So we put out the call to all the girls, that we were holding a camping weekend at Driftwood Provincial Park. If it turns out well then we will make it an annual thing. At first we didn't know which park to choose but since we had people potentially coming from Ottawa we decided to choose Driftwood because it was a good compromise for distance. Besides, most of us had been there before and liked it.
We arrived in multiple cars at about 4:30 pm. There were six of us all together; my mother, my sister Anika, my cousin Shelli, my sister Heather, my friend Heather and of course myself. We drove up to the gate house to register. Inside was a tiny little store. It didn't have much but it did have some T-shirts so I knew I would be back later to check them out.
We don't often reserve campsites because it costs an extra $11 in addition to the already high price of the campsite as well as the cost of extra parking. But this time we did because we knew that at this time of year the campground would be almost full, and we were right. When we reserved site # 56 there were only about 5 or 6 sites left in the whole park.
Since we had reserved the site sight unseen we were not sure what we were going to get. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our site was fairly large and that even though it was on a corner and close to the comfort station, we still had a decent amount of privacy. It's not our first choice in campsites but it was still pretty good and we were happy with it. Our first task was to scope the place out and figure out which tents to put up where.
There wasn't a whole lot of room for both tents and cars but we managed to squeeze it all in and we parked one of the cars in the visitor parking near by. One of the Heathers had brought a HUGE tent. It was crazy big! But it only took us about 5 minutes to put it up.
The tent was so big that it fit all of us in it and our gear and room to spare. It was like being in a cabin or something. It was so big that we gave the tent a name. We called her "Gargantor".
My mom wanted her own tent so she put up a little one man tent off to the other side of the dining tent. Once we were set up I decided to explore a little and I walked down to the beach that was closest to our site. There are 3 posts that mark the path to the beach, but there are not any other signs indicating that the beach is there.
There are three beaches at the park and this one is the smallest of the three. I was a bit disappointed by the amount of items such as chairs and towels that campers left all over the beach unattended. It was as though they owned the place and didn't care if other people wanted to use the beach too. Their campsites were butted up against the beach so they figured that the beach was part of their campsite or something.
But once you get past all the people's personal items you can get to a section of the beach that is beautiful to look at.
In the distance I could see rolling hills and puffy white clouds in the sky. The shores of the beach are actually along the Ottawa River and not a lake.
There is a tiny little island in the middle of the river with just a few trees on it.
On one end of the beach is sand and driftwood.
And on the other end is rocks and driftwood. So you can guess how the park got it's name.
The driftwood has been worn and weathered and has been inscribed with the carvings of various insects.
The sand on the beach has bands of varying colours; from very light to very dark. But the water is clear and you can see to the bottom in the shallow areas.
The sun was getting lower so I knew I should be heading back to the campsite because supper would be not long off.
I saw a spider web glistening in the sunshine as I headed back.
Before supper I headed to the comfort station to wash up. This comfort station is not that big and is on top of a bit of a hill, but it is clean and well kept. It has only 4 showers but since the park is not a huge one 4 is enough. We never saw a line up for the showers at any point.
Inside has plenty of sink space and the hand blowers are not overly loud. There is wheel chair access to one stall and a mirror that tilts down. There is a campsite right beside the comfort station that is barrier free.
Shelli had prepared all the meals for the whole weekend. Tonight's supper was a delicious meal of chili. It was so good! After supper we sat around the fire talking and drinking for a bit.
As the fire died down and it started to get dark we could hear the loons calling in the distance. We decided to all head down tot he beach for a bit before heading to bed.
The sun had already set and as the sky got darker we all sat or stood on the beach looking up at the sky and watching the stars come out. We saw multiple shooting stars and were thankful for the peacefulness far away from the noise of the bustling city. You can't see the stars in the city the way you can see them out here. We sat and talked for about an hour until finally we were ready to head back and get ready for bed. We drifted off to sleep with the sounds of the loons still calling in the distance.
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