We were up early with minnows in hand to get our share of the delicious walleye in McCloud’s Bay. She walked her minnow like the best of them and came home with a 2 lb walleye. There were filleting lessons and later, another fine shore dinner.
The sun was blazing hot and the lake water a warm 80F. We tried our hand at trolling out on Cliff’s bay but came up empty. It was time for a cool off dip and a bit of beach time then back at it.
The rocky point near the beach proved to be a surprisingly good bass spot. We found hard-fighting, high jumping smallmouth and had some fun as we each contributed a nice smallmouth to the catch. The largest (mine!) weighted 2 ½ lbs and was 20” long.
Lucky man Kent got to do the lion’s share of the cleaning but the kids tried their hands at skinning. This brought out a few eww’s from the first time fisherperson. We got an impressive mess of fish that grilled up beautifully and paired nicely with some home fried potatoes.
During the smallmouth fishing foray, one too-small-to-keep but too-injured-to-survive-release flipped clumsily on the waters surface near by. It is sad to see that we caused such waste. But wait, a gull plunged down and latched onto what would make a real feast for him. He pulled at it but tried as he might, couldn’t lift it. Other gulls circled near by challenging him for his find. All at once, they all disappeared. It was so odd that they would leave that ready meal.
A pair of outstretched talons below powerful wings swooped in to claim the feast. The gulls lost out to the local bald eagles. It took them several attempts just 100 feet from the boat but before long they had snatched it up.
Sault Ste Marie Ontario International airport. There are arrival and departure doors but they all open into one room. It looks a lot like Elkhart Indiana airport! It served the purpose though, the kids made it in safely and we were able to pick them up in the motorhome without incident.
On to RockLake. Canada Hwy 17 has been rebuilt and moved a bit so our GPS, Samantha, got a bit confused. She sent us on some 20 miles of rough then washboardy road and across one very questionable bridge. It bounced everyone around a bit and rearranged the cupboards some but ended well.
Wow, Sandy’s campground has sure changed. There are lots of fulltime trailers parked in what used to be hay field. Unloading provided the camp entertainment for the afternoon. By the time we got car, boat, kayaks and other plunder out and the trailer parked, half the camp had checked in to see what we were up to.
The Miata got the afternoon off…..the locals launched the boat for us with a tractor. Its moored. We are leveled, sort of. We are settled in for the week.
Oh, oh. Tracy is mosquito bait. She has welts all over. Good thing we have lots of bug spray and the citronella lanterns will need to burn constantly.
At 6 in the morning low clouds hung over the open field. People were milling around; some anxiously waiting for their names to be called and others, including us, sipping coffee and waiting for something to happen. Weather delay…rats. A change in launch location…double rats. We had gotten up early to watch the Atlantic Balloon Fiesta in Sussex NB but the weather was just not cooperating. Between the low ceiling and nearly still wind conditions the whole thing was looking pretty iffy. Finally the weather broke just enough to give the go ahead. They sent part of the group to another field so they had a chance of reaching landing sites with the still nearly calm winds. We stayed to watch about 14 lift off near us.
Baskets appear out of trailers and within minutes burners roar at the ready. Bright strips of fabric stretch out across the dewy grass. Fan motors roar and one by one the balloons begin to take shape as the light billowy fabric inflates. Burners ignite and the now weightless orbs pop upright over their baskets straining to be free. Riders climb aboard and tethers are released. They are off.
There was an elephant balloon. The pachyderm stands on one front leg is a perfect circus pose. The pilot’s basket looks miniscule beneath it.
There was a colossal haunted house balloon with bats and ghosts and pumpkins.
They all hovered today so we had wonderful views as the patterns and colors slowly rotated above us. I am sure it was a bit of a nightmare for the pilots as they jockeyed for space and to find some current to be on their way. For the spectator though, it was pretty magical. Well worth the early start to the day.
I really do love the sound of raindrops on the roof. It can be so relaxing, kind of like natures mantra. But, really? We woke several times in the wee hours of the morning to the thundering sound of a downpour. It would calm to a pitter-patter and we returned to sleep. By breakfast, it had settled into a steady rain that left no doubt that we would be staying in at least for a while. It’s noon and guess what, it is still raining steadily with frequent torrents. The sound on the roof is starting to sound more like chinese water torture than a soothing mantra. We slog through the deep puddles and drenching rain to a covered picnic shelter to use the park wifi. It is a nice dry spot to surf and watch as the rain continues to fall. Ok, back to camp for supper…no BBQ tonight. A quiet evening (well, except the relentless pitter patter) and off to bed. Yes, it is still raining. The weather report says we owe today’s weather to the remnants of hurricane Isaac. Overall, the Atlantic Maritime Provinces (that of course included us today) got between two and four inches of rain today. All I can say is that it was a lot and I am glad to be rid of the pitter-pat at least for now.
Peggy’s Cove NS
I guess we forgot.
Strenuous means strenuous when it comes to trails in Parks Canada. We have taken a couple hikes with great views of the Bay and of waterfalls. They come with lots of exposed tree roots, rock hopping, ravine scaling, and steep slopes covered with loose stone. The trail crew seems to want to be certain that hikers are not too pampered.
Wet vs. dry not trash vs. recycle. We are to separate waste into dry stuff: recyclable and returnable containers, paper etc. and wet stuff: anything gooey like food waste and coffee grounds and used paper towels or napkins. They gave us separate bags but I can’t seem to even get my head around separating this way. I have to think about every piece of trash just to try to get it right. I have no idea what they do with it when they get it.
Down about six flights of metal stairs. They start out solid but the last couple flights are open grating. The view from each landing is of odd shaped stone columns that are bigger on top than their base. These columns are huge. Most have trees (not little shrubs mind you; full size pine trees) growing on top of them. At the base of the stairs metal tread gives way to the crunch of stone. Cliffs to the right line a wide rocky beach dotted with those flowerpot rock formations along with boulders covered with grass-seagrass that is- and beyond that, mudflats on out to the water. It was like strolling any beach except we knew that it is actually the floor of the ocean (specifically Shepody Bay off Fundy) and will be under 43 feet of water when the tide comes up in just a couple hours.
We stroll and check it all out then back up the stairs to see the transformation as the water rises 7 vertical feet per hour. Amazing. Pretty cool to think about having just been out there. Worth the visit, Hopewell Rocks,New Brunswick. There is a youtube video www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnDJ6_XpGfo showing the tide timelapse photography. Not quite as good as being there but a fun watch.