Friday
Back to Sharbot Lake this weekend, as we have snagged another site on the water. It would seem that the quest for water sites is now our number 1 priority. We are hooked on them, as they change the whole dynamic of a weekend away.
Being able to walk out of your camper right down to the water's edge, slide into your kayak, or go into for a quick dip...is the best!
Usual routine heading out today, I drop Dale off at work in the morning, park downtown, scoot home after work, then pick her up at work with the Alto in tow. Probably saves us a good 45 minutes, especially important this time of year, when precious minutes of daylight get stolen by the onset of the fall season. We noticed there was not much traffic on the roads, so it seems summer travel really is over after the Labour Day weekend. There are some gloomy clouds overhead, and apparently there will be rain at some point overnight. Pulled into the park and by the time we filled the water tank, dusk was seriously starting to settle in.
The site overlooks the water, we are perhaps about 20 feet above the water and about another 20 inshore.
The roadway to this stretch of sites is a one way, however, the driveways of each site are angled in the wrong direction. This makes for a bit of a sharp angle when backing in, and I had to be very careful that I did not jackknife. On top of this, it is downhill into the site. I engaged the 4 wheel drive as I knew there would be a bit of juggling back and forth to get the Alto into a nice position to overlook the lake. Sure enough, I could feel the back wheels digging in a few times as I hauled the Alto up the gravel incline in my efforts to find the position. It is times like these that having these tow friendly features available in your vehicle makes all the difference. Pretty much dark now, so we settled inside for the night. Tomorrow we will explore.
Saturday
Real nice overnight, just the right temp for a lovely sleep. A few scattered clouds so the sun was able to peek through nicely, but to the west there is a dark mass approaching so I suspect that the sun will be short lived today. Sat outside at the picnic table with our breakfast and coffee, soaking up what we can of the rising sun.
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| sunrise...but why was I up and out? |
Barley was out for a while on his harness but between the wind and the numerous chipmunks and little red squirrels, he was processing a lot of inputs, and after a while of this he became a little unnerved by it all. He is good though, because when he has had enough, he runs right to the door of the camper to let us know he wants inside.
The park has taken on a real change of season feel. There are fewer campers, deserted beach and the leaves are starting to turn and fall off the trees. It is certainly very quiet, all the time. Dale was craving a newspaper to read, so we took a quick run into Sharbot Lake, which is only minutes down the road from the park. Wandered through the local grocery store and picked up a few things, including the all important national paper 'The Globe & Mail'. On our way back we stopped for gas at the general store and as we always do, wandered the aisles in amazement at the assortment of goods on hand. Picked up a neat flexible funnel that will come in handy for the winterizing job in a couple of weekends, a bargain at $2.99. As I was pumping gas, Dale headed over to a roadside stand and picked up a homemade wild blueberry pie and some buttertarts. Almost impossible to walk away from that sort of offering.
Dale dug right into the paper and I went to explore the park and see who was around. The beach was deserted, and hardly any sites occupied.
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| Prospectors...love this style |
I spoke to a man who was rummaging around outside his Tab trailer. He had a nice looking set up and we chatted for a long while. They have had the Tab four years, and have been all over with it. They love the size and how it tows very easily. It started to rain a bit so I wandered back to our site.
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| nice little set up, with a very cute welcome flag |
It is really looking like rain now, so we packed away the chairs just in case. It is a real slow overcast day, which has got afternoon nap written all over it. Barley is already curled into a little ball on his favorite little wool throw. The wind is up and that has caused a lot of little acorns to hurtle to the ground, many impacting on the roof of the Alto. At some point in the middle of the night, Dale was awake and reading, a common occurrance for her, but what was not common were the acorns hitting the roof. I awoke as well to the sound of what must have been a dandy sized one hitting the roof, making a sound like a sharp rifle crack. This was quickly followed by a scream from Dale, clearly startled by the sudden noise. I wonder when we lower the roof on Sunday if we will find the odd dent in the aluminum?
It did not end up raining and the sun made a late afternoon appearance. Dale went for her power walk, slightly delayed from the morning, and I settled into a camp chair, facing the lake, and perused a Road & Track.
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| odd name for a beer...but it was at least very tasty |
Dale appeared back from her walk and declared it was G & T time. Who was I to disagree? After a while it looked like it was threatening to rain again, so it was time to fire up the Q. Rib steaks and ceasar salad tonight, simple fare, but a nice combo. The steaks from Farm Boy look especially good, nice marbling and they have a consistency that says tenderness. Our timing was good, as soon as the steaks came off the grill it started to rain. Just a bit at first, then hard enough to make me retreat into the camper before being able to get the cover back on the grill. The steaks were as I thought they would be, tender and succulent.
It continued to rain for a while, then it tapered off to occasional showers. We were ensconced for the evening.
Sunday
Real cool overnight. We had assumed the temps would be similar to Friday night, and did not pull out the duvet. That was a bit of a mistake. Dale was quite cold, so much so that she agreed to run the furnace while sleeping. We don't usually do that, as one of us has a bit of a worry, but I set it to only take a bit of the chill off. It ran for a while, then cycled occasionally when it needed to. We both slept through till the morning, so it looks like the furnace may well get used whenever it is needed. It was 50F when we awoke, not that cool really, as we have been in much colder temps. I was curious of the impact of the furnace on the battery overnight, and was happy to see the battery was only down .1 of a volt. The Propex furnace is not the electrical hog that the Suburban is, and it was good to somewhat confirm this.
Very few clouds this morning, and although it is cool, the sun flowing into the Alto more than makes up for it. Tucked into reading the paper, a nice relaxing morning. We really doubt anyone is coming in after us, so we were in no rush to pack up and leave. Most around us though were heading out, every so often another camper would go by. The people beside us, who arrived Saturday, did not seem to be packing up either.
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| our site had a nice little relaxing area on the water |
There is a really nice site a little down the hill from us, so when they pulled out, I wandered down to get a closer look. This site is at water level, and has a nicer view of the main part of the lake. The number has been noted for a future reservation. The couple beside us were doing the same as I was, having a look at the site. It is perhps, the nicest along this stretch. They introduced themselves as Jim & Natasha, and we had a nice chat. When I mentioned that we had the trailer beside them, Natasha asked if she could have a look. Naturally, I invited them over. We showed them the Alto and they were quite interested. They were starting to think about long term retirement plans, the same sort of process we went though a few years back. We chatted for the longest time, talking about all sorts of things related to camping and travelling and retirement. We had a great visit and it was really nice to meet them. That's one of the great things about camping...the people you meet and have conversations with. For the most part, everyone is friendly and want to visit and share ideas.
It was getting close to 1:00 and Dale the brave was keen to get a swim in. Which she did, floating lazily on her noodles.
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| hard to resist taking pics of these guys...and they are so cooperative |
I started to pack things away around the site, then wandered down to the water and waded in a bit. The water was nicely warm, certainly not Rollins warm, but nice just the same. Eventually Dale dragged herself out of the water, and we continued to pack up, although real slowly. The day was sunny and warm, the kind of day where it is pretty hard to even think about leaving. We chatted a bit more with our neighbours, who like us, were in no hurry to leave.
We finally hitched up and pulled out. More traffic coming home than there was heading out on Friday, but nothing heavy at all. Pulled in around 5:30. I noticed that the roof was covered in marks, almost like scuff marks that left a little residue. This was the acorns leaving a little memory of their descent and impact with the camper. We heard a lot of them hitting, but seeing the signs they left behind, I had no idea it was this many. Fortunately there are no dimples, and the marks came off easily. I gave the Alto a quick wash as I did not want these little bits of residue baking on to the roof when the sun hits it every day.
Our second last trip of the year, actually it could be considered our last real camp, as closing up weekend really has a much different feel to it, and it is not a fun camping vibe. It was a good weekend, nice site, reasonable weather, and a great visit with some fellow campers.
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