Author Archives: Jill and Bud

150 miles west of Selkirk Provincial Park is Wheatley Provincial Park.

It sits where Boosey Creek and Sugar Creek join East Two Creeks at the edge of Lake Erie.

This is a large park with paved main roads.

A number of sites sit right the along the creeks, but they either had no power or no clear sky for Starlink, so we’re happy with the site I chose. It’s more open, but still private.

And we’ve had bunnies to entertain us. I have never seen rabbits act like this!

The little one didn’t pay any attention to those other two, but he did come up and investigate our entry mat.

We’ve taken some nice walks here. Bud even came for a walk over this bridge on Boosey Creek to the strip of park along the lake.

It’s a nice piece of land, somewhat manicured.

It’s a good place to view the lake,

but there’s not much beach.

This is the end of Klondike Road, that leads into the park. But this part is not open to cars.

Walking east we found out why. A gravel trail goes on from where the road drops into the lake.

At the other end we came to where vehicle travel on Klondike Road ends.

The tip of the peninsula is now a decent walk from anywhere in the park.

And the woods here are quiet and beautiful.

This section was carpeted with May apples. It was incredibly green.

Just across the creek, outside the park, the trailers were cheek by jowl.

I’m happy to be in the park.

About half way along the north shore of Lake Erie there’s a spit of land that sticks almost halfway across the lake, Long Point. I’ve always been curious about this but never visited.

So Friday when we got a break in the dayslong rain we headed over to Long Point Provincial Park. There are dunes there.

And wide beaches.

Whatever made these tracks was a big bird.

There aren’t many rocks on this coast, but this beautiful sand came from long ago rocks.

The waves and sand made interesting patterns.

We didn’t linger long, the cold wind churned the shallow water brown and cut through our jackets. Unfortunately there are no roads very far out along the point and it was much too cold for a hike. I don’t think there were any trails that went far, anyway. A good place for the birds and other wildlife but you need a boat to see them.

On the way back we stopped at Port Dover. This is the inlet to the small commercial harbor.

I was fascinated by the almost enclosed fishing boats, which seemed like a good idea in this weather.

Bud was interested in the Pleasantport Fish Company where he was able to get Lake Erie pickerel and whitefish.

A different inlet takes you to the pleasure boat marina. Bud liked that there were so many sailboats.

This old houseboat was someone’s dream once.

We drove back along the shore where we passed this jetty for a steel plant.

Meanwhile, the mud in Selkirk Provincial Park is starting to dry up.

But there is still too little sun and too much cold wind for me.

But I did spot this red columbine, which brightened my day.

We spent two weeks in Western New York where we had great times with friends and family and I mostly forgot to take pictures. I didn’t take a picture at our lovely dinner on the Niagara River with Randy and Chris. I didn’t take a picture at the fun picnic with Dick and Sue and Sue and Gary (almost a tradition now). I didn’t take a picture at the chilly but very fun golf game with Jim and Goody, even though I reveled in the very picturesque Rolling Hills Golf Course.

I did get this picture when we took a hike with our friends Jane and Rob, on the right above. To the left of the sign are Jane’s sister, Anne, whom I hadn’t seen since she was probably a toddler, another of our classmates, Molly, Anne’s daughter Celeste and Anne’s husband Hyland. Bud was there, but hiding. The sign is for the Lytle Nature Preserve, where we hiked. This was a gift from Jane and Anne’s parents to the town of Lockport and is being managed by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County. It’s along the canal just north of Lockport and if you’re in the area you should check it out.

Thanks to Jeanie, I have this picture of her, me, Michelle, Erin and Joan walking in Four Mile Creek State Park after eating a great lunch with Bud. He cooked, he didn’t walk.

Erin had to leave but the rest of us walked over to the camp store for my first soft ice cream of the year.

Monday we moved on to Selkirk Provincial Park, our first stop in Ontario, where we’ll be spending the summer.

It’s a nice park on the north shore of Lake Erie.

So far we have a private spot.

As I was walking around with Matey enjoying the woods, I realized that unless family or friends come up to see us while we wander the near regions of Ontario, we will not see anyone we know for four months.

That’s a definite downside to our wandering life,

but it’s offset by the new places we find, like this lovely disc golf course outside of Caledonia, Ontario.

There are fun differences in regions. We don’t usually find packages of mushrooms like this.

That inspired this great stir fry!

So even though we are alone, we are enjoying the changing view from our windows…

and the new roads we travel.

We came up to Western New York for a two week stay. This was originally planned to celebrate my mom’s 106th birthday, but instead we had the memorial service for her and my sister Judy.

Lots of emotions as we visit with many friends and family and it also brought home that Mom and Judy are gone. This is the little family cemetery where the urns with their ashes are buried. Judy’s stone was placed flat in front of my parents.

My cousin Rich is in town and he and Joan came to Four Mile Creek State Campsite where we are staying. We took a walk along Lake Ontario. That’s Toronto on the far shore.

All of Judy’s family and Jamie and Sean stayed at an AirBnB just three miles down the lake from us.

The evening after the combined service we gathered for memorial family games. Both Mom and Judy loved to play games when the family got together.

The weather, like my emotions, has been up and down, friends to enjoy but many times when I just ache inside because Mom and Judy can’t be here to share these times.

We’re now at Mosquito Lake State Park not far from Youngstown, Ohio. Despite the inauspicious name it’s a pretty nice place, though we bought wood chips to fill the muddy spot by our door.

They have had more than enough rain here and some of the campsites look to be nesting sites for the geese. The white sign says no camping beyond this point. Not too tempting now.

We saw flooding in Arkansas,

Missouri,

and Kentucky.

And now, here in Ohio.

But if you look at our route you can see that we’ve been going…

right along the path of the storms that have been rolling, rolling and rolling up from Texas.

I’ve had enough of spring rains.

There are rain and thunderstorms in the forecast every day for the next five days.

The fishermen don’t mind.

They like water.

And it hasn’t deterred the weekend campers.

Oh well, Matey and I still have a nice view when we can sit outside in between the showers.

Bud wanted to go into Clarksburg for groceries yesterday. He said he’d seen something about a trail nearby that went through an old train tunnel.

So I did some research and found the North Bend Rail Trail State Park stretched 72 miles from just east of Clarksburg to Parkersburg. The trail has 10 tunnels, and we would pass an access point just a short distance from Tunnel Number Two. This was originally part of the Western Virginia Railroad, a subsidiary of the B & O Railroad and this 1,084 foot long tunnel was built in 1868. I tried to find what the initials J.W.E. stood for but couldn’t find it. I think perhaps the firm that either designed or built the tunnel.

On approach it didn’t look like we’d even need the flashlight we brought.

Oddly, as we got closer, the tunnel seemed to get longer.

Once inside those seepy old brick walls didn’t look as impregnable as I would have liked.

Major slime, how sturdy was this anyway?

This was getting downright creepy.

The periodic “manholes”, where workers (or anybody else) could escape if caught in the tunnel by a passing train, only added to the uneasy feeling of the place.

We came out the other end and came almost immediately to a bridge. There was a lot of engineering to get a railroad line through these mountains with a maximum grade of only 1.5%.

Soon we had to turn around…

and go back through.

I have to admit I was relieved to finally come back out into the cut on the east side where we’d started.

Monday we moved to the Lonepine Campground at Doddridge County Park in West Virginia. It’s a lovely, uncrowded place with paved, full hookup sites.

The entry was a bit daunting, we came off a small road on a very steep entrance, then stopped and took off the weight distribution bars on our hitch so we could continue down this twisting downhill…

and then across this one lane bridge to the campground office.

The park is beautiful and the grounds are well cared for.

It has a disc golf course…

and some spectacular trees.

We’ve played disc golf every day.

Matey and I have taken other short walks to enjoy the scenery.

With so much space we’ve been letting Matey off the leash while we play disc golf. He’s loved tearing around the lush grass.

Until the eighth hole we played today, when he came running downhill through deep, thick grass, tripped when he came to the blacktop road and skidded on his right knee, taking his fur and some of his skin off.

He still thinks he’s young, but he’s not; just like us.

Bud walked back and brought the truck so we could take him home…

and patch him up. That bandage lasted less than five minutes, but at least the antibiotic ointment had a bit of time to work.

Now we’re just relaxing in the shade on a gorgeous day in a beautiful setting.

My cousin Rich has a condo in Chillicothe, about 30 miles from Deer Creek State Park. He flew in to Columbus on Saturday for an extended stay there. I picked him up at the airport and brought him to the trailer. My sister Joan drove in from Youngstown, NY. She got there within 15 minutes of Rich and me. We all had a great dinner that Bud made and then Joan drove Rich to Chillicothe where she is staying until Tuesday. Of course I forgot to take pictures.

But here we all are on Sunday. Rich’s partner, Ken, took this. He made sure to include the Ohio State Flag, which is the only state flag that is pennant shaped.

Here we are without the flag.

This was an uninvited guest at the condo. Bud and I thought it might be a baby snapping turtle. It was tiny; look at it compared to the wilted dandelion. Bud took it over near a large pond on the property, away from the parking lot where it seemed to be heading.

Then we all headed out for a walking tour of downtown Chillicothe. We started at this intersection, which is where the city started. Ken filled us in and he should know. European Americans first settled Chillicothe in 1796 and Ken’s family came in 1799. His great-great-great(?)grandfather was a revolutionary war soldier from Virginia who accepted 50 acres of land in Ohio for his service. After the land surveyor took his 50%, Ken’s fore-bearer had 25 acres to support his family. He was a widower with many children.

The city escaped urban renewal in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s and thus has a beautiful downtown.

This is the courthouse.

In front of it is the great seal of Ohio. Ken is pointing out that it includes the hills behind Chillicothe, as this was the first (and third) state capital.

There’s the seal, but now Ken has disappeared.

Here’s another great old building.

This corner building was purchased and renovated by the local health system, Adena Health System. Ken says they did a great job and about the only thing not like the original is the asphalt roof, instead of slate.

City hall used to have another story with a Mansard roof, but it was taken off in the fifties. At least the rest of the building remains.

This was one of my favorites. It’s called the Foulke Block, and it does stretch the whole block.

After our too brief visit, Bud, Matey and I headed back to Deer Creek.

Joan and Matey said their goodbyes.

What a fun day! Hope to see them next year as we’ll most likely be back in the area in April for Adler’s band competition.

We had a short drive Monday to Deer Creek State Park southeast of Columbus, Ohio. On the way we stopped at a do-it-yourself car wash with good overhead clearance. We could almost fit the trailer in. We could pull the front end in and scrubbed the front cap and about 10 feet back along each side.

Tuesday was cold and windy, but Wednesday it warmed and I went out with bug and tar cleaner and spent a couple of hours scrubbing dead bugs off the front.

I took this when I had one side done. If you look close you can see the bugs still speckling the driver’s side. I then put a coat of wax on it, because the cleaner had wax but the finish looked very uneven after I’d used it. Finally we washed the rest of the trailer and put a ceramic wax on all of it. The whole thing took two days.

I did walk Matey and explored this huge park. I found this trout lily in bloom.

They have a lot of recreation opportunities here. They have a regular golf course and mini golf and pickleball.

They also have something called GaGa Ball. It’s basically dodgeball played in a “pit”, but you can only propel the ball by slapping it. Good thing, because the pits are not very big! A thrown ball at this close range could really hurt!

They have disc golf and we took the time to play nine holes. It was a decent course and Matey went crazy because we let him off the leash for a bit.

With all these things to do this is a very popular park. Our area is almost full, but we have full hookups.

It’s more crowded now that it’s Easter Weekend, but there’s still plenty of space on the sites with only electricity, no water or sewer. It’s a trade we were willing to make as we are staying a week.

Yesterday, after some more jobs, we took a short hike to look at the lake.

The trail led to the end of a peninsula.

It was windy, but warm and nice to get out and see this huge park a bit.

We came back to Ohio and Stonelick State Park for Adler’s second year competing at the WGI Worlds Winds Championships. For winter, when it’s not possible to march a full band inside in a gym, the bands are divided into Color Guards, Percussion and Winds. At Lake Hamilton only the Winds compete on a national level.

Jamie flew into Dayton and I picked her up Saturday morning. The afternoon found the three of us cheering on Lake Hamilton during the preliminaries at Northern Kentucky University.

This was all we saw of Adler before he was whisked away for pictures, then back to camp and more practice before finals.

We went back to our own campground where spring was trying to make a showing, with redbuds and other trees in bloom,

and the earliest wildflowers out.

But despite the warm colors, it was pretty cold out. Oh well, we were here for the band.

Today was finals at The University of Dayton Arena. I remembered to take a few pictures. Here’s Adler as the band is moving into place.

Here they all are, almost ready to start.

Adler played with a group of five in this performance.

Four saxes and a flute. The girl behind and center is a dancer, their only one. Most groups had several, some had a lot!

This is a bit of video I took. It ends rather abruptly as I wanted to give my attention back to watching the band, not the screen. Sorry.

Here they are walking in for the awards ceremony.

There are a lot of kids and a lot of bands! Lake Hamilton had a good clean performance but only took fourth, which was last place in their group, because only four schools chose to compete in the Scholastic World Class, the highest level. I told Jamie I would be happy if they did a good run, no matter what the score, but I have to admit, I was disappointed they did not make third. Oh well, next year!

Now we’re back at camp and Jamie and Adler are gone, but so are most of the campers. I love a quiet campground.