Koreshan State Park

 After a very, very long hiatus, it's about time to continue writing about our adventures since several people have asked..."where are you and what are you doing". Long story made real short we travelled to Florida this year without our fifth wheel, stayed one night in a hotel absolutely hated it, we're in our destination trailer until April, sold that trailer back in December, decided to do some tent camping, and finally we will be travelling back home... yes you got it, tenting it. That's pretty much the Coles notes version.

So, before travelling home we needed to test the waters... tenting it. Something Susan and I have not done in many, many years. Susan always lets me make the travelling decisions so I decided on something real close just in case she hated it...home would be literally just around the corner. The only stipulation Susan had was we had to have electricity and washrooms were nearby. That was easy done and done!!!

Koreshan State Park is less than 10 miles away. I have blogged about this park in the past (January 2017)so I'm not going to say much about the park. But we had never camped here. Setting up was pretty easy. No backing in, no putting out slides, no connecting power and water, and no sewer dumping. Just tent, air mattress, chairs, food, campfire...what else do ya need. 😁 

Our campsite... I made coffee Susan made breakfast

Brownie is just chillin'

Koreshan State Park is along the Estero River and boosts huge Oak trees with historic buildings and magnificent gardens. The campground has a total of 60 campsites all with water and power. Each site has a vegetation buffer which allows for privacy.

An abundance of limestone rock

Nice paved roads

Tall Slash Pines and Scrub Brush

Estero River

Boat and Canoe Launch...I've launched from here many times in the past

Being only a few miles from home and in the middle of a very populated area, the park has a feel of being in the middle of no man's land. During our longs walks there were plenty of birds and wildlife. The Gopher Tortoise in the state of Florida is listed as threatened. The tortoise and its burrow are protected under state law.

Gopher Tortoise

Yes, the nights were cool but we had a great couple of days. It's nice to do things out of your comfort zone. Susan indicated that she might want to do some tent camping again...yeah. But not anytime soon.

Morning campfires got to love it.

Niagara Falls in the Winter

As the Covid-19 crisis continues, we thought getting away for the day to see a familiar place would do us good. I grew up in the Niagara Region, with Niagara Falls being my families go to Sunday picnic getaway. So, it only made sense this is the place I wanted to visit. So away we go with face masks in place, plenty of hand sanitizer available, and social distancing constantly on our minds.

We wanted to get there when it was light enough to take some daytime pictures but also time to get nighttime pics. Couldn't leave the dogs at home to long, 6 hours is the max. Firstly, trying to find a parking spot. Don't get me wrong there's plenty of parking at the falls, if you want to take a bus. Ain't doing it in the middle of a pandemic. We got lucky. 

American Falls

Skylon Tower

The Mist Freezing

Fallsview Casino

American Falls With Niagara Falls NY in background

Queen Victoria Place Restaurant

The next picture is where I got soaking wet. Not something I planned on but worth the pic. The mist from the falls was nothing like I had ever seen...a torrential downpour. I was soaked in a matter of 5 minutes...at -1C purrrrrrrr. My camera also took a hit... it froze.

Horseshoe Falls on the right

Former Toronto Power Generating Station

Can't get any more Canadian than this Inukshuk

All in all had a great day with our masks in place, we socially distanced, and washed our hands frequently courtesy of the Niagara Falls.

Day 82 - Wawa, ON

Both of us didn't feel like moving this morning so we got a late start. Eventually, we got underway but first I had to buy some ice for the few things that needed to be kept cold. We went up and down the hills of northern Ontario looking at the scenery. Its a very overcast day with rain in the works. So not a nice picture taking day.

We made a few stops along the way, one being in White River for diesel.  Did you know this is "Where It All Began". What am I talking about, well it's Winnie-The-Pooh of course. As the story goes...Lieutenant Harry Colebourn of the 34th Fort Garry Horse & Canadian Army Veterinary Corps, was responsible for the care of the army horses while on the steam train that arrived in White River, Ontario on August 24, 1914. Colebourn looked down and saw an orphaned black bear cub was for sale on the train platform. He asked how much, the trapper replied twenty dollars. Colebourn paid the man, picked up the cub and carried it around like a puppy forming a bond with her. Winnie accompanied Colebourn to England where she became the Brigades mascot. Winnie eventually found a home in the London Zoo where she was adored by so many. She was loved by A.A. Milne's son Christopher Robin Milne who enjoyed feeding spoonfuls of honey to Winnie...and the rest is history.

After a brief visit with Winnie-the-Pooh we continued on our way to Wawa, arriving around 2 pm. I've noticed that there is more traffic and people are in such a hurry. I guess we are getting closer to home.

Day 81 - Nipigon, ON

It's just 7 in the morning and it's already hot outside. I'm not going to enjoy driving in this hot weather. Bring on the AC. We made a few brief stops then a longer stop at the Thunder Bay Walmart to get some groceries. Susan went for groceries, I walked and played with the dogs. After packing everything away we were underway again only to stop down the road for diesel.

We arrived in Nipigon and it was hot, hot, hot. I took the dogs out and they didn't even want to stay outside. So back into the nice cool trailer we go and that's where we stayed until later in the evening when it cooled off. We all went for a short walk then called it a night.

I read for maybe 20 minutes then my eyes got real heavy so I knew it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow is another travelling day.

Day 80 - Wabigoon, ON

Today is the day we will be back in our home province of Ontario. Almost three months we have been gone from home and its time to get back. If the wildfires had not been that bad we would have stayed in BC longer. Some of the areas we drove through are now being evacuated. Scary!!!

We left Portage early in the morning, got through Winnipeg and then crossed over into Ontario a couple of hours later. The trip was pretty much uneventful, it's mainly just going from one place to the next. We did stop in Vermilion Bay for diesel and they had the largest Inukshuk I have seen.

The Inukshuk is a figure made of piled stones or boulders constructed to communicate with humans throughout the Arctic. A red inukshuk adorns the flag of Nunavut. For centuries, the Inuit people of Canada’s Arctic stacked rock in human form to create the Inukshuk, a steadfast guidepost that provided direction across the vast horizons of the North. Over time, the Inukshuk became a symbol of hope and friendship, an eternal expression of the hospitality.

We arrived in Wabigoon, ON which is another campground we stayed in on the way out west. I did the outside stuff while Susan did the inside stuff. All done, dogs walked now time to relax. For some reason the road noise is so loud today, I don't remember it being like that the last time we stayed here. Oh well shut the windows and turn on the air. Tomorrow is another travelling day.

Day 79 - Portage La Prairie, MB

I woke to a heavy fog and no visible sun. By the time Susan got up and all the dogs were fed, the fog had already started to lift. Yea I really didn't feel like driving in fog. We got going shortly after 7 am under a beautiful sunny sky with not a cloud to be seen. As we continued down the road there was an ominous looking cloud way off in the distance. My spidy sense tells me it's fog. Living in Saskatchewan many moons ago I have seen this before. Sure enough it's fog. It's almost freaky.

Within no time we were right in the middle of this very heavy fog, no sun now. Actually, we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us. Transport trucks were right beside us before we could see them. It lasted for over an hour then the skies opened up and it was beautiful blue sky again. Like I said before Freaky!

We drove through several little towns before I quickly pulled over at a local subway and told Susan I was starved. We were in the town of Langenburg, Sk. population 1,000. Now what does this town have that no other has. Just the worlds largest swing named fittingly "Goliath". They also have a volkswagen planters.

What a fun town. We continued on our way reaching our next destination of Portage La Prairie. We had to go into town for some groceries, ice, and diesel. Portage is not a big town but it has everything you need or want. Canadian Tire, Walmart, grocery stores, restaurants, and so on. You get the picture. We got what we needed then headed back to the campground. I took the dogs for a long walk around the park and a beautiful one it is. Seasonals really take pride in their properties at this campground.  

Day 78 - Colonsay, SK

The day did not start much better then the way it ended. It was overcast and rainy. I guess a cold wet front had come through the area and made life miserable for everyone. One day we have the fireplace on in the morning the next it's the AC. 

Anyway, before leaving Lloydminister I researched why half the town was in Alberta and half in Saskatchewan. On September 1, 1905, the government of Canada officially created the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. They were carved out of the Northwest Territories. The two provinces share the 110th meridian west as their common border, with Alberta to the west of the line and Saskatchewan to the east. Lloydminster was founded on November 25, 1903, predating the two provinces by nearly two years. When the provinces were created Lloydminister straddled the line leading to a town in Alberta and a town in Saskatchewan. And that's how the two towns came to be.

The day got a little better but it was still overcast and dull. No rain until we got to Colonsay, SK. We stayed at Painted Rock Campground, the same place we stayed on the way across Canada. After checking in I found out the campground is up for sale. The owners husband is now in long term care so she can't take care of it on her own. Hopefully it stays as a campground because its a great place.