Sunday indeed. Bright and sunny out and I`ll ignore the thick layer of frost on the car. As ever with Ontario parks, the bath house here is pretty good; a major buffeting from an excitable but warm shower sets me up well for the day. So "invigorated" am I that I don`t notice the cold on the way back to the trailer.
I've left Mrs T in bed and venture out, with hound and camera, on the photographic/poop/garbage expedition demanded of me. The dog comes up trumps only yards into the walk, which is a result, so it's off to the dumpster to deposit both poop and garbage. I lift the dumpster lid, chuck the garbage and "waaah!", there's a raccoon in there staring back up at me. The dumpster is big and deep and has very little in it, so this poor critter has snuck in under the lid, dropped down inside and can't get back out! There's no way I'm going into to release the beast so I call the Park's gatehouse and let the wardens know. The girl who answered the phone seemed quite unsure what to do but I now know I can walk away in the knowledge that I've done all I could do. If I'm camping further north, I shall be wary of bears in dumpsters I think, although it's be my guess that they could get out again. Hopefully!
Anyhoo, dog de-pooped and garbage deposited (before I'd seen the aforementioned Raccoon) means that I can concentrate on enjoying the Park. It being early in the season, the camping loops are quiet, except for the sites that back onto the creek, and they're full of towering 5ers and motorhomes; I guess if you can afford that kind of RV you don't mind paying the premium for the creek-side sites.
As the sun is getting higher, the temperature is climbing nicely and I'm beginning to think that we could be in for a rain-free weekend, only the second ever in the Airstream (or tent for that matter).
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| Creekside at Wheatley. You have to pay a premium for this view from your trailer window. |
Back at the trailer, things are stirring and Mrs T is ready for brekkie. We both settle down, me blogging, her reading and while away a couple of peaceful hours before lunch, which is surely the joy of camping. Even the dog is quiet. Kid-free weekends can be wonderful.
By the time lunch is served, the weather is so good that we sit outside and watch the world go by. The Cardinal that's been giving both the trailer and the car a hard time all weekend continues his work of trying to get both vehicles out of his territory - or is he just admiring his reflection in windows? - and we chat with occasional passers by and stop the hound from barking at everyone. It's all idyllic and just what we are looking for in camping weekends.
In no time at all it's time to start the packing procedure and get hitched up. We hadn't seen a car go by all morning so just as I maneuvered the car into position to hitch and momentarily block the road, a brand new Chrysler Town & Country minivan comes along and the driver looks panic stricken. There's more than enough room to get by but he says he doesn't want to scratch his car on the bushes and sits there wandering what to do - what a dope. Eventually I have to move my van because otherwise he's going to sit there the whole time we're hitching up; I sometimes worry how people ever get drivers licences.
And there we were nosing out of the campground, via the shiny new dump station and heading home. A dry weekend, a comfortable weekend and both of us wishing for a day or two more. Sigh, there are always other weekends......
