Rain isn't quite so gentle and steady dropping from the trees so I had a difficult time getting to sleep being startled by the large drops every few minutes. Once I did fall asleep though, I was awakened by the wild life out in appreciation of the rain that had driven everyone inside. It seems the bears had discovered the left out bits of food all around the campground. It was a soggy people-food buffet! While I didn't feel threatened in the least, I did still feel the need to sleep lightly to make sure they were using their best manners and staying away from us!
We awoke on Canada Day to a drenched tent and chilly morning later than normal with all the tent windows zipped up. After rolling over in protest of having to get on the road, I made my way out to get us packed up and get gas with Grammie. It seems the gas station down the road enjoys making their own hours so to be safe we filled up at the boat dock at her cabin.
This is the morning view from her dock!
The naturalists we'd met the day before recommended a quick stop on the way to our next park that is supposed to have an abundance of turtles - Grundy Lake Provincial Park. So we stopped there and had a beautiful hike on a very overcast day.
The weather was pretty chilly so we only had one little guy come up and meet us. You can see his little nose up between the two lily pads.
And speaking of lily pads - the flowers were definitely in abundance - so pretty!
And Laney spotted this sweet rock!
After a lovely picnic, we stopped by the interpretive center for a little education and play.
Ryan's jaw is quite a bit smaller than a moose!
We learned the bird I'd spotted was the elusive American Bittern. And these guys learned a little about wing span!
Before too long we were on the road to a much-anticipated stop - Algonquin Provincial Park about four hours away. The drive was absolutely beautiful snaking around all kinds of lakes and rivers. The barns in Canada are just as beautiful as in the states but usually twice as tall! I spent most of the drive listening to laughing girls watching the Little Rascals, listening to great made-up stories, and trying to convert speed and mileage to the park from the kilometer road signs.
Before we knew it we were seeing sign after sign about moose, deer, and bear as we reached the park. To say this park is enormous would be a huge understatement. And the road we are using for access is only about 40 miles through the very southern portion. I'd only wished I'd brought all my bikes, kayaks, and canoes like the rest of everyone around me!
I left Ryan with Grammie and we went to set up at our campsite. There were about 20 people on the site across from us so I wasn't all that thrilled with how our two nights here were going to go. We had dinner reservations at Grammie's lodge so we headed there next after changing into warmer clothes. Brayden and Laney played soccer for a little while as I got some things ready for the next day.
This was my children's second fine dining meal on our trip and they seemed to be getting the hang of some things. It definitely helped the room was small and the servers had our food out pretty quickly. And it was delicious! I haven't had as much fish in a year as I've had on this trip! Our jaws all dropped as we saw the sizes of the desserts that were a part of our meal!
Once we finished we rolled ourselves out of the dining room and went back to the cabin for a few minutes. We try to get a semi-plan together for the next day since I don't have phone service in Canada. We have way too many options in this park!
Before too long we said good night and Brayden, Laney, and I headed to find some ice and firewood. The kids' eyes lit up as the cashier asked if they were going to the Canada Day fireworks tonight. They looked at me like they hadn't seen fireworks in 4 years with a big whispered PLEASE?! With the 10pm sunset I knew this was probably a bad idea with the long day we had the next day, but how often are you in Canada on Canada Day?!!
So after picking up our wood we headed out the east entrance to find a fireworks show. Just a couple miles out was a tiny town where I noticed there were a few trucks sitting idle next to a large baseball field. We circled around the field and I noticed several fire fighters spacing fireworks in the infield. With over optimistic hopes of a pre-sunset show, I went ahead and parked in a spot with a great view of the field. And we waited. At least my kids are voracious readers because I was bored well before they even looked up to check the time.
Just a little before 10pm the fire alarm at the station next to us sounded and the fireworks
started. They were instantly impressed a very bright, colorful, and especially noisy show. We kept thinking it had to be the grande finale throughout the show, but then it just kept going on! These were some skilled fireworks operators! We finally reached the end however and as everyone cheered we drove home along the dark road through the park. I was secretly hoping for a moose or bear to be munching on something or walking near the road, but no luck.
We made it back to our site with heavy eyes. We all raced to the bathroom and jumped into our sleeping bags to get right to sleep. It helped it was cold and we had an extra sleeping bag and blanket to cuddle up under! I listened to our neighbors celebrating for awhile but it was calm enough for me to fall asleep within seconds.
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