GTT Days 10-12

Well, time flies when you're having a good time! And travelling so many days without an Internet connection. I currently have no idea when this will be published.

 

August 10 - Neys Provincial Park, ON.

 

Well, when last I posted we had stopped in Nipigon on our way to Neys, on the northern shore of Lake Superior. We got a campsite right near the sandy beach though the weather was quite cool and sprinkled rain on us when we went for a walk.

 

 

 

I'm always amazed at how much like an Oregon beach this looks. Waves and driftwood and there's even freshwater clam shells and gulls to heighten the similarities. It's only missing the tidal rising and falling and the salt tang in the air! Ontario provincial park campgrounds can be rather primitive though. The ground isn't levelled, the roads are potholed and the pit toilets are the pits! The one "comfort station" is the only relatively modern convenience in any of the parks we've been to in this province. I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't charge an arm and a leg for the privilege of staying there for a night.

 

August 11 - Ivanhoe Lake Provincial Park, ON.

 

However we are definitely getting our use out of Ontario provincial parks! On our way to our next campsite we stopped at Potholes to view the glacier-sculpted rocks:

 

 

The trail is short and it gave us a much-needed break from the long drive. You all know how much I love interesting rocks, right?  

Ivanhoe Lake is a long narrow lake nearly halfway across the province east from Lake Superior. It's a popular fishing and cottage area though it was pretty quiet while we were there. Half the campground was blocked off but we got a really nice site right by the lake with a view.

 

We went for a walk but got totally overwhelmed by the mosquitos and then it started to rain in earnest. So we had a shower in the comfort station (which was so far away we had to drive) and then relaxed the rest of the evening in the dry and bug-free van. The sunset was pretty anyway:

 

 

Wildlife spotted:  4 sandhill cranes and a cheeky red squirrel who tried to mooch off us and when that didn't work tried to climb on the roof. Took a lot of persuasion to get it to get lost!

August 12 - Kap-Kig-Iwan Provincial Park, ON.

 

We've developed a travel schedule that's been working well for us. The alarm goes off a 6am and we get up, make tea and coffee, pack up the van and get on the road by 6:30am or thereabouts. Breakfast comes later and is either granola bars, nuts and fruit on the road or we actually stop and make a proper meal. The sun is already up and it's quiet on the roads that early. Plus we get where we're going at a reasonable hour which is better for getting a good campsite.

 

Kap-Kig-Iwan is obviously more used as a picnic site in summer and a cross-country ski park in winter. The campground is small but all sites have electricity so we were able to top up all the electronics batteries and plug in the fridge for one night. The weather was still cool but only partly overcast so we were able to go for a good hike down to the series of waterfalls:

 

 

Pretty! But it was hot work getting back up the steep hill and I was picking little burs out of my clothes afterward. We were able to sit outside for awhile but there were these annoying little flies like noseeums but not so biting that congregated in clouds around our faces. We were eventually driven back into the van with the bug nets up. I am so happy that I made those things!