Thursday 26 July 2012

Hippyhome Adventures: So jumping ahead to the 26th and we are just outsi...

Hippyhome Adventures: So jumping ahead to the 26th and we are just outsi...: So jumping ahead to the 26th and we are just outside of Forest Ontario at Anne`s cousins. Coming across from London on Tuesday was quite the...
So jumping ahead to the 26th and we are just outside of Forest Ontario at Anne`s cousins. Coming across from London on Tuesday was quite the ride. I must have had about a 60km crosswind t boning me all the way. Narrow bumpy highway and cross wind together make it a stressful ride, but we captain Richie Rich at the wheel we made it here safe and sound . Having a great visit with Eric and Audrey and Scoobie the beagle. Cash gets to run free in there big fenced yard which is good. Walked down the road the first night and watched a gorgeous sunset on Lake Huron.
Last night we had to pleasure of dinning with Anne`s friend Joanne and her husband Bill who have a farm. They grow corn, onions and potatoes so last night we had potatoes and corn fresh from the field so to speak. Bill took us in their truck on a tour of their fields. Because of a lack of rain as in about a month things are drying up.
Before we headed back last night we prayed for rain. Guess we better be more specific. We were treated to a severe thunderstorm last night that actually rocked our 12000lb rv. That was a bit unsettling but we survived and they did get about 30-50mm of rain.
Unfortuneatley we did get some water in again on my side window. I checked today and the only thing I can see is it has a weep well in the window sill that is supposed to drain water out and I suspect it was not clean. I took some pix hanging wire today and ran it inside and hopefully that will be it. If not I will have to get it checked on our return.
Heading back to London tomorrow to pick up Anne`s dad and take him up to her sisters cottage on the Bruce Peninsula and they on Tuesday if we can get on we will take the ferry to Manitoulan Island and then start our journey back west.
Yesterday marked 1 month on the road and we are still both enjoying it as well as Cash. This Saturday we will celebrate our 28th anniversary on the 28th.
That is it for now . Best wishes to you all.

Richie Rich

Sunday 22 July 2012

I`m melting, I`m melting. I write to you tonight from Fanshawe Conservation Area campground in London Ontario. The sun is down and my outside thermometer is reading 28.8 and the inside one is reading 30C. I would turn on the a/c but we have a little glitch with the power converter that I have a 2pm appointment tomorrow to get fixed. Anne is spending the night with her dad in his air conditioned retirement home and Cash and I are sweating our testicles off, ok I am he does not have any.
We had a beautiful 4.5 days with cousin Jane at her cottage on Lake Muskoka where it was about 28 in the daytime and 10 at night. We actually had to put the furnace on in the morning. Boy do I long for that now. Got to see my Aunt Rene (97yrs young) and my cousin Lee and her husband as well whom I had not seen since about 1994.
from there we drove to Cannington yesterday and spent the night with old friends from Calgary that now live there.
Today we did the drive from there to London. Must say the 407 was not bad but when it blended in with the 401 west of Toronto I could do without that . A lot of traffic and major semi traffic plus a cross wind. I was glad to get to the site and then over to Anne`s dads.
We are now on the second part of the journey that in about a week will head us back west.
Will be in London until Wednesday then head west to visit cousin Eric in Forest on Lake Huron. Then back to London to pick up Anne`s dad and take him up to her sisters cottage on the Bruce Peninsula. From there not sure if we are returning him or catching the ferry to Manitoulin Island. Well time to see if I can cool off and hit the sack. Until we talk again.
Namaste and hope everyone is well.

Rich

Wednesday 18 July 2012

As of today we have been on the road for 3 weeks. Now at my cousin`s cottage on Lake Muskoka for a few days. 3nights to be exact. Anne `s grandmother used to say  company is like fish after 3 days it starts to stink so that is our rule of thumb.
Did some calculations this morning and figured out that we have done approx 3050 km so far. Totalled up our gas and campground fees and at this point it works out to approx $82/day. Not as bad as people think with an rv. We would spend more than that at a Super 8 motel for the night plus restaurants. We did not figure in our groceries as we would have been spending the same money for groceries if we were at home.We have gone out a couple of times for dinner but nothing expensive.
We spent the night before at Carols campground just 4km south of Sudbury . I think I mentioned this in my last post.  It was a place to stay but a lot of permanent campers and a lot of clutter. Shed upon shed etc.
Anne is currently giving cousin Jane a restorative yoga class. Trade off for no camping fees to park on her property. Good deal.
Cash has been for about a 40 min walk with me but the humidity kills him so he is crashed out on the floor.
We hope to see my 97 yr old aunt this afternoon or evening if she is having an ok day.
I will update again  before we head south. Not sure if that will be to Cannington or straight to London. We hope to see those we wish to see and get out of the heat to linger a bit more on the way home along the north shore of Superior and nw Ontario

Monday 16 July 2012

Here I am again. Monday July 16. On Wed of this week we will have been on the road for 3 weeks. Funny how time flies when you have no deadlines. We are currently at Carols Campground just outside Sudbury. Ok site for a night but it is very noisy as the highway goes by close. Just chatted with a guy who is fully retired and travelling from Virginia to the west coast and then up the Alaskan panhandle. I see now we have a trailer pulling in from Quebec beside us. Having some issues backing his small fifth wheel in. Makes me happy I am driving a single unit that goes the same direction when I turn the wheel. This is not a difficult site to get into but he is about to take out the picnic table. Getting out of his truck to look. probably a good idea. Makes me feel like a pro.
Anyway let me tell you about yesterday.  I did find our friends the other night that we had met at Neys. They pulled into Pancake Bay later. They had a rough day . One of those bad rv days. They are pulling a small trailer so not inside on the road obviously. When they stopped and opened it up a cubboard had broken I guess on some rough roads and dishes and glasses came flying out and smashed all over the floor. One of their dogs also had been bitten by a tic. So they were having a drink, having dinner and heading to bed. We did see them the next morning though and were able to exchange email addresses.
From there we left and did a really short day to Sault Ste Marie so we could get groceries etc so stayed at the KOA. What a nice siter that was. Kamp K9  an off leash area for dogs and a dog walk. They also had a nice pool and Anne and I had refreshing swim.
People were leaving really early though like 5am and Cash was barking at that so we were up early.
We arrived here around 2:30pm . Tomorrow we push for Bracebridge and cousin Jane. Well time to end this and go in.This Frenchman has been trying to put is trailer into a wide open site for 20 min and can not  do it. I can not bear to watch any longer. His wheels are also locking up on him and his is dragging gravel.
Ciao for now

Saturday 14 July 2012

Here we are two days later and a couple hundred clicks down the highway at Batchawana Provincial Park. Not a bad park but we back right on to the highway so a tad noisy. I just saw the people drive by that were our neighbours at Neys the other night so will have to go find them later.
On that note we had met some people in Spruce Woods Prov Park in Manitoba a week or so back .They had also purchased a ex rental from Canadream and were heading to Calgary. Well yesterday about an hour west of here we pulled off at a lookout stop and ended up behind another class c from Canadream. When they got out it was the people we had met in Manitoba. They had already been to Bow Valley Campground outside of Canmore and were heading back home to Leamington so they basically lapped us. Driving hard and burning gas.
About 9:30am we went for a hike on a nature trail in the park. Took us almost an hour to do it and with the humidity we felt like we had done a 3 hr hike in the mountains.
Had trouble putting water in my tank again today. Must get an airlock in the breathing tube. Turned the pressure up to high and must have blown whatever lock out of it and was able to get it filled so we could use our shower. Used the campground ones last night. They are ok but definetly like our own better.
They have a part of the beach here for dogs to go in and Cash has been enjoying the waves. They even have a sign showing dog beach with an icon of a dog paddling away.
This afternoon Anne and I walked part of the beach and it reminded me of the Dominican. I actually went for a dip in Lake Superior today. I think that is a first for me. It is known to be cold because of its depth but with global warming the water was actually not bad. Quite refressing.
Time to throw on a shirt and hop on the bike for a spin , see if I can find our friends froom the other night.

Namaste

Thursday 12 July 2012

It is now July 12th and as I type this I am looking out our front window at Lake Superior from Neys Provincial Park which is just west of Marathon Ontario. It has occured to me that the reason some of you can not see my posts because I have to link it to Facebook each time I do one.
This is a beautiful area huge beach and one of those spots you could just stay for a few more days. We spent the last two days at Lake Marie Louise campground in Sleeping Giant Prov Park which is another place we could have just stayed, but we have to keep in mind that we do have a long way to go yet and just as far to get back home.
Cash was having a blast going after sticks in the lake especially after he figures out the waves which were a pretty could size. He mostly got shoved back to shore. Washed all the dirt off him anyway as when he is outside he prefers the earth over our nice matt.
We only did about 264km today but I find the highway here with all the big hills and rock cuts and trucks takes a lot of my concentration so decided to get off the road around 2:30pm. We had been told by a few other campers we have met along the way that it is a pretty spot so that sealed the deal.
Tomorrow we will shoot for Lake Superior Park. Not sure what we will run into in the way of weekend traffic in the parks. Here at Neys they had 100 open when we arrived this afternoon but he said on weekends it fills up.
We will see where we end up. For tonight I am going to enjoy the view.

Hippyhome Adventures: Decided to create another blog just with travel no...

Hippyhome Adventures: Decided to create another blog just with travel no...: Decided to create another blog just with travel notes from our adventures in our class C motorhome dubbed the hippyhome. It was supposed to ...

Sunday 8 July 2012

Time marches on. Funny when you don`t have a regular job how the days blend into each other and you end up asking each other what day it is. My trusty watch tells me that it is Sunday July 8. We have now been on the road 12 days. I thought 10 but Anne just checked her journal and it is day 12. We are now at a friends in Thunder Bay. Their property is on Lake Superior and nestled in the trees so it is very pleasant. I can not remember when I updated last since we have been in and out of internet reception over the 12 days.
After Spruce Woods Prov Park we headed to Winnipeg and spent the night at a KOA. From their we had a short day of driving to Rushing River Provincial Park south of Kenora Ontario. I must say the highways in Ontario are in perfect shape. I wish I could say the same of their tourist centres. When we got to the Ontario border the centre was "closed for the season" aka government cutbacks. What a disgrace to Ontario. People have gotten the gate open and are using the picnic tables anyway with garbage overflowing the bins and litterly scattered all over the patio and people were still sitting amongst all the crap having lunch. "Welcome to Ontario" NOT
We found out that they had also closed the one in Kenora and Fort Frances as well.
Rushing River campground is quite nice but the site we were on was very unlevel front to back and sideways so took some manipulating to get the rv positioned so we did not feel like we were on a ship in a storm.
We were going to stay another day but the rain came so decided to make the 500+km run to Thunder Bay. Anne was able to book a site at the KOA in Thunder Bay on our laptop. So we drove in the rain. The nice thing about a class C rv is that you can pull over turn on the propane have a nice lunch , boil water for tea take a leak and then pull back on to the highway. We drove the highway between Fort Frances and TBay for kms without meeting another vehicle. Rocks. lakes and tress and beautiful pavement.
After a night at the KOA we came to our friends Robb and Val`s place . They have an acreage in the trees on Lake Superior. Saw my one aunt yesterday and hope to see the other tomorrow. Then we will head to Sleeping Giant Prov Park where one of our goals is to hike to the top of the giant.From there we will head down the north shore of Superior.
Until we have interenet again, stay well.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Well it is time to update our adventures. We have been out of internet service pretty much since we left Medicine Hat. Also I have not had much success with posting via my Rogers phone. We are currently at a KOA just west of Winnipeg and I am on their wi fi so will take this opportunity to let you know what we have been up to. After the Ha we headed down to Val Marie in South Saskatchewan to stay at a place called The Crossing which is literally right on the border of the park. An retired couple bough the property about 12 years ago and have been developing it as a resort since then. They have a few rv spots and tent spots plus about 3 suites that an be rented. We had one of two sites that had electrical so we could use the microwave and our Fantastic Fan but since it was only 20amp we could not run the a\c. That was too bad as it was about 28C both days we were there. First let me say anything that you have heard about the roads in S Saskatchewan is true. More like an ox cart route. We went down through Shaunovan and let me tell you past there the road was literally chewed up. Had to be very careful and go slow as to not damage the rv. We turned east at Climax Sask. Can not figure why they called it that.
To get to the one hike called 70mile butte we had to go down a very washboardy , gravel narrow road for 5km. Luckily there are not many people down that way. If I had met someone we would have had trouble passing by each other. The hike itself was interesting , kinda like Drumheller extreme. We started the hike about 9:30am as we did not want to have Cash in the heat. Well by 10am my thermometer attached to my backpack was reading 26C. So much for that. The views from the top were amazing and we saw all kind of Prickly Pair in bloom. Cash only managed to get one cactus spear in the top of his paw and we did not see that until we got back to the rv. We were also on the watch for rattle snakes but saw none. The next day we did a hike on the other side of the resort but honestly it was like extreme Nose Hill. I did get a good pix though  of a night hawk.
From Grasslands we headed to a friend of Anne`s in Moose Jaw and camped out in her driveway.
 That night we got to experience our first severe thunder storm in the rv. First crack of thunder had Cash barking. I went on for about 2-3 hours and he was shivering and hiding in a corner. We had monsoon like rains and all seemed well until we went to bed and my side of the mattress by the window was wet. No I did not pee the bed. We learn as we go. I found that I had not locked the window tight and also it is our emergency window and when making the bed I must have nicked the catch as it was also not tight. Lesson learnt.
Monday we headed to Spruce Woods Provincial Park which is about 30km south of the Trans Canada and below Carberry Manitoba. We thought we had left all the crap roads in Saskatchewan well this height 37 was nuts. It was paved and looked smooth but it was like driving on a washboard. The speed limit was 90 and I had to take it down to 40km/hr or have the rv shaken to bits.
The two days there the temp was around 32C . Luckily we had a 30amp plug so could use the a/c. The main part of their campground was washed out in a flood of the Assinaboine river in 2011 so we were actually in group camping area which was ok. We had a double spot so the first night we had retired people from Cape Breton travelling in a Pleasureway van and heading back from a Vancouver and the next night retired couple in a fifth wheel travelling back from Alberta to Ottawa after being on the road for 6 weeks. Both were very interesting and doing the same kind of stuff as us.
Well that brings us to now , at a KOA campsite just west of Winnipeg. Stopped in Portage La Prairie for groceries and at this campground for laundry. A short day but you need those. Tomorrow on to Ontario and by the weekend we should be in Thunder Bay unless something else calls us. Until I am on the net again, namaste