We woke up at about 9 a.m.  It was a beautiful morning and the birds were singing everywhere. 
A female Red Winged Blackbird was perched in a tree watching us pack up.  

The Mourning Dove was still in her nest above the bathroom. 

But this morning she had a little Barn Swallow friend beside her. 

As I got into my car, I noticed a Red Admiral butterfly flying around the parking lot. 

Since the next park that we were heading to was only 20 minutes away, and we didn't have to be there until 2 pm, we took the opportunity to explore Point Pelee. 

We headed to the Visitor Center to see if we could catch a shuttle (which is free to ride) up to the point. As we pulled into the parking lot for the Visitor Center we saw a large group of school kids boarding the shuttle. Not only did we not want to rush, but we also didn't want to be immersed in the noise that many children can create, so we decided to wait for the next shuttle inside the Visitor Center.

As soon as you open the inner doors of the Visitor Center you are greeted by the cute face of a critter. The sign at its feet asks "Do you think this is a Red Fox or a young Coyote?" My bet is that it is a coyote. 

In front of the entrance is a large map of Canada. 

And beside it is a Legend to help the viewer locate where all the National Parks in Canada are located.

Rounding the corner, my eye was caught by the sight of a beautiful, colourful tapestry. It was created by the artist Teresa Altiman.

Along another wall, was an informational placard describing the history and restoration process of Point Pelee Park. 

First, about 300 private cottages, homes and businesses were bought up and removed from the park. 
Then, the shuttle was implemented in order to reduce the impact of vehicle parking.
Then, in 1971, individual campsites were closed down in order to protect the birds, animals and environment from the destructiveness of campers. Instead, a supervised group camp was established. Today, the only camping available in the park is the Henry campground which is the location of the Otentiks we had stayed in the night before. 

Inside the Visitor Center is a little shop filled with T-shirts and souvenirs. Penny and I looked for the hoodie that we had seen in Port Burwell, hoping that if we did find it here, that it might be less expensive. However, we did not find it here.

​ Instead, we bought a couple of other T-shirts and some trinkets. 

We figured enough time had passed that the shuttle should be coming any minute. So we decided to go back outside to wait for it. As we passed by the entrance I noticed a photo booth that I had been too busy to notice on the way in. It might have been fun to get our pictures done here, but I didn't want to be late for the shuttle. 

We waited on the benches under the canopy. We could hear a number of birds singing all around us. I figured that this would be the perfect time to play with an app on my phone called Merlin Bird ID. It's a free app and we have found it to be pretty useful. In particular, Penny and I like using the Sound ID. You record the birds that are singing all around you and it will list each bird, complete with a photo of it. And as each one sings, the photo will light up to let you know which bird you are hearing.  It keeps your recordings so that you can go back and look at it later. 

Some of the birds that I heard were a Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow Warbler, American Robin, and American Redstart. 

But the only bird that wanted to be seen was a Brown-Headed Cowbird who was strutting their stuff all over the grassy area. 

We had been waiting for quite some time and we started to wonder if something had happened to the shuttle. I went inside to ask if they knew when the next shuttle would arrive. The shuttle should arrive every 15 to 20 minutes but it had been almost an hour by this point.  When I mentioned this to the people at the desk they became a bit concerned too. So, they got on the walkie talkie and asked the driver where they were. The reply was that they were almost at the Visitor Center. So, I guess we had unknowingly just missed one when we had come out to wait under the canopy. I had to hurry out the door or I would miss it again. 

I got out to the waiting area just as the shuttle was pulling in. We hopped into the very back seat of the last shuttle car and sat back and relaxed as the shuttle took us to our destination. We passed by the occasional cyclist as well as a few people who were going to the point on foot. 

As the shuttle pulled up to the last stop on its route before heading back to pick up another load of people, we could see the big metal lookout tower looming in the distance. 

We stepped off the shuttle bus just as the group of school kids we had seen earlier, boarded it to go back to the Visitor Center.  Once off the shuttle, we didn't really know where to go first. So, we took a moment to look around the bus shelter.  On the walls were various large informational posters. The one that intersted me most was the one that showed the migration patterns of various birds, butterflies, and insects. 

On the roof and all over the place were large numbers of Barn Swallows. I was amused by the thought that  where I live you would be lucky to see even one. These birds are considered a Threatened Species in Canada. But here, they were so plentiful. There were dozens on the roof tops and multiple nests in the rafters. 

We saw a trail with some directional signs on it. We figured maybe we could figure out what direction to take from there. However, every sign on the post pointed in the direction of where a National Park in Canada or some other interesting place was located. For example, Canada's most Northern Point was 4600 km from this sign post. 

A large red and white sign in the shape of a 42  marked where the 42nd parallel is. It stated that we were as far south as Rome and Barcelona. 

The most important sign we saw though was the one warning us of the Dangerous Currents at the tip of the point. Even just wading into the water could be deadly. It is so dangerous, that you can actually be fined $10,000 just for wading in the water. 

We could go any one of three ways to get to the tip. We could go towards the tower and follow a trail in that direction. Or we could follow a trail through the woods.

Or we could follow the shoreline. We decided to take the shoreline and search for sea glass as we walked. 
Penny was excited to find a few pieces of both white as well as green sea glass to add to her collection. 

As we walked, I noticed that the beach had a layer of red sand up near the tree line. 

Looking down at our feet, I could see where the waves had come up and dragged some of that red sand back towards the lake, making pretty designs in the sand. It looked almost like the pebbles had been crawling forward and the red sand was the trail they left behind. 

The various boulders and large pieces of driftwood embedded into the ground created an interesting and serene scene.

Much like Pinery Provincial Park, this park has a place to take a photo of the environment and then send it in to help with research studies. 

This is the photo I took and submitted to the Coastie website. 

A Ring Billed Gull strutted boldly down the beach, oblivious to the waves crashing around him. 

The closer we got to the point, the smaller the mainland looked behind us. 

When we turned back around we were greeted by a group of sea birds. The very same birds that had been scared away from the point. They were now behind us and I had a second opportunity to get photos of them. 

I recognized a couple of Ring Billed Gulls in the group. But many of them were a smaller bird. Their colouring was similar to the Ring Billed Gulls but the markings were different. Not knowing any better, I still believed that these might be Terns. 

However, once I got home and did a bit of research, I found out that these were not Terns at all but were, in fact, Bonaparte's Gulls. 

Another interesting sign was the one with information about Middle Island. The tip of the point of Point Pelee is the most southernly spot  of the mainland of Canada, However, the absolute most southern piece of land in Canada is actually Middle Island. It is a tiny 22 hectare island that is situated only a few metres from the Canada - US border. 

Upon reaching the top we were impressed at how the tower offered breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding landscapes, including the lush greenery of the park and the waters of Lake Erie.​

Far below we could see Penny looking up at us, with camera in hand. We waved to her and she waved back. 

In behind Penny, at the base of a bench over looking the lake, someone had drawn a large cross in the sand with a stick. 

Spread across the top of the tower were various informational signs telling us a bit about the local birds, as well as highlighting some information about Point Pelee and Middle Island. 

I took my time going back down the stairs of the tower at Pont Pelee. As I descended the staircase of the imposing tower, I allowed myself to fully absorb the breathtaking surroundings that stretched out before me. I was up above the tree tops and now some of the birds were at eye level. 

A vibrant yellow bird played hide and seek among the branches of the trees. I could not make out what type of bird it was. 

Once we reached the ground, we had some time to wait before the next shuttle would arrive. I spent that time watching a Barn Swallow forage for ants and other insects on the ground. 

The Barn Swallow seemed to be the mascot bird of the day here at the point.  

Barn Swallows have faced significant population declines due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and changing agricultural practices. So, it was nice to see so many here. ​

Interestingly, in North America at least, Barn Swallows frequently engage in a mutualist relationship with ospreys. Barn swallows will build their nest below an osprey nest, receiving protection from other birds of prey that are repelled by the exclusively fish-eating ospreys. The ospreys are alerted to the presence of these predators by the alarm calls of the swallows

Another visitor that waited for the shuttle with us was an Eastern Yellow-backed Laphria which is a type of mimic Robber Fly that resembles a Bumble Bee.  

We caught the shuttle back to the Visitor Center and made a plan to drive to the White Pine beach to have lunch. 

The White Pine beach had a lovely little picnic shelter where we could have our lunch. 

Inside the picnic shelter was a large wood stove. 

And for $16 you could purchase an entire bin of firewood. 

While we were eating our lunch, the Barn Swallows were eating theirs. 

And momma Barn Swallow was making sure that her babies were eating their lunch too. 

The picnic shelter was conveniently close to a bathroom. It was running on solar power. 

There were two things we wanted to do before leaving the park. One was to visit the historic cemetery that is located in the park and the other was to walk the Cactus Field foot trail.  Both of these things were conveniently located just across the road from where we were eating lunch.  So, we left our cars in the parking lot and began to walk towards the road. 

In the back corner of the parking lot, we spotted a Baltimore Oriole. 

It had expertly captured a caterpillar and flew off with it to enjoy its meal in the treetops, or perhaps to bring to its young waiting in a nest somewhere. 

Growing along the side of the trail were Scaly Inkcap mushrooms. 

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak watched us from the gnarled branches of the twisted trees.

An informational plaque was situated just inside and told of the former owners of the land, brothers Philip and Oliver DeLaurier.

This stone monument was placed in the cemetary in 2020 to commemorate the First Nations people who have walked these lands and are buried here and elsewhere in  Point Pelee. 

Ten known individuals were buried here between 1883 and 1948, along with more than 30 unknown individuals. 

The white crosses denote traditional Euro-Canadian buriels. 

A white picket fence surrounds a single white cross. 

It is unknown who's grave this is. There are no names. 

Some of the trees here are gnarled and twisted. I imagine they are probably creepy looking at night. 

As we leave the cemetery, we spot a Traveling Cherry Millipede making its way through the sand. 

Some Dame's Rocket flowers add a bit of colour to the cemetery.

Back out on the main trail I was surprised to find the guy who had taken our photo up at the point. I had thought for sure that I would never see him again and yet, there he was. He was going into the cemetery as we were going out. I did not waste the opportunity to apologize to him for not asking if we could take his picture for him at the point. He seemed to not be troubled by it at all and said that he had plenty of pictures and hadn't needed one. I was happy to hear this.  We said good bye to him and continued on our way. 

I said a quick prayer and thanked God for giving me the second chance to talk to the guy and the opportunity to apologize. The weight had been lifted from my mind. 

We walked a little further down the trail and found the sign showing us the direction to the Cactus Field foot trail. 

Unlike the main trail, this foot path was narrow and made of  sand. The overgrowth was growing quite close to the trail. 

White blooms on the Hoary Alyssum flowers (a perennial belonging to the mustard family) were open and waiting in welcome for pollinators to come and land on them. 

The trees here, in this part of the woods, looked amazing with their trunks all dressed up in clinging ivy. 

It's beautiful, bright yellow flowers are what drew our attention to them "There they are! " I shouted. We felt lucky not only to see them, but to get to see them while they were flowering. 

We progressed along the foot path until we eventually came to the end of the trail. As we stepped out onto the main trail we looked at each other and started laughing. All three of us were covered head to toe in shadflies!  There must have been 30 or 40 on each of us!  We looked behind us and realized that there were a huge number of them on the underside of the leaves on the trees we had just brushed past. So they had gone from the trees onto us. We took a couple of minutes and helped each other to gently remove them from ourselves, laughing the whole time. 

Back at the parking lot, a Brown-headed Cowbird was foraging for insects in the grass and dirt. 

We had read on the map that there was a sanctuary in the park. We were curious about this and wondered what sort of birds or animals were in this sanctury. So we drove over to the location where it was supposed to be. I had imagined a building of some sort  or perhaps a barn or fenced in area or something.  Instead when we arrived, we only found a sign indicating a beach and picnic area.  Then it dawned on me that Sanctuary was the name of the beach and not a building at all.  Upon closer look at the map I noted that it was probably called Sanctuary beach because it was close to the body of water called Sanctuary Pond. 

Well, since we were already here, we took a couple minutes to look around real quick. It had a typical picnic shelter situated by the parking lot. 

A short path led to a sandy beach. 

The beach was empty except for us. 

There wasn't much else to see at the beach so instead, we got back in our cars and headed to the look out on Sanctuary Pond which was just a little further down the road. 

The first to greet us was a Red-Winged Blackbird, perched on the rail of the platform. 

Shortly after that, a Barn Swallow landed on the stalk of a Cattail. 

It seemed to be as curious about us as we were of him. 

Further off in the shallow waters was a Blue Heron fishing for his dinner. 

Every once in awhile he would stretch his neck up and scan his surroundings. Perhaps he was keeping an eye out for predators, or perhaps he was looking for a good fishing spot.  

Perched on some reeds near the shore, a female Red Winged Blackbird had caught a shadfly. 

It's only an hours drive from Rondeau to Point Pelee Provincial Park. You aren't allowed to check in at the Henry campground until 3 pm so we had time to stop for gas before arriving. 

There is not a lot of signage to direct you to Point Pelee, but once you enter the park there is a large sign that looks almost like a sculpture of birds. 

Upon arriving at the park, I was greeted by a friendly attendant at the gatehouse who provided us with a detailed map of the area. She informed me that the Henry campground, our destination for the night, was located approximately 5 kilometers further down the road.. While her warm demeanor was appreciated, I was somewhat taken aback to discover an additional entrance fee was required, despite having already paid for our overnight camping reservation online. 

The only over night camping that Point Pelee provides is in something called an Otentik. It is a cross between a tent and an A-frame cabin, with raised floors, beds and furniture. Tonight we were excited to be staying in one of these because it meant we didn't have to spend the time setting up a tent or taking it down the next day. 

We pulled into the parking lot of Henry campground and made our way to the registration office, which was charmingly situated beneath a canopy of towering trees

As we got out of our cars, one of the first things we noticed were the amount of birds around the buildings. Most of them were Barn Swallows. 

We had site number 6 which was a little further away from the bathrooms than we would have liked. I had tried to get a closer one, but this was one of the only sites left when I had gone to reserve it 5 months earlier. 

And our Otentik came complete with our very own wild rabbit visitor. 

​There is a small living area with a table, chairs, overhead light, and 15 amp electrical outlets for everyday low-power use.

​It was a pretty hot day and they already had the fan running for us. 

Opposite the table is a little kitchenette complete with things like dishes, utensils, pots and pans, and water jugs. On top of the counter was a book that outlined the prices of each individual item if you lost them, stole them, or broke them.

​What it didn't tell you is what to do if you arrived to find that one of these items was already missing. We noticed that we were missing a utensil. We didn't do or say anything about it and no one ever came to ask us about it after the fact. 

Next to the door was a little wood stove. The Henry campground is open year round so, this would be an important thing to have come winter time. 

We decided to explore the campground a little bit.  We were hoping that there was a shortcut through to the bathroom from our site. It looked like there used to be, but a fallen tree now blocked the way. 

The Otentiks are situated all along a looped trail.  Our Otentik seemed to be located almost halfway away from the bathroom no matter which direction we took. 

We determined that it was just slightly shorter to get to the bathroom by going left and past the field. At least, it felt that way. 

Here too there were various birds (mostly Barn Swallows) nesting under the awnings of the building. 

It was obvious why this would be a great place for them to be nesting. All around us were the Shadflies that are plentiful in June.  This was an bundant source of food for both themselves and their fledglings. More than once I saw a bird swoop down, grab a Shadfly and bring it to the nest. They didn't have to go very far or search very hard to find food. 

I parked my car and locked it up. I figured that since I was already at the beach, I may as well take a quick look around.  I followed the little boardwalk from the parking lot to the beach. 

The sandy beach was empty of people and the waves were rolling up to the shore in the wind. 

A female Red Winged Blackbird sitting in the safety of the tree tops, watched me walk down the road towards camp. 

Back at camp, the next thing on the agenda was to take a shower.  The shower and the bathroom are together in the same building. 

The Barn Swallow was still sitting in its nest under the rafters. 

Inside the building, the bathroom stalls were all lined up on the right and the shower stalls were on the left. 

There were stainless steel sinks, large mirrors, a baby changing station, and a machine that dispensed free sanitary napkins. 

The toilets were flush toilets and everything was very clean. 

The showers were a bit on the small side. There was a fold down bench you could use to sit on while getting dressed. It was fold down because a regular seat would not have fit in there. 

The water was dispensed by pushing a green button on a box on the wall. Adjusting the water temperature was a little tricky to figure out, but once you did, it came out warm and there was good water pressure. 
The only thing that I think that needed improvement was the lighting. It was pretty dark in the showers, once the doors were closed, compared to the rest of the bathroom. At least on the girls side anyways. Carsten said that on the boys side, the lighting was just fine. 

Walking back to the Otentik and past the little field we saw the little bunny again. It hadn't left its spot in the grass the whole time, so we knew that it felt safe and comfortable there. 

We stood and watched it for a minute or two as it stood up on its hind legs to reach for the leaves on the lower branches of the nearby bushes. I guess he preferred those over the grass at his feet. 

At about 6 pm we decided to drive down to the point to climb the look out tower that is there. But as we got closer to the Visitor Center, it became clear that we would not be able to go there today. The road was gated off. Apparently you can't drive to the point. You can only go to the point by walking or by shuttle which only runs from 10 am to 5 pm. We had missed it by an hour. 

We saw the shuttle parked by the side of the road. It was all painted up with pictures of birds and marsh scenes.  We didn't feel like walking to the point even though it was only a 2 km walk. ​It was getting too late in the day and we hadn't eaten supper yet. We decided that we would come back tomorrow to take the shuttle instead.

But since we were already here, we figured we may as well check out the outside of the Visitor Center and explore a little. 

When we pulled into the parking lot there was only one other person there.  A gentleman with a professional looking camera was taking photos of some Marsh Flies on some flowers. I stopped to chat with him for awhile while Cartsen and Penny went up ahead to the Visitor Center. 

A few minutes later I went to catch up with Carsten and Penny at the Visitor Center. Outside the building was an area where people could sit on benches to wait for the shuttle. It was coverd with a large canopy to help protect from rain and to provide some shade. 

Outside the front door of the Visitor Center is a sandwhich board sign encouraging people to submit their sightings of birds and nature to both inaturalist.ca  and ebird.ca of which I am currently a member of both. I find inaturalist to be very helpful in identifying species that I am not familiar with. 

Out front they have built a Miniature Marsh where you might find all sorts of wildlife to take pictures of. 

You might not recognize it as a miniature marsh because it looks like an ordinary pond or feature fountain. 

At first we thought there were no fish in it, but then we spotted a little Sunfish swimming beneath the lily pads. 

The walls of the building were covered in Shadflies. It reminded me of home because every June we see literally millions of these come up from the lake and cover our streets and buildings. They are highly attracted to light and they make their way in swarms to the city's streetlights and settle on storefronts, lamp posts, houses and well, basically everything. ​Shadflies do not bite. They don’t sting. They don’t damage property. They don’t even have functional mouths as adults.

Shadfly larvae live underwater and cannot tolerate high levels of metals or pollution. That means a large hatch is actually a powerful indicator of a clean, healthy lake or river ecosystem. When you see shadflies, you’re witnessing proof that the water system is thriving. Their presence is environmental reassurance – nature’s way of saying things are in balance. In other words: the bigger the hatch, the better the health of the lake.

The adult Shadfly lives for only about 24 hours after hatching. They emerge, swarm, mate, lay eggs, and complete their life cycle in a single day. Shadflies are an incredibly important food source for fish, birds, and other wildlife. In fact, their emergence provides a seasonal buffet for the entire ecosystem.

Amazingly, in some areas, shadfly swarms are so massive that weather satellites have mistaken them for storm clouds. 

Although there were an impressive amount of them here, they were not even close to the numbers of them we see in the city I live in. 

Eventually it began to rain so we made our way back towards the parking lot. We passed a Canadian flag along the way. 

What drew my attention to this flag in particular was the engraved maple leaf in the cement at the bottom of the pole. I thought this was a nice touch. 

There were Broad Leaved Sweet Peas growing in both a dark pink and a light pink along the walk ways towards the parking lot. 

As we were getting into our cars to drive back to our campsite, a Red Winged Blackbird watched us from the tree top. 

It had stopped raining by the time we got back to camp. So, Carsten began to cook us dinner on the BBQ that is provided with the Otentiks. While we waited for supper to cook, Penny made a trip to the park store and brought me back a present.  It was the cutest little green Hummingbird stuffie. 

After supper we gathered up our dirty dishes and carried them over to the designated dishwashing station that is provided to the campers of Henry campground. This dishwashing station is in the same building as the bathrooms and showers. The entrance is a different entrance and in a different section of the building though. As we entered, we looked up to find a Mourning Dove nesting in the rafters in the awning of the roof. 

Inside, we found 2 sets of stainless steel sinks. Also, a jug of dish soap was provided. 

Between the 2 sets of sinks was another very tall  wash tub where you could wash large pots and big things that would not fit in the sinks. 

We brought our now clean dishes back to camp and prepared to get cleaned up and ready for the night  We  figured we would put our food in the bear bins provided outside.  

However, when we opened it, we found it to be full of many different kinds of insects. Plus it didn't seem all that clean.  So, instead we opted to carry all of our food back to Carsten's car to be stored in his cooler for the night. 

It was getting dark by the time we got back. We went inside and played board games until about 10:30 pm. 
The only downfall about the Otentiks is that the light attracts all the insects to the doors and windows. So the minute you go out to use the bathroom the bugs come in. This happens both when you leave and when you come back. 

As a result, we ended up with a June Bug flying around the inside our Otentik. I tried to catch him to put him outside, however he flew quite far in under the bed where I couldn't reach him. And I wasn't about to crawl under the bed to get him. So, we let him stay the night in the Otentik with us. 

It was very windy out on this particular evening and from the comfort of the bed I could hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore of the lake. It was a lulling and soothing sound.  By 5:30 in the morning I woke up and opened a sleepy eye and took note that the sound had changed to the chorus of a multitude of birds singing in the forest around us.  I smiled to myself and happily went back to sleep. Five thirty might be a good time for birds to wake up but it is much too early for me.  I would rather be refreshed and have a good night sleep before exploring the rest of what Point Pelee has to offer. 

It's only a 20 minute drive from Port Burwell to Port Bruce Provincial Park. Our intention was to have lunch here and then continue on to John E. Pearce Provincial Park. 

We parked our cars over by the dock and got out to look around. 

The waters of Lake Erie were muddy and murky looking. It was almost hard to imagine that there were even any fish in there. And yet, we saw a large one jump right in front of us. So we knew that the fishermen still had a chance to catch something. 

We placed our orders at the take out window and then waited while they cooked our food. As we waited, I wandered to the side of the building to survey the outdoor seating options. There were 4 or 5 sets of metal tables and chairs, all of which were empty, so we had our pick.  Each set was perfectly arranged, and the absence of other diners allowed us the luxury of choice. I scanned the area, contemplating which spot would offer the best view while maintaining a cozy atmosphere. One table, caught my eye; it was nestled under a leafy tree that promised a bit of shade. I returned to Carsten and Penny, eager to share my find, confident that our meal would be even more enjoyable in that perfect little nook.

I couldn't go too far because I didn't want to keep Carsten and Penny waiting for me for too long. I turned around and headed back down the shore the way I had come, leaving the fishing couple behind me. 

There is no park store at Port Bruce, but we had already purchased our Port Bruce sticker for our park passport book when we were at Port Burwell. 

After lunch, we drove another 45 mninutes to John E. Pearce Provincial Park which is another Day Use only park. There were no direcrtion signs to help us find it and we had to rely on the GPS. This was a bit tricky because the signal was not great in this rea. 

When you enter the park you must drive down a long, narrow,  winding, road.  Its a bit unnerving because you don't know where it is going to lead and you don't know if there is any place to turn around. 

Eventually the road began to loop back around and we came to a place where you could park your car and get out. It was a small parking lot. It could only hold about 3 cars. 

We got out of the car and started to look around. Beside the parking lot was a large circular sculpture that was inscribed with the words "John E Pearce Provincial Park. This forested land represents a most gracious gift from John Edward Pearce to the people of the province of Ontario for their inspiration and enjoyment. It is dedicated to the memory of his ancestors who settled this area in 1809 and who were mainly responsible for the founding in 1827 of St. Peters Anglican Church."

Just on the other side of the small parking lot was a single picnic table along side a double fence.  As we approached the table, we were surprised and delighted to see an eagle take off from a nearby tree. We hadn't noticed it until it had already taken flight. 

Between the two fences was a warning sign that sid "Danger! Unstable cliff erosion occuring. Keep back."
Behind the furthest fence we could see another warning sign that also said "Danger".  Carsten and I figure that at one point there was probably only one fence but that the cliff erosion was getting so bad that they had to eventually erect a second fence to keep people safe. 

We walked down the road a bit in hopes of finding the elusive trail head. However, all we found was a bathroom. 

Not surprisingly, it was just a typical vault style toilet. 

Despite my initial disappointment in not locating the Wetland 'Storey' Trail, the journey along the road was still beautiful. 

We too had decided it was time to go and we got back into our cars and continued down the road and out of the park. 

Clearly there is no park store at John E. Pearce either, but once again, we had already purchased our park sticker ahead of time for our passport book when we were at Port Burwell. 

It started coming directly towards us. 

It was almost 5 pm when we finally arrived at Rondeau Provincial Park. 

When I pulled up to the gatehouse of Rondeau Park, I had to get out of the car and walk up to the window to pay for n additional vehicle pass. As I stood there wwaiting for the debit machine to do its thing, I happened to look up and see a Barn Swallow in its nest under the awning. 

The girls at the gatehouse were wonderful and helpful. They gave us a map and we continued on to look for our site. 

Finding your way around this park is not difficult at all. Except for this one spot, and only if you have never been here before.  At the very first cross roads you have the option to go in 3 different directions. When you are sitting at the stop sign you can see signs for all the campsites, except the group that we were trying to get to. We sat for a moment or two trying to figure it out.

Finally I just decided to pick a direction and cross my fingers and hope I chose right. So I chose to go down the road that is just to the left of the Blue Bins.  Turns out that I had chosen correctly.  The signs for the group of sites that we were looking for was hidden by the trees a little further up the road. 

We had reserved site 157 using the online reservation system. 

The sites were fairly large and well laid out.  But I wasn't paying too much attention to the site because I realized that I couldn't find my debit card anywhere. I had misplaced it somewhere after I had taken it out to pay for the additional vehicle. I didn't panic at first, but I did start to pull everything apart in the car, thinking that it just slid down in betweent he seats or something. 

After looking for quite some time, I figured that maybe I had left it at the gate house. So, I left Carsten and Penny to put up the tents and I got in my car and drove back to the gate house. 

I pulled into the parking lot nearest the gate house and got out to walk over. As I did, I noticed a dark blob in a small patch of grass at the side of the road. It looked like a turtle.  

As I got closer I could see that it was a Northern Map Turtle. You bnever see these where I am from and this species is an At Risk species. So, I felt pretty lucky to see one up close in the wild. 

Then I noticed that she was attempting to dig a hole to lay her eggs. And that is even more rare to see. 

I began to worry about her beause she ws literally inches away from the road. Every time a car drove by she would lift her head in a bit of a panic. 

I went over to the gate house and pointed her out to the girls at the gate. They said that they were aware of her presence and had been keeping n eye on her. They didn't know that she was trying to lay eggs until I told them though. So, they went over to take a look for themselves. Now they would keep an even closer eye on her. 

In the meantime, I asked if anyone had turned in a lost debit card or if i had left it there. They said no one had found it. So, they were kind enough to help me to fill out some paperwork so they would know who it belonged to if it did get turned in. 

I walked back over to the parking lot, and spotted a female Red Winged Blackbird picking up some green leaves off of the pavement. I watched her for a moment from my car. 

I was disappointed that my card wasn't at the gatehouse and a bit concerned that I wasn't going to find it. I had only taken it out once between the gatehouse and the campsite. It couldn't have gone far. I figured I would do a more thorough check of the car once I got back to the site. 

Once I got back to the site, Carsten and Penny had almost finished putting up the tents. We didn't have to worry about how many vehicles were allowed to be on the site at one time because we were literally right across the road from the parking lot. So, we parked both vehicles in the lot. 

 Tan Jumping Spider was already making itself at home on the dining tent. 

And so was a little firefly. I was hoping this meant that we would get to see the flicker of firefly lights later on that night. 

Our site was conveniently situated right across the road from the comfort station. 

The bathroom was clean and well kept. 

Something I had not seen in any other park before was the park name and Ontario Parks logo etched into the backsplash of the bathroom sink. 

Behind the comfort station was a boardwalk bridge that led to the beach.  On it was posted a large blue and white sign warning of the presence of ticks in the area that had the potential to be carrying Lyme disease. 

I had been seeing a whole lot of chatter on social media lately about the increase of tick populations. I had heeded these warnings and had gone out of my way to purchse a can of Cedarwood oil from Amazon because it is said to kill them. You make a spray out of it and spray it on your clothes. 

Here is the link if anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkOII2KKcPw       

As luck would have it, when I called home I was told that my Amazon package had arrived.... 3 hours after I had already left for this trip. Sigh. Oh well, I guess it will still be good for the next trip. 

One thing we did notice about this park though, was thaat there seemed to be no mosquitoes. Well, next to none anyways. That was a blessing. 

In the parking lot outside the comfort station, a fair sized puddle had formed from the rains the park had experienced the day before. The birds were just loving this puddle and were taking advantge of the opportunity to bathe in it. 

A female Red Winged Blackbird was the first one for a bath. 

Next came a Baltimore Oriole. 

Followed by a Grackle. 

And where there is one Grackle, there are generally more. 

And last but not least was the Robin. 

After the tents were set up, we decided to take a drive to the Park Store. 

After eating our icecream, we wandered around for a bit.  I noticed some strange looking fixtures in behind the park store and went to take a closer look. 

They were bird houses. Well, more like bird apartment buildings. They were on a pulley system at the top of a pole. I guess the pulley is so that they can be brought down for easy repair and maintenance, or perhaps for research purposes. 

Looking around, I noticed a yellow sign indicating that this is a Purple Martin Sanctuary. 

And the word had gotten out to all the Purple Martins in the area because there were so many of them. 

According to the information sign, the Purple Martin population has declined by 37 % since 1966 due to habitat loss.  

Our attention moved from the skies to the ground momentarily as we spotted another Northern Map turtle making its way to the lake. 

We came across another informatin sign. This time it was about the Barn Swallows that have a population decline of 25% since 1966. 

As if on cue, a Barn Swallow made an appearance. 

But I would have to say that my favourite of the swallows were the Tree Swallows with their white bellies and their shiny blue heads and backs. 

From the Park Store, we got into the car and made the longh drive down towards the Visitor Center. 

We had a chuckle at the staff parking signs in the Visitor Center parking lot. 

Unfortunately the Visitor Center had closed at 4 pm and it was well after 7 pm by that point.  We made  note of the times and decided to come back again the next day. 

But while we were there, we had a bit of fun with the "Face In A Hole" signs outside the building. 

Since the Visitor Center was closed, we decided to drive to the Dog Beach instead. 

Looking out across the lake we saw a gaggle of geese.

As the sun sank lower in the sky, we headed back to the car. Peering out at us through the tall grass was an Eastern Cottontail rabbit. It stood perfectly still hoping that we hadn't seen him. 

There are a number of cottages within the park and especially along the road to the Visitor Center. Some of these cottages had little book lending libraries out front. We had to stop and take a second look at this one though, because instead of having books inside, it had local crafts inside. The sign below it said "The smallest community art gallery. Take a piece, make a piece, leave a piece."

When we got back to our campsite we realized that we had forgotten to buy wood for the fire at the park store. The store closed at seven and it was now nine. So, we ended up cooking our supper on a camp stove instead. 

After supper we went to the comfort station and 2 young women were in there washing their dishes in the bathroom sink. We didn't say anything to them about how they should not be doing that. 

Instead, we just minded our own business and went to our dining tent to play some board games by the lamp light. 

Despite being in a screened in tent, we still had a few insects that managed to get in nd join us. One such insect was a Common Square-Gills. It was tiny and looked like a cross between a shadfly and a dragonfly.  It is actually a type of Mayfly. It's completely harmless. 

We played board games until about 11 pm and then headed off to bed. It was quiet and you could hear the wind in the leaves and the crickets chirping.  Quiet that is until about 1:15 a.m.  That is when we were awakened by the sound of the neighbouring campers pumping up their air matress using their car motor and a very loud air pump. And guess who these neighbouring campers were. They were the same two girls who were washing their dishes in the bathroom sink earlier that evening. 

Fortunately it didn't take them too long to blow up their air matress and they were quiet for the rest of the night. 

The next morning we woke up at about 8:45 a.m. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and a Mourning Dove flew in for a visit. 

After breakfast Carsten and I wanted to go for a hike. Penny wanted to stay behind to relax and have some time to herself. So, Carsten and I hopped in the car and drove down to the Tulip Tree Trail. 

When we pulled into the parking lot we saw a school bus and a large group of kids wandering around by the Visitor Center. They must have been on a class trip. We were worried that we would have to hike with noisy children all around us. But fortunately, they were occupied with activities at the Visitor Center and we were free to hike the trail in peace and quiet. 

The Tulip Tree Trail is not an overly long trail. The path is wide and flat and there are a number of board walks and foot bridges. 

Most of what you see over the railings of the bridges are shallow swampy areas. But it waspretty just the same. 

Occasionally one of these bridges would have a bench to sit on. 

And as quickly as it has appeared, it flew off again into the tree tops and out of sight. 

We came to another boardwalk with a bench. We spent some time peering over the edge of the railing to see what was below. 

Below us was an odd shaped mound of moss. Off to thge right of this mound of moss was a large hole. The whole thing looked like a place where a gnome might live. So, Carsten and I have dubbed this mound of moss "The Gnome Home". 

The Gnome Home was only one of the interesting things we saw there. We also noticed a very large round ball of moss about the size of a soccer ball. It looked like something from an alien planet. 

Near the base of this moss ball sat a beautiful Emerald Spreadwing damselfly.

Adding to the alien feel were some strange shaped trees. 

A little black squirrel was watching us from the tree above. He looked at us as though we were tresspassing in his little kingdom. Which, I suppose,  we were. 

Aswe rounded a bend, I spotted a single orange flower all by itself in the middle of the woods. It was a Wood Lily. It was growing in the only patch of sunlight in the entire shady woods. It was as though someone were shining a spot light on it. That made it even more beautiful. 

We were getting nearer to the end of th trail and by now Carsten and I realized that we had not seen any Tulip Trees. We were beginning to get disappointed.  A sign at the beginning of the trail had said that they bloom in June. Since it was mid-June, we were fully expecting to see them. But we hadn't seen a single one. 

Then, Carsten noticed some petals on the ground. They looked like they had been there awhile but they were orange and yellow and could very well be the petals from a Tulip Tree. So we started to look with new eyes. 

We looked up. We looked way up. Sure enough, if you squinted and were standing at just the right angle under the tree, you could see the Tulip Tree blooms way up in the canopy of the trees. 

This whole time we had been looking for something a kin to a flowering shrub when, in fact, the blooms were at the tops of the trees. We had been walking past many small Tulip Trees. Their leaves looked like deformed shamrocks. But the small ones did not have any blooms on them. Only the very tall ones did. 

Now that we were really looking, we started to notice other leaves as well. These ones were similar to the Tulip Tree leaves, but rounder. These were Sassafrass trees, 

We passed by some white Canada Anemone flowers as we left the trail and we headed back to the Visitor Center. 

Back at the Visitor Center we decided to go inside and take a look around. Most of the children had left and there were only a handful of kids with a tour guide now.  

The Visitor Center had all sorts of things like furs, and horns, and turtle shells on a table readily available to pick up and examine. 

Behind the glass of various terrariums and aquariums were some live critters for people to see. 

A Garter Snake came out to take a look at all the people going by. 

There were a number of different kinds of turtles. 

There was also an impressive resin diarama of a large fish swimming up under a stuffed duck, ready to make a meal out of it. 

There was a large collection of butterflies and moths. 

There was a store in the Visitor Center, but it wasn't open. However, peeking through the glass you could see some of the things that they had for sale. One of which was the ugliest stuffy I have ever seen. It is supposed to be a moisquito I think. I wonder if they ever sell any of these. 

It was about 12:30 pm by now and time to get back to camp. So, we drove back and met up with Penny.

I was helping Penny open the screen door on the dining tent.  I bent down to get the zipper when I noticed something in my hair. I could not tell what it was and I coudmnot get it out of my hair. I said to Penny "What is it?" to which she replied "Oh, that's not good". She started to back away but she didn't tell me what it was. 

I asked Carsten to get whatever it was out of my hair. It was a tick! An American Dog Tick. It hadn't bitten me but needless to say, I had the heebie jeebies for hours after that.  (**As an aside and an addition to this story.... I didn't get another tick on me for the rest of the trip. However, the day after I got home from this trip I was doing yardwork in my own yard and I did get bit by a tick that day. Figures! I promptly took myself to the local pharmacy where I got some antibiotics to prevent Lyme disease**). 

We began to take down the tents and pack up. We were getting ready to go to the next park, Point Peelee,  which was only an hour away. 

As we were taking down the tents we saw a couple of White-marked Tussock caterpillars. I removed them with  stick because you don't want to touch them. Their hairs can cause skin irritation and a burning sensation. 

I wanted to do one last visit to the beach before we left. So I headed to the one that was walking distance from our campsite. 

The sand on the path to the beach beckoned to me. 

I stood for a few minutes on the sandy shore, listening to the waves and feeling the cool breeze coming off the lake.  It was so peaceful. 

It was such a gorgeous day and I didn't want to leave. But at the same time, I was really looking forward to camping at Point Peelee. So, I headed back to the car where Carsten and Penny were waiting for me. 

Just before getitng into the car, a Red Spotted Purple butterfly (yes, that's its name) stopped in to say good bye.

​I am going to miss this park and all the beautiful things that are here. What a wonderful trip this has been so far. 

   First camping trip of the year!  Heading south with Point Peelee being the ultimate destination.  This trip is going to be all about the birds. First stop is Port Burwell.

   The start of this journey had us wondering if this was going to go badly. It was rainy all day and the weather forecast was even calling for rain squalls.  We left at 10 a.m. and should have arrived by 3 p.m. however, the traffic was pretty bad.  There were at least 2 car accidents.We didn't get to Port Burwell Provincial Park until about 5:30 pm.

A noticible feature at the gatehouse of Port Burwell, is the miniature replica of a lighthouse.

Instead of the typical bulletin board, they had one in the shape of a ship's wheel. It told how the campgrounds in the park were named after the early schooners of Port Burwell. There was also a notice saying that Discovery Kits were available for rent. at the store. 

There isn't a park store at the gatehouse, but there are stickers and candy that you can purchase there. 

Penny and I got our Port Burwell stickers for our Ontario Parks Passpert books.

I also bought a packge of Twizzlers. They were a limted edition Wildberry flavour.  They tasted ok but I like the orignal flavour the best.

We had reserved site 28.

The site was fairly large. Large enough for two vehicles, but we were only allowed to park one there and the other had to be parked down the road and around the corner at an additional parking spot.  We left the second vehicle there just long enough to unpack our stuff before moving it to the parking lot. It was a bit inconvenient, but I wasn't mad about it. 

We got the tents up fairly quickly. The rain had stopped just before we arrived which made it easier to put them up. There were plenty of mosquitoes around but only one or two of them were trying to bite. They were barely noticable. 

We hadn't been at the camp for even 2 hours before an orbweaver spider was already trying to make my car it's home. 

Our site was just across the road from the comfort station. 

Inside it was spotless and everything was in good repair except for one of the hand dryers. 

Way up high above the sinks, Penny and I spotted one of the most beautiful spiders I had ever seen. It was an Orchard Orbweaver. It had blue-green legs and intricate markings. 

Depending on what angle you stood under it, it seemed to change colour. Sometimes it seemed to have a silvery sheen to it and looked almost jewel-like. 

Out behind the comfort station is a huge sports field, complete with horse shoe pits, volley ball nets, frisbee football goal posts, and a basket ball hoop. 

Multiflora Rose was growing in large bunches all along the border of the field.  

It was only 7:45 pm and there was plenty of daylight left. Since the Ravine trail begins right next to the comfort station, we figured we would pass some time walking that trail. 

There was a wooden box full of information sheets about the trail. But the box was also full of ants.  We took one anyways. 

We begin the hike by going down some wooden stairs down into the ravine. 

At the bottom of the stairs is a wooden boardwalk bridge that crosses over a little stream. 

Growing near the stream were stalks of Rough Horsetail.

The recent rain had brought out some creatures that thrive in the dampness. A Dusky Slug slowly made it's way across the moist bark of a tree. 

While a snail tried to hide itself among the wet leaves on the forest floor. 

A patch of Umbrella Polypore were also in favour of the wet leaves and soil that the rains had left behind. 

The brochure that we carried taught us about the phenomenon called "Self Pruning" This is where trees will purposely stop growing lower branches because the branches at the top of the canopy are already using up all the sunlight. There is no point for the tree to grow lower branches that they would have to struggle to take care of. 

We crossed some more foot bridges over the stream. 

A Brown-lipped Snail was also crossing the footbridge. We were just a little bit faster. 

We made our way back out of the ravine by climbing up another set of stairs. 

We exited the trail fairly close to the children's playground  which was situated at the end of the sports field. 
This playground had some interesting structures that you don't always see in other parks such as swinging hoops, pretend phones, and raised circular stepping stones.

But what we found most interesting in this playground was a climbing rope structure in a pyramid or star like shape. It looked like something from out of a sci-fi movie. 

It was starting to get dark so we made our way back to camp.  Just as we were passing the comfort station, a dark mass ran in front of Carsten and scarmbled up a tree.  Carsten was able to zoom in with his camera and get a picture of it. It was a young raccoon. 

Since our site is directly across the road from the tree that this raccoon was in, we had fully expected to have a visitor later on in the evening. However, I guess it hadn't become used to people yet (which is a good thing) and it never did come to our site that night. 

Instead, we had a quick and quiet supper of bagels and cream cheese and then walked to the sports field to see the fireflies that were out in full force. It had been a long day and we were tired so we were in bed by 10:30 pm. The park is exceptionally quiet. It was almost as quiet as it is when you are backpacking. And just like backpacking, you sometimes hear animals crying out in the distance. On this night we herd a pack of coyotes in the distance. Not as close as the ones that I heard last year, but still fairly close.  A 1:15 am we could hear the coyotes again, this time a bit closer.  But we weren't concerned and we fell back to sleep easily enough. 

The next morning I woke up at about 7:30 a.m.  But it was too cold to get up so I went back to sleep until 9. Penny had gotten up before Carsten and I,  and she had already seen a deer and an eagle. 

I was rewarded with sightings of a vibrant Northern Cardinal, its red plumage a stark contrast against the green and brown backdrop of the forest. ​

After a quick breakfast we got to work at tearing down camp and packing up. We had another busy day ahead of us. We intended to visit 3 more parks today.  And we wanted to check out Port Burwell's beach before we left. 

As we started packing up we had a number of insect visitors.  Sitting on my camp chair was a teeny tiny bright green bush cricket (also known as a Katydid). It was so cute! 

On the dining tent there was a pretty little caterpillar. This one is a member of the cutworms and dart mouth moth family.

And an Asian Lady Beetle landed on the sleeve of my sweater. 

After we were all packed up we headed over to the Day Use beach area where the Park Store was. You have to drive out of the park and down the road to get to this Day Use area. 

Inside were all sorts of things to buy including T-shirts and hoodies. I loved this T-shirt but it only came in children's sizes. All the good ones only come in children's sizes. 

There was a hoodie that both Penny and I really liked a lot. However, it cost a bit much so neither of us bought it. 

I did buy a loon stuffie though. I thought it would look cute at the cottage.

I also invested in a re-chargeable LED flashlight. You recharge it using a USB cord.  So I can have it charging in my car while I drive from park to park on my trip. How handy is that? 

We all bought an ice cream cone at the store and we headed towards the picnic area to eat them. 

The bathrooms here were your typical vault style bathrooms. However, they smelled worse than most and they were not very clean. 

Port Burwell has multiple accesses from the parking lot by the store, to the beach in the Day Use area.

However, every last one of them were flooded due to the rain the day before. 

It was so flooded that a Killdeer was hanging out in the parking lot catching worms. 

Despite the flooded areas, we were able to find a hand made bridge that someone before us had made using some logs that they had dragged over.  The water wasn't very deep and we could have crossed over by just wading through. But at least this way we didn't have to get our feet wet. 

In a drier section of the parking lot, a Northern Dustywing butterfly was taking a rest in the gravel. 

To get to the beach, you have to make a little climb up a sandy hill. 

As we were climbing, Carsten pointed out the tiniest toad we had ever seen. It was so adorably cute!  As we bent down to see it, we noticed a couple more. Now that we were aware that they were there, we were much more cautious going up the hill. 

We had seen tiny toads before on backpacking trails but these were even tinier than any of those. If they hadn't hopped, we would have just thought it was a bit of dirt. 

At the top of the sandy hill, there was still a little bit more of a path that you had to walk down before you reached the beach. 

Eventually the lake was in view and the expanse of the beach opened up before us. The sky was blue, the sun was out; it was a beautiful day for being at the beach. 

I don't know if it was because of the flooded parking lot, or if the wind coming off of the lake was a bit too chilly, but the beach was practically empty. 

We took a stroll along the water's edge and looked for sea glass.  Most of the beach was sandy and beautiful. 

There may not have been many people around, but that meant that the seagulls had the beach all to themselves. 

A Variegated Lady Beetle was also enjoying some quiet time on the beach. 

At the farthest end of the Day Use beach there is a dog beach. It's really just an extention of the human beach with no real dividing line. The only indication that there is a separate area for the dogs is the sign at the far end of the parking lot. 

The dog beach was a bit more rough than the main beach, with low growing scrub brush making an effort to grow through the sand as well as driftwood littering the shore.

There were more people at the dog beach section than there were in all of the rest of the beach. 

​We would have loved to have stayed for awhile longer but we still had some traveling to do. So we left the soothing sounds of the waves behind us and headed back towards the cars. 

We didn't have too far to drive today, but we had a number of stops to make along the way.  Our final destination today is Rondeau Provincial Park. But we planned to stop at both Port Bruce and John E. Pearce Provincial Parks first.  We were excited to see what these parks would have in store for us.