There is nothing better than seeing kids laughing and having fun with their friends! What better place to have some fun than the great out doors! There were two things that we had on our list of things to do today.  One was to go floating down the lazy river in our inflatable  boats and the other was to go on a hike. We decided to do the hike first. 

We drove our cars to the other end of the park where the trail begins. The kids were excited. The weather was beautiful. It was a great day for a hike!

The trail that we chose was the  Wabashkiki Trail. It is an easy trail that is a one kilometer loop. It is on a peninsula in the middle of Moore Lake. I like it because you can explore a marsh and its resident wildlife on this trail. Danielle liked it because there were no major hills to climb.

Right at the very beginning of the Wabashkiki Trail there is a very short side trail that leads you to the Amable Du Fond River. We went could see some dead fall in the water that looked like it may have been the work of a beaver. We were hoping to see a beaver but  we never spotted one. 

The trail starts off as a very wide path; almost a road really. It was so level and super easy going. 

We came to a little foot bridge where we stopped to gaze into the water below. It was so calming and relaxing at this spot. 

Near the bridge we found some Forget-Me-Not flowers in bloom. These tiny flowers remind me of my mother every time I see them. Not sure why. Possibly because she was the one who taught me their name and so now I associate it with not forgetting her. 

We found a shady spot to stop and take a rest by the shore of Moore Lake. 

A little further on we came to another bridge. This one was quite a bit wider than the previous one. It was big enough to hold all of us at once. 

Instead of Forget - Me - Nots growing nearby, there were orange Spotted Jewel Weed.

Even the fungi growing on the boards of the bridge were vibrant oranges that whispered of the coming of autumn. 

On the other side of the bridge we came to a lovely spot. It was a wide open area nestled under the shade of some pine trees. It would have been the perfect spot for  picnic if we had brought one. 

​ I took some fruit roll ups and granola bars from my little pack and we had a bit of a snack instead of a full fledged picnic lunch.

Everyone headed down to the water's edge to see what could be seen. 

From across the lake we could see the beach and our campsite. It looked very tiny from way over here. 

Nevaeh was full of excitement and went rushing down the hill. 

Her big brother had to stop her from sliding right into the water. 

Once Nevaeh was a safer distance from the water's edge, the boys were able focus their attention on the more important things.... hanging out and looking for frogs. 

Danielle just loved this spot.  Gonna have to come back and do a 'no kids day" one day. 

After a good rest we left the lake behind us and continued back onto the main trail and into the woods. 

By this point we were about half way through the trail and since it was a loop, we were on our way back. 

We left the trees and got back out to where the marsh grasses grow and back across the bridges. 

By the end of the trail the clouds were starting to fill the sky. We were hoping that the weather stayed good because we had some plans for the rest of the afternoon that relied on good weather. 

Despite some cloud cover, the sun was still on our side and the weather was still warm. This meant that we could fill our inflatable boats up with air, get into our swim suits and head down to the lazy river near our campsite called the Amable Du Fond River. We had three boats, each containing one child and one adult.  There was Danielle and Navaeh in one boat, Marvin and Jay in another boat and myself and Hunter in the third boat. 

We started our adventure at the top of the river between the Jingwakoki and Babawasse campgrounds.  Our route would lead us under a bridge and we would end our ride just before the river meets up with the Campion Rapids.

Despite having floated down this river before on more than one occasion, I was still a bit nervous at first because I had a child with me that was not my own. I had only ever gone down this river with other adults.  Hunter and I were the first to go, followed by Danielle and Navaeh, and Marvin and Jay were pulling up the rear.

In no time at all my nervousness left me as the kids laughed and squealed in delight.  It also helped to see that kids even younger than ours were also going down the river. When I remembered that the water was actually only up to about my thighs and at any point I could get out of the boat and walk to shore without too much difficulty because it was that shallow and not crazy forceful that gave me a sense of "you got this". 
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Actually, our biggest problems were watching that our butts didn't get bumped as we went over the rocks, and trying not to get stuck on the rocks because the water was not always forceful enough to get the rafts over them. 

All was going well until Danielle lost her shoe in the water. It was a croc so it was just floating away. Luckily Hunter and I were able to catch it and we pulled it into our boat. 

 At each rocky section we kept getting hung up on the rocks. It is tiring work to try to free yourself. We were definitely getting a work out.  However, the more they got hung up on the rocks the more that Marvin and Jay were getting frustrated. They weren't having quite as much fun as the rest of us. 

As Hunter and I went under the bridge we looked behind us and saw the rest not too far behind. Once you go under the bridge the river curves though and you can't see anyone until they also come around the bend.  So we grabbed onto some rocks and anchored ourselves while we waited for everyone else to show up.

It took a bit but finally Danielle and Nevaeh came around the corner.  They too waited for Marvin and Jay to come.  We waited. And we waited.  Eventually we were becoming concerned because they should have been here by now. Maybe we ought to get out and walk back along the river bank to find them?
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And then we saw them. But they weren't in their boat. They were walking along the bridge up above us!  They had given up and were walking back to the campsite.  Now that we knew they were safe we could continue on our way. So we let go of our rocks and floated on down to the meeting place. 

Hunter and I made it to shore first. We pulled our boat out of the water and then we waded into the water to wait for Danielle and Nevaeh to help them bring their boat to shore. It's a good thing we did too because all of a sudden we hear a shout. Danielle had gotten out of the boat to get unstuck from some rocks and had inadvertently let go of the boat. So Nevaeh was floating down the river in a boat by herself. She was headed right for us. I was prepared to dive in and swim for her if I needed to, but she wasn't that far from shore so Hunter was able to jump in front of the boat and bring her to shore. 

Meanwhile, Danielle was stuck upstream in the water on slippery rocks with only one shoe on. I grabbed her other shoe from the boat and tried to walk upstream in the water to give it to her so that she could at least try to get to shore in some comfort. The two of us were having a heck of a time standing up. Even with shoes on the rocks were slippery. We kept falling and splashing and we were just laughing and laughing!  Someone up on shore called to us and pointed out a path that would be easier to use than to try to walk in the water to the meeting point. So we got out there instead of further down stream and walked on dry land back to the kids and the boats. It was a little bit of an adventure! We told Hunter that he was a hero for saving Nevaeh. (She was never in any real danger. I would have been able to get her with no problem, but I wanted him to feel like a hero). 

Now that our river ride was done, we had to make the long walk back to the campsite. We picked up our boats and carried them as we walked down the road. Along the way other people passed us who had the same boats as we did and had also just floated down the river. We saw one truck go by that had giant inflatable swans that they had gone down the river on.  Many people, old and young, were having a good time on the river today. 

When we got back to camp Marvin was already busy preparing supper. The kids headed down to the beach where they found some kids playing laser tag. They joined in for  bit and played until it started to get dark. 

The kids would have played down at the beach all night if we had let them. But the sun was starting to set and supper was ready. So they said good bye to their friends and came back up to the campsite. 

We had another great evening of roasting marshmallows, making S'mores and drinking hot chocolate. It had been a long day and everyone was tired so we didn't stay up too late. With all the excitement of the day, everyone slept well that night. 

The next day we had to pack up to go home. We took down the tents and rolled up the sleeping bags. Of course we had to release the air from the inflatable boats that we had used the day before. What better way to empty the air than to just lie on them and relax in the sun while you wait. 

After everything was all packed up we decided to make one last stop before leaving the park. We thought it would be nice to take the kids to the Visitor Centre to see the displays inside. The kids were very interested in seeing the stuffed bear that was on display. Hunter had his own stuffed bear that he wanted to bring in with him to compare his to the real thing.  

As we walked from the parking lot to the building we encountered a garter snake that was trying to make its way from the pavement to the woods. 

We spent about 20 minutes looking at the various displays of taxidermy animals inside the Visitor Centre. The kids loved it. It was a nice way to finish off the trip. We have had fun at this park two years in a row now.  Next year we think we may change it up and go someplace different. Marten River perhaps. I guess we will see what next year brings. 

Back again!  Same site (# 169) and same friends as last year  at Samuel De Champlain Provincial Park. This time we decided to come a bit earlier in the season so that we could have the opportunity to go in the water if we wanted to. Last year we went in September and it was too cold. But today is a beautiful day for camping and the whole weekend promises to be good too. 

Danielle and Marvin arrived just before supper and brought with them their brand new tent. It was the first time they had ever put it up so, it was exciting. 

It is a nice large tent. Lots of room. Perfect when you have kids and need your space. 

While we were setting up camp, the kids were already getting out their frog catching nets. This is one past time that they never get tired of. 

It was not long before they were down at the beach and catching frogs. This is where they are happiest. 

While the kids hunted for frogs, I hunted for flowers. There were white water lilies in bloom. 

And purple Pickerelweed flowers were also floating in the water. 

For Hunter's birthday I bought him a toy tennis set. This game came is a very close second to the frog catching. It was good to have something else to grab their attention so that the frogs could have a bit of a rest once in awhile. 

But the frogs don't get much reprieve when the boys are around. Even night time is frog catching time! 

Frogs aren't the only ones trying to avoid their nets at night. The minnows have to be careful not to get caught too. Of course anything caught in the nets are always released a short while later. 

Another little critter that caught their interest this night was a slug that was sliding along on a damp log. 

Eventually we were able to pull the kids away from the lake and over to where we had the fire going. 

We had thrown some colour changing packets into the fire to make the flames change to blues, and pinks, and greens. It was a rainbow of colours dancing in the dark. 

We got out the chocolate and marshmallows and made ourselves a bunch of S'mores. It was tricky to do in the dark by the light of a flashlight, but we managed. And they tasted delicious! 

After washing our sticky hands and brushing our teeth it was time for bed. There is talk of doing a hike and possibly taking a ride down the river on our inflatable boats. So we need to get rested up for a big day tomorrow. 

I had invited my friend Danielle to go camping with the girls earlier in the year. She had never been camping before. She loved it so much that she wanted to come back and bring her family with her.  So this was a special trip that we planned for her family who also had never been camping before. 

I decided to bring along my nephew's step-son, Hunter, who was roughly the same age as Danielle's son, Jay. I figured that the two boys would have a good time together. And I was right. 

Hunter and I arrived at the campsite and set up all the tents before Danielle's family arrived. We got the same site that I had camped on with my dog in 2018; site number 160.  It was about the same time of year too. The whole time I was setting up Hunter kept asking when Jay was going to get there. He wanted to show Jay how to fish and how to catch frogs. He couldn't wait. 

Finally Danielle and her family arrived. Immediately Jay and Hunter became friends. It was like they had known each other for years.  Within minutes they had their bathing suits on and buckets and nets in hand and were down at the beach looking for frogs. Jay had never caught a frog in his life but was eager to learn. 

Hunter caught the first frog and proudly showed it off to everyone. Danielle and her daughter, Nevaeh, gathered round to see it before Hunter took it back to the lake and set it free. 

Hunter was a good teacher because it wasn't long before Jay caught his first frog. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first. 

But it wasn't long before he decided that frog catching was the greatest thing ever! (Which is much better than the squirrels that he had told me he planned to catch before we got here!) 

With a new found hobby in common the two boys spent every waking moment thinking about catching frogs. They spent a whole lot of time at the beach on this trip. 

That first night was a beautiful night. We got the fire going and the kids had S'mores for the first time ever. They got to sleep in their brand new sleeping bags and they got to sleep in a tent. It was a lot of firsts for the family and they were loving it. 

The next morning I asked Danielle and Marvin, her husband, how they slept. Danielle slept on a big air mattress and aside form Nevaeh climbing in with her and stealing all the covers, she had slept well. Marvin, on the other hand, said that he was stiff from sleeping on the ground nd it hadn't been comfortable for him at all. That was when we realized that he didn't have a sleeping mat and had slept on the solid ground all night. I felt bad because the whole time, I had an extra mat with me and I could have given him one. So, I made sure that he had a good mat to sleep on for the next night. 

We checked the weather forecast and found out that we were supposed to get thunder storms and high winds later on in the day. But we had a few hours of nice weather before then. So we decided to do a hiking trail while the weather was still good.  We chose the Kag trail because it was within walking distance of our campsite. 

The Kag trail is 2 and a half kilometers long and has some moderately challenging upward climbs. But there is a look out at one point to make the climb worth while. 

The boys were excited and raced on up ahead. 

Even on the hike they brought their trusty yellow net with them for catching frogs and toads. The whole trip was all about the frogs. 

Up ahead Danielle and Nevaeh were checking out how tall the trees were. They were pretty tall.

The trail started out fairly flat, like a typical Ontario forest trail. 

But eventually we were in for some steep climbing. The kids had tons of energy and they loved the climbing. 

Danielle and I didn't have quite as much energy and we stopped for a quick break once we reached the top. 

At the top of the hill the trail went along the edge of a rock cliff. 

And of course what goes up must come down. 

We picked our way through the root entangled path. 

This part of the trail led to the lake. 

And what do you find in lakes? Well, frogs of course!  Even way out here on the trail the boys were ever on the look out for frogs. 

It wasn't long before we were making another up hill climb. 

At the top of this hill we were rewarded with a scenic view from the look out. It was a little over grown with trees but it was still nice enough. We stopped here to rest for a bit and we had a snack that we had brought along with us. 

The kids didn't sit still for long though. Soon we were on our way again. ​They never found any frogs on the trial but they did find a couple toads and that was close enough.

After our hike the wind was starting to pick up quite a bit but it was still nice out so we decided to have a picnic lunch down at the bigger beach on the opposite side of the lake from where our campsite was. Wesat at a picnic table and watched the Canada Geese swim by.  And what did the boys do while we were at the bigger beach? You guessed it. Frog hunting! 

While we ate, a little calligrapher beetle came to visit us. 

When we got back to our campsite later that afternoon, the wind had really picked up and the sky turned grey. The wind was strong enough that it had blown down one side of my tent. I ended up lashing the guy-lines to near by trees instead of staking them into the ground. This seemed to do the trick and my tent stayed up properly for the rest of the trip.

Before too long it had started to rain. Danielle, Marvin and Nevaeh took this opportunity to go and have a nap while I took the boys down to the boat launch to go fishing in the rain. 

At first they were standing pretty close to each other and were risking getting their fishing lines tangled up. So they decided to each take a side of shore. 

Jay did very well for his fist time fishing. 

And Hunter looked like he was born to fish.  They didn't catch anything but they had a fantastic time. They kept on fishing in the rain right up until the rods broke and the lines got tangled. Rather than getting upset about it,  they just switched to skipping stones in the water. And that eventually lead to throwing rocks in the water to see who could make the biggest splash. 

Eventually we got hungry and went back to the dining tent to eat a quick supper. Right after that they wanted to back to the beach to.... go frog hunting.  However, they had only been down at the beach for about 5 minutes when I saw lightning and I had to bring them back to the campsite and away from the lake. Besides, it was starting to get dark anyways.  

Soon we had a full blown thunderstorm happening. While Danielle, Marvin and Nevaeh stayed in their tent keep dry, the boys and I took refuge in the dining tent and occupied ourselves with games of dice and cards. 
The kids were not phased in the least by the storm. They were perfectly content just playing games by the light of the lanterns and flashlights. 

Eventually the rains and storm subsided and Danielle, Marvin and Nevaeh joined us for cards in the dining tent. The boys taught them how to play Snap and War. But they liked Go Fish the best. 

When the rain had completely stopped and it was time to get ready for bed, we took a trip up to the comfort station to brush our teeth and wash our hands and faces. 

The boys were thrilled to discover that just outside the door of the comfort station was a big ole toad. 

And they were even more thrilled to discover a frog there too. I am sure that they went to bed that night dreaming of frogs in their sleep! 

Our annual Chicks In The Stix camping trip had a little twist this year.  Normally we gather together at Driftwood Provincial Park each July.  We always book months in advance in the middle of winter on the very first possible day that we are allowed to reserve a site. However, when we went to book our sites this year, the entire park was literally sold out within 3 hours. And I mean the entire park. Not a single site left. So, we were not able to get a site there. This meant that we had to get creative and find a different spot to gather. So, we opted to go to Samuel De Champlain Provincial Park instead. It meant that some of the Chicks had to travel quite a bit further to join us. Not ideal, but there was nothing to be done about it. But as parks go, Samuel De Champlain is a good one.

We were very excited to go camping. This year I was bringing a friend, Danielle, who is originally from Jamaica and had never gone camping before. All the things that we take for granted on a camping trip will be experienced and seen anew with fresh eyes. I was more excited to see Danielle camping for the first time than I was for myself to be camping. 

We pulled up to the office in the van, all prepared to sign in, and were surprised to find the office completely empty! Instead there was a sign outside the office telling us that if we had a reservation, we could go straight to our campsite and that additional vehicle permits could be purchased at the park store. Apparently they were trying something new this year where you "pre-register" online with the names of the people who will be on your site. Not every provincial park was doing this. I guess it was being piloted here. It was a bit confusing. Especially since this was the first I was hearing about it. I hadn't pre-registered and I didn't remember my password for my account. And what about those who don't even have a phone with them? That is a bit of an assumption on their part. And what about the paper permits for the posts?

We had to pick up some wood at the park store anyways, so we stopped in there before heading to our site.
The staff told us that we did not require a paper permit for the post on our site. But they did give us one for the additional vehicle. Since I didn't know about pre-registering, I gave them the names of the people at our site. 

Soon enough we were on our way to the camp. We had sites # 75 and #76 . It felt strange to not see that permit paper on the post.

The sites were across the road from each other instead of beside each other this time. We were a stone's throw away from the comfort station.

When you have an big group of girls, it doesn't take long to get all the tents setup. The best part was that there were zero bugs bothering us. My cousin, Shelli, had brought a concentrated garlic spray that she sprayed all over the sites (apparently you can get this at Canadian Tire I am told). It is supposed to keep mosquitoes away from about 350 feet from where you spray it. So, either this stuff really works or we got really lucky, because we didn't have any bug problems the whole time we were there.

Or perhaps it was because we had damselflies, like this Pond Spreadwing, and dragonflies to catch all the bugs for us.

In no time at all we were able to just pull up a chair and sit and relax. So far, Danielle was just loving it!

Every year we give the girls little gifts. This year, I bought them wooden heart candleholders with some fake candles to go in them. I got them from 1Man1Garage on Etsy.  We had fun assembling them and hanging them on the trees.

They looked beautiful as they glowed in the trees once it started to get dark. 

That evening we built a fire and sat under the wooden heart lights.

Then, we gave Danielle a stick to roast her first ever marshmallow!

And what would a first camping experience be without trying your hand at making S'mores?  We brought out the graham crackers, the chocolate, and the tinfoil and we got her to make one. It turned out perfect!

And Danielle found her new favourite camping treat! She liked them so much that she said she was going to try to make them at home. We warned her that it wouldn't be the same at home. (And she told us later that it really did not turn out well at home at all, and she agreed that it truly was better at camp). 

The next morning, all the ladies gathered around the fire for breakfast.

Shelli and Anika went across the road to make coffee in the coffee maker. (Yeah....we cheated. We were more glamping than camping). 

We asked Danielle how she slept for her first night in a tent. She said that she slept good but that she was not happy with the birds that woke her up in the morning. We told her those were crows and that they were like the "roosters of the forest". When you hear them, then it's time to get up!

She did, however, really like the Blue Jays. 

And, boy did we have a lot of Blue Jays around our site. Normally you see one or two at a time, but we had about 7 or 8 of them all at them same time. 

After breakfast we all started to get ready for the day's main event. One thing that Samuel De Champlain Park has going for it that Driftwood Park does not, is some rapids that you can go tubing on. Everyone was so excited (and maybe a bit nervous) to get on a tube and go floating down the river.  But we had to prepare for this by blowing up all the tubes. And with ten of us in the group this year, it meant blowing up ten tubes.

It took some time, but eventually we got all the tubes blown up. We were ready to go!

The rapids were only a short walk from the campsite. The water looked scarier than it actually was. The water itself was only up to our thighs. However, this meant that with the water so low, when you went over the rocks you would sometimes bump your butt on them. We had actually seen a bunch of 8 and 9 year old kids going  down the rapids earlier that morning. So, if they could do it then we could do it. The water was a bit cold but not too bad. 

One by one we climbed in with our tubes. We decided to go down in three groups. Anika and Shelli went first and ended up way ahead of us. Then it was me and Julie and Charlene next, followed by the rest of the girls in the last group. Each group had tied their tubes together. This was both good and bad. It meant that we stayed together. But it also meant that sometimes you got tangled up and stuck on the rocks. The last group of girls got stuck like that and they ended up falling behind the rest of us. Despite getting split up, we had such a great time! There was a whole lot of laughter and a whole lot of squealing!  We were not the only ones going down the rapids. It was actually a fairly popular past time. There were many groups, and couples, and kids floating right along with us or right past us. 

We got split up from some of the girls so we had to go looking for them. This meant going down the rapids a second time. (At least that was our excuse!)

Eventually we all made it back to camp. Some of us had bruises and some of us had gotten water up our nose, but it was all worth it and we were all in good spirits. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and just enjoying each others company.

Once it got dark, Emily broke out the glow sticks! We all got ourselves adorned with glowing jewelry fashion. (Who said that glow sticks were for kids?) 

And we made glow stick lanterns to go with our wooden tea light hearts. 

We sat around the fire and had great conversations about things like "If you could have a Super Power, what would it be?"  

The next morning we had to pack up to go back home. Of course, we are already talking about what we are going to do at next year's Chicks In The Stix gathering. All good things come to an end and that is the end for this years adventure. But not before we pose for a group photo with our matching T-shirts on! 
(Oh...And Danielle says she is addicted to camping now! So she will definitely be back next year!)

Samuel De Champlain has been the go-to campground for our family my whole life. It is the campground we went to as kids and the one we have spent birthdays and family picnics at. It is the campground I tend to compare all the other campgrounds to (whether good or bad).  We have watched this campground change and evolve over the years, as our family has changed and evolved over the years. And here I was visiting it again, but this time I was on a solo run. Just one night. Just me and my dog. It was like visiting an old friend.

It felt like forever to pack up my gear and get out the door. Luckily most of my gear was already packed from my previous camping trip so I just had to top everything up. It was a hot and humid day with no air conditioning in the car and I was beginning to wonder if it was all worth it for for less than 24 hours of camping.  But as I pulled off the highway and down the lane way to the park gate, the rest of the civilized world fell away and I said "Yes! Yes, it IS all worth it!" 

Just off to the side of the main office is the visitor center. This is a newer building.  I remember a time when we were camping here and this building hadn't even been built yet. 

I didn't go inside the visitor center this time around. I had been in there last summer when my relatives, Jens and Gurli had come to visit us from Denmark. 

There is a replica voyageur canoe housed inside. In the summer time the park offers voyageur canoe rides in a canoe similar to this one. You can dress up as voyageurs and paddle down the river while learning all about the voyageurs and the fur trade. 

But the canoe was put away for the season so there would be no more tours until next summer. 

Besides, I was just here for the camping this time around. I pulled up to the tiny little office and went inside to register. The office is so small that only 2 people are allowed inside at a time. 

The park is made up of two campgrounds. There is the Babawasse campground on one side of the river and Jingwakoki campground on the other side ( or as we affectionately call them "Bab" and "Jing"). 
The name “Babawasee” finds its roots in the Ojibway language meaning “a lake is seen through the woods”.
The Ojibway name Jingwakoki aptly describes the campground setting meaning “pine forest or tall pines”.

My campsite was in Jing so I had to drive over the bridge to get to the other side of the river.
The Amable du Fond River is a lazy river and I fondly remember how we would take our single air mattresses and start float down the river until we got to this bridge where our mom or dad would be waiting in the car to pick us up. The water here is so gentle that I even did this while I was 7 months pregnant. 

On the other side of the bridge there is a little marshy area that is off to the side. I always like to slow down here or stop to see if I can see any wildlife. I sometimes see blue herons here, but not today. 

Instead, I just saw the warning sign that there is poison ivy here. You don't see too much of it in the park and this section is not near the actual campsites. But people do walk over the bridge so it is good that they had the warning posted. 

The poison ivy was starting to turn yellow with the changing colours of the autumn leaves. 

I pulled up to my site, number 160.  At this time of year parts of the park are shut down and there aren't a whole lot of other campers. I love that about September camping. So I had no immediate neighbours, but there were still other campers a couple campsites down from me. 

The site I got was large with lots of open space and yet plenty of trees. A small beach was right across from me. 

And to the left was the boat launch. This was the perfect site for me because I had my dog with me and he wasn't allowed on the beach. But he was allowed at the boat launch. 

So the first thing Balto did was to go in for a swim. He loved it. 

A female Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonfly came to hang out at the beach with us. 

It didn't take long to get the tents set up and the site in order. My tent was still a bit damp from the last time I had gone camping so I left the door open to let it air out and dry out before I put anything in it. 

The next step was to locate the water tap and the bathrooms. So Balto and I went for a little walk to scout them out. I didn't have the map of the campground and this section was not the section we usually camped at so I wasn't completely familiar with the area. But it didn't take long to find it.

But my effort was all for not because the water wasn't drinkable anyways. I filled my container just the same so I could wash dishes and put out the campfire with it. 

Across from the water tap was the bathrooms. They looked the same as any other vault bathrooms that you find in the provincial parks. 

However, these ones were flush toilets!  I was not expecting that. 

On the way back to the campsite I passed by the little beach. I call it the little beach because it is not the main beach and it is tiny compared to the Bagwa Day Use beach on the other side of the lake. There are some swings and teeter totters here for the kids to play on. It's a cute little spot among the trees and even when the park is busy this beach is not overly crowded. 

When I got back to my site I noticed that I had a little visitor. A crow was marching all along the perimeter of my site looking to see if I had dropped anything of interest for him and just generally checking things out. 

I figured I had just enough daylight to do a mini hike on the only trail that I thought Balto could handle; the Wabashkiki Trail. So, I loaded him into the car and headed for the trail head down by the day use area at Bagawa Beach. The park dtore was along the way so I made a quick stop in there to see if they had anything of interest. 

The store was filled with little souvenirs and nic-nack, as well as some over priced T-shirts. There wasn't anything I particularly wanted or needed so I didn't stay long. 

Outside of the store were some wild Black Eyed Susans growing along the edge of the parking lot. 

As well as some pretty purple flowers that could be Knap Weed, but I am not entirely sure. 

On the way we passed an open field area. When we were kids, this was a baseball field. We would play baseball against other campers and had a blast. The baseball field is now long gone and now it looks like some road less traveled runs right through it. It was disappointing to see. 

I chose the Wabashkiki Trail because from what I read, it is a relatively flat trail as well as relatively short. Considering my dog can not always go far these days at his age, I thought it best to keep it simple. I also liked the fact that there was a look out at a beaver pond very close to the beginning of the trail.

​ I doubted I would be able to do the whole trail full circle but I figured I would go as far as Balto would let me and then turn around and head back. The beginning of the trail was nice and wide and quite flat, as promised. 

Unfortunately, as nicely groomed as the main path was, the side path to the first "look out" was an entirely different story. If it weren't for the map, you wouldn't even know there was a path to the beaver pond. It was terribly over grown. I left Balto on the main path for a moment and pushed through the tall grasses to take a quick peek at what was on the other side. I knew Balto couldn't get through this underbrush and I knew he would sit for a moment while I checked it out. 

So I dashed into  the 20 feet or so of tall grasses for a quick look. It was quite lovely, but I wouldn't really call it a look out. 

I wished that the side path to this spot was cleared because I would have liked to have taken Balto here and sat for awhile to see if  I could see any birds or beaver. But I hoped that there would be more to see further down the trail.

So I went back to where Balto sat waiting for me and we continued down the trail. 

The lazy, late evening sun shone through the trees and cascaded across the path. 

Every once in awhile the trees would open up and reveal the calm waters of the Mattawa River with the reflection of the sun and clouds glistening from the surface.

These were the perfect opportunities for Balto to take a quick dip in the water. And he did. Multiple times along the way. 

Soon enough we came to a little foot bridge.

The view of the river from here was quite nice.

I didn't have a whole lot of sunlight left in the day and it didn't help that the clouds were blocking out the sun from time to time. Besides, Balto didn't want to come up on the bridge so I decided to turn around and head back. 

Along the way I spotted a leopard frog.

And the dragonflies were flying about overhead. 

By this time Balto was starting to tire out. We stopped often for quick rests on the way back. It was probably good because he was still wet from his forays into the water and it would be nice if he dried off a bit before getting back into the car. 

The end/entrance to the Wabashkiki Trail shares the parking lot of the Bagwa DayUse beach. Once I had loaded Balto into the car and he curled up on the blanket on the back seat, exhausted from going as far as his little 17 year old legs could carry him, I took the opportunity to do a quick look around the beach. 

The playground consists of some swings and teeter totters and there are a couple of gazebos at this beach. 

Bagwa Beach is a fairly large beach with lots of sand and plenty of picnic tables and places to BBQ. 

​We have spent many a birthday and family picnic at this beach, swimming, eating and playing board games in the gazebos. 

As I stood there pondering, a little chipmunk with it's cheeks stuffed with what was most likely wild mushrooms or seeds or some other such foraged food, came peeking out at me from around the base of the rock. It barely took notice of me as it turned around and went back to it's business of getting ready for winter.

As I walked back towards the car, I watched a mother mallard and her ducklings swimming around out across the water, just past the buoy lines,. 

I had only been standing there less than 10 minutes but by now the sun was starting to get lower in the sky and I could see some fog rolling in across the other side of the lake where my campsite was. Balto was waiting in the car so I picked up my pace a little. 

But that didn't stop me from admiring things as I went, such as the bees flitting among the purple asters.

Or the chickadee hiding out in the branches of a pine tree.

Or the little red squirrel climbing up the base of that same tree. 

And the blue beauty of the Blue Jay scanning his domain from the high up in the branches of another pine tree. 

I drove back to the campsite and decided to take Balto and our supper down to the boat launch where we could sit and watch the sunset while we ate. 

The marsh grasses along the waters edge were illuminated in the pink hues emanating from the waning sun.

The water was like a mirror and the clouds, tinted pink, reflected up at me. It was so clear and so quiet and peaceful. It was heavenly to be able to sit there and just quietly relax. 

I sat there for quite sometime. I sat until the sun could no longer be seen and until it was starting to get dark enough that I would soon need a flashlight.

I don't often have a campfire when I am camping by myself because I figure that I might get too bored or too tired cold or something and that I might not want to tend to it shortly after I built it. But this night I built a fire. It was too nice out not to. The temperature was perfect! Not too hot and not too cold. I was actually able to sit outside and watch the fire in my T-shirt. And there were zero bugs. None. It was way too nice of an evening to spend inside a tent so I knew that I wouldn't get bored while I tended this fire. It was wonderful to smell that campfire smokey smell and to hear the wood crackle and watch the flames dance. I sat there quietly and enjoyed every minute of it. 

And what was Balto doing while I sat by the fire? He found his bed in the dining tent and was fast asleep. I had worn him out with our long walk. 

Through the trees I could see the moon shining down by the lake. I thought how pretty it probably was down there at this time of night. So once the fire was out I decided to take a stroll down there. 

I did a quick check on Balto to make sure that he was still asleep and then, without turning my flashlight on, I made my way down to the beach in the dark. The moon had a hint of orange to it and just as the clouds had reflected on the surface of the water during the day, so too did the light of the moon. 

As I stood by the edge of the lake in the dark, listening to the crickets, I saw the familiar flickering flash of fireflies and and glow worms. I turned on my flashlight momentarily to see which one it was. It was a glow worm crawling around on the damp beach sand. It didn't like that I was shining my light on it and making it's presence widely known.

It was probably happy when I heard a splash in the water and turned my attention and my light over to the direction of the lake where I had just heard a fish jump. Sure enough there were a number of small fish hanging out in the shallow areas of the lake. They looked to be sunfish or maybe some small bass.

I didn't stay down at the beach too long. I didn't want to have Balto wake up and bark because I wasn't there and wake up all the other campers. I figured that I did still have enough time to make a quick trip up to the comfort station (which was only about the distance of one campsite away from mine) before I went to bed.

Sitting just outside the door of the comfort station was a very large toad. I guess he was hoping to find some bugs that would be attracted to the light. It was pretty slim pickings for him at this time of year though. 

When I got back to the camp I woke Balto up and moved him from the dining tent into the tent we were sleeping in. I left the tent door open and had just the screen up. If it weren't for having to worry about Balto leaving in the middle of the night or mice or other small animals getting in I would have considered the possibility of not even having the screen up. It was that nice of a night.  But with or without a screen, I was happy to be able to spend this wonderful evening out camping in the great outdoors with my dog on this beautiful and perfect night.

Goodnight Moon. 
Goodnight stars
Goodnight air
​Good night noises everywhere