2015 Vacation: Wednesday...there's loud, then there's Loud

Heading to our last campground of this vacation, Green Lakes S.P., just outside Syracuse. We have been slowly circling back towards home, and this park will put us a nice drive from Ottawa. It is not a long drive today, so we took our time getting ready.

A woman wandered over who was quite interested to see the Alto, so Dale gave her a bit of a tour and a brochure.
They currently have an older vintage tin can trailer called a Scamp. Apparently it was restored before they found it, but it was a poor job and it is starting to deteriorate badly. They are on the hunt for something just a little larger, but with still a small footprint.

Uneventful drive into Syracuse, although we did stop along the way at another Camping World location, because it was there. Again, I'm not impressed, just seemed too full of junky stuff. In fairness though, I'm more into the parts dept stuff and not housewares, so my views are a little skewed. Dale did manage to find a few things, in particular, a new mat for outside. At the rally, we saw quite a few using a mat which was a tight weave of plastic, and quite comfortable on the feet. Our current mat is great, but it does have a foam rubber backing, and it does not breathe at all. Every time we pull it up, it is soaked with condensation, and takes forever to dry. And if it is out in the rain, it is a real bugger to dry. This weave mat certainly looks better in this regard, and Dale found a nice one on sale, so it is making the journey home with us.

Our new mat...bigger, and better

Green Lakes is a large park that surrounds two glacial lakes, and they certainly are green. A combination of minerals such as calcium and magnesium, and the suspension of solids in the water, contribute to make the water appear blue/green to the eye. These lake are also meromictic, which means that the layers of water in the lake do not mix. This is a very rare occurence, as there are very few of these lake in the world. The heavy mineral content is caused because nearly half the water in the lakes is fed directly through the bedrock, rich with these minerals. This also leads to another lake activity called whiting. Every year the lake continues to precipitate small crystallites of calcium and other minerals, which have built up over thousands of years to form "reefs", found around the shoreline. These are all visible along the trails that surround the lakes.

Once we got settled in, we decided to pick up some things at Trader Joe's. There is a location only a short drive from the campsite, and being huge fans, a quick trip there was a given. Needless to say, a few bags of goods are also coming home with us, the food we got for the next couple of dinners will not last as long.

A few items...can never have too many bags of blister nuts.

The campsite is quite full, and we have neighbours all around us. There is an interesting assortment of characters a few sites down from us. There are adults and teenagers, but it is hard to get a grasp of what the family unit might actually be, if any. They have assembled a long row of tables between the 2 sites they are on, and on this table is pretty much every kitchen appliance you can think of. There is a bar fridge, a coffee maker, a toaster oven, some sort of griddle or fry pan, a boom box, a big water cooler...and the list goes on. What looks to be the main guy doing things around the site, is a very hyperactive guy...and loud. Not loud in a bad way, just simply loud. Between is constant movement around the sites, circling and weaving constantly, restless like a shark, and his bellowing voice, all gravelly and rough, all of us know he is there. The rest of his gang are very sloth like...perhaps they are just exhausted from watching him move constantly, which I can understand, as he is tiring me out as well. Should be some interesting people watching.

Dinner was brats and dogs on the Q, with a side of salad. Simple stuff. Relaxed and pretty much just chilled the rest of the evening. A van pulled up and joined the gathering of characters. Next thing we hear is some serious banging and pounding going on. Real serious, almost drowning out the constant bellowing of the guy I am now simply referring to as Loud. I have a peek, and Loud has a hammer, and he is pounding wooden pallets into firepit sized pieces. He is flailing those pallets apart, and yes, there is a pile of about 8 of them, clearly the cargo of the recently arrived van.

A wooden pallet, made of spruce or pine, makes for a far more interesting bonfire then plain old boring hardwood. Their fire is roaring, snap, crackle and pop...sparks soaring skyward in a vivid display of pyrotechnics. One would think it is a time to sit back, relax and stare into the flames, but not for Loud. He is still moving, a study in perpetual motion, never pausing, never stopping. Bellowing and moving, simply bizarre. One thing I have noticed is there seems to be no beer involved on their site. One can only imagine if there was.