Keji Adventure Part 1

……in which I go “Glamping”

I have yet to master the selfie.

I have yet to master the selfie.

I have taken our pop-up trailer, “Pal” (the brand is Palomino), to Kejimkujik National Park for a few days of R&R. Three days of recreation required two days of preparation but, like I always say, nothing is too much trouble if there is fun to be had. I did a lot of the cooking at home to save standing around in the heat and flies although our trailer is well enough equipped to prepare just about anything save perhaps a deep fried turkey. With my little fridge well stocked I rolled away from Milton, just a tad nervous, on my own.

Well stocked. You can't see the tray of cinnamon buns. (Should be called sin-amon, they are so good)

You can’t see the tray of cinnamon buns. (Should be called sin-amon, they are so good)

Nervous not of being alone in the woods or on the water, but of towing a camper and backing it into a site. I coped. Here is a bit of my trip so far:

Crisis number one: I had to make ten or eleven attempts at backing in before I got the camper in an acceptable alignment. This was not only entertaining for my neighbours, it caused a blow-out in my bra: all the working of the steering wheel back and forth caused the under-wire to work its way through where it tried to piece my sternum.

Temporary home.

Temporary home. I am annoyed by all of the green things in hues which don’t match. 

Crisis number two: I left the camper key at home. The camper was locked. For the record, tent trailers are surprisingly easy to break into if you have the crank.

IMG_8490

Crisis number three: I forgot the bacon. As well as my shower shoes. Foot fungus here we come.

Fung Shui of site: site 279 at Jeremy’s Bay is moderately good. It is on the outside of a curve but not such that the headlights shine right in, just aligned well enough for gawkers to see what is hanging off the end of your fork. Reasonably level and not too close to adjacent sites. Close enough to the playground so that I can enjoy the antics of kids playing.

Luxury camping item: long-handled shoe horn. Hey, I know. But what if I bent over to pull my shoe on and blew a disc. How would I un-pop the pop-up? (I still get tormented for once taking an iron camping)

Annoyances: Someone burning what smelled like vomit in their campfire. Not enough salt in my home-made sausage. Morning damp but not as damp as tent camping or a sailboat.

Grilled cheese and pasta salad.

Grilled cheese and pasta salad.

Main meal #1: Grilled cheese with caramelized onions and horseradish mustard. It would have been more exciting had a kid with a bag of dog poop not walked past the table just as I was about to take the first bite. Which leads me right into:

Scariest moment of day: as I stood back on to Pal frying my sandwich I heard a horse run right up over the camper and down the other side. That’s what I heard, I swear, but a small sweet boy who kept repeating “I’m so, so sorry” clarified the situation for me. His dog had taken off with its leash in tow, pursuing a squirrel. It was its hind quarters and tail banging off the side of the camper that I heard. The designer dog was the size of a Newfoundland pony. The squirrel escaped into ta tree. The dog pooped in disgust. You know the rest.

Woods adventure number one: 2.2 km hike to Mill Falls. Here’s some pics.

The Mersey River.

The Mersey River.

I think these are Indian Pipes. I will google later.

I think these are Indian Pipes. I will google later.

 

This woodpecker drilled stump looks like it has the head of a squirrel.

This woodpecker drilled stump looks like it has the head of a squirrel.

 

Mill Falls

Mill Falls

I have to drive out  to the administration building to type this up. I may run low on juice, so please forgive me typos and such. See you tomorrow.

This Blog entry is dedicated to my pal (lowercase) Ruthie who had initially intended to join me but found an opportunity to flit off to Newfoundland to work on her ancestral home and to Lance, who never gets sooky when I am off adventuring.

© Judy Parsons 2016

Email comments to JGParsons@judypstickletrunk.co.

Click on any picture for a larger view.

 

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