Darlington Provincial Park

Located on the shores of Lake Ontario and just south of the Hwy 401 between the cities of Bowmanville and Oshawa, lies Darlington Provincial Park (PP). Considered to be small in comparison to the many other PP in Ontario but a very important park to birds and monarch butterflies for spring and fall migration.

Darlington Provincial Park is open year round offering a variety of recreational activities such as camping, birding, hiking, swimming, boating, and snowshoeing in the winter. This was a quick stopover on our way further east.

It was a bit of an ugly cool/rainy day but I was still able to get out and explore on my bike. The first place I hit was the campstore to get my sticker and register. Know one was around when we arrived. I hung out at the store since it was raining cats and dogs.

After the rain stopped I continued on towards the Campground and Waterfront Trails. These trails are flat, wet and not very long. The sumac is just starting to change colour. Fall is coming.

Lake Ontario was looking a little angry today, pretty but definitely not happy. There is a long sandy beach for swimming in the summer time. No lifeguards are provided.

Ontario is home to eight species of bats. Four of which are listed on the endangered list. It was nice to see a bat house on my adventures. Not sure which kind of bats hang out here possibly Little or Big Brown Bats.

The waterfront trail leads to the Darlington Pioneer Home. This particular cabin dates from the 1830's and restored in 1967 as a centennial project. The cabin was probably larger than the ones built in the early days.

In 1792 the Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe divided Upper Canada into 19 counties. To encourage settlers to the area, Simcoe offered land free to any man over 18 years of age. In 1794 three loyalist families moved to Darlington Township from New York State. In the spring of 1795 the new settlers had a monumental task of building on the new land. Land was cleared, logs were dragged to the home sites and cabins were built. These first homes proved to be cold, damp, and smoky.

The final trail that awaits is the 2.25 km Burk Trail which includes a pioneer cemetery and viewing platform. The cemetery contained a single gravestone containing the names of Samual Burk, his wife Mary, their son Peter, his wife Barbara, and three children Sylvester, Harvy, and Sarah.

All in all it was a great day of exploring. Having my bike to ride was fun. Made getting around easier on a dark and dismal day.

Wheatley Provincial Park

Before the kids get out of school and the parks are filled with families getting away for summer holidays, we decided to get away ourselves. Wheatley PP is a park we have been to in the past. This time however we are going to explore the area a little more.

Wheatley Provincial Park is located in Southwestern Ontario near the town of Leamington and a very short drive (approx 2 hours) from our house. Another reason to camp at this park is the close proximity to Point Pelee National Park located on Lake Erie.

Wheatley PP has an area of about 596 acres of land and is all protected. During the spring it is a mecca for birds, attracting birders and photographers from around the world. There are a number of small creeks that traverse the park allowing for canoeing adventures.

The park is broken down into four camping areas: Boosey Creek, Highlands, Middle Creek, and Two Creeks. Some offering both electrical and non-electrical sites along with radio-free and group camping sites.

This bridge has definitely seen better days

Besides the numerous rabbits present in the park I spotted a few birds and a couple of fawns, still with their spots.

Mister Robin having a bad feather day

Yellow Warbler

Tree Swallow

Each morning I would bike to the beach and walk the shoreline looking for treasures and shorebirds. Didn't really find much but it was relaxing and pretty.

During these bike rides and walks along the beach I couldn't figure out why no one was on the beach or in the water. Yes, Lake Erie has some wicked undertows but the water was very calm each day we were there. So I decided to do some investigating and this is what I found...

The road came to an abrupt end and why. Well I guess the road washed out this past winter making it unusable to vehicles. Day visitors to the park can still use the beach but they have to walk a half kilometer to get to a good swimming areas. Everything has to be packed in and out and of coarse the bathrooms are not open because no one is using it. Makes it nice and quite for me.

All in all it was a great 4 days away camping in this beautiful park. We did manage to get to Point Pelee National Park. I'm blogging on that next.

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.