We are home…..

 

Our Location:

Summer Spot, near South Baymouth, Manitoulin Island

A very cold morning in Sudbury this morning, very heavy frost. We had wheels rolling before 8 am and were happy to start the last leg of our journey for this adventure. 

One of the many small lakes on our way.

Very light traffic, no issues and we rolled into Espanola about 8:40 am. We spent an hour and a half doing some shopping and topping up on a few things to tide us over. We need to make a trip back in a week or so for some things we didn’t get or complete while we were there. 

Wheels rolling again by 10:50 am we stopped one more time at Birch Island for a fuel fill up, $1.54 for diesel, which is approx $5.80 a gallon. The reserve prices are the best, I’m glad we can get them. Once again, wheels rolling we crossed the bridge onto Our Rock in the waters of Lake Huron at 11:20 am. 

The Bridge we cross to reach the Island.

Yep, it is a little skinny.

We entered the gate just before noon. Stopped chatted with Brother for 5 minutes and parted ways, he going his and we into 4lo creeping up the hill. Turned around, parked and had our first visitor by 2 pm. The visitor of course was Dad. 

Crossing the Bridge.. Little Current off in the distance.

A better view of Little Current.

After lunch we walked up to Dad’s to drop some things off, pick up the cabin key and before coming home managed to check out the house build and had 50 words with Jason before letting him get on with his dump truck work.

You can see the cabin thru the trees.

We are at the top of the hill, we need to turn in the space of the first pic now.

I will be posting much less, but will try to post a few times over the summer. Thanks for following along all winter. 

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

A little closer than expected….

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Lang Lake Rd, Sudbury

A good start this morning, we were hooked up, garbage in the dumpsters and had used the dump station by 8 am. It was a little frosty but I had my little gloves to help my hands. The wheels were rolling and we were on our way. For my own information Reg Rd 97, Lennon Rd, Gore Rd, Hwy 6, 401, 407, 400/69, Sudbury Bypass, Lang Lake Rd. 

The top of Toronto off in the distance.

The drive was excellent except a very strong head wind, the Big Dog worked hard and drank heavily! Fuel is ranging from $1.52 to $1.67 per litre. Can you guess where the $1.52 was my fellow Ontarians….yep on many reservations along the way. We decided to continue on onto Sudbury instead of the MTO inspection spot because it was too early to stop, plus the wind would have been brutal there. 

The Canadian flag waving proudly in the wind.

This Walmart is posted as no overnight parking but when we asked at the Customer Service Centre we were told absolutely just park at the far side as far back as you can. So we are tucked up for the night against the rock wall. Some shopping to stock up a little for our summer spot, but alas many of the shelves were bare or things were beaten up to the point I think no one would buy them. It was a shock to find the store in this condition. Propane exchange: bbq tank… Yuma $20 USD, same tank here $34 CAD. Just thought I would add this for future reference.

Spring is not overly evident but it is near.

After we were parked we had rain, granular snow, more rain, more snow, the sun came out, the wind howled, rain, snow and now the sun is shining, the air is crisp and we are tucked in for the night. 

Moon River is high and fast.

Our home for the night.

We travelled 268 miles/431 km, we travelled about 6 hours, we used about 25 gallons/95 litres but a strong headwind. So I figure a little over 10 mpg, not great but no complaints.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

And we are off.....

 

 

Our Location: 

MTO Inspection Pull Off, 40 minutes south of Sudbury, Ontario. 

 

It's been cold and damp, with wind and rain the last number of days but we managed to get everything put away dry and neatly by Saturday evening. So Riley and I decided we would let the wheels roll a day early. The entire Rock is without power on this Sunday, Oct 22 from 8 am until around 6 pm or so the projection goes. Everyone else had schedules planned and so we decided to take advantage of the sun filled but cold day. Tough good byes this morning as we left!! We pulled out the last gate at 11:32 am ( I looked at the clock) and with only a few little stops we arrived here around 3 pm.   It took longer than necessary but we did stop for about 20 minutes in Espanola to do a few little things. 

 

I told you it was frosty a few mornings....

Even the thistles are shivering.

A true carpet of leaves.

Roads were good, dry, but busy. We are only going as far as Waterdown tomorrow, we will be there a few days doing a couple of things. Hopefully that will include getting in visits with both Courtney and Bradey. Of course David, Auston and Lincoln all come with Bradey! Time will tell. Our goal is to cross the border sometime between Friday and Sunday. We are looking forward to some warmer weather! 

 

A few pics from up high over the Igloo.

 

The yellows are strong now.

 

In the midst of putting things away and cleaning things up. The Cabin, Dogsled and Igloo.

We have opted to bypass Buttercup Ridge this fall. No one is there since Judi and her dog Win moved into their own home in Belleville. Janet and Dennis are still in California and so there is no reason to venture out of our way to BR. We usually spend 10 - 14 days there but instead will spend a approx 5 or 6 days in the Waterdown area. 

The waters in South Bay are getting that ugly grey colour and so the temperatures have changed drastically.

An early morning pic, it wasn't quite light yet.

Taken this morning, my last picture of the year in my favourite spot.

I called my dad when we arrived, chatted for a few minutes, still no power there. We will be talking to him regularly over the winter months. I hope you enjoyed the photos.  

We are tucked in here for the night. 

Until next time.....

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

We are home.....

 

 

Our Location: 

Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada

Our time at the farm was wonderful, time spent getting to know Judi and time playing with Winnie, and before we knew it, it was time to head out. We left Buttercup Ridge on Thursday morning around 9:30 am. We were on two lane roads for over half of our travels, lots of hills, winding, humpy and bumpy. We passed through a number of smaller towns before finally popping out at Orillia, Ontario where we climbed onto the ON 400 North. A nice big highway with very little traffic for the size of the road. We enjoyed the drive. Although I will say it rained off and on the entire day, a few sunny breaks, temps up and down, so typical Northern Ontario spring day. We ended our night about 20 minutes south of Sudbury, still on ON 400 N at the MTO Truck Inspection pull off. We arrived around 3 pm, levelled up a bit and called it a day. 

 

Small towns are pretty much the same everywhere.

ON 400 North near Orillia, Ontario.

Spring is not quite here yet but you can see the hint of it.

 

We are now on Hwy 6 south, no sign of spring on this stretch at all.

 

This morning we climbed into the Dogsled and started running at 7:45 am, I know because I looked. Within a short time we were around the city of Sudbury and heading west along the Trans Canada Highway. Within the hour we were stopped at the mall in Espanola, where we purchased a few last minute things, managed to chat with an old friend for a few minutes and empty the Igloo's tanks. 

 

Hwy 6 is pretty twisty in places, lots of hills too.

Our piece of the north has lots of rocks and evergreens!

There are a lot of little lakes, some with some decent fishing.

There is a beauty here.

 

We were back on the road by 11:30 am, this time heading south. Within a short time we could see the Rock ahead and soon rolled across the bridge that spans the North Channel. We touched down on the Rock just before the noon hour. I know that too because I looked. From there we just let the Big Dog have his way and he rolled along toward home dirt with a big grin on his grill. 

 

One of the many little inland lakes.

Once we cross that bridge we are on the Rock.

We are getting closer.

 

 

The town docks at the  harbour in Little Current.

 

The North Channel.

 

A stop at Dad's, he wasn't home but not to worry we knew he wouldn't be. He has been very worried about the mud and water in the bottom of the quarry and whether or not we could get through. It had drained and dried up considerably in the last few days but we wanted to check it out before pulling in the gate.  We left the Dogsled and Igloo in his driveway, climbed on his quad and headed down to the inside road to our spot. Well it was muddy, and there was a lot of water but we weren't too worried. We slipped across the road to see the renovation in progress at Jason's and just lucked out, he was there working. We chatted for a bit and soon Riley and I were headed off once again. A spin up the hill insured it wasn't washed out and soon we were back at Dad's. The quad away, he still wasn't home and so we headed off to give it a try. We managed to get through the mud in 4 wheel drive and stopped at the bottom of the hill to engage 4 wheel lo and before long we were up the hill and getting turned around. I managed to get us turned on the first try. It took a few more to get backed in right where I wanted, the rock is just in the wrong place and we can't move it. 

 

We call this Ten Mile Point hill. The look out is at the top. I'll show pics from there another tim.

We turned off Hwy 6, and we are now about 2 miles from our end destination.

My dad and brother live on this road.

Our bare summer spot. It's a bit tight but we manage to turn up here.

 

We had feet down, and truck backed into it's parking place, lunch heated and dished up by shortly after 2 pm. A very good day for us!! We will be here until further notice. I promise to try to blog more than I usually do during our summers here but I can't promise. Today's pics were taken yesterday and today. Take care ALL. 

 

Perhaps this summer we will get our little cabin sided.

The Dogsled and Igloo have made it to the top of the hill. We need to turn around now.

We are parked and level here at home. In a couple of days we will start unpacking our summer things.

 

Thanks for stopping by, we wish you all a very good summer. 

 

Until next time....

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb

 

 

A bit stressful, some rain, some sun, some heat.....

Our Location: Walmart Side Parking Lot, North Bay, Ontario

A pretty sleepless night for all of us, the air was so humid it was almost impossible to sleep. We all were up and moving around by 6 am, and into the store around 7:30 am for a couple of little forgotten items. 

Small towns along the way. Sorry for the mirror. 

A very rainy kind of day.

Rain threatened, rain fell, rain pittered, pattered and finally blew in and out again and again. We left Sudbury around 9 am and only had a short drive but managed to take our time and pulled into the Walmart on Fischer Road in North Bay around 11:30 am. It was at this point things started going a bit side ways. We noticed water coming from the bottom of the Igloo.  I called a couple of places and settled on Northern RV 2850 Hwy 11 N, North Bay, a very short distance away, and we could get right in to be looked at. 

Rain, mist and over cast skies were the order of the morning.

Lots of little towns along the way.

Arriving there I chatted with a few fellows, explaining my problem and listening to hear the magic words, “ Yes we can help you right away.” And they did. Claude kept us company off and on over our entire stay, his son is the manager and Claude was helping out. Joe, a Kiefer Sutherland look alike was our technician along with another fellow who came to help after Joe had introduced himself. Long story short, we had a crack in the sink drain where it goes through the floor, it’s been leaking for a while but nothing on floor to indicate this leak. They repaired the leak, replaced a missing bolt on the awning and I purchased two screens for the hot water heater cover and walked away for $236 CAD in about 2 hours. I was very happy it wasn’t something more major. The underbelly will dry out eventually and hopefully we have no more issues. Thanks again fella's at Northern Rv in North Bay. 

Of course we had construction to contend with in a spot or two as well.

Along with the speed up, slow down of small towns dotting the road sides.

We headed back to Walmart, parked once again at the front of the lot near the main highway, started making lunch when a nice gent and his lady stopped by to tell us we couldn’t park there or we’d be ticketed. We hadn’t seen any signs but he pointed ONE sign out and sure enough it wasn’t at the drive we’d come in. We were going to go inside and ask anyway but decided that after lunch would be soon enough. Knowing we’d have to pack up and move once again did nothing for my headache or appetite and as soon I’d finished I headed inside to ask about parking. 

One of the many farms along our journey today.

Luck is still riding with us as we were informed we couldn’t park in the front lot but in the side lot overnight parking is most definitely allowed. So for future reference the parking lot across from the TD Bank is the one to use. 

Looks like a sod farm....

Contact with my nephew Allan found we weren’t going to be able to get together for a coffee after all. Oh well, perhaps another time.

A few sod farms in the area....pretty isn't it?

We headed out to North Gate Mall which is attached to the Walmart, for a look see. I have found what I think may be the solution for us regarding internet however I’ll have to think about it.

Love the sod farms....

The day has cleared up, the rain seems to have gone, and the sun has once again made an appearance. A chat with my dad had us hearing of high winds, downed limbs and a great deal of rain overnight and in the morning hours. The afternoon turned sunny, less windy and warm for them.

Small town Ontario.

So there you have it, our second day out. I can tell you we’re certainly enjoying our selves even though it’s been a bit stressful today. Everything worked out well for us and we’re yet we’re looking forward to moving on tomorrow to the Ottawa area. We’ll be staying put for a couple of days in that area, maybe getting rested up and perhaps even doing a bit of sight seeing. 

On the side of the road way...

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Blurry but lots of water on both sides of the ride here to North Bay.

Until next time… take care, be safe,

From our old spot, we moved to the left of the yellow end of the building, and to the front of the TD bank over there.

Deb