Our View From The Road

Sharing where we've been and what we've seen

Category: Travel

Travel-related content

  • Day 05: Onto N’awlins we go

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    DST kicked in this morning so it feels early, earlier than normal early. We’re leaving Pensacola today so I’ve got some time for a short walk and quick breakfast before we strike camp. The short walk turned into a medium walk and suddenly we were a little later leaving than maybe we wanted. All good though and still on the road before 10:00.

    We started the day heading across country on some State roads towards Fairhope, AL. Missed a few turns along the way which only adds to the adventure. The GPS knew where we wanted to be so simply corrected my mistakes.

    Fairhope is a very pretty town, with lots of old oak trees lining the streets in front of orderly clapboard houses. Picket fences, trimmed hedges, all very orderly. Clearly the town had not suffered the wrath of a hurricane head-on.

    Located on the East side of Mobile Bay the town has long sand and pebble beaches and a 1400’ long pier, this we walked out and back as you do on a pier. Local fishermen had taken up their favorite spots and locals out for a run also joined us on the pier. A popular spot.

    Fairhope, AL pier

    From Fairhope we traveled North where we joined I-10 West. This would take us into Mississippi and onto Louisiana where we would be staying a night at the Faubourg Brewing Co. in N’awlins (New Orleans), LA. The brewery is a member of Harvest Hosts, establishments that allow RVs to stay the night on their property. Cost? Visit their business and buy something. A brewery….. easily done.

    The drive out of AL and across MS was uneventful and easy. The interstate was fairly busy but was flat for the most part as it crosses the marshy southern lands of this part of the continent. There were a couple of impressively long bridges that seemingly suspended the interstate above the bayous and river deltas that we passed through.

    Arriving at Faubourg Brewery we were not alone. First, this ‘craft’ brewery is huge, easily as large as any commercial brewery I’ve seen. Second, because of this size, the parking lot can accommodate large numbers of RVs. Until tonight we had only visited Harvest Host establishments that could accommodate no more than 4 or 5 visitors, here we were among 20 or so rigs of all sizes and styles.

    Faubourg Brewing Co., New Orleans, LA

    However, getting past the number of people joining us tonight, the brewery is amazing. They have lots of styles of beers to try as well as a very good kitchen from which we purchased lunch that we enjoyed while sitting outdoors on the large patio in the sun. It was 29C and breezy, a far cry from the cold of the North.

    We took an Uber ride from the brewery into the French Quarter of the city to be like tourists for the remainder of the day. Having not been here before we really weren’t sure what to expect beyond what we’d seen in videos. Sensory overload would probably be a good place to start.

    Anyone for hot sauce?

    So, very busy, lots of tourists with cameras and lots of street vendors. There’s an amazing vibe and I can easily see getting caught up in that vibrancy and partying the night away. We made our way through the streets dodging the drunken hen parties and sidewalk bucket drummers looking for a place to get supper. Bourbon Street is the heart of the French Quarter, a jostling street party that appears to be going all the time. The noise is quite unbelievable, the aforementioned bucket drummers (5gal plastic pails) competing with bicycle/tricycle equipped rolling beatboxes turned to 11, all trying to outdo the street bands for your attention and donations. Ah, but not to be outdone, the eating/drinking establishments also were vying for your auditory attention by outdoing all of the street noise with noise of their own from massive sound systems clearly aimed out at the street. It was all bit numbing to be perfectly honest.

    We chose not to try an eat downtown, places wheee there were lineups for tables (probably the better establishments) were incredibly noisy, dark and we suspecting not very clean given the state of the clientele. Food? I think not. Drinks? Again, hard pass.

    French Quarter

    We did find a place for an ice cream and then we picked up an order of Beignets and took them with us in an Uber back to the brewery, they’d be tomorrows breakfast.

    We caught up on some YouTube viewing in the van before heading to bed. Our neighbors seemed intent on partying into the early hours, we were done. It had been quite a day. Good night.

  • Day 04: Ah! Sunshine…

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    We told ourselves that we would sleep in today as we are staying put at Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, FL… So, why am I awake at 6:30am? Most probable cause would be that we fell asleep before 9:00pm last evening. Sigh.

    Previous evening upon arrival

    I thought I’d start the day by walking the longest trail in the park, a 3.5 mile loop that should allow me to really see what the park is about. The walk started well along the trail is pure white sand so it was similar to walking in several inches of fresh snow (something I am quite familiar with). Two steps forward and half-step back. At about 2km into the walk after passing several examples of alligator crossings on the trail I came upon a drainage channel that I could not cross(without getting wet), the bridge had apparently washed away (hurricane Sally in 2021?). This caused me to reverse my route and improvise the remainder of my walk. I ended up at the boat launch as the remainder of the park (day use area) was still closed as a result of the afore mentioned hurricane. After sitting and taking a few photos I returned to our campsite with stories of my adventure. Yay, 4.92km.

    About the park from the walking trails

    Eggs & bacon for breakfast cooked on our 18” Blackstone griddle (not too heavy or bulky Mr. Milddogs.com) 😆. There’s something about breakfast cooked outdoors… it always tastes so much better.

    Views about our campsite

    Most of the day was reserved for relaxing and reading. Of which we both did quite a lot. We both also tried the park showers which we rated a solid 7 out of 10. Room for improvement but satisfying nonetheless.

    I also checked and adjusted tyre pressures of the van as I had inflated correctly for -9C which proved a little too much when checked at an air temperature of 21C. All tyres needed some air to be removed. I feel a little better about our upcoming drives now.

    Before long the day had slipped us by and dinner needed preparing. Tonight the menu was steak, along with fried vegetables and potatoes all prepared on the Blackstone. A glass or two of Cabernet Sauvignon was also enjoyed. Followed by Little Debbie snacking cakes. Mmmmm.

    Campsite selfie (usie?)

    As the evening sky turned that hazy bluish yellow color, Barb and I walked back to the boat launch at sunset. The remainder of the evening saw us prepare a few items ahead of tomorrows departure and then more reading ahead of sleep.

    Sunset from the boat launch.

    Tomorrow we head to NOLA. Be sure to check back to see what we get up to!

    Oh, and if your interested be sure to check out our ‘merch’ store for our latest wearables and accessories… Oh right, we don’t have any merchandise to sell. Maybe we should?

  • Day 03: Are we there yet?

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    Having listened to several train horns at various times in the night, 6:30 arrived and I was up for my morning walk. Lightly showering but 11C so lighter clothing under the rain jacket.

    Collegedale is a very car-centric community, or at least the area we stayed in is. Walking was a challenge as sidewalks were far and few between, the inclusion of them clearly being left to the developers should they have felt like it, most didn’t. This meant that I walked in the narrow shoulder facing traffic that was going well over the posted limit in damp conditions. Needless to say, I didn’t last long & hope to put in the remaining distance when we arrive at the state park this afternoon.

    After breakfast in the van, we headed out at about 8:30 and travelled through Chattanooga on I-75 before picking up the I-59 towards the Georgia border, a few minutes later we crossed into Alabama where we entered the Central timezone, so it was 8:30 again. But we didn’t get too excited as we’ll lose that hour this coming weekend when the clocks change to daylight savings time.

    Eastern Redbud in bloom

    Onto Birmingham, AL where we followed the I-465 around the city before heading South on the I-65 towards Montgomery, AL and then towards Pensacola, FL.

    The driving today has been easy, lots of construction zones with reduced speeds and few to no workers to warrant the slowdowns, but stress free driving is always nice. The landscape changed a lot, from the mountains of Tennessee to the rolling hills of Northern Alabama to the mostly flat sandy pine tree covered dunes of Florida. Most of the hardwood trees were replaced with softwood varieties and the wild wisteria that hung blooming in many trees in Northern Alabama is not suited to the heat and humidity of the gulf coast.

    Wild Wisteria

    As I write this it is overcast and showering in Pensacola but warm at 24C. We’re booked in to spend two nights at the Big Lagoon State Park here in Pensacola, FL and so will provide a review of our site, the park and what we get up to in the next couple of posts.

    Sneak peek at our destination

    Stay tuned, be happy! Spring really is on the way.

  • Day 02: Provisioning day

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    Yep, all camping trips begin with provisioning, except this one. It’s day 2 and we’re yet to gather supplies. That changes today!

    Had a great sleep parked at the Cracker Barrel in Winchester, VA. Highly recommended. Awake just before 7:00 and out for a 5.5km walk along mostly overly busy roads. Chilly at -1C but it should soon warm.

    A restful parkup

    Back at the van, Barb has reorganized some things and is feeling much better about where and how our stuff is stored.

    After a smallish breakfast at our hosts, we were back on I-81 South at 9:00am. I’m hoping for a shorter day (a little foreshadowing here).

    Cherry blossoms

    Virginia is a beautiful state. The mountains, farms, forests and valleys all tell a tale of over two-hundred years of settlement. It really is easy to see why it became a popular settling destination.

    Although it won’t feel like it to those of you that live north of the US/Canada border, Spring arrived early for us today. The grass here is greening up and in some-places could already be mowed (still on the lookout for that first operating mower). Many trees are budding and the flowering trees are in full bloom. We saw Cherry blossoms, flowering dogwoods (State flower of Virginia) and Eastern Redbud that actually flowers with a purple flower. Daffodils are also in bloom. Yep, Spring is here.

    Forsythia in bloom along the roadside

    Arriving in Roanoke, VA we decided to visit Camping World and pick up a few bits and pieces for the van and get Propane. Bits and pieces were acquired but their propane system was out of order. They suggested the TSC store next door. Hmmm, I’m hoping they will know how to fill an RV tank.

    We drive to the TSC and immediately prune one of their lovely trees with the roof of the van. Argh! Phew, no harm to the van thankfully, but the poor tree had a few branches less after greeting us. As for the Propane, all went well & the dude was quite skilled in filling RV tanks. Yay, provisioning has begun.

    Next we acquired water for our tank, we can now flush and wash!!! This is a good thing. We do not drink the water from our tank and instead buy bottled water for safety reasons.

    Leaving Virginia and entering Tennessee, I-81 turns Westward towards Knoxville. We arrived during afternoon rush hour… yay! This slowed our progress and resulted in our arriving in Chattanooga at 7:00pm. Not a shorter driving day.

    Dinner courtesy of Arby’s, parkup courtesy of Walmart on Little Debbie Lane, Collegedale, TN. the home of the Little Debbie factory.

    After the Propane and Water acquisitions of earlier, food provisions have been acquired from Walmart that should last us for a few days.

    All for today. Tomorrow we cross into the Central timezone and should arrive in Florida!

  • Day 01: On the road again…

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    Welcome back to our travel blog! The long and snowy winters end approaches; however, not quickly enough for these intrepid explorers. And so this post finds us heading out in search of sunnier and warmer climes in the Southern US. Todays drive took us from the US/Canadian border, across the Blue Ridge mountains and into the state of Virginia.

    It’s 6:00am and half of the house is awake for the day, it should be a busy one. No snow overnight so at least there’s none to brush off of the van before we can drive. Now, time to go for a walk and then the final loading to complete. 9:00am target departure. Wish us luck!

    About to hit the road

    Ok, so 9:30am and we’re rolling out of town after dropping a package off at the post office. The roads are dry and it’s sunny, a good omen we believe.

    The St. Lawrence river is open water signaling that Spring is near. The border crossing is very smooth with just a few cursory questions concluding with the agent saying a rather abrupt “Goodbye”. Several hundred yards later at the bridge toll booth we were held up slightly as a trucker maneuvered his/her 11’6” wide load through a series of bollards signed at being 11’6” clear. Some of the item wrapping brushed against the bollards but otherwise no damage done. Nice driving.

    The drive across US37 towards Watertown, NY was easy and a nice way to ease into what would be a long day.

    We picked up I-81 and headed South towards Syracuse and onto Whitney Point where we stopped at the visitor center and had a ham & cheese wrap for lunch.

    Frost capped trees near Whitney Point, NY

    Binghamton, Scranton and Wilkes Barre soon followed as the interstate took us further South with each passing mile. By this point in the journey almost all of the snow on the ground was gone and the temperature was steadily above zero Celsius. By the time we cross out of Pennsylvania and into Maryland the temperature is a steady 8C, that’s 15C above this mornings temperature at home!

    Crossing the Potomac

    Driving through West Virginia the sun sets and the nighttime truck traffic is taking over the interstate, time to find a park up. Like Mr & Mrs Milddogs last year, we decided to stop at the Cracker Barrel in Winchester, VA. where we enjoyed a chicken dinner before settling down for the night. I was even carded when requesting a beer with my dinner! 59 and still looking under 25! I’ll take it.

    Sunset

    It was a very long day of driving which saw us arrive at 7:15pm, almost 10 hours after leaving home. Tomorrow should be shorter and will see us head towards Chattanooga, TN. Stay tuned for how we make out.

    Before signing off for the night, let’s address a few questions you, our readers, might have.
    1. How are you handling the colder temperatures? Are you not afraid of the piping freezing while driving through states with temperatures below freezing point?
    – We left home with the van still ‘winterized’ with plumbing antifreeze in the piping and plan on leaving it that way until the ambient temperatures support ‘dewinterizing’.
    2. Have you made any changes or improvements to the van over the winter?
    – We were generally very happy with the van when we last used it in 2022. We have added a small shelving system under the sink to better organize baskets that we keep there containing various items used in the galley.
    3. Was any specific maintenance performed before travelling this year?
    – As the van currently has only 15000kms on it, only an oil change and service was performed by the Ford dealer last Fall. Other than this, only the typical pre-trip checks of fluids, tyre pressures, etc. were performed. We are expecting to have to perform a little more maintenance upon our return.

  • Southern Ontario Fall Roadtrip

    Southern Ontario Fall Roadtrip

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    What’s all this about then?

    It’s Friday, September 23rd and we’re on the road again. This time we’re heading out on a tour that will take us around the Southern Ontario peninsula allowing us to visit family and some places that we’ve not visited before. Our first stop would be Woodstock for a couple of days where we ‘mooch docked’ in my brother’s laneway. The last time we visited was at the start of our Cross-continent trip in May of this year, it was nice to spend some time catching up on what’s new in our lives and those around us.

    We left Woodstock on Sunday morning with the goal to head South to Long Point on Lake Erie; however, a quick detour took us past a house near Burgessville (below) familiar to the Fisher family.

    Vittoria, ON

    Our drive continued South through Norwich and Delhi. This area was the heart of Ontario’s ‘tobacco belt’ growing thousands of acres of the crop throughout the 20th century. As tobacco sales plummeted farmers in this area have had to shift to new crops such as Ginseng, asparagus and root vegetables, the sandy soil proving to be perfect for such crops. During our drive we passed several large distribution facilities setup to collect and take crops to larger metropolitan centers. However, if you looked closely there were still old tobacco drying kilns on many of the farms, left out of denial that they no longer had a purpose.

    We stopped in the village of Vittoria, a small community south of Simcoe as I had discovered while researching Barb’s ancestry that a branch of her family had initially settled in Ontario in this area was an integral part of the community and contributed to the building of the local Baptist church.

    “Located about three miles from Lake Erie, the little village had become, in the early 1800’s, the most active and important commercial centre between Niagara Falls and Detroit. It was not only the hub of the Long Point Settlement, but also, from 1815 to 1825 the judicial capital of the London District of Upper Canada, hosting the district courts and the Registry offices.” (Website: Welcome to Vittoria, Ontario, Canada)

    We discovered that the church building still stands but now houses a bakery with the main floor being a space available for renting by the community. We purchased a few goodies from the bakery and were directed toward a local pizzeria whose specialty is ‘Dill Pickle Pizza’, Barb couldn’t resist and so lunch was to be a couple of personal sized pizzas that we enjoyed while parked alongside the beach in the village of Turkey Point.

    Vittoria, ON – Old Baptist church
    Vittoria, ON – Interior of Old Baptist church
    Vittoria, ON – Window in Old Baptist church

    Long Point Provincial Park, Port Rowan, ON

    Our Sunday drive ended with us leaving Turkey Point and driving to Long Point Provincial Park. Located on the Long Point sandbar that projects into Lake Erie and home to many waterfowl and a stopover for many migratory birds, the area is a destination for many bird watchers.

    Below you can see we had a sheltered site surrounded by trees and close to the camp showers. The day had been sunny for the most part, but the winds had been increasing throughout the day with rain forecast in the days ahead. We ventured to the beach and as you can in the photograph below, the winds were quite gusty, yet protected by sand dunes, the campground was sheltered from the wind. We spent two quiet nights camping here.

    Long Point, ON – Campsite
    Long Point, ON – Windy afternoon!
    Long Point, ON
    Long Point, ON
    Long Point, ON
    Long Point, ON – Bird Sanctuary

    Fanshawe Conservation Area, London, ON

    Tuesday September 27th and time to leave Long Point and head North but not before touring a little further West along the lakeshore to Port Stanley. A popular spot for Londoners to get away from the city during the warmer summer months, late September sees the beach empty and nearby businesses closed for the season.

    Our drive from here turned North towards St. Thomas and onto London where we stopped for a quick lunch before heading around the city to the Fanshawe Conservation Area where we planned to stay for a couple of nights but ended up staying just one. The campground was quiet with the sites being grassy and treed. Like Long Point, here we also found ourselves outside of any cellular service which hindered our ability to plan our upcoming days.

    Fanshawe Conservation Area, London, ON – Campsite
    Fanshawe Lake, London, ON
    Thames River, London, ON

    On Wednesday we headed North into Huron county where we stopped in Exeter and “mooch docked” at Barb’s parents. It was nice to visit for a few days as we had not seen them since May and so we spent time filling them in on our travels this year.

    Goderich, ON

    Saturday October 1st saw us leave Exeter and head towards Goderich where we would spend the night with Barb’s sister. It also gave Barb the opportunity to go to a beach on Lake Huron, something that she tries to ensure she does at least once a year. You can take a girl away from the lake, but you can’t take the lake away from the girl.

    Bluewater Beach, Goderich, ON
    Bluewater Beach, Goderich, ON

    MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Port Elgin, ON

    Sunday would see us driving North along the lake towards Port Elgin. the rain from the previous week had moved out and we were now blessed with sunny skies and very nice autumn weather. Near Port Elgin is MacGregor Point Provincial Park, a large park with several campgrounds and a lot of sites some of which are available for camping year-round. Our site was surrounded by trees and only one other site was visible from our site. As you can see in the photos below, we finally had a campfire and enjoyed an epic sunset over the lake. The beach was empty because of the time of year and so afforded us a quiet walk along the edge of the water. This is a beautiful park and we will definitely return for a longer stay in the future.

    MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Port Elgin, ON – Campsite
    MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Port Elgin, ON – Campsite
    MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Port Elgin, ON – Campfire
    MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Port Elgin, ON – Beach
    MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Port Elgin, ON
    MacGregor Point Provincial Park, Port Elgin, ON – Sunset

    Port Elgin, ON

    After a couple of nights at MacGregor Point, we continued our trip on Tuesday October 4th by first heading into Port Elgin and exploring the harbour area. Clearly another lakeside town that becomes very quiet outside of the warm summer months.

    Port Elgin, ON
    Port Elgin, ON

    Our last camping stop of this trip would require us to drive some distance back across the province eastward. Our route took us around the southern edge of Georgian Bay through Owen Sound, Meaford and onto Collingwood where we would then head away from the lake towards Orillia and south to Lindsay and Peterborough before arriving in Campbellford.

    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON

    We arrived at Ferris Provincial Park without a reservation and after the gatehouse had closed for the day. There were instructions to simply drive in and locate a site completing the registration the following day. We chose a treed site in the upper campground and settled in for the next couple of days. A smaller park on the edge of the river just on the outskirts of the town, there are lots of walking trails with some leading into town for easy access to supplies. The suspension bridge across the river afforded some great views along the gorge.

    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON – Campsite
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Ferris Provincial Park, Campbellford, ON
    Happy Campers!

    And that’s a wrap for 2022 camping!

    As you can see in the picture above, we both enjoyed this trip very much. The Autumn is a favourite time of the year when the weather can still be warm and the fall colours are beautiful. We drove home along Highway 7 towards Perth and then onto Smiths Falls, this drive allowing us to see some stunning displays of fall foliage.

    This is our last camping trip in our van of 2022, its been a fun year in which we’ve been fortunate enough to see many beautiful places across the continent. Where will we venture in 2023? For that you will have to ‘stay tuned’ as our planning is now just beginning.

    2022 Fall Colours, ON
    2022 Fall Colours – Home

  • Prince Edward county: Wine and sand… Oh my!

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    For our second trip to Prince Edward County this year, we teamed up with our friends Dean & Cathy to spend a week relaxing at Sandbanks River Country Campground. We chose to take the week immediately after the Labour Day weekend in the hopes that it would be quiet, we chose wisely!

    The drive to PEC was uneventful with the exception of having to detour around the town of Picton due to water mains construction in the downtown. Dean & Cathy have a 33’ class-A motor home and so we were hoping that none of the detour roads would be impassable in a rig of that size. Luckily, no problems were had and we enjoyed the country drive to the campground.

    As we were together and our van is small and maneuverable, we parked on our site ‘backwards’ by driving in. This allows our sliding door and awning to extend towards their site and thus makes it a friendlier camping experience. This meant that in order to dump our tanks we needed to partially pack-up in order to turn the van around to reach the drainage point and then turn back again to continue camping. This turned out to be easier than it sounds and was only performed once mid-week and then again just before we left.

    Below you see our 2 campsites shortly after arriving. Setup only took about 45min after which we relaxed for the remainder of the day catching up with each other.

    Early on the Tuesday morning, Tony headed out for his daily walk and went off to explore the access footpath into Sandbanks Provincial Park. The campground in which we are staying is directly across a road from the Provincial park and there is an agreement in place that grants campers in the campground walking access to the Provincial Park beach. The walk to the beach turned out to be only about 10mins. We will likely use this a lot during the week.

    This morning the beach is empty with the exception of a few dog walkers and joggers. The picture below shows how big the beach is when it’s empty. We’re in for a couple of cloudy days and so do not expect it to be busy until the weekend.

    Throughout the week we all had plenty of time to relax and enjoy our surroundings. Many a book page was read and many a drink was enjoyed. Once the weather improved later in the week for sitting out in the evenings, we enjoyed several campfires including the one below. At one many marshmallows were toasted or burnt and eaten in S’mores. At another pie irons were used to bake various campfire treats. We even explored making a ‘breakfast’ sandwich in a pie iron that included an egg and ham. Yummy!

    On Thursday we were driven to a distillery, 2 wineries and a craft brewery as part of a tour we had booked. The following pictures are from that tour. A great time was had by all of us.

    Our last full day was Saturday and the campground and Park beach had become much busier now that Summer-like weather had returned. We spent most of the day at the campsite relaxing and playing games before heading the the beach for one last visit.

    We have already booked the same campsites for the same week next year in the hopes that the weather will be as good.

    Great times were had by all. Friends for over 30 years and we’re still making fantastic memories together. Until next year, happy camping!

  • Mid-week excursion to Charleston Lake

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    Our grand-daughter, Elena, is staying with us for the week and so we thought a quick two day camping get away would be a nice break. However, Mother Nature decided to make the start of our journey a little challenging by delivering a deluge of rain just before we were to head out. In the picture below you can see the Summer shower ‘inviting’ us to enjoy the great outdoors.

    Camping anyone?
    “Are we there yet?”
    44.49702° N, 76.04363° W

    Luckily the weather delayed our departure by only an hour and the drive from our home to Charleston Lake Provincial park is only an hour so even with the small delay we still arrived at our campsite well ahead of dinner time.

    Setting up the van took a little longer than usual as we had to prepare a 3rd bed for Elena. This is comprised of a board and blankets placed on the swiveled front seats. Really quite a nice space.

    Elena’s bed

    After dinner we took a short walk to the beach and then to the playground where Elena had to slide, swing, bounce and teeter-totter before she would allow us to leave and return the campsite. The evening ended with a small campfire.

    A walk in the woods

    The campground is quiet and the sites quite large and level as well as shady amongst maple and pine trees. Ours had lots of space for Elena to run around.

    Campsite setup completed

    On Day 2 we decided to spend some time at the beautiful beach that they have in this park. It is really quite suited to younger children as it’s roped off and quite shallow. The water was warm and clear, and frogs and fishes were spotted.

    Beach time!

    After lunch it we enjoyed some quiet time at the campsite.

    Quiet time with Grandma

    In the evening we had a campfire where marshmallows were roasted and s’mores were made. Sleep came fairly early as we had all really enjoyed the outdoor air.

    Magic flames

    Day3 started with Grandpa cooking breakfast on the griddle before we all pitched in to pack up our campsite. Time for one last picture before heading out.

    Happy campers about to head home

    Although the camping trip had been fun, we all slept really well in our own beds at home that night. Until the next camping trip, here’s hoping everyone enjoyed seeing and reading about our quick get away to Charleston Lake.

  • A short trip away…

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    Late July and we’re off again, this time for a short two-night stay at Farran Campground on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The campgrounds along the St. Lawrence river are fairly close to home being less than an hours drive door to site. As this was a mid-week get away, we made reservations just a few days in advance and managed to snag ourselves a nice flat grassy site in the quiet Western section of the campground.

    Quite a view

    We arrived in the late afternoon and setup our site. It was breezy and our chairs kept getting blown over (see picture above). This also necessitated using the windscreen around the grill while cooking the burgers we had prepared for dinner. The sites along this section of the park are huge with large level grassy areas for parking. This allowed us to setup with lots of space between us and our neighbors and because the sites are unserviced we didn’t need to worry about hookups, etc. (the van has ample electrical storage and drainage storage that we didn’t need a serviced site for the 2 nights that we were staying).

    After dinner we walked around the campground making notes of other possible sites for future trips and observing how others setup and “camp”. Due to the windy conditions we decided to pass on getting some firewood for the first night and will see what tomorrow brings. Returning to camp we enjoyed a drink and settled in for the night. It is so incredibly quiet that it should be a good night for sleeping.

    Day 2 of our short trip away was to be cut short. Barb had not had a good night and tested positive for COVID-19 in the morning. She was feeling rather under the weather and so we set aside our plans to cycle along the Long Sault parkway. In fact, after spending the morning and early afternoon lounging, we made the decision to prepare an early dinner and head home for the night rather than spend it in the van. I had not yet come down with any symptoms and therefore going home allowed us to keep some distance between ourselves and possibly avoid my also becoming sick.

    Ahead of leaving the campground we (as stated above) spent the day lounging on site. We both did some reading and napping to pass the time. The weather really was amazing.

    Arriving home it only took a few minutes to put away things from the van that we would need in the house. The next few days would see myself also test positive for COVID-19. The decision to come home early had been a good one as we both settled into recovering from the viral infection over the next week or so.

    As this is being written, we’ve both come through the infection and have both now tested negative. A few more days of staying away from others and we can get back out there again for another trip in our van. Plans are already underway so stay tuned!

  • July 21, 2022 – Recap and Statistics

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    Three weeks, yes it’s been that long since we arrived home after our 42 day cross-continent tour. A few friends have asked for some specifics about the trip and so we provide the following for your consideration.

    The first question tends to be about where we stayed each night. Did we find suitable camping locations? So, here are the stats for that.

    • 13 nights moochdocking (family laneways). Thank you all.
    • 3 nights at Indianapolis Motor Speedway camping field (no services).
    • 7 nights at Harvest Host locations
    • 3 nights in Walmart parking lots
    • 6 nights at KOA campgrounds (serviced).
    • 3 nights at US state park (Fort Stevens)
    • 2 nights at Canadian National Parks
    • 4 nights at Ontario Provincial Parks

    As you can see we mixed it up a bit and tried a variety of places. Favorites?

    • Harvest Host: Shiloh Winery & Vineyard, Kansas. Quiet solitude on the plains.
    • KOA: Central City, Colorado.
    • Parks Canada: Jasper, Whistlers Campground, Alberta.
    • Ontario Provincial Park: Macleod, Geraldton, Ontario.
    • Family laneway: Yeah, we’re not picking a favorite as we love you all.

    The next obvious question is about where exactly did we go? Here’s a map that shows you the route West from Ontario, across the US Midwest, up to British Columbia and the back across the Canadian prairies.

    Map of the journey

    Lastly, given the current price of fuel, folks have asked how much fuel we used and what it cost. So, here it is all laid out in a table for you to review.

    Fuel statistics

    So there you have it, a few statistics about the trip. Hoping you find them interesting.

  • Day 42: June 30 – Deep River, ON to Home

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    Good morning.

    Slept in today as it will be a short drive home from Driftwood Provincial Park. Had time to cook eggs, bacon & hash-browns and enjoy them outside…. Yes, the weather has finally cooperated to allow us to do this.

    Last breakfast on the road for this trip

    This being the day before Canada Day traffic between the park and Ottawa was much heavier than we had seen in recent days. However, we enjoyed an uneventful drive and before long we found ourselves driving into our laneway. We are home.

    We were greeted by Kyra and an overly exuberant Dublin (Kyra’s dog) both of whom had missed us these past 42 days.

    The remainder of the day will be spent unloading the van and settling back into the house.

    If you’ve followed our journey from the beginning, thank you. I hope that my writing and our travels have been engaging for you. I plan on posting one or two follow on posts in the next few days that provide some statistics and thoughts after the fact. So, stay tuned!

    Happy travelers. See you soon!

  • Day 41: June 29 – Timmins, ON to Deep River, ON

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    Today we shall complete our Hwy-11 journey and join Hwy-17 at North Bay for the journey down the Ottawa Valley.

    We pass through Earlton and wave at ‘Earl’ the bison on the way past. We stop for lunch at a quiet rest area a little North of North Bay and find an amazingly tranquil lake.

    North Bay seems overly congested after the past few days of driving. The return to civilization is a little jarring. We leave the Toronto-bound traffic and continue Eastward on Hwy-17 towards Mattawa.

    At Mattawa we spot Big Joe Mufferaw and turn towards Ottawa. Our destination for the night is Driftwood Provincial Park near Deep River as it will leave a short drive for tomorrow, our last day.

    We snag an amazing waterfront site and settle in for a relaxing afternoon in the sun. The view is incredible across the Ottawa River and the sun is warming but not hot.

    ‘Earl’ the bison in Earlton, ON
    Lunchtime view a little North of North Bay, ON
    Lunchtime view a little North of North Bay, ON
    Hwy-11 bridge
    Hwy-11 scenery
    Hwy-17 scenery
    Driftwood Provincial Park, near Deep River, ON
    View from our campsite
    Last night campfire
    Sunset
    Good night

  • Day 40: June 28 – Geraldton, ON to Timmins, ON

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    Although last nights weather forecast was only for light showers, we actually had an all out thunderstorm for about an hours or so around midnight followed by light rain the remainder of the night. By this morning the rain had ended. Yay.

    We traveled East for a few hours through the Northern Ontario wilderness and then stopped for fuel in Hearst. A short drive further and we arrived in Kapuskasing where Barb got to satisfy her desire for chip truck poutine from Nicky’s Chipstand. It was delicious (Yes I had some too).

    Leaving town we stopped at the Fromagerie Kapuskoise to buy some wonderful cheese products made with locally sourced milk (cow, sheep & goat).

    Driving along Hwy-11 you see some unusual sights; however, the flying saucer in Moonbeam probably has all others beat. We had to stop to take a photo.

    Our destination for the night is Kettle Lakes Provincial Park just East of Timmins, ON. A large park with lots of smaller lakes throughout, the campsites were roomy and separated from each other nicely. The mosquitoes are very abundant.

    Hearst, ON
    Kapuskasing railway station
    Fromagerie Kapuskoise, Kapuskasing, ON
    Moonbeam, ON
    Kettle Lakes Provincial Park near Timmins, ON
    Our campsite at Kettle Lakes

  • Day 39: June 27 – Dryden, ON to Geraldton, ON

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    Aaron Provincial Park was wonderful. Quiet and quite large sites. If you’re driving past it’s worth a stop for the night. We highly recommend.

    Slow start to the day it seems as we didn’t get rolling until about 10:00am. Today we are targeting Geraldton, ON along Hwy-11 from Thunder Bay. We’ve never driven along the northern branch of the Trans Canada highway and thought this trip was a chance to do so.

    Before we got to Thunder Bay we stopped at the marker for the crossing into the Eastern Timezone at 90degrees west. There is also a couple of plaques describing and memorializing Sir Sanford Fleming as he invented the concept of Standard Time.

    Our next stop was the Terry Fox lookout just East of Thunder Bay along Hwy-11/17. Not only is this is a wonderful place to lookout across Lake Superior it is also a fabulous memorial to an amazing Canadian. Driving here? Do not pass without stopping.

    At Nipigon we topped off our fuel, turned North onto Hwy-11 and headed toward Geraldton. The first hour is gorgeous with the road winding alongside lakes and traveling down valleys between rock outcroppings as tall as the Niagara escarpment. Eventually the road turned East again and we were now driving through the true Northlands of the province.

    Eventually we arrived at our destination for the night, Macleod Provincial Park. Again no reservation but they had an unserviced site next to the lake for us. It took a few boards to level the van but the view is worth it.

    Crossing back into the Eastern time zone
    Terry Fox memorial, Thunder Bay, ON
    Terry Fox memorial, Thunder Bay, ON
    Terry Fox memorial, Thunder Bay, ON
    Cable stay bridge East of Thunder Bay on Hwy-17
    Beardmore, ON
    View from our campsite at Macleod Provincial Park near Geraldton, ON
    Our campsite at Macleod Provincial Park
    View from Terry Fox memorial, Thunder Bay, ON

  • Day 38: June 26 – Portage la Prairie, MB to Dryden, ON

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    After a great nights sleep at the Walmart, we headed to Tim Horton’s for breakfast. Disappointment awaited. Barb’s breakfast sandwich had eggshells in it and my Bagel BELT arrived without L or T. 😒

    We made a quick stop at the White Horse monument just West of Winnipeg as we had stopped there on our last trip West in 2003 with the kids.

    We also stopped in Winnipeg for fuel and to look for a specific alcoholic beverage sold at the Manitoba Liquor Marts but not back home at the LCBO.

    Accessing the liquor mart required us to handover photo ID. The staff then checked the image on the card against each of us (I had to remove my glasses which were slightly tinted because of the sun). They then scanned the cards and returned them before unlocking the door to allow us to enter. Tighter security than any airport it would seem is required before you can buy your bottle here. Wow.

    The drive out of Manitoba saw us leave the prairie and enter the boreal forest. We then crossed back into Ontario 32 days after we left. We stopped to enjoy lunch at the ‘Welcome to Ontario’ information center and then continued toward our destination just past Dryden, ON.

    Our stop for the night would be Aaron Provincial Park. We have no reservation but they had some sites and ours was close to the brand new shower block. Shower first, then dinner.

    White Horse monument
    White Horse monument
    Story of White Horse
    …& into Ontario
    Typical Ontario view through the windshield
    ‘Max’ the moose, Dryden, ON

  • Day 37: June 25 – Lloydminster, AB to Portage la Prairie, MB

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    Early start to the day as we head East out of Lloydminster and immediately into Saskatchewan. The border actually splits the town into two and as we depart we both commented on our observation that most of the recent commercial development had occurred on the Alberta side of town leaving the Saskatchewan side feeling less loved.

    Saskatchewan is what you expect, arable farm land as far as you can see. On our journey we are accompanied by a railway line and a never ending string of electricity poles. The yellow brick road Yellowhead highway is occasionally crossed by secondary roads that if you turn to look along as you pass, appear to go over the horizon. Maybe Oz is out there somewhere.

    Contrary to rumor, not all of the old grain elevators have been torn down and replaced with new shiny silver bins. Below you will see a few that we passed.

    We stopped in Saskatoon primarily to visit the PleasureWay Industries plant where our van was made. Unfortunately it being a Saturday there was no one there. We still took the obligatory photo in front of the factory.

    The afternoon was supposed to go like this; drive into Manitoba, find the town of Russell, and end the day by parking up for the night in their “Peace park” where they have free camping and electrical hookups. I say ‘supposed’ because that’s not quite what happened.

    We started the afternoon well and finished driving across Saskatchewan and into Manitoba. We even found the town of Russell and the ‘Peace park’. It was barricaded and a sign indicated that the site was soon to be the home of a new Co-Op. Hmmm. Now what? Where do we stop & park up for the night?

    After filling up with fuel, we travel a short distance and look at a couple of campgrounds neither of which we felt comfortable stopping in (one was particularly sketchy although the online reviews made it sound fairly nice but basic). Looking at the map we realize that we were only 2 hours from Portage la Prairie and a Walmart. Decision made! Onwards we drove, we can re-provision in the morning.

    The Walmart parking lot was freshly paved and there was lots of room. It was 10:02pm CDT and we had just driven for about 12 hours and covered just over 1000km. Sleep will come easily tonight.

    Alberta / Saskatchewan border in Lloydminster
    Grain elevator 1
    Cargill potash terminal
    PleaseWay plant, Saskatoon
    Grain elevator 2
    Old Borden Bridge across North Saskatchewan River
    still… Our view from the road
    Crossing into Manitoba
    Rainbow
    Cargill grain elevator

  • Day 36: June 24 – Jasper National Park, AB to Lloydminster, AB

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    That was a cold night. We have recently slept easily through a few cooler nights without turning on the furnace and so thought last night would be the same. Nope, something about last night made the 5C feel colder than it was. Should have turned on the furnace or put on the heavier blankets.

    Today we leave the mountains and drive across Alberta, the landscape will change significantly and our thoughts will transition towards going home. It will take a few days, but we still expect to arrive home in about a week.

    Leaving the park we came across a herd of female Elk with their young laying beside the park entrance, a nice surprise for this time of day. From the park we headed into Jasper for a quick stop before getting back onto Hwy-16 and heading East toward Edmonton.

    The first hour or so the road roughly follows the Athabasca river out of the mountains, it is running very high and appears to be close to flooding. Before long we pass the last of the high mountains and enter the foothills. The road rolls up and down and is far less challenging than that of yesterday. There are more trees in this part of the province than we expected but as we approach Edmonton more arable land appears as a harbinger of what lies ahead.

    We take Hwy-216 and skirt around Edmonton as Friday afternoon rush hour has started and Hwy-16 through the city center is congested. A short 30 minutes later we rejoin Hwy-16 and are now on our way towards Lloydminster.

    We stopped for fuel in Vegreville and also found that the town has the worlds 3rd largest Pysanka. Mounted on a post in a park at the East end of town is a giant Ukrainian Easter Egg. It was made for Alberta’s Centennial in 1974 and rotates with the wind.

    We are well and truly away from the forests of western Alberta and now find ourselves driving through rolling farmland. Looking to the right or left as we pass roads leaving the highway we see that they head straight across the landscape for as far as we can see.

    Eventually we arrive in Lloydminster which actually sits on the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. Tonight we are staying at the 4th Meridian Brewery. Tomorrow we will cross Saskatchewan and hopefully enter Manitoba.

    Female Elk resting at the exit to our campground
    View of Whistler’s peak from Jasper,AB
    Dome car parked at Jasper railway station
    Roche Miette on the way out of Jasper National Park
    Last mountains before entering the foothills
    Our view from the road…
    Worlds 2nd largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg), Vegreville, AB
    Worlds 2nd largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg), Vegreville, AB
    Along the highway to Lloydminster, AB
    Entering Lloydminster
    Our hosts for the night the 4th Meridian Brewing Co.

  • Day 35: June 23 – Yoho National Park, BC to Jasper National Park, AB

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    Today will not be what we expect. Although we slept really well and neither of us heard any trains overnight, the day would bring just a few surprises.

    We started off with our usual morning preparations and then because the driving would only consist of about 3 hours, we thought we’d hike the “Walk in the past” trail which was documented at just 1.2km each way before we left the campground this morning.

    The trail has interpretive stops that tell the story of the building of the railway into Kicking Horse Pass. Little did we imagine that the 1.2km trail (actually 1.6km) would rise by 100 meters through the trees from the campground up and across the Trans-Canada railway to the original 4.5% grade ‘Big hill’ that the trains had to negotiate before the spiral tunnels were built in the early 1900’s. Phew, this was quite a hike, but we had some amazing views across the valley.

    Leaving the campground, we had a short drive to Hwy-93 that would take us up to Jasper. Having the Park Pass allowed us to just drive into the park and the road then began its long slope upwards. Shortly into the drive we drove over the Bow mountain summit at 2,098m. Continuing North, the road rose and fell through various passes, the sky darkened and rail began to fall. The rain soon changed to snow, yes snow in late June. No probs we thought, a few flurries in the air, nothing to worry about here. 20 minutes later the snow was accumulating on the windshield wipers, the campervan accident avoidance sensors were covered and resulted in multiple messages within the dash for Tony to clear. Soon enough the snow was accumulating on the road, not much but enough to make driving a 10,000lb vehicle an adventure.

    We arrived safely at the Columbia Icefield center but due to the snow and the low clouds could not see any mountains or the Athabaska glacier. We are soon to learn that glacier tours have been canceled for the day as 2m of snow had fallen overnight on the glacier preventing even their large busses from venturing there.

    We also had tickets for the Skywalk and so took the coach to that and went for a walk on the wild side (see pictures below). Walking on a glass platform over 900ft above the canyon floor was an interesting experience. The glass is 36mm thick and the cantilevered structure is supposedly designed to support 400,000lbs. Tell that to your brain as you first step onto the glass.

    Leaving the zero degree Celsius temperatures at the Icefield, we drove to Jasper where it was a balmy 9C. We treated ourselves to a nice meal ‘out’ this evening before heading to our campsite at the Whistlers campground just outside of town. It was still raining.

    We settled in for the evening and watched a movie before saying good night. Tomorrow we cross Alberta.

    Kicking Horse Pass
    Indian Paintbrush
    Trans-Canada highway passing over Trans-Canada railway in Kicking Horse Pass
    Snow on the Icefields parkway heading to Jasper, AB
    More snow…
    Barb braving the Columbia Icefield Skywalk
    It’s over 900’ to the gorge bottom
    Looking down between Tony’s feet
    Usie time!
    Looking down at the canyon far below
    Another look down
    Approaching the Skywalk
    Campsite at Jasper National Park, Whistlers campground

  • Day 34: June 22 – Tappen, BC to Yoho National Park, BC

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    After a restful night at the winery, we enjoyed a quiet breakfast and headed out. Destination today, Yoho National park.

    Our first stop was in Revelstoke where we enjoyed a Tim Horton’s bagel BELT and coffee before filling up with fuel. Starting to reacclimatize ourselves to CDN prices for fuel, Yikes!

    We visited the Revelstoke Railway Museum and learned more about the history of the railway through Revelstoke and the Canadian Rockies. Definitely worth the stop if you’re in the area.

    Continuing our journey we headed towards Roger’s Pass. It was raining. By the time we arrived at the Roger’s Pass information center it was raining, a lot. We learned that needed a Parks Canada park pass to drive up the Icefields parkway (tomorrow) and so purchased this here as it also provided us access to sites in Glacier, Yoho, Banff and Jasper National Parks.

    At Golden, BC the highway is undergoing some rather major reconstruction East of the town. The section of the highway that descends into the valley is being widened to four lanes. Now as the existing two lanes were carved into the mountain sides you’re probably wondering where the new lanes are being built. Well, from our perspective it appears that they are building in thin air above the valley; however, in reality the lanes are being built as bridges clinging to the side of the mountains. The workers appear to work in very perilous conditions daily to build these new lanes. The heights and where this is being done made our heads spin.

    We soon arrived in Yoho National Park where we would stay at the Kicking Horse campground just West of the CP spiral tunnels. Our campsite is wonderfully level and close to brand new showers & washroom facilities. The view is amazing and we walked around the campground taking it all in before dinner. If your a light sleeper the sound of squealing brakes from the trains descending the hill into Kicking Horse pass might put you off of camping here, luckily we tend to be sound sleepers but will let you know in the morning. Good night.

    Salmon Arm, BC
    Railway museum behind passing train, Revelstoke, BC
    Revelstoke Railway Museum
    Revelstoke Railway Museum interior
    Roger’s Pass, BC
    Hwy-1, Golden, BC – construction
    Hwy-1, Golden, BC – construction
    Hwy-1, Golden, BC – construction
    Yoho National Park, BC
    Yoho National Park, BC – Kicking Horse pass campground – our campsite
    Yoho National Park, BC – River near our campsite
    View from our campsite

  • Day 33: June 21 – Galiano Island, BC to Tappen, BC

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    We have booked travel on the 8:25am ferry to Tsawwassen as our drive is looking to be about 5 1/2 hours for the day. This meant an early rise so that we can load the bikes, enjoy a quick breakfast and say our goodbyes before leaving for the ferry terminal at 7:00am. After a week of being lazy and sleeping in more than a little, the early morning was a little trying but we did it and managed to be on our way shortly before 7.

    We’ve had a great time visiting and catching up on ‘life’ over the past seven days and the island has been a perfect place in which to recharge ourselves ahead of the drive home across the country. We can’t thank Tony’s parents enough for their hospitality.

    Back on the mainland our first stop was a Walmart to top-off our provisions and remount the bikes onto the rack. I kept them in the van for the ferry ride as the ramps can be notoriously bumpy and I was afraid of dragging the rack while embarking or disembarking. Wouldn’t you know it though, on this crossing the ramps were almost level and bump free.

    We drove from Tsawwassen to Surrey via Hwy-17 in order to join the Trans-Canada highway. From there we headed towards Hope, BC and enjoyed an ever thinning traffic volume as we went. By the time we had reached Hope, the traffic was quite light.

    We drove up the Coquihalla highway (Highway thru Hell) and have a completely new appreciation for the truck drivers that take this route in the Winter months.

    The scenery changed as we approached Kamloops to something similar to what we had seen in Utah/Nevada, mountain grassland meadows and scrubland.

    From Kamloops we turned and headed East further into the mountains. Our stop for the night is a charming winery in Tappen, BC. Only a few kilometers from the highway, but peaceful and serene. Good night one and all, enjoy the pictures from today.

    Ferry arriving to take us away
    Vancouver, BC
    Fraser river at Hope, BC
    Jamie Davis’ yard, Hope, BC
    Starting our climb up the ‘Coquihalla highway’
    Coquihalla snowshed
    View from up on the ‘Coque’
    Approaching Merritt, BC
    Recline Ridge Vineyards & Winery, Tappen, BC
    Our evening view