Year 3 Week 6

July 23 to 29, 2006

Richer to St. Malo Provincial Park to Winnipeg, Manitoba

Year 3 week 6

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and hot !

This morning I mailed our income tax returns ( Yippee ) and our acceptance of the WorkCamper "job offer" from Guide Dogs Of The Desert. Joanne took the truck and went to Steinbach to do some grocery shopping. She found out that everything in Steinbach is closed on Sundays. She had to drive all the way to the grocery store in Lorette.

I installed the replacement cutlery drawer tracks I picked up yesterday at Transcona Trailer Sales. Another Yippee ! I worked on repairing the water heater electrical switch which burned out this morning. Gee, I just replaced it a month or so ago. I decided to eliminate the switch, and "hard wire" around it. I'll use the circuit breaker in the trailer's breaker panel as a switch when I really need to turn off the electricity to the water heater, which I only need to do when we're connected to 15 amps ( such as at the Danelak's ) instead of the usual 30 amps. I continued working on the fibreglass repair. Yesterday's application of fibreglass cloth and resin on the underside of the bottom panel turned out quite well. Today I applied fibreglass cloth and resin to the damaged areas on the top side of the bottom panel. I'm trying to hone my fibreglass repair skills on the bottom panel, which isn't visible, before I tackle the side skirt panel.

I fabricated another waste holding tank valve extension handle, as a spare. I printed and reconciled the MasterCard statements I downloaded yesterday. I reviewed a small batch of mail we picked up yesterday. Joanne vacuumed and cleaned the trailer interior to prepare for our camping trip to St. Malo with Lorri and the girls.

Whew ... productive day.

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and hot. I like the weather like this.

This morning we left Wild Oaks Campground in Richer and drove to Winnipeg where we met and picked up Lorri, Madeleine, and Amelia. Happy 42nd Birthday, Doug. We headed south on Hwy. 59 for about an hour to St. Malo Provincial Park. We got set up in our campsite, had lunch, set up the tent we borrowed from Sharon and Bud for Lorri and the girls, then headed to the campground beach for a long afternoon of playing in the water.

I coached Madeleine and Amelia in building a campfire. They did a great job. We roasted wieners over the campfire for supper. The girls did the wiener roasting. After supper, Joanne's cousins Paulette and Jacqueline came by for a surprise visit. Joanne, Paulette, and Jacquie are all about the same age, and grew up together. We sat around the campfire visiting for a couple of hours.

Late in the evening, after Madeleine and Amelia went to sleep in the tent, Joanne and Lorri sat in the trailer, chatting. I sat by myself by the campfire, smoking a Cuban Monte Cristo No. 5 cigar. Well ... not a real Monte Cristo No. 5. My dear naive sister evidently got ripped off when she went shopping for cigars for me when she was in Cuba last winter. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth, eh ? HA HA HA ! Oh, well, even a Cuban "knockoff" Monte Cristo is a good cigar.

 

Tuesday ; This morning was cloudy, with occasional light drizzle. By afternoon it was sunny, hot and humid.

We spent the day playing with Madeleine and Amelia. We had a long play session on the beach, and in the water. We had a campfire. We prepared a roasted banana, marshmallow, and chocolate chip dessert. We couldn't find any pine trees, and obviously no pine cones, so my special project requiring pine cones had to be postponed. Just before bedtime we roasted marshmallows.

Joanne was feeling ill this evening.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and hot.

Another day of the family camping experience. This afternoon my project with the girls was to make chocolate ice cream by hand. It was successful !

 

Thursday ; This morning was cloudy with light rain. The rest of the day was sunny and hot.

Another day of the family camping experience. Walking back from an afternoon at the beach we saw a couple of baby Ruffed Grouse / Prairie Chickens. The girls and I made pine cone bird feeders and hung them around the campsite. In the evening as we sat around the campfire a large woodpecker came and fed at Amelia's pine cone bird feeder. It was quite thrilling to watch. Well ... for me, anyways.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and warm, with a brief, light rain in the evening.

I think everybody is relieved and grateful that what was a miserable experience for all concerned has finally come to an end.

We left St. Malo Provincial Park late this morning and drove back to Winnipeg. We got settled into a campsite at Traveller's RV Resort and after unhitching I discovered that the tent was missing from the back of the truck. Evidently it blew out as we were driving. Joanne and I drove all the way to St. Malo and back, looking for the tent. We didn't find it. Doug came and picked up Lorri and the girls at Traveller's RV Resort. Joanne and I went shopping for a tent.

We looked at Canadian Tire in Southdale, then at Wal-Mart in St. Vital Centre. We returned to Canadian Tire and bought a tent. We drove to the Danelak's to give them their new tent. It's a pretty lousy feeling to borrow something big from somebody, and lose it !

While I'm not entirely in agreement, the consensus seems to be that responsibility for the family camping experience being as miserable as it was rests squarely on my shoulders !

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and warm.

We got a late start to the day, sleeping in and recuperating from the family camping experience. We restored the truck back seat to its normal collection of travel clutter. We went to Safeway in Southdale to replenish groceries. I gave Bo a bath. Joanne did laundry. We clipped Bo's and Teddy's nails, and cleaned their ears. I disinfected the trailer's fresh water holding tank. After supper I did my monthly backup of all computer files to CD.

I need to get my sense of humour back.

DSK

Year 3 Week 5

July 16 to 22, 2006

Lorette to Richer, Manitoba

Year 3 week 5

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and very hot.

This morning we went to visit the Carlson's. We brought all the gifts we bought for Lorri, Doug, Madeleine and Amelia during the last year of our travels. Sort of like our version of Christmas in July for the Carlson's. We went for lunch to their favourite restaurant, Sushi Train, at "The Forks". We couldn't linger over lunch, because we wanted to go see a real estate "Open House" in Richer.

We drove out to Richer to see a small cottage on a half acre lot in the small village of Richer. It was a nice piece of property, and the little house was suitable for our needs. But I'm not yet ready to make a commitment to buy a place to declare as "home" for the summers.

We had dinner with Sharon and Bud, their daughter Andrea, and her boyfriend Kevin. Andrea is living with a friend in Winnipeg for the summer, and will move back "home" in the fall when university resumes. After supper friends of Sharon and Bud came for a visit. We all sat in the gazebo, and their friends, Linda and Dennis, who are "animal people" gave attention to Bo and Teddy.

 

Monday ; Today was a lovely day, sunny and warm.

Bo was sick for most of last night, keeping us awake until dawn. Poor little Bo Bo dog ! We didn't get much sleep.

This morning we had breakfast with Sharon & Bud on their back deck, lingering and chatting. We drove into Lorette, bought some groceries, adjusted the air pressure in the truck tires, and hauled a few bags of garbage and recyclables to the Lorette dump just outside town. When we returned to the Danelak's, we began to prepare for departure.

I ran into difficulty. One of the trailer's front jacks / landing legs would not retract. I couldn't get the trailer lowered onto the truck and hitched. It took me awhile to find the problem and solve it. A coupling bolt in the landing gear drive shaft had sheared off. I was lucky enough to find a bolt that was close enough to the correct size to fix the problem temporarily, until I buy the exact correct bolt and locking nut. We had lunch, then departed the Danelak's driveway in mid-afternoon.

We drove about a half an hour east on TCH 1 to Richer, to Wild Oaks Campground. I suspected from visiting here a few days ago that it would be difficult to get our large rig into one of their sites. It was ! We finally squeezed the trailer in, but there wasn't room in the site for the truck also. I parked the truck half sticking out into the roadway.

I was a bit ill late in the afternoon, and into the evening, from this bout of colitis that has been flared up for about 3 weeks now. I did some routine minor maintenance, then printed the investment data updates and income tax forms < sigh > that I downloaded yesterday.

After a great supper of barbecued steak, fresh peas, fresh beans, and fresh potatoes, we took Bo for an obedience session, then went for a long walk around the campground. We were joined on the long walk by a seasonal camper, and his dreadlocked Hungarian Puli dog. Pulis are quite a rare breed. Bo and Zayla quickly became good friends, and enjoyed romping together on our long walk. Bo went for a late evening dip in the campground's small lake.

 

Tuesday ; Today was partially cloudy and warm.

Joanne spent the day on cleaning and waxing the trailer. I spent the day in bed, ill, mostly sleeping, occasionally reading a bit. I dislike losing an entire day to illness. When we led normal working lives I couldn't afford to indulge myself in a day of lying in bed feeling ill. While this unemployed, homeless lifestyle allows that, I'm not sure that's a good thing. Late in the afternoon we went to cool off in the campground's pool before having supper.

Joanne spent our time in the pool trying to convince me that we should buy the cottage that we looked at last Sunday. So we drove over there to take another look around, verifying that the driveway and yard were large enough to allow us to get in with the truck and trailer. We drove around the village, checking things out.

After supper I worked on updating investment files, and working on income tax returns ( sigh ). I finally, 3 months late, finished the working draft of both our personal income tax returns.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and warm.

We drove to Winnipeg this morning for a day of running errands and visiting. First stop was Wal-Mart in St. Vital Centre, then Mark's Work Warehouse across the street. We went to A&W for lunch. Joanne had been craving a Teenburger for awhile, and made me promise her that I would take her to A&W .

After lunch we went to the Carlson's for a brief visit with Lorri and the nieces. We brought 2 shopping bags full of Mardi Gras beads for Madeleine and Amelia. They seemed to be a big hit. We went to PET VALU in Southdale, then Canadian Tire in the next mall.

We got back to the trailer in Richer about 6:00 P.M.. We rested a bit, then barbecued supper. Joanne copied her income tax from the working draft to the copy to be submitted. I worked on improving the custom extension cord Bud fabricated for us to use while in their driveway. At 9:30 we went for our nightly soak in the campground's hot tub. AHHHHH !

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

This morning Joanne continued working on cleaning and waxing the trailer. I finished the modifications I was making to the custom extension cord Bud made for us, to allow us to use the trailer's air conditioner while we're parked in their driveway. Then I fabricated a custom valve handle extension assembly for the kitchen grey water tank, and installed it.

After lunch we went to check out a couple of campgrounds near Steinbach, then we went into Steinbach for some groceries. We'll probably spend the month of August at one of the two campgrounds we saw today. There was a Farmer's Market in the parking lot of Clearspring Mall in Steinbach, so we bought some fresh produce before going into Sobey's to buy the rest of our groceries. Following Sharon's recommendation, we dropped into PET VALU in Steinbach, just to see the store's 2 resident cats, Cash and Profit. We only saw 1 cat, and it was grotesquely obese. Looks like either too much Cash, or too much Profit. HA HA HA HA HA !

After supper, I copied a Zydeco CD for Bud, then worked on arranging my Year 2 photos into a video CD slide show. I spent 2 hours "ascending the learning curve", and didn't make much progress.

 

Friday ; Today was mostly sunny and very warm. It rained for a few minutes in the afternoon.

Joanne continued working on cleaning and waxing the trailer. I began to work on the huge job of repairing the damage caused by the exploding trailer tire a month or so ago. First I had to straighten out, then reshape a metal brace. Then I had to straighten out, and reshape a metal end plate. Both those pieces were so badly damaged and deformed, it was difficult for me to figure out exactly what shape they were supposed to be. I also removed all the rusty, seized bolts and screws that were in the damaged fibreglass side skirt, the damaged fibreglass bottom skirt, and the trailer frame.I cleaned the fibreglass bottom skirt thoroughly to prepare it for repair. I was going to begin the actual fibreglass repair, with resin and fibreglass cloth, but it began to rain, and by the time the rain finished, I decided not to start the messy job of using fibreglass resin today.

I finished up our personal income taxes. I need to make a few photocopies of documents, buy some stamps, and send the income tax returns on their way. Tomorrow ! After supper I spent most of the evening creating 2 copies of video slide show CD's of our "Year 2" photos.

 

Saturday; Today was sunny and hot.

I spent the morning working on repairing one of the fibreglass panels damaged by the exploding trailer tire. I applied fibreglass cloth and resin to the underside of the bottom panel. It went quite well. This is the third time I have attempted fibreglass repair, and each time my results get much better.

This afternoon we drove to Winnipeg. I picked up the difficult to find, long awaited kitchen drawer slide hardware at Transcona Trailer Sales, ordered from Glendale Manufacturing. It looks like the correct hardware ... finally ! We drove to Canadian Tire in Southdale for some supplies I needed. We drove over to the Carlson's for a brief visit, but nobody was home.

We drove to the Danelak's in Lorette. Joanne did some laundry, while I did some online work, sending and retrieving e-mail, retrieving my MasterCard statements, and filing the corporate quarterly GST return. I made copies of some new Blues albums of Bud's. Joanne and I went outside with Bud to learn how to erect their tent which we are borrowing for our camping trip.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 4

July 9 to 15, 2006

Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba

Year 3 week 4

 

Sunday ; Today started out cloudy and cool, but became sunny and warm by afternoon.

This morning I visited briefly with Sharon and Bud, then we got the trailer positioned and set up on the far side of the Danelak's circular driveway. This afternoon I fixed the TV antenna cable, and we washed the truck. We went into the city to have dinner with the Carlson's. After dinner with Lorri, Doug, Madeleine and Amelia, we spent the evening viewing our travel photos. Madeleine and Amelia are growing up quickly. It seems particularly evident to us with Madeleine, age 7.

 

Monday ; Today was hot and sunny.

Today was mostly a day of running errands. We bought a lot of groceries, refilled with diesel, and went to 4 RV dealers looking for the elusive cutlery drawer track. I have now looked for it at every RV dealer on the Trans-Canada Highway from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Winnipeg, Manitoba. None of the 4 RV dealers in Winnipeg had it. I'm having one of them contact the manufacturer of the trailer, Forest River in Goshen, Indiana.

Joanne did some laundry, then cleaned the truck interior. I did some paint touch up on the front of the trailer king pin, the inside lower edge of the truck tailgate, and the fifth wheel hitch. I mounted a Canada banner that we won as a door prize at the Escapees rally in Waterloo onto the front of the trailer king pin. I gave Bo his monthly heartworm preventive medication, then applied flea and tick treatments to Bo and Teddy. Teddy hates flea and tick treatment.

It was a lovely, warm evening. After supper we visited with Sharon and Bud in their gazebo until late at night.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and hot.

I found 2 wood ticks embedded in Bo this morning. I changed a leaking dually valve stem extender on the truck. We washed the front of the trailer. I made many phone calls trying to track down a supplier of the kitchen drawer hardware I need. We had lunch outside with Sharon & Bud.

Joanne prepared a Louisiana supper for us and the Danelak's. She made a chicken and sausage gumbo, and crawfish é toufé e. After supper, while Sharon and Bud went to visit a friend, we watched a Rod Stewart concert on DVD on Bud's new big screen TV home theatre.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and very hot.

I checked out 6 RV parks south and/or east of Winnipeg today, as potential places to stay for August and/or September this year, and/or next summer. Joanne came with me to 2 of them. I went by myself to 4 of them. I didn't really like any of them very much.

We spent the evening discussing our short and long term plans for where to stay. We didn't really make any firm decisions.

 

Thursday ; Today was mostly sunny and hot. It rained briefly a few times.

This morning we went to the RCMP detachment in Lorette and obtained criminal background checks for Guide Dogs Of The Desert. This afternoon we worked on washing and waxing the trailer. This evening I continued working on our personal income taxes < sigh >. It looks like I still have a long way to go on the income taxes. How in heaven's name is anybody supposed to figure out income tax forms ? ! ?

Late in the evening we visited with Sharon & Bud in the gazebo.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and very hot.

This morning I drove into Winnipeg to run some errands. I ordered kitchen drawer hardware at Transcona Trailer Sales, then went to Canadian Tire in Southdale. This afternoon I mowed Bud's lawn. It's been a couple of years since I've driven around and around and around on a lawn tractor. I got sunburnt. Guess I should have worn a shirt, eh ? Duh ! Joanne continued washing and waxing the trailer. She made reservations at 3 different campgrounds, to take us all the way to Labour Day. It will give us a chance to try out different campgrounds around here and decide if anything near here suits us for use as a regular summer home base. We don't want to live in the Danelak's driveway forever.

I spent the evening continuing to work on our personal income tax returns. I finished Joanne's. I hit another snag with mine. I have to download yet another form from Revenue Canada's web site to continue working on mine < sigh >.

 

Saturday ; Today was sunny and hot again.

This morning we went with Sharon & Bud to a Farmer's Market at Pine Ridge Hollow near Bird's Hill Park. We bought some fresh produce and meat. When we returned to the Danelak's, Bud fabricated a custom heavy duty extension cord that allowed us to plug the trailer into a dedicated circuit inside the garage, and finally use the air conditioner in the trailer. Teddy in particular found it a great relief to have air conditioning.

Sharon prepared lunch for all of us, then we spent the afternoon and evening viewing our travel photos, and family photos from my brother Russell in Kelowna, B.C.. My brother's family photos were on a CD, in a video slide show format, and we viewed it on Bud's new big screen high definition TV through the DVD player. Just before we had supper with Sharon & Bud, I rushed out to our trailer, and quickly learned how to do that on my laptop. I put our photos onto a CD, and we viewed all of our second year photos the same way. It was great. Until now we've always shown our photos on the laptop screen. I didn't know how to put them onto a CD in video slide show format to view them on a TV through a DVD player.

DSK

Year 3 Week 3

July 2 to 8, 2006

Neys, Ontario to Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba

Year 3 week 3

 

Sunday ; Neys to Thunder Bay, Ontario

Today started out foggy with light rain, but as we drove toward Thunder Bay the sky cleared, and it was a very pleasant afternoon and evening.

We drove west, then south on Hwy. 17 along the shore of Lake Superior. This is one of my favourite areas to drive. Rugged wilderness, lakes, granite rock outcrops, thick forest, Lake Superior's beautiful shoreline ... and enough Northern Ontario black flies / "no see-ums" for everyone !

We were one of the first vehicles to come across a single vehicle accident, so we stopped to offer assistance. As full time RV'ers, we carry everything needed to live, so we have more to offer than most motorists. The female driver of a tractor trailer lost control, left the highway, slid down into a steep ditch without rolling, and finally came to a stop on the edge of the forest. She was badly shaken, but unhurt. The O.P.P. officer who arrived a minute or two after us was glad that she kept the rig from rolling, since he noticed the hazardous cargo signage on the trailer indicated that it was hauling radioactive waste. As we walked back to our rig, the end of a thick cable on the cable and post guardrail on the side of the road stabbed me in the leg, ripping my jeans and scratching my leg.

We arrived in Thunder Bay and found our way to Chippewa Park where we had intended to stay. We were so unimpressed, we left. We drove 16 miles west of the city, almost to Kakabeka Falls, and checked into Happy Land Campground. Just before we got to the campground, we almost hit a black bear cub that dashed across the highway in front of us. We set up in our campsite, then spent quite awhile chatting with our "next door neighbour" from Louisiana.

Finally ... Wi-Fi !

 

Monday ; Thunder Bay, Ontario

Today was a nice, sunny, warm day.

We spent the morning and afternoon running errands. Refilling with diesel, refilling a propane tank, buying supplies at RV dealers, shopping at Canadian Tire, A&P, and Wal-Mart. We spent the evening visiting with my cousin Helen Petersen, her husband Bruce, their daughter Carey, and Carey's 2 Golden Retrievers, Skyler and Ember. We had dinner, then viewed my travel photos.

 

Tuesday ; Thunder Bay, Ontario

Today was another nice day. This morning Joanne prepared lunch to take to the Petersen's. We had invited the Petersen's out for lunch, but Bruce is recovering from 4 recent surgeries ( ! ! ! ), and has some dietary restrictions that preclude restaurant meals. Joanne made a chicken and potato soup, and a chocolate mousse dessert. I taught the "next door neighbour" children from Louisiana about wild raspberries and wild Saskatoon berries that I found here in the campground.

We stopped at an RV dealer on the way to the Petersen's for lunch, and bought some supplies. We had lunch with Helen and Bruce, then spent the afternoon continuing to view my travel photos. It's always such a pleasure to visit with Helen and Bruce. Unfortunately, Carey was away for the day attending a dog training event with Skyler and Ember.

 

Wednesday ; Thunder Bay, Ontario

Today was sunny and very warm. I slept very late this morning. I've been quite sick for the last couple of weeks, and I guess my body needs some extra resting / healing time.

I spent most of the day doing maintenance and special projects. I finished applying pinstriping to the truck. It looks good. I removed the sacrificial anode from the water heater, flushed out all the mineral deposits inside the water heater, and replaced the sacrificial anode. I repaired the broken day / night shade on the living room slide. I tried, unsuccessfully, and with considerable frustration, to repair the TV antenna cable. I'm going to have to buy a new coaxial cable end connection. I'm trying to fix this persistent TV reception problem by trial and error, and I don't really have a clue what I'm doing. I reconciled the bank statements. I updated my investment files.

 

Thursday ; Thunder Bay to Ignace, Ontario

Today was sunny and hot.

We said goodbye to our Louisiana neighbours and left Happy Land Campground heading west on Hwy. 11 / 17. We stopped 3 times as we drove today, looking for blueberries. No luck. We stopped for the night at Davy Lake RV Park on Davy Lake in Ignace.

After getting set up in the campground I napped for a short time, hoping that a nap would help me feel less ill. It didn't ! I reset all the clocks and watches to Central Daylight Time, then we went hiking down the snowmobile trails into the forest, once again looking for blueberries. We found very few. Looks like it's not going to be a great year for blueberries. We walked to the lake, where Bo went swimming. We had a tennis ball play session to dry him off before I barbecued supper.

 

Friday ; Ignace to Rushing River Provincial Park, Ontario

Today was sunny and hot.

This morning I did Lanoire's 30,000 km. scheduled service inspections. I had the 24,000 km. scheduled service done recently at Belleville Dodge, and the 30,000 km. scheduled service was inspections that I could do myself. We left Ignace heading west on Hwy. 17. We stopped in Dryden to shop at Wal-Mart, have lunch, fill with diesel, and shop at Canadian Tire.

Around Eagle Lake we stopped at a spot that looked likely for blueberries. Finally, we found a decent patch of blueberries, and a darker berry that looks almost like blueberries. They grow low to the ground like blueberries, and are sweet, like blueberries. I thought they were Saskatoons, but Joanne disagrees. We picked blueberries, and the darker mystery berries, for about an hour, filling a couple of 2 pound margarine tubs.

We turned south onto Hwy. 71 before Kenora, and drove to Rushing River Provincial Park. My earliest memory of Rushing River is of camping here with my family 45 years ago, when my brother was an infant. After setting up in our campsite we went for an obedience session with Bo, then walked down to the rapids where Dogtooth Lake empties into Rushing River. We all cooled off in the shallow rushing water.

We barbecued supper, then went for a very long walk through the campground to campsite no. 112. This is where we placed the ashes of our dog Misty into Dogtooth Lake in 1987. As we walked, I picked about a half dozen blueberries, and just as I was tossing them into my mouth, a wasp landed on them. I popped the blueberries and the wasp into my mouth. YIKES ! I spit fast. Close call ! And what a waste of perfectly good blueberries.

We visited the nature museum in the campground. I learned that Ontario does indeed have rattlesnakes. The endangered Massassauga Rattler. And that's what I saw a week and a half ago on the shore of the Magnetewan River.

 

Saturday; Rushing River Provincial Park, Ontario to Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba

Today was sunny and hot again. We got a late start leaving Rushing River Provincial Park.

We stopped at Wal-Mart in Kenora to fill the remainder of a few prescriptions I had there from last year. They didn't have enough stock to fill my remaining prescriptions. We bought some perogies from an old man selling home made perogies, cabbage rolls, and meat pies, in the parking lot. His wife makes them, he sells them. It made me think, and realize, that there are many non-traditional ways to earn money. If we're creative enough maybe we can avoid having to eventually "go back to work".

We stopped at the Travel Information Centre at the Ontario / Manitoba border. While Joanne prepared lunch I went inside to get a new Manitoba map and campground guide. Last year we looked at a snack bar that was for sale at the Travel Information Centre. We thought it was over priced. Obviously we weren't the only potential purchasers to think so. It's not there anymore. Gone ... lock, stock, and barrel !

We stopped just past Falcon Lake at the spot where we picked blueberries last year. Lots of them ! There were hardly any there this year. So obviously the conditions this year just aren't quite right for blueberries. I helped a woman with car problems. I was able to determine that her serpentine drive belt had come off. I sent her back to Falcon Lake where there is a service station that likely could fix it for her.

We arrived at the Danelak's just as Sharon and Bud were leaving to attend a wedding. After they returned from the wedding late in the evening, we sat in their gazebo and visited until late at night.

DSK

Year 3 Week 2

June 26 to July 1, 2006

Frankford to Neys, Ontario

Year 3 week 2

 

Monday ; Frankford / Belleville, Ontario

Today was sunny and very warm.

I felt pretty ill again this morning.

Very early this morning I took the truck to Belleville Dodge to have the driver's door repainted. Late in the afternoon they phoned to advise me it wouldn't be ready today < sigh >.

I'm trying something new with my journal. I'm going to try a weekly entry, with daily highlights.

 

Tuesday ; Frankford / Belleville to Bancroft, Ontario

Today was cloudy, humid, and raining, sometimes heavily.

Early this morning Belleville Dodge phoned to advise of yet another delay, once again due to their own ineptitude. A part required for my truck, that was supposed to be in stock, apparently wasn't in stock. They were sending somebody to get it at another Dodge dealer. In Scarborough, an eastern suburb of Toronto ... 2 hours away. Resulting in at least another 4 hour delay.

I picked up the truck in Belleville about 1:30, drove back to Frankford, we hitched up, and left the campground about 2:30. We drove to Belleville ... again, to buy cat food at PET VALU, groceries and diesel at Wal-Mart. We headed out of Belleville about 3:30, north on Hwy. 62.

We stopped for the night at River Bend Park in Bancroft.

 

Wednesday ; Bancroft to Britt, Ontario

Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law, Lorri.

Today was hot, humid, and mostly sunny, but as we drove we encountered a few heavy thunderstorms.

We drove north on Hwy. 62 to Maynooth, then north on Hwy. 127 to Whitney, then west on Hwy. 60 into Algonquin Provincial Park. We stopped to search for wild blueberries, but it seems to be a bit too early for blueberries. We stopped at Canisbay Lake Campground, intending to stay for the night. But we decided after driving around the campground that it was overpriced, underserviced, and not big rig friendly. We continued west on Hwy. 60, stopping at Tea Lake Picnic Area for a late lunch. We continued west on Hwy. 60 through Algonquin Provincial Park to Huntsville, then a bit south on Hwy. 11, west on Hwy. 141, and northwest on Hwy. 69 along the east side of Georgian Bay, through Parry Sound.

We stopped for the night at River Haven Resort on the Magnetewan River near Britt. I barbecued for supper. And set an oven mitt on fire. Oops ! After supper I went to the dock to fish for an hour. I didn't catch anything. While I was fishing, 3 children swimming and playing on the beach started to holler about finding a rattlesnake on the beach. They threw a shirt over it, and then were all excited, and uncertain of what to do next. I decided to wander over to the beach, ensure that they didn't harm some poor helpless little garter snake, and advise them that there are no rattlesnakes in Ontario. I walked over there and cautioned them not to harm a defenceless little garter snake. They insisted it was a rattlesnake. I picked up the shirt, shook it, and out fell ... a little ... snake with a rattle on its tail ! HUH ? ? ? Ontario doesn't have rattlesnakes ! Does it ? ! ?

Bo was very happy tonight. He got to romp in Tea Lake this afternoon, and twice tonight in the Magnetewan River. Joanne was much less pleased that I let him romp around in lakes and rivers.

 

Thursday ; Britt to Pancake Bay Provincial Park, Ontario

Today was hot and humid again, with intermittent rain.

Today was a long day of driving hard. We drove north on Hwy. 69 to Sudbury, then turned west on Hwy. 17 to Sault Ste. Marie. Near Sudbury we twice saw people selling fresh wild blueberries, so we stopped a few times today to search for blueberries at likely looking spots. We didn't find any. At Sault Ste. Marie Hwy 17 turned north to follow the east shore of Lake Superior.

We stopped for the night at Pancake Bay Provincial Park on Lake Superior. We had been here many years ago, liked it, and wanted to return. It was our intention to stop here 2 years ago on our way from Ottawa to Winnipeg, but we were forced to stay at Sault Ste. Marie instead, to deal with the first of Dee-Dee's many mechanical problems.

We set up in our campsite, had supper, then went for a long walk. The bay was calm. I've never seen Lake Superior's shoreline calm. From the campground, one can look out onto Lake Superior, and see where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank near here in November, 1975.

 

Friday ; Pancake Bay Provincial Park

Today was sunny and warm. A very nice day. We took a needed day off from driving.

Joanne spent the early part of the day painting the sink covers. She has been working on this project intermittently for a year now ! We spent most of the day applying pinstriping to the truck. It was a slow, tedious job, but it went better than I had expected. I ran out of pinstriping before I was finished, so I'll have to buy more to complete the job. We took lots of laundry down to the laundry room at the comfort station, and while the laundry washed, Joanne and I walked down to the beach. We walked barefoot along the water's edge. Lake Superior is cold ! We sat on the soft warm sand for awhile.

For supper we had beans with weiners roasted over the campfire. We spent most of the evening sitting around the campfire. Kind of like old time "roughing it".

 

Saturday ; Pancake Bay Provincial Park to Neys, Ontario

Happy Canada Day !

Today was cool and raining, with occasional thick fog as we drove along the north shore of Lake Superior.

It was another long day of driving hard. Or so it seemed. I was quite sick all day again with colitis. We left Pancake Bay, driving north then west along the shore of Lake Superior on Hwy. 17. We stopped for diesel at Montreal River, then again at White River. We encountered more than an average amount of dangerous driving by commercial trucks. We stopped at a likely looking spot to search for wild blueberries. We found a blueberry patch, but most of the berries weren't ripe yet. We picked a small amount for tomorrow morning's breakfast. We stopped for the night at Neys Lunch & Campground, a small, cheap campground across the road from Neys Provincial Park.

DSK