Driftwood Park Girls Retreat - Day 2

We woke up at 9 a.m. to a bright and sunny day. We enjoyed our morning coffee and a breakfast of muffins and bacon. The Heathers and I decided that we would go on a hike while the other girls stayed behind to play board games. We looked at the map and planned out our route. We decided to do the first loop of Chevrier Creek Trail (in red) as well as the Lookout Trail (in orange). In total it would be about 3 km. 

So we put on our sunscreen, grabbed some snacks and bottles of water and headed over to the Chevriers Creek Trail head. 

There was a warning sign posted stating that bridges on loop 2,3 and 4 were out but that was ok because we weren't going to go that far anyway.

Loop One begins with a hill right away. We were wondering if this was any indication of how hilly the rest of the trail would be. 

The trail was narrow with underbrush encroaching on the path. 

Once you get tot he top of the hill it levels out and the underbrush thins out. There is a stand of pine trees and you can easily see through the trees. 

The pine trees and pine cones seemed very dry despite the wet weather we have been having for most of the summer. My sister Heather and I were noticing that this trail was not all that remarkable. There were no real points of interest. 

I came across a beetle that I have never seen before. I scoured the internet looking to see what kind of beetle this is. After searching over 40 different pages I finally determined that it is a Flower Longhorn Beetle. 

Eventually Loop One comes back out to the road. You have to cross the road to continue the trail and to get to the Lookout Trail. 

There was no trail head sign for the Lookout Trail; only a little lookout symbol on a small sign on a post.

After crossing the road we could see a picnic table up ahead. The picnic table was where the trail split off in two other directions. If you go left then you continue on loop one and if you go right then you are connecting to the Lookout Trail. 

We decided that we would take a bit of a break there since there was a place to rest. 

We hung out for a bit reading the graffiti on the fence posts.

As well as the graffiti that was under the fence posts. 

Once we were rested we continued on our way down the Lookout Trail. This trail was a little more interesting than the Chevrier Creek trail because it had more deciduous trees that the birds seemed to prefer. There didn't seem to be any birds back in the pines. 

There were plenty of these plants with blue berries on them I do not know what kind of plants they are but we did know not to eat them. 

At one point we came to a wooded area where there were many blue jays and other birds that were singing and just ignoring the fact that we were there. I had been trying for a couple of years now to get a good picture of a blue jay. I thought this would be the perfect time to try. However, blue jays seem to not want to get their picture taken by me. 

Most of the time I can't even get a picture of them without branches and leaves in the way. I thought this time for sure that I had a clear shot. They must be laughing and making fun of me. I am sure of it! 

I had to laugh at this picture because it almost seems as though the blue jay has opened up a portal just above his head so that he can jump through to avoid my camera. 

Looks like this is the best I can do at getting a picture of the elusive blue jay. But one day I will get a really good picture. If it takes me 10 years I will get one! 

This butterfly, unlike the blue jay, wanted to be photographed. It would come close and sit nice and still waiting for it's picture to be taken. 

We saw this strange looking plant with a weird bulb on it. I have no idea what it is. 
​We passed by a little side trail and wondered where it went. But we were still looking for the Lookout so we kept going straight. Eventually we came to another road. we were confused because this is where the trail seemed to stop. We looked up and down the road to see if the trail continued someplace else but it didn't. Then a group of people came out of the trail behind us and they were wondering about the look out too. We all came to the conclusion that we were actually at the start of the trail and that the picnic table we had rested at was the lookout at the end of the trail.  It wasn't really a look out at all. It may have been long time ago but the trees were so tall now that you can't see anything but the trees. 

We turned around and headed back in disappointment. On the way back we decided to check out the little side trail to see where it lead. Turns out that it leads to the parks Group Camping (G1) site. It was only about 35 feet away from the trail. It was huge and empty and we sat for a few minutes enjoying the peacefulness of the place. 

​On the way back our photogenic little butterfly posed for some more pictures. 

We passed by the so called look out and continued back towards the camp on the last leg of Loop One. Oddly this trail led to a huge clearing. It was a well kept lawn that looked like it could be used for a game of baseball or something. On the other side of the clearing was the road that is very near to our campsite. 

We just needed to climb the steps up to the comfort station and then we would be back to our site. Next time maybe we will try the Beaver Pond trail. Hopefully it will be a little more interesting than these ones were. 

When we got back we had some wraps for lunch. Then we sat around talking for a few hours. Later on in the day we decided to take a stroll down to the other beach that was close to us to see what that one was like. We walked down the road looking for the path to the beach. We knew it must be around somewhere because there were signs saying that there were "no lifeguards".

We passed by racks of canoes that you could rent if you wanted to.  But we still couldn't see how to get to the beach. We just kept walking further and further up the road.

Finally I gave up looking for the entrance and I just cut across someones campsite to get to the beach. 

This beach had more sand but it wasn't as pretty as the other beach we were on the day before. 

There were more people here and more of people's belongings scattered everywhere. There were also some interesting pieces of driftwood nailed together for some reason that was not clear to me. 

I had to walk back along the beach to finally find the entrance to the beach. As it turns out the entrance was hidden between the rack of canoes and a rack of kayaks. As least now we will know for next time. 

When I got back to our campsite most of the girls had walked to the smaller beach. Anika and I took this opportunity to head down to the park store to see if there were any T-shirts that we might like to buy. I had wanted one with the name Driftwood Park on it but the only ones that they had that I liked were all too small. So instead I opted for a black T-shirt with a bunch  of zzzzzzz's and a mosquito on it that said "Ontario Parks". The next time I come back I will try to get a Driftwood Park T-shirt. 

When we got back it was time to cook supper. Shelli had pre-made a bunch of "hobo dinners" for us. Inside the tinfoil containers were chicken and vegetables mixed together. All we had to do was put them on the fire and heat them up. No fuss, no muss. It was a great plan of Shelli's and it tasted great too! Anika had seen an idea for cinnamon buns cooked on a stick over the fire. We tried that too but unfortunately it did not go as we had hoped. Part of the cinnamon buns got burnt while the other part was under cooked. It looked yummy in the picture but in reality it was a bit of a flop. Ah well, it was still fun to try. 

After supper we sat around the fire playing "Cards Against Humanity" We played this for almost 4 hours and we had a blast! We laughed so hard that our sides hurt. The funniest part was hearing Anika's imitation of Stephen Hawking saying sexy things. It was hilarious and when it was time for bed we were still laughing about it. It was a great way to end a great evening.