And Pat in her kerchief and Dan n his cap had just settled down for a long summer’s nap, when what to our wondering ears did we hear but 8 noisy campers just arriving with cheer! Unfortunately, they drove in at midnight, and their revelry lasted for 3 hours!!! Just as they quieted down, another car arrived (this now being 4:00 am!) and the revelry started up once again, only briefly this time!

 

Too tired to get out of bed and politely ask them to shut the $&@5? up, and besides it was terribly wet after the thunderstorm, we stayed in our tent and put up with the celebrations hoping every 5 minutes it would end! Oh well, we did get a few hours sleep. We were half tempted to drive up to their tent and blast the horn at 7:30 am when we left, but alas our better angels were in control and we simply slipped away!

 

Into Kenora we drove… 1) breakfast was needed and 2) a couple of supplies at Walmart were in order ( the after bite didn’t last as long as I thought it should!) then we hit the trail for Manitoba and our destination at Riding Mountain National Park.

 

As we left Kenora we marvelled at the scenic town set on the shores of Lake of the Woods. Idyllic!

 

It was amazing how fast the topography changed as we approached the Manitoba border.  From rugged Canadian Shield to prairie in almost a blink of the eye!  Fields of grain, canola and sunflowers lined the highway.

In a couple of hours we stopped in Winnipeg the refuel and change drivers. Our route took us past the mint where they make all our Canadian coins.

Once in Manitoba, we decided to do a quick side trip to a lake created by a meteor. West Hawk Lake. Part of the Canadian “Hit” parade!

Back on the TransCanada Hwy #1 we headed straight to Riding Mountain National Park. This part is north of the hwy, but well connected with great roads.

The park itself is in Treaty 2 Territory, part of the Anishinabe First Nations treaties 2,4 and 1. The entire park encompasses grasslands, forests and beautiful lakes, and of course, wildlife like wolf packs and bears!

Once Dan and I set up, we headed out to explore the lake that was just a few hundred metres form the campground. They had created a wonderful walking trail that hugged the lakeshore in front of a number of beautiful private cottages and homes.

After a lovely hike along the shores, we headed back to our campsite. It was located in a forested part of the park, very rich and lush

Once back at our campground, it was time to light our fire. Yes indeed, we were out of the Ontario forest fire area and at a park that not only allowed it, but upon purchase of a fire use day permit you could get all the cut wood you wanted! The stoves were a clear sign that we were in a Canadian National Park!

Dinner tonight was garlic and rosemary grilled lamb, pan roasted potatoes (sweet potatoes for me) and onions and green beans! Delish!

After dinner was done and all put away, I took time to visit the showers. This park had great facilities and the best showers I’ve seen yet! Of course, after a day hiking and breaking down and putting up camp, any shower is a great one!

All in all our stay here has been lovely. We managed to dry out our gear from the night before and with a promise of no rain in the forecast, we would have dry gear to pack up tomorrow. So happy as we would be staying at a B and B tomorrow night and wont have a chance to dry things out for a couple of days.

Time to sign off for today. Stay safe and see you soon!