A Weekend Pause Where Nature Meets Quiet at Rene Brunelle Park

It's been a long year and a half. We lost both our parents within 8 months of each other. I was the executor of 2 estates. As anyone who has been an executor before can tell you, it's a lot of work. So, being the executor of two of them, well.... it's exhausting.  Much of my vacation time has been sucked up by appointments with lawyers and banks and accountants and the like.  So, when I finally booked a few days off for myself and some real "me" time, I decided to head for the woods. 

​My parents had always told me how wonderful Rene Brunelle was, so I decided to head there and see it for myself. This trip would be just me and my dog. It would give me some much needed quiet time to rest my heart and mind. 

The turn off to Rene Brunelle is in a little town called Moonbeam. You can't miss it. It's the one with the giant UFO on the side of the road. Most towns have a water tower. But this town has it's very own UFO with it's name on it. 

I pulled up to the gate house and went inside to register. It was a tiny gate house and it doubled as a park store. Outside there were benches and a place to rent bicycles.

Inside were souvenirs and treats. I bought a box of  Building Blocks (Bald Eagle) as a birthday present for a child in my family.  ​And of course I had to get a park sticker. 

With map in hand, I headed towards the Owl's Nest campground. Even the name sounds cozy. 

I had reserved site 88. I chose this site because it was at the very end of the road and I figured it would give me more privacy than other sites might. Plus, I had looked at some of the pictures and it seemed like this one might have a view of the lake. And well... the name. Owl's Nest. Right? 

I was not disappointed with the site. It was quite large and had plenty of privacy. 

And I wasn't wrong about the view of the lake.  It was later in the day when I arrived and I only had about 3 or 4 hours before sunset. 

I am hoping that sunset will be beautiful from here. 

Off to the side of my site was a little set of stairs. It led down to a little platform which then led to a little trail. The trail led to the lake on one side and off into the woods on the other. I didn't have time to explore it right now because I had to get my camp set up.

But the lake was right there, and I did stop for a couple minutes to just enjoy it. 

The next little while  I spent putting up tents. I had my trusty orange tent to sleep in and my big ole dining tent in case of rain. It's nearing the end of August so there are not any bugs. It's one of the things I like most about camping at this time of year. 

As soon as I was all set up, I was able to finally relax a little. It was going to be dark soon, but I could at least take the dog for a walk around the neighbourhood and explore just a tiny bit. 

I headed towards the bathroom. There were only a few other people in the park  and most of them were camping closer to the bathrooms. So, I was able to check out a few of the empty sites along the way. Number 84 seemed to be another good choice for a campsite. 

It was quite large and you would be able to drive an RV right through without having to worry about backing it up. 

The water tap was between my site and the bathroom. There was a "boil water advisory" sign posted beside it. I had brought my water filter system with me. So, I could easily filter some drinking water if I needed it. 

My campsite is almost perfect. The only downside to it, is that it is just a wee bit too far away from the bathrooms if you have to get up and go in the middle of the night.  

But the bathrooms were clean and they had a step peddle flushing system. So, that was a perk. 

Once again there was a boil water advisory at the bathroom sinks. 

There was a bulletin posted at the bathroom telling all about the different events that were going on in the park. Sadly, the two that I would have liked most (Nature In Watercolour and  Wildflower) I missed because I arrived to the park too late to attend them. Perhaps tomorrow I can catch the Gratitude Scavenger Hunt.

These bathrooms were equipped with solar lights so, when it got dark, you didn't have to fumble around with a flashlight while you were trying to wash your hands. 

Back at the campsite I settled into a chair and watched the sun go down. It was so quiet and peaceful. The campers and their kids next to me were quietly talking and enjoying the evening. 

It was wonderful to just sit and listen to the waves lapping up against the shore. It was in harmony with the cricket songs and the sound of the wind in the trees.  At last, I could finally let go of my stresses and troubles and just give my mind a break. 

I stayed by the shore until the sun was gone and it got dark. I didn't make a fire. I was too tired and it was starting to get windy. Instead, I opted to go to bed a bit early and get some rest so that I could get up and explore this beautiful park in the morning.