Bass Lake Provincial Park

We are going to head to Bass Lake Provincial Park as soon as Karen finishes work. 

I had the day off, so I was able to deal with preparing the motorhome for travelling.   Around 2pm while I was doing the circle check, I discovered that we had a flat tire.  I am glad that I have a routine of checking the vehicle before heading out, but I am not thrilled to discover a flat tire.

No big deal though as we do have a spare and we do have CAA RV Roadside Assistance.   I called the number and within an hour the service truck arrived and 20 minutes after that he had the flat tire off and the spare tire on.  Karen got home from work and we were ready to roll.

The sky was very ominous though as we were leaving the house and by the time we got to Perkinsfield we were into a torrential downpour and high gusting winds.  The motorhome was very stable though in those high buffeting winds, however I could barely see to drive it was raining so hard, so we pulled over into the ball diamond parking lot and parked.  My iPhone weather radar app showed me that this was going to blow over in about 20 minutes so we just waited it out and then continued along our way.

It did rain most of the way as we headed towards Orillia and Bass Lake Provincial Park.  Our friends Don & Shirley were already there and were all set up. 

When we arrived at the gate to check in it was till raining. 

 

After checking in, we got parked in our site and immediately went over to Don & Shirley’s rig for happy hour. 

The rain stopped long enough for me to go outside and get the blocks under the jacks and get the hydro cable plugged in.  I got our house on wheels level and put out the slides, but that was it for setting up tonight.  The rain started up again. 

Back to D & S’s for the rest of the evening where we sat inside and socialized and watched the other campers arrive with their tents and pop up campers.  It was comical to watch this one guy walking around holding an umbrella in one hand while getting his tent set up while his wife and kids sat in the car.  Eventually he just gave up trying to stay dry and threw the umbrella on the ground.  We are warm and dry in our houses on wheels.

Further to the flat tire earlier, Karen and I knew when we bought the motorhome last fall that we would need to buy new tires for it.  This flat earlier just proves we need new tires, so we better get them sooner rather than later.  The vehicle safety certification required to transfer vehicle ownership only checks for tire tread depth and there is a minimum depth that is not to be exceeded in order to pass the safety.  These tires do have lots of tread and they did pass the safety, but they are the original tires.  Every motorhome expert will tell you to get new tires every 7 years despite how good the tread is.  The rubber compounds break down with age and the tires deteriorate to the point where they are no longer safe.  Our tires are the original tires, so they need to be replaced.  We will be shopping around for new tires before we head out again.  I just hope we can limp home on these original tires without incident.

To see all of the photos from today, you can find them on our FLICKR site.

Nicolston Dam

Got to sleep in a bit, but today is pack up and leave day.  We have to be off our site today by Noon.

It takes us about an hour to put all of our stuff away in the outside storage bays.  I work away at that while Karen puts away the interior items and puts up the spring loaded bars inside the cupboards and fridge to stop stuff from flying around.

Pete & Janette packed up all their stuff late last night and they left for home around 10am.  We loitered around enjoying the morning and the last few hours till check out time.

We drove off the property at 11:58 am and pointed ourselves towards home.

 

We went to the Wal-Mart in Alliston and parked in their parking lot.  We fired up the generator and had ourselves some lunch.  Then we went inside to do some shopping.  We realized that we needed another outdoor mat and another small outdoor table and another larger table, plus a few other things.

After we got our shopping done, we decided to go home via the Highway, not very scenic, but it is the quickest, most direct way home.  Traffic is already building in the Southbound lanes as the tourists leave cottage country and head back to Toronto.

 

Hardly any traffic in our lanes as we head Northbound on the 400.

 

A great weekend, the weather co-operated, we got in lots of walking and had fun hanging out with P & J.  We look forward to the next time we can get together with them.  That will probably be in July sometime.

To see all of our photos from today, you can find them on our FLICKR site.

Nicolston Dam

Got to sleep in again this morning.  For a campground, this place is fairly quiet.  The owners have strictly enforced rules and anyone in violation will be reminded of the rules or asked to leave.  The owners ride around the campground in an electric golf cart dozens of times per day.

We had a nice pancake breakfast and then sat around talking with Peter & Janette.  

Karen and I went for another walk around the campground and took a few photos of things that we missed in yesterdays walk.

For instance, this plaque telling the story of how John Nicol built the mill here.

 

The Hamlet of Nicolston was originally known as Underhill.



We also found another carved wooden bear.



Not much else to tell you about today.  We didn’t take any more photos.  It was a typical day around our home on wheels.  We walked a bit, relaxed a bit, talked a bit. 

We bbq’d dinner on our Weber Q.  This time it was hamburgers.

After dinner, back to Pete &Janette’s at their site next to us for what has become a nightly tradition.. sitting around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and having a few cold ones.

To see the photos that we took today, you can find them on our FLICKR site.

Nicolston Dam

We slept in a bit this morning, then enjoyed a delicious bacon and egg breakfast. 

Texted Pete & Janette to see if they were up and about and to see if they wanted to go for a walk with us. 

Took some photos of the campground near our site and then with “J” we went for a walk to see the whole campground.  “P” stayed behind because he wanted to get his Can Am Spider out of the garage in their toy hauler.

 

We first headed over to where the Nicolston Dam is.  It is a very beautiful spot.

 

These photos show you the actual Dam.  “J” and Karen at the Dam.

 

Another “Damn” Dam photo.



They don’t want anyone fooling around with the gate valves so they are chain locked.

 

Near the Dam there is a small farm with a few animals.  “J” said there used to be a pig, but we didn’t see it.  Just these roosters and chickens.  You can buy the fresh eggs in the small campground store.

 

Janette introduced Karen to Victor.

 

There is a very nice outdoor pool.

 

Also a mini putt golf surrounded by beautiful blooming lilacs.

 

This is the office / general store.  We went inside and ordered some firewood to be delivered to our site for tonights camp fire.

 

Beside the store are these 2 wooden carvings.

 

Walked some more through different areas of the campground before we wound up back at our site.  Time for lunch.

 

After lunch Pete came over with his Can Am Spider and invited me to go with him for a ride.  His destination was a 20 KM ride to Pete’s Donuts where he likes to buy fresh breads, buns and of course donuts.   Is it a coincidence that he likes a place that is named Pete's Donuts?  So off we went.

 

“J” and Karen relaxed while we were away judging by these photos I found on the camera this evening while I was writing the blog.

 

I had to ask Karen what these were photos of... Karen told me this is the view she had while reclined in the zero gravity chair.

 

For dinner, we diced up some potatoes and onions and wrapped them in foil.  We put these and our steaks on our Weber Q bbq.  Mmmmm… very good.   For dessert we enjoyed some ice cream.

After dinner we joined P&J for another evening of sitting around their colourful campfire while enjoying a few cold ones.

Nicolston Dam

Today is the start of our Canadian May 24 Weekend. 

This last week was a frantic week to get ready for travelling this weekend.  We hired a flooring contractor to tear out all the old carpeting and install a new vinyl floor.  He started this past Monday and finished today.

These photos show the carpeted floor.

 

These photos show the carpeting has been removed.

 

Here are photos of the new flooring.

 

The contractor finished up at 3:30 pm and we quickly loaded up and we were on the road by 4:30pm.  Its only an hour drive to where we are going for the weekend.

We are spending the weekend with Pete & Janette at Nicolston Dam.  They really like this campground and invited us to give it a try. 

Nicolston Dam is near Alliston ON on Hwy 89.  We are able to take the back roads and enjoy the scenery as we drive along.  If we can avoid the major highways we will always do that.

No pictures along the way, but then we see the sign for Nicolston through our bug splattered windshield.  One of my chores this weekend will be to clean the bugs off the front of the motorhome.



There is a river that runs beside the road into Nicolston Dam Campground & RV Park.

 

We had a bit of a wait at the front entrance as others were arriving and getting checked in.

 

We got checked in and assigned our site.

 

Got the slides and the awning put out and finished the set up.

 

Peter & Janette are in the site next to us.  They have a 5th Wheel Toy Hauler.  They bring their Can Am Spider Motorcycle with them and it travels in the Toy Hauler Garage.



P & J invited us to join them at their campfire.  We sat around chatting and enjoying a few cold ones.  We also roasted marshmallows. 

They had some packets of something that they threw in the fire to make the flames emit different colours.  It was much more colourful than the camera can capture, but you get the idea.

  

Tomorrow we will get to wander around the campground and possibly go for a ride on the Spider.

To see all the photos we took today, you can check them out on our FLICKR site.