern United States…………………….

GROANER'S CORNER:((  This joke may be a bit dated but it's cute and here it is anyway……………….

What If Dr. Seuss was a Technical Writer? Here's an easy game to play.  Here's an easy thing to say:

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port, and the bus is interrupted as a very last resort, and the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort, then the socket packet pocket has an error to report!

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash, and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash, and your data is corrupted 'cause the index doesn't hash, then your situation's hopeless, and your system's gonna crash!

You can't say this?  What a shame sir!  We'll find you another game sir.

If the label on the cable on the table at your house, says the network is connected to the button on your mouse, but your packets want to tunnel on another protocol, that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall.

And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse, then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang, 'cause as sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!

When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy on the disk, and the microcode instructions cause unnecessary risk, then you have to flash your memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM. Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your Mom!

==========================

ON THE TIGER DUNLOP AND SIFTO LOOP TRAILS THIS MORNING VIA THE MENESETUNG BRIDGE

HERE’S BUGSY AT THE BEACH
Monday morning and the start of another week.  I remember a time in my working days when in some jobs Monday morning was a dreaded time and in a few other jobs I couldn't wait for Sunday to be over so I could get back to work again Monday morning.  All days seem as one now but Saturday and Sunday mornings still somehow feel kinda special.  And Saturday night's seem extra nice for some reason now as well.  I remember a lot of wild and crazy Saturday night's over the years and I am so thankful those nights are behind me and I am totally able to mellow out and relax with my favorite big band music from decades gone by.

ALONG GODERICH’S LAKESHORE  IS A NICE PLACE FOR RV’ERS DOING AN OVERNIGHTER

THAT BRIDGE IN THE DISTANCE IS PART OF OUR DESTINATION THIS MORNING
Our warm days with cool mornings and evenings at either end are making for nice weather these days and remind me of winter weather in the southwest.  Another sun drenched one today so Pheebs and I were out the door and on down the road.  And for a change we even knew where we were going.  Well imagine that.

TRAIL HEAD FOR THE TIGER DUNLOP TRAIL AND MENESETUNG BRIDGE

IT’S ‘ALL ABOARD’ FOR THE OLD CPR RAILROAD BRIDGE ACROSS THE MAITLAND RIVER

A FEW ‘TELEPHOTO’ VIEWS BELOW FROM THE TALL BRIDGE STRUCTURE

‘FORE’……..OH GEEEEZZZZZZ!!

A FAVORITE SPOT FOR CANDA GEESE, DUCKS, AND SEAGULLS

THE COLORED FLOWERS ARE PURPLE LOOSTRIFE

LOOKING INLAND TO THE EAST ALONG THE MAITLAND RIVER

LOOKING DOWNRIVER TOWARDS LAKE HURON WITH THAT BLUE COMPLEX BEING THE SIFTO SALT MINE

ALONG THE SOUTH SHORE OF THE RIVER IS A MOBILE HOME PARK AND MARINA COMPLEX
Had been a few years since we last walked the Tiger Dunlop Heritage Trail from Goderich's north harbor across the Maitland River via an old railway bridge.  Always nice views from atop that high bridge spanning the river below.  This railroad bed trail goes for many miles passing Tiger Dunlop's Tomb on it's northeast trek across Huron County and beyond.  On the north side of the Menesetung Bridge a side trail turns west through a tall hardwood forest and makes it's way to the shores of Lake Huron on the north side of the Maitland River and it was this trail we walked this morning.  The trail is actually called the Sifto Loop.  (I don’t know why the font color changed but it did)

TO THE LEFT OF THE BRIDGE SHADOW I NOTICED PEOPLE IN THE RIVER FISHING

‘HEY ALICE THERE’S A DANGED 12 FOOT CROCODILE OVER THERE COMING THIS WAY’

‘WELL THAT’S NUTHIN RALPH THERE’S A 40 FOOTER OVER HERE AND IT’S GOT IT’S EYE ON US’

OH-OH I DON’T SEE ALICE AND RALPH  ANYMORE BUT I DID HEAR A MIGHTY BIG SPLASH
On the way to the Menesetung trailhead Pheebs and I did our usual McDonalds, beach, and south harbor routine.  Only about 4 cars in the parking lot at the trail and nobody in sight.  Bonus.  Nothing like a whole gaggle of noisy people to spoil a beautiful morning walk.  Not often I put a leash on Pheebs but due to the height of the bridge, the narrower wooden walkway, and the chance of meeting people on the bridge I felt it best to put her leash on.

HERE COMES A LADY THE OTHER WAY PUSHING A BABY BUGGY
At the far end of the bridge the Sifto loop trail through the forest veers sharply to the left and as soon as we were on that trail I took Pheebs off the leash and she was free to run.  And run she did.  She loves chasing pesky squirrels up trees.  She never ever gets close to catching them and the exercise is good for her.  I myself gave up chasing squirrels a long time ago.

THIS IS THE MAIN TRAIL TO TIGER DUNLOP'S TOMB ABOUT HALF A MILE FURTHER

THE SIFTO LOOP TRAIL ENTERS THE FOREST THERE TO THE RIGHT AND THAT’S WHERE WE WENT

WE FOLLOWED THE SHORTER BLUE TRAIL TO THE LAKE AT BOTTOM LEFT

TRAIL SPLITS HERE SO WE TOOK THE HILLY TRAIL TO THE RIGHT AND CAME BACK THE FLATLANDERS TRAIL ON THE LEFT

PAINT ON THE TRAIL MARKERS (BLAZES) LOOKED FRESH BUT FOLIAGE NEEDS TO BE TRIMMED BACK BECAUSE SOME MARKERS ARE HARD TO SEE

THIS OLD OAK TREE BEGAN IT’S LIFE BACK IN 1780 AND HAS SEEN MANY CHANGES IN HISTORY

ANOTHER LARGE TREE STANDS JUST LEFT OF THE TRAIL WHICH ACTUALLY HAS A PHEEBS ON IT

I’m guessing it’s the best part of a mile or so from the forest trailhead to the shores of Lake Huron.  Not long after starting out the trail forks left and right so we took the hilly route to the right and later came back on the flatlander trail to the left.  This is a really old forest with some really huge trees in it from the last century.  We were lucky in that we never met one single person along the way and how nice to have the forest to ourselves and hear all the birds in the tall leafy canopy over our heads.  No Mosquitoes and no Deer Flies but could feel the heat and humidity building.  Yes it’s edging back in again:((

THIS IS ONE OF TWO GODERICH MARINAS ALONG THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON

THAT BLUE STRUCTURE IN THE BACKGROUND IS THE SIFTO SALT MINE 

SPOTTED A CORMORANT IN THE WATER

A FEW OLD DERELICT SAILBOATS SITTING AROUND THAT HAVE SEEN BETTER DAYS

AND YES SOME SCHNAZZY BOATS TOO

NOW JUST IN CASE RV SUE AND HER CANINE CREW DECIDES TO TRADE IN THEIR DESERT DIGS FOR A BOAT ON THE WATER I JUST HAPPEN TO KNOW WHERE THERE IS ONE:))

HEADING OUT FOR A MORNING CRUISE AND THEY EVEN HAVE A LITTLE DOGGY ON BOARD

NICE WAY TO SPEND A MONDAY MORNING
We were not only on the north side of the Goderich harbor now but we were also on the North side of the Maitland River and as we came out of the forest near the shores of Lake Huron we were also right at one of Goderich’s two Maitland Valley Marinas.  It is the private one closest to Lake Huron and I think this was our third time there with the last time maybe being in August 2011 just a few days after the devastating tornado had come through tearing up not only sections of Goderich but farmlands and forests for miles inland as well.  I had come to this spot to photograph some of the damage to the Salt Mine from the little seen North side.  I have photos of that tornado damage on my sidebar in a photo album.

INDEPENDENT BUILDING CONTRACTORS CONTINUE THEIR WORK AT THE SALT MINE

Found us a narrow path leading to the beach so we headed for the water where Pheebs was able to very carefully and daintily dip a paw into the cool waters of Lake Huron.  The lake was very calm and there wasn’t another soul in sight either up or down the beach. 

CALM LAKE WATERS TODAY

‘OMG’ IT’S THE ELUSIVE FOOTPRINT OF A NINE FOOT SEVEN TOED HUMANDERTHAL

LOTS OF NICE DRIFTWOOD PIECES ON THIS SECTION OF BEACH

TRYING TO GET A DRINK WITHOUT GETTING HER PAWS WET

OOPS, WET PAWS
Took us for a walk around the lake side of the Marina snapping a few photos along the way.  The strike over at the salt mine is getting nastier by the day and it’s unfortunate the two sides can’t get along along and reach a civilized agreement.  That kinda stuff always bothers me when people are fighting and arguing.  While taking some scenic pics of the salt mine I became aware of a group of men watching me from across the river.  That was my cue to move along so Pheebs and I quietly blended back into the peaceful forest and began our trek back to the Jeep.  I’d say it’s probably a half hours walk but of course we always take longer because of photo opportunities along the way.

IT’S NOT TOO OFTEN FOLKS GET TO SEE THE NORTH SIDE OF THE SALT MINE BUT THIS IS IT

I COULD SEE PART OF THE MINES PICKET LINE ON THE OTHER SIDE

AND THEN I SAW THIS GROUP WATCHING US….’OH-OH’ EXIT STAGE LEFT SNAGGLEPUSS
Only met one person on the way back and he had a big Boxer type dog but luckily Pheebs charmed the big fella going by and there were no problems.  Never is with Pheebs, she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.  We took the flatlander trail back and it runs closer to the river so there were a few scenic look-out spots along the way where one could see across the river towards Goderich and the harbor. 

LOOKING UP RIVER THAT IS THE MENESETUNG BRIDGE WE HAVE TO RETURN ON AFTER FOLLOWING THE TRAIL THROUGH THE WOODS AT LEFT

FROM THE MARINA WE SLIP BACK INTO THE QUIET SAFETY OF THE FOREST

ANOTHER TOUGH DAY FOR CAMERA LIGHTING

WE ARE ALMOST OUT OF THE WOODS AND CAN SEE THE TIGER DUNLOP TRAIL AHEAD
Before reaching the north end of the big railway bridge I again hooked up Pheebs to her leash and away we went.  A lot more people on the bridge now and especially families.  Had I not had Pheebs on a leash she would have been jumping up on people trying to give them a smooch.  That doesn’t work so well with frightened little children and their concerned parents.

THE FISHER PEOPLE WERE STILL IN THE RIVER

‘HEY RALPH I THINK I GOT A FISH STUCK IN MY PANTS’
We were back to the Jeep about an hour and forty minutes after we had left and oh now nice to sit down and crank the A/C on to cool off.  My shirt had been sticking to me and I was feeling clammy.  Without any other stops along the way we beetled off straight for home whereupon I began work on tonight’s post with the comfort of my big fan and the house’s A/C:))

SPOTTED THIS CROW ALONG THE WAY

Well over a hundred photos to edit again but I don’t mind.  I love doing the editing part just as much as taking the photos.  Editing, writing, taking photos, and putting it all together each day is a life saver for me and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to do it…………………..

‘HEY DAD ARE WE THERE YET’
GROANER’S CORNER:(( An elderly gentleman of 85 feared his wife was getting hard of hearing. So one day he called her doctor to make an appointment to have her hearing checked. The Doctor made an appointment for a hearing test in two weeks, and meanwhile there's a simple informal test the husband could do to give the doctor some idea of the state of her problem.
"Here's what you do," said the doctor, "start out about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response." That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he's in the living room. He says to himself, "I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens." Then in a normal tone he asks, "Honey, what's for supper?" No response. So the husband moved to the other end of the room, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, "Honey, what's for supper?" Still no response. Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, "Honey, what's for supper?" Again he gets no response. So he walks up to the kitchen door, only 10 feet away. "Honey, what's for supper?" Again there is no response. So he walks right up behind her. "Honey, what's for supper?"
"Damn it Earl, for the fifth time, CHICKEN!"
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Knock Knock
Who's there?
Datsun!
Datsun who?
Datsun old joke!
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