End to a Great Holiday

In the midst of a heavy rain shower we "pulled up stakes" this morning and headed for home.  By the time we left Emily Park the rain had stopped and the trip to Waterloo was quite enjoyable.  The countryside surrounding highways #115 and #35 can best be described as "rolling hills" which are very pretty at this time of year.

Yesterday (Saturday) had the best weather forecast for the week so we used the opportunity to take another day trip.  As previously mentioned we used to boat on the Trent Severn Waterway and the towns of Fenelon Falls and Bobcaygeon were a couple of our favourite sites. We also took the opportunity to visit Balsam Lake Provincial Park to choose some suitable campsites for future camping.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 9 days at the Park.  Generally speaking, the camp sites are large and quite private.  As the week progressed the list of birds that visited our feeders grew longer, including hummingbirds, gold finches and nuthatches.  Even a groundhog came looking for birdseed that had fallen to the ground.

Although we did not actually see it, the Park staff found a young fawn that was too weak to follow its mother.  Apparently this is normal for the adult to find a safe place to leave the fawn, returning periodically for the young one to nurse.  Below is a picture that the Park staff posted on Facebook.

Young fawn "on its own" until strong enough to follow mama deer

Community lunch under the bird feeders

Chipmonk on our bird feeder pole

Fenelon Falls - Boats tied up "on the wall" for the day, evening or weekend

Fenelon Falls - Boats entering the locks

Fenelon Falls - Entrance from Cameron Lake

Fenelon Falls - Below the locks, heading toward Sturgeon Lake

Fenelon Falls - Lockmaster Building

Fenelon Falls - Upper lock area

Entrance to Balsam Lake Provincial Park

Canoe launch area at Balsam Lake



Bobcaygeon - Families enjoying the waterfront

Bobcaygeon - Boaters heading toward the lock

Bobcaygeon - Lower lock view

Bobcaygeon - Happy Days houseboat leaving the lock

Bobcaygeon - Cruiser departing from the upper lock

Bobcaygeon - Upper lock view

Several of the 27 houseboats in the Egan rental fleet

Day trip to Lindsay

After getting some much needed rest and an early lunch, we headed down to Pigeon River to check out the beach and boating facilities of the Park.  Then onward to Lindsay, a town approximately 25 minutes west of Emily Park.

Lindsay is located on the Scugog River which joins the Southwest leg of Sturgeon Lake in the North, to Lake Scugog in the South.  As you may see from some of our photographs, they have done a beautiful job with the parklands that border the river.  Within walking distance of the downtown area are the remains of an old mill, as well as Lock 33 which enables pleasure boaters to migrate to and from Lake Scugog. Having boated on the Trent-Severn Waterway for eight years, we still take every available opportunity to visit the various locks and canals.

Docks near South Beach



Canoe waiting for a paddler

Osprey nest on Peace Road near Fees Landing



Judy "on a mission"

Across the river

People enjoying the Park

Inside the old mill ruins

Old Mill

40"s or 50"s era Cockshutt tractor converted to a forklift

Lock 33 of the Trent-Severn waterway



Lockmaster shutting down the lock for the day

Stuck in the muck at Emily PP

Emily Provincial Park is situated on Pigeon River which flows into the South End of Pigeon Lake on the Trent Severn Waterway. When we reserved site #208 at the Park we did see the "poor drainage" note on the site description but opted for that site rather than adjacent site #207.  What we didn't know was that the Park had recently received heavy rains and in fact it had rained each of the past five weekends.  Parks staff indicated they have had to tow several RV's out of their campsites.

Although site #208 was quite large, the gravel area was rather short and by the time the front end of the RV was off the roadway, the rear wheels were on soft ground and began to spin.  It was obvious this wasn't going to work so we drove our Jeep Liberty to the Park gatehouse and obtained a list of alternate sites.  While scouting out a new site it became obvious that a large number of campsites were in peril from the heavy rains.  The only suitable, available site was #187 so we fired up the RV to exit site #208 but alas, the wheels also spun while trying to go forward.

For a while it looked as if we might require a tow but after about forty-five minutes, a lot of digging with our spade and use of some 2" thick boards we often carry with us, we were back on the roadway.  The new site #187, although well-drained was also a bit soft in some spots so we entered from the "wrong direction" on the one-way road to avoid having to make too many maneuvers.  With sunny weather in the forecast starting next Wednesday, that should help.

Note the hubcap reflection - Photographer & "Digger"

We did it!



At the new site