Knotty Ewe On the Land

This past weekend we made our maiden excursion into the wilds of camping.  It has been about 7 years since I last took my chances with nature so this was a rediscovery of old pleasures.

We headed out Friday afternoon with the intent of reaching Bon Echo Provincial Park (just north of Cloyne and not far from Renfrew) before sundown.  Despite the 3.5 hour long drive promised by Google Maps it was well past sundown when we go there.  After setting up camp in the dark we quickly retreated from the bugs to the tent for some sleep.

In the light of day we found our site to be lovely.  We had to walk into the site from where we parked the car for a bit so it was very private and quiet.

Despite some rain on Saturday night we were able to explore around the park and area.  We attempted an extended hike, but the bugs were just too much to make it enjoyable (read this as I freaked out at all the bugs) so the effort was aborted in favour of exploring the beach area.

It was a very enjoyable time, reminding me of the fun of strange camping cooking experiences – like having a single burner to boil water for coffee and make oatmeal at the same time.

And the need to get creative – I was introduced to “bacon stick” for cooking bacon over the fire.

Yesterday my replacement Canada Savings Bonds arrived!  At my new address too!

For those of you familiar with this saga you will know how exciting this is for me.  For those who are not, let’s just say it has been a long drawn out process over the past 18 months to get replacement bonds.  Through increasingly confused and paniced calls I finally learned that though the bonds were finally printed they were sent to my old old address.  However, one of the lovely people at Canada Savings Bonds took pity on me an manually intercepted my bonds before they actually went out in the mail.  The envelope they came in has my newest address on it, but the bonds have my old old one.  I’m going to call and tell them how grateful I am today.

Now I need to figure out when the bank opens so they can be cashed and added to the trip savings!

Last weekend to celebrate the start of my vacation and onwards journeys we escaped Toronto to head to Elora (north of Guelph) for the day.    It was a bright sunny day so we made an early break for it.  After spending the morning having a leisurely drive there with a stop in Glen Williams for some exploration we arrive in Elora in time for brunch.

We enjoyed savory, yummy buckwheat crepes for brunch at the Cafe Creperie.

We then parted ways for a few hours as Eric settled in to do some work in another cafe.  I headed off to do some hiking.  I managed to go all the way around the gorge in about 2 hours.  It was incredibly peaceful in amongst the trees with the sound of the rushing water below.

There were people tubing down the gorge which looked like a lot of fun.  Maybe next time!

After hiking I went to the Elora Gorge Conservation Area for a swim.  It is a fantastic spot for a dip at the end of the day.  It is an old rock quarry that has filled with water.  At one end they have made a lovely sandy beach.  The water is not too warm and perfectly clean.  It is the light coloured stone walls and bottom that make it that fantastic colour.  I didn’t have the guts to jump off the side of the quarry wall into the water.  There are some limits I’m not quite ready to push!

Elora quarry