Sunday, April 23, 2017

Our last full day here at The Ridge.......


Our Location: Frost Ridge Campground, Le Roy, NY

(all pics taken with my phone)

Cool over night but it warmed up nicely today. The warmth was welcome but the wind made it cool at times throughout the day. We had sunshine all day which also helped to brighten up everyone's mood around the place. The gloom and doom seems to have lifted and happy, smiling faces seem to be norm today. 

We started off today cleaning as tomorrow we'll be pulling out so our cleaning day would have been messed up. We gave extra attention to some things as it may be a while before we have shore power again. We're undecided about where we're going when we arrive in Hamilton tomorrow. With only two appointments left, one Tuesday, one Wednesday we're thinking we may head out late Wednesday afternoon to miss Toronto traffic. If we leave after 5 pm we should be good to get north of Toronto to one of the service Ontario locations where we can stay the night.  However I'm getting ahead of myself or  my fingers can't type fast enough to keep up with my mind. ~laugh~ Since we are looking at only two nights in Hamilton I'm debating about just putting the feet down at the local Walmart instead of getting all set up at 50 Point Conservation area. We'll be busy doing stuff in the city anyway which will mean a 20 minute drive each way to 50 Point Campground. The Walmart is located close to everything we need to get to. We stayed there three nights on our way south (I hadn't realized 50 Point was still open) and we managed just fine. So all things being what they are I think we may just do that again. 

Interesting sort of chimney on this fire pit (sorry for the rainbow, sun was shining thru the trees)

I'm so easily lead off track when I type, I started off talking about changing cleaning day and look where I ended up!! ~laugh~ Some days it's tough being me. Cleaning was accomplished in a short period of time of course as there really isn't too much to clean. I did however tidy up a few cupboards later in the day, just kind of refreshing my mind as to what is in them and what we may need when we return to Ontario. A mental shopping list of sorts I guess. Plus those particular cupboards hadn't been straightened up for a couple of weeks. 

We opted to head out for a bit of a walk after cleaning was finished, neither of us were hungry so we delayed breakfast, or in fact actually skipped it as we didn't eat upon return as we had planned. We once again walked up the 'tractor/atv' road to the top of the ski hill, along the top but instead of stopping at the open area across from us and heading down we continued along the top of the ridge heading south. The country is very nice, lots of steep hills, an abundance of trees, and with the new growth not quite out yet you can still see around the area a bit. We managed to walk the ridge all the way to Oatka Rd which butts up to the campground property. The way down was pretty steep but with some help from me Riley was able to navigate her way down the somewhat steep and at times slippery slope. It was quite a good walk in that it used up a great deal of energy and also  helped to get us once again used to walking trails and bush roads which we haven't done for at least a year. 

Wonder if this is an apple tree of some sort?

Back home at the Igloo I spent some time puttering outside doing a few chores but will leave all the hook ups for tomorrow. I don't want to get to the border during rush hour as I'm certain the place will be a bit busy at 8 am when the office we must visit opens. I'd like to get there between 9:30 and 10:30 am which I think will work best for us. I'm assuming 1-2 hours at a minimum and 3 - 3 1/2 hours at the most. After that I'm hoping for smooth sailing to Hamilton. 

Among the outside chores I accomplished today was fixing our propane tank holder in the back of the Dogsled. We carry a small 25 lb tank for the BBQ and heater and the holder I bought was just a bit too tight to make it sit properly, so I managed to break the tray out of the bottom which allows the bottle to sit more firmly in the ring. I also managed to use my handy dandy cordless drill to punch a hole in the bed liner of the Dogsled that allowed me to tie the rope holding my step stool higher in the box so I can reach it (the rope) while standing on the ground. Thus making my stool once more accessible to me for working around the box loading or unloading, hitching, etc. Being less than tall has it's disadvantages. ~laugh~ 

There must have been a dozen of these birds, vultures, buzzards or something on the ridge top today

I tried reading outside for a bit but it was just too chilly for me. We had the big door open though, it was nice out of the wind. The windows opened allowed the Igloo to cool off to much so they didn't stay open long either. We really are Canadian but we just can't seem to manage the cold. 

After that it was time for me to make lunch and once again I made a large garden salad, chopping up tonight's dinner veggies at the same time. I also made a salad for tomorrow, as I have no idea how long it will be until we can have some lunch. If we have something ready perhaps we can head outside and grab something quick while we wait. If not we can find a spot to pull over after crossing to have some lunch. This way we don't have to prepare anything and if necessary Riley can eat hers while we travel and I'll just have to wait until we manage to find a spot. We will both definitely have breakfast tomorrow. 

We came down this steep hill side nearing the end of our walk today

The campground has been a busy spot today, people coming and going, a few people doing some repairs to the decks, patios, etc in or around their units. Another fella had Greg (one of the owners) come by with the little tractor and knock down his small metal shed, crunch it up so he could put in the back of his pick up and clean out his spot. He's leaving the campground due to a trailer issue, something about not winterizing it and trying to get the insurance company to pay for it's complete loss. I didn't listen to closely to the story. 

The flood water is slowly receding but it's taking time. Everything is certainly green and lush or ready to burst in to flower or leaf at least. The sunshine today helped with the water as well. The wind of course helps everyday. The daffs are starting to lose their fresh crisp look but the tulips are starting to show their eagerness to bloom. The buds are getting bigger with a few hints of colours along the seams, it won't be long now. A true sign of spring, don't ya think? 

A sure sign of  spring

I finished my book this afternoon, I forget what it was called. ~laugh~ The problem with an e-reader is that I don't always see the 'cover' like you do with a book. When the e-reader isn't on, it' s closed like a book cover but without the title and author name. I'm starting a new book, Spare Change by Bette Lee Crosby, I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm saving a couple of actual books for up north when I can sit outside and hold them in my hands, but for now the e-reader has given my hands  a rest which is a good thing, they've been aching a fair amount the last few weeks. 

Riley is responsible for dinner tonight and I get the night off from cooking. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know we're having pasta/veggies and some left over chicken but I have no idea what she will be doing with it. I'm looking forward to it though, as we all know meals we don't have to cook ourselves is always best. ~laugh~ 

This tree is right outside our door

I was looking at a few pics taken earlier here and I'm amazed how fast the leaves have come out and the colour of green in the distance where before there was none at all. Amazing this season of spring, isn't it? Life renewed, a rebirth, a new birth, all signs of promise, hope and better days ahead. It's a special time of the year and each year I enjoy it immensely. 

Dinner was good, Riley combined a number of smaller pasta shapes, added the mixed veggies I chopped earlier, added some diced up left over chicken.  She didn't combine it, but layered instead with salsa on the side. It was good with a hint of garlic in the veggies. We followed that with some peaches. Good dinner. 

I can now grab the rope to get to the stool.

Quick clean up, showers, and early to bed tonight. She even headed out to the dumpster in her jammies. She hustled, telling me it's much nicer inside than outside. ~laugh~ After that she headed off into her room. She, like me, is looking forward to getting tomorrow behind us and the next appointments finished. I asked her if she'd like to stick around Hamilton for a few more days but she's in a hurry to get north. The one thing she's mentioned missing over the winter is the solitude that we have in the summer months. I  miss that myself at times but I don't think I missed it as much as she did. She's very much a loner and enjoys time spent on her own. She has done amazingly well this past winter season being out of her comfort zone, meeting new people, going new places, seeing new things, trying new foods, trying new activities, and all the while maintaining an even keel.  I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments!! 

There is pasta under there and soon cheese will be on top

So on that note, I'm going to end this rambling post. Sorry I just can't seem to keep my mind in one train of thought, it wants to wander off in various directions. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Feel free to drop by again. Until next time...be safe, take care...

 

4 comments:

  1. Nice post today. I hope you have a good border crossing today (Monday). Riley's dinner looks good to me, my hubby may have other thoughts. Not a big veggie consumer. :) Enjoy the nice weather!

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    1. Thank you so much for the kind comments. We eat a lot of veggies, we dress 'em up in different ways and I've even diced them small adding them to chili, spaghetti sauce and of course salsa. Thanks for the comments!!

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  2. Have an easy border crossing and welcome back to Ontario. It is warming up a bit here, but looks like a bit of cool before summer gets underway.

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    1. Hello George,Suzie. I have followed your blog for a couple of years now, although I've never commented. Welcome to a Long and Lonesome Highway, I hope you enjoy your visit. Thanks for the welcome back to Ontario and the wishes for border crossings. Cool weather we can deal with and like you I know summer won't be too far away, nice weather and some heat will be here before we know it.

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