Thursday, April 12, 2018

Very warm, sunny but with some pretty high winds....




Our Location: Oakdale Campground, Quincy, Ohio


A much warmer night with temperatures reading 51F/10.5C at 7:30 AM when I came downstairs. Now that is more like it and although we are under a wind advisory the temperatures today promise to be warm as well. Although the sky doesn't look like it will be a totally sunny day we will enjoy whatever we get and not complain. 

Ohio 235 North is at the end of the driveway, and that flag is showing there is a lot of wind today. In fact we have a wind advisory.

 Like other fellow Canadians we all know the risk of coming home at this time of the year and it looks like we didn't get lucky this time with temperatures about 10 degrees below seasonal norms. A freezing rain warning will be in effect pretty much all weekend for parts of the more northerly and eastern reaches of Southern Ontario. Hopefully the accumulation is minor and the roads remain ice free. We will however be taking our time and staying as far out of that area as we can. 

This farm house is between the road and the campground.

While reading blogs I noted a few more blogger friends have also arrived safely in the frozen north over the past few days. Ivan ( Road Trip 2018), along with Dave & Cheryl (Our View from Here) have also returned home. Both seem to have landed softly in the snow that is still covering the ground, with Ivan coming out the winner in having the most snow to contend with. I wish them all warmer days ahead and hopefully spring will appear rapidly.

The park is the right of the picture, the road to the left.

In yesterday's pictures I noted the white Chevy parked beside us. It's a relatively new thing in the last couple of days. Two fellows arrived in work trucks one evening around 5:30 pm, left one truck and off they went in the other. In the morning at 5:47 am they returned, but with two vehicles, leaving the big white Chevy behind and taking off in the two work trucks. They didn't return that night but they did last night, this time leaving the two work trucks and taking only the big Chevy. This morning they arrived about mid way between 5:30 and 6:00 am to take the two and leave the one. They don't go to any of the trailers or cabins, they just leave the different trucks. I will say they are pretty quiet over all not saying much but they do bang a lot of doors. I wonder if we're parked in front of their seasonal spots as they seem pretty comfortable here. Oh well, we'll be leaving in a couple of days. 

Definite signs of spring in the small forest near the driveway.

We've also noted that there are train tracks nearby, not close enough to be a bother but we do hear the far off rumbling of the trains. They go constantly day and night, I know this because I'm not the best sleeper and often awake at various hours throughout the night and I can hear them rumbling way off in the distance. Some times it takes a minute or so to figure out what the noise is, as it almost sounds like thunder off in the distance.

Welcome to Oakdale Campground. 

The sun shone off and on until about lunch time and then came out in full force and it was absolutely fantastic. Our high temperatures are almost embarrassing to tell our fellow Canadians stuck in the deep freeze and cold but we reached 76F/24.4C this afternoon. By 4:50 pm we were starting to cool down to 74F/ 23.3C. The wind has been blowing hard all day. 

Can you see the new leaves coming out?

I walked our garbage all the way to the dumpsters out by the farmhouse near the road. The weather was warm enough to go in long pants and a shirt but would have been too cool for me in shorts or without a cover up on my arms and shoulders. The wind however caused some dust devils to dance around me and make it difficult to see with my hair flying across my face. The trees were creaking and the wind through the branches was quite loud. We managed to walk around the park a bit today as well. We were back at the office for a few minutes to see if the water was on. The spigot near us was open and no water was forth coming, the fella assured me that the water on the OTHER side of the Igloo was on, but not the water nearest the river. So we managed to fill our fresh water tank today in the nice sunny afternoon. 

I'm not sure the purple flowers are real but the others are daffs, and they are real, they are all over the park.

We grabbed our books/tablets and sat outside for an hour today, managing to get mostly out of the wind where it became almost hot in the sun. NO COMPLAINTS, just saying it was a bit extreme from below freezing to above room temperature in the span of 2 days. Kind of a jolt to the system. I have no doubt we'll have a jolt on Saturday when we head to Ontario and it won't be a good jolt like this one. 

Looking down one of the roads here in the park.

The afternoon was a very pleasant one, I even managed a 30 minute nap at one point. I'm enjoying my book by Dick Wolfe, the creator of Law and Order, called The Intercept. It's pretty good so far and I think I'll be finishing it within the next day or two.
 
Looking the other way down the same road.

My dad called while I was out walking and anyone that seen me would think I was a bit odd, as I was walking backward to keep the phone mic out of the wind so he could hear me. He informed me they were currently under blizzard like conditions and at times it was difficult to see very far. Said it had just started within the last hour and didn't show any signs of letting up. He doesn't think we should come north too fast, maybe late into the first or early into the second week of May. He says it's pretty cold at night and the snow is a bit deep. No snow was falling when he headed up to the Sugar Shack to put on the fire but his quad was easily covered when he came out within a short time, so I guess it's falling fast. 
 
Looking up toward the top of the hill in the park.

We discussed the weekend weather and how it would impact us on our way home. I assured him we wouldn't take any chances and we certainly won't. Hopefully the temperatures are a few degrees above freezing and that will solve all the issues.
  
A number of nice rigs here in the park.
  
We once again sat with the door open pretty much most of the day, the wind strong but from the back didn't seem to bother us much inside and we tucked ourselves out of the wind by sitting under the front of the nose and the wind seemed to blow right past us. 

Numerous boats, sea doo's, and a couple of rigs all waiting patiently for someone to come.

 I found out the fella with the trucks is actually the fella that rents one of these spots around us. I'm not sure which spot but the office gentlemen told me that when I was chatting with him. He even sent Roger around to see if we managed to get the water working. So they are very helpful here in the park, I have to say. I also noticed the NO SMOKING sign in the window beside the door, but it's not new. The inside of the office was much cleaner, no ashtrays, no smell of any kind. So maybe my complaint did some good. Who knows. 

Sewage holding tanks here, almost every spot has one. A honey wagon comes around to pump them probably once or twice a week during the season.

We also noticed a lady this afternoon on the handle of a rake doing some mighty hard work in the seasonal spots around us. Not sure if one of them is hers or if she's been hired to do the work. She's wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and I can say she's probably dressed well for the work. I've noticed a few piles of debris that have been cleaned up in various places and are just waiting for someone to come along and haul them off. 


Cute little cabin, don't you think?

Also noted the fella across the river whose dock I showed you yesterday in the split before and after picture, now has his pontoon boat in the water and even took it for a ride down river today. The busy builder was working once again today on the reno/construction work, also across the river. They work a lot over there. I think both of them have actually been staying there while they've been working.
 
As you can see, the water is still going down.

Speaking of the Miami River it is now flowing west to east, which I think is probably the correct direction. I think with the high flood waters it was more swirling than flowing when we arrived. The wind managed to make it a bit choppy today on the river, no white caps but still a good bit of up and down on the surface.

The huge wood pile in the background suggests they split and sell the wood from the near by forest that has fallen or has been taken down. I believe this may be the 'grader blade' they use on the roads in the park. Looks heavy enough and that piece of iron goes full length under those wood pieces.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Please feel free to leave a comment. I love to hear from you. I hope you all managed to have a fantastic day. 


Spring is coming to Quincy, Ohio.

Until next time..... take care, be safe, 


Deb



 






8 comments:

  1. Nice that you had some good weather today we did as well 65 F this afternoon was amazing wanted to sure out side but had family stuff to do, Your guys will be fine just watch the weather and travel safely as I know you will.

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    1. I'm so glad to hear you folks managed to get some nice weather as well. I was feeling bad thinking I was basking in the warmth and you folks were freezing.

      We will be coming very carefully across the border and stopping at one of the OnRoute locations for at least one night, probably two if the bad weather actually materializes. Thanks for the concern George, we appreciate.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  2. How nice to have a warmer day to enjoy. We are under a wind advisory, also. But with all the dust swirling around us there is not a good place to sit outside...:(
    Great pictures of the park you are in and it does look like spring as made it that far.
    Question, if you don't mind me asking and if you do and don't answer I will understand, where does your Dad live and is that where you summer?

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    1. We loved the day and enjoyed it as much as possible. We are at least in a small hollow by the river and for the most part the wind whistled above us, with a bit managing to make it's way down to the hollow bottom, but when I walked to the dumpster up the hill and across the fields, the wind was pretty strong.

      Thanks Deb. It's a nice little park, and I'm sure it's a lively place in the summer.

      I don't mind at all. Our summer location is about 1/4 mile from my Dad's house near the south boundry of the farm. My Dad lives on Manitoulin Island's (I grew up there) south west side. He lives about 5 miles from the small hamlet of South Baymouth, where the Chi-Cheemaun docks.
      In fact our summer location is actually the old quarry from which they took all the stone to make the dock the Ferry uses. We park on the second highest level which is wonderfully solid flat limestone. We can see the waters of Lake Huron/Georgian Bay from the top level.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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  3. What a gorgeous day you had! Doesn't sound like your Dad is faring so well with their weather. Good advice from him not to rush home.
    We had a good day too but even though warm, up to 21C later in the day, it wasn't a sunny day. We probably went through 3 of the 4 seasonal changes in one day! ha ha

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    1. We did indeed have a wonderful day and I spent as much time as possible just soaking up the rays and the warmth, trying to store it for the days ahead.

      My dad is doing okay but keeping busy is very good for him. He's right about not coming too early as it's too cold there anyway. However I think once the snow melts we'll be good to go as it'll warm up pretty quickly I think. Being close to the water can at times be a bad thing but also at this time of the year it seems to moderate the temperatures a bit more.

      Glad you at least had some warmth for a while anyway. I'm sure once the weekend passes things will be better, even though it may not be as warm as we'd like it, it should at least be above the freezing mark at night soon. Or at least hopefully!!!

      Take care, stay warm,
      Deb

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  4. Take a look at Living Large in the North and their snow! WOW..Looking forward to seeing your summer home. From what I read above it sounds absolutely beautiful! You both are making the best of a beautiful place you're at now. Travel safe.Glad the office got cleaned up. That sewer system is definitely different, and it works! Very clever. Love the picture of spring coming!

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    1. I do follow them as well. If you look at Ivan (roadtrip 2018) he too is dealing with lots of snow. Not as much as Scot and family but more than I want to deal with ever again.

      I'll be sure to take some pictures when we get settled between trips. It is a beautiful place, and we enjoy it very much. It's close to family and friends, as well as quiet and peaceful.

      I've seen this kind of sewer holding tanks before but I don't recall where. If not for the barrels they wouldn't be able to go long without pumping very often. There is no underground sewer connections here anywhere or at least none that we've seen.

      Take care, be safe,
      Deb

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