Caliper Lake Provincial Park: Needs hobbits

Posted on September 10, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

I lived in North Carolina for six years, and while I was there, I dated a forester. He was cute, and a kind man, but (not and) was a bottomless well of tree trivia. I guess that my back porch offered a view of about five kinds of oak trees, as well as cedars, spruce, and pines and he was keen on teaching me all about these trees:

“Carla, what kind of tree is this one here? And this one? And that one?”

The trouble was that although my interest in the forester was high, my interest in the forest was low. To amuse myself, I developed my own tree taxonomy:

What kind of tree is this one?

Christmas tree.

What kind of tree is that one?

Not-Christmas tree.

Things didn’t work out with the forester.

As I was hiking along Caliper Lake Provincial Park‘s Nature Trail, I realised that I’d developed another binary taxonomic system, one didn’t involve passive aggressively needling a boyfriend. You see, I saw a spot and thought, “that spot there, would be a perfect place to have a second breakfast.” At that moment I realised that there were Elf forests and there were Hobbit forests and that I was in a Hobbit forest. What made it a Hobbit forest was the abundance of nooks and crannies ready-made for naps and picnics.

Milo’s good at finding comfy spots.

This second breakfast spot was a cosy cubby, nestled beside a boulder and blanketed with thick, soft, dark green moss. The sun shone through the leaves of a Not-Christmas tree, creating a dappled shade that promised good napping after breakfast.

This forest has trails winding through a thick understory. If you explore the Nature Trail, you’ll clamber over slippery rocks and scramble up a couple of steep hills, so wear good shoes. And bring a breakfast or two.

Although not a hobbit, Milo does enjoy a second breakfast.

Fall RV camping: Staying warm and happy

Posted on September 8, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

I’ve been living in my RV for 10 weeks now. I liked every day of it and I’m still happy to be on the road.

In June, when I packed for this trip, I had two comfort concerns: staying cool and keeping the bugs off.

It dropped down to four degrees Celsius last night. It being September, this is hardly unexpected. I saw my first yellow leaf of the season last week and today the trees around my campsite have yellow polka dots. It is beautiful, and sort of sad too since it signals the end of the season.

These four-degree nights mean that keeping cool and keeping the bugs off are no longer issues. Staying warm, however, is. I love comfort. I don’t need luxury, but a soft bed, good food, and a good book, all in a safe and simple space are important.

Here are three things keeping me happy during the September chapter of this trip:

A little electric heater. I have a ceramic one with a thermostat and it turns off if it gets too hot or tips. You have to use your common sense here and stay safe. Running it, even on a low setting, keeps things toasty when the temperature drops at 2AM. My RV has a furnace that heats the place up quickly. But it burns through a tank propane in a flash. For temperatures like these, that are chilly but not freezing, a little electric heater does a nice job.
Fleece. Right now, I’m wearing a fleece tuque, fleece socks, and a fleece sweater. Fleece is lightweight, soft, and dries fast. I also have fleece pjs. Yes, they make them and they are very cozy.
A large snuggly dog. If you have such a dog, and you let it sleep on your bed, you’ve got a personal, heartwarming furnace.

September is the month when you can see purple flowers and yellow leaves on the same hike.

Fall camping is great. No bugs, pretty leaves, fewer people, earlier nights for enjoying the stars and northern lights and camp fires, and cocoa tastes better when you wrap chilly hands around a warm mug.

All you need to keep warm and happy: a fleece tuque, a fleece sweater, and a big dog!

Keep warm and keep camping!

Riding Mountain National Park: It’s big

Posted on September 6, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

After being on the road with Milo for nearly eight weeks, I’ve turned us around and we’re meandering back to Ontario. This means we have to traverse Manitoba. I don’t have anything against Manitoba, but if I’m going to be on the prairies I feel like I ought to be at my Mom and Dad’s place in Saskatchewan. So Manitoba ends up being the province I sprint across. On Milo and my trip west, we spent a night at a truck stop outside of Winnipeg. On our way back east I thought it might be nice, instead of trying to sleep to the low rumble of a Peterbilt, to listen to some laughing loons. We traded a sleepless night at the Husky for a few days at Riding Mountain National Park.

black and tan German shepherd dog standing in profile against a green forest The first thing to know is that Riding Mountain National Park is big. It covers almost 3000 square km, and has 400 km of hiking trails, a bunch of lakes, and a whole town where you can buy gas, groceries, and ice cream. There are also 14 million cabins. I didn’t actually count them, but if I had to guess I’d say 14 million. The developed part of the park feels like a resort. There is smooth pavement and clear signage, and flower arrangements mark the campground entrance.

Although the park is big, most of the people are in a tiny part of it. Happily, you don’t have to go that far to get away from them. As a result, the dog situation here is really different from other places I’ve visited. I asked at the guy at the campground kiosk about a dog exercise area. He looked at me like I was from Mars.

No there aren’t ‘off leash areas.’ Just go where there’s no people. Of course, you might wanna think twice because of the bears.

Well, OK then. It seemed like I’d have to use my own darn common sense.

The size of the park is overwhelming, almost paralyzing. It’s hard to know where to start, and so it’s hard to start at all. Milo is a big help here. He has to move, has to walk. So we just picked a direction, and went.

I was hoping for solitude and we found it right away. We discovered a warm, clear little lake and spent the whole afternoon playing in the water. By the way, then name of the place is actually Clear Lake.

Milo must have been a retriever in a past life, or maybe a seal. The dog just wants, even needs, to swim.

“What on earth is this toy doing just sitting here in the shallow water?”

Finding this spot made the first day of our stay at Riding Mountain a success.

Milo as GSD ambassador to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park

Posted on September 1, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

My sister, Ondrea, took Milo and me hiking at Big Hill Springs Provincial Park, which is just outside of Calgary, Alberta. You can learn more about the park by checking out her blog, Walking Calgary.

After spending the entire summer with Milo, I’ve come to appreciate a pretty stick!

It’s always good to have a local guide, and even better when that guide is Ondrea! As you might guess from the name of the park, it has a big hill and a spring. Ondrea started us out on a steep ascent. This was smart because we got the difficult climbing out of the way right off the bat. Of course, Milo is always a big help on the uphill sections of hikes. I give him a little “hup, hup” and he gladly returns to the days of his leash pulling youth. This makes those steep grades easier for me and has the added benefit of pooping him out just a wee bit more.

As you might expect of a place this close to Calgary, there were quite a few people on the trail. Early in the hike, we passed a woman who froze, clearly terrified, when she laid eyes on Milo. I did what I always do on a narrow path or sidewalk. Milo and I took two steps off the trail and I put him in a sit-stay. As this poor woman slipped by, I made sure she could see that the leash was short and I stood between her and Milo.

school pic Being Canadian, and a woman, I apologized to Ondrea for making her wait for the 20 seconds it took to complete this manoeuver.

All she said, “I appreciate how considerate you are of how other people may react to him.”

That was a kind thing to say.

Even though Milo is the apple of my eye, I know that he is big and strong and can look scary. I also know that there are some irresponsible breeders who produced dogs with nervous and unstable temperaments, and that some German Shepherd guardians never learn to properly handle these powerful dogs. As a result, there are circles in which this breed has a bad reputation. I work hard to help people see that German Shepherds can be great dogs.

Every time Milo is polite, like he was on this hike, it is a win for German Shepherds in general. I try to help him be a first-rate ambassador for the breed.

When Ondrea noticed this, it made my day. And that good feeling stayed with me for the rest of our hike.

Big Hill Springs is full of pretty little waterfalls.

The tail end of the hike was wonderful. Ondrea ushered us along a gentle descent graced by a series of little waterfalls. The stream and the falls are fed by cold, clear spring water and we often stopped, watched, and listened to the water cascading alongside us as we walked down the hill.

If you get the chance, I recommend taking a couple of hours to check out Big Hill Springs.

It is lovely.

Aaron Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Posted on July 29, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

This park was stinky. Literally. I pulled into a campsite generously decorated with dog poop. While I was cleaning up it occurred to me that I had a neighbour who either lets their, evidently large, dog run loose, or is the sort of person who watches their dog poop in someone else’s campsite and thinks, “I’m just gonna leave that sitting right there.” I was looking forward to meeting this person, and their dog. It was going to be great. I knew it.

Sure enough, on Milo and my first walk two retriever-ish looking dogs galloped toward us while their owners yelled from their camp chairs, you guessed it, “don’t worry, they’re friendly.”

I yelled back, “I’m not.” It just popped out, no mincing of words at all. And at that moment, it was true. “Those dogs need to be on leashes.”

The indignant response was, “I don’t know why you’re upset. We haven’t had any problems.”

I saw this as invitation to describe the poop, and, you know, the law, which didn’t go over so well. Who would’ve thought? The best part was when they explained to me, and my fabulous gigantic German Shepherd Milo, that if I didn’t like dogs, I probably shouldn’t go camping. Oh boy, time to walk away. That time was actually long past, but as they say, better late than never. Some people.

In case you are wondering, here are some relevant bits of law:

Domestic and other animals

6. (1) No person in control of a domestic animal shall permit the animal to be,

(a) in a provincial park unless the animal is secured on a leash that does not exceed two metres in length; …

(4) No person shall permit a domestic animal, while in a provincial park, to

(a) make excessive noise;

(b) disturb other persons;

(c) damage Crown property or vegetation;

(d) chase or harass wild animals or birds;

(e) injure, or attempt to injure, a person or other domestic animal. O. Reg. 347/07, s. 6 (4).

(5) The person in control of a domestic animal shall immediately dispose of excrement from the animal in such manner and at such location that it will not cause a health hazard or public inconvenience. O. Reg. 347/07, s. 6 (5). …

I am sure these people are not a permanent fixture at Aaron Provincial Park, but I let them colour my experience of the place more than I should’ve. Thank heavens I discovered the group campground, a grassy field with picnic tables, empty. Milo and I spent a lot of time there romping, playing tug, training, and reading magazines (Milo didn’t read magazines as much as sat there and chewed a toy).

a black and tan German shepherd dog looking up at the camera. Fis shiny black nose is the highlight of the picture.

I can’t stay mad when I look at this big happy nose. Also, notice the leash…

Aaron Provincial Park is conveniently located on the Trans Canada highway just East of Dryden, Ontario. It lacks a sanctioned off leash pet exercise area.

Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Posted on July 22, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

Rainbow Falls Provincial Park straddles the TransCanada Highway, making it a convenient stopover if your trip takes you between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay. The rugged mixed forest, rocky outcrops, and island dotted lakes of Superior’s North Shore inspired some of my favourite Group of Seven paintings. It’s a beautiful drive. Keep your gas tank on the high side of empty though, there are some long stretches between gas stations.

A black and tan German Shepherd on a long leash clamber over grey rocks

The gorgeous hike along the this park’s namesake falls is difficult. It seems weird to call a hike with a boardwalk difficult, but oh the stairs, it feels like you’re taking the stairs up the Eiffel Tower. I’ve been working on gratitude lately, and the walk up these stairs made me grateful for Milo the AwesomeDog’s powerful leash pulling.

Bright green ferns in the foreground of a waterfall cascading over grey rocks.

a bright campfire with sticks positioned at right angles from each other

My firewood appears to be left over from a building project allowing for a geometrically pleasing camp fire.

Milo and I stayed at Whitesand Lake Campground, it was nicely wooded, but the trees were mature and there wasn’t much as much privacy providing understory between my campsite and my neighbours as I would have liked.

Also, this park lacks an off leash dog area and I saw more off leash dogs in the campsite than I’d seen in other parks. I expect some people will give their dogs off leash time whether or not there’s a legal spot to do it–an argument for putting dog exercise areas in more parks. Either that or hiring more park rangers!

A lake surrounded by mixed forest and emptying over the top of a waterfall. A big dog nose is poking into the. bottom right corner of the picture.

Milo can’t keep his nose out of my pictures.

The beach at Pancake Bay Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Posted on July 20, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

Oh my heavens, the white sand beach at Pancake Bay Provincial Park goes on and on and on. Since the bay is shallow the water isn’t as cold as you’d expect for Lake Superior. Some folks call it warm. They’re wrong. But, it is less cold. It only took a minute or two for me to catch my breath after jumping in.

a white sand beach between blue water and a pine and spruce forest.

How many dog beaches look like this?

The electrical spots in this campground are packed pretty tight and didn’t appeal to me. If you want a spot that feels more remote, forgo the electricity and get a campsite in the 400’s. Even though that end of the campground is a bit more rustic than the rest of the place, it boasts a modern comfort station with showers and laundry facilities.

I booked a site in the 400’s because it was close to the pet exercise area and the dog beach, both of which are fabulous. The pet exercise area is a green meadow sprinkled with daisies and plenty big for Milo to enjoy a good game of Frisbee.

The dog beach is continuous with, and just as nice as, the other beaches in the campground. The sand is soft and the water clear.

a German shepherd leaping forward on a white sand beach

I’m always impressed by Milo’s intensity when he’s chasing a ball.

A German shepherd splashing though blue water.

I enjoyed a nice swim with Milo (one of my favorite things), and Milo chased his ball into the water (one of his favourite things). Our afternoon at this beach was lovely.

a black and tan German shepherd dog sitting on a white beach under a blue sky.

Pancake Bay is a great place to enjoy a couple of restful days with your dog.

Mississagi Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada: Here be dragons

Posted on July 18, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

My navigation system expressed some concern about Mississagi. On the way to our campsite it warned me that we were entering an area of “incomplete map data,” and told me to “proceed with caution.” In my perfect world, it would have said, “here be dragons.” I was so pleased–this was the sort of camping I feared I’d lost when I bought a travel trailer.

Navigation system screen showing no roads

This is what my navigation system perceived when it said, “incomplete map data, proceed with caution.”

This is what my navigation system was referring to. Yes, this was the right road.

My last stop was at Grundy Lake Provincial Park—a large professionally run park with programing and staff in pressed uniforms. A tousled teenager in a red T-shirt staffed the gate at Mississagi. The park only has 60 campsites, and I saw a total of six people during my stay. There was no cell service.

path from campsite My campsite had a path down to a tiny rocky beach and Milo and I spent most of our time sitting by the water’s edge. Every once in a while, I’d trundle up to the camper to get a snack and refresh my insect repellent. One afternoon a couple canoed by. That is all.

silhouette of a German shepherd dog at the edge of a blue lake surrounded by a pine forest.

This place is perfect, and I’ll be back.

Swan Lake Trail

Posted on July 17, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

During our stay at Grundy Lake Provincial Park Milo and I went on a guided hike along the Swan Lake Trail. I’ve found the Ontario Parks websites informative and easy to navigate. Here is how the Grundy website describes this hike:

Swan Lake Trail – 1.5 km loop (1 hour) moderate to difficult.
Wind through a special area in the park which is protected as a nature reserve. This short hike crosses rocky ridges and lookouts as well as a variety of interesting wetlands. The centerpiece of the trail includes a boardwalk, where wetland plants and animals can be studied. While there, be sure to watch for the Great Blue Heron, beaver, waterfowl, bitterns and other varieties of birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, deer, moose and carnivorous plants.

dark green coniferous trees reflected in a body of water.

Swan Lake

Three crisply uniformed Park staff members lead this hike.

I learned that White Pines look fluffy and have five needles in a bunch. ‘White,’ has five letters: five needles–I won’t forget this!

From their new boots and notepads, I assume two of them were trainees. They showed us where the rocks were scratched by glaciers, identified carnivorous plants in the nutrient-poor lake water, and even pointed out a pine tree where a black-backed woodpecker nested the previous season. Our questions received full, interesting answers.

As we were getting ready to set out I asked the hike leader if I could bring my dog. She said, “Absolutely, as long as he is on a leash.” Hurray. Milo flirted outrageously with the other hikers. When we stopped to look at something I put him in a down-stay to keep him out of the way, but he was so besotted with the hike leader that he’d belly crawl up to her, all the while staying ‘down.’ Not obedience competition winning behaviour, but he made the crowd smile.

This hike was beautiful and fun, and I am grateful I could share it with Milo.

Milo taking a little break from the Swan Lake hike.

Grundy Lake Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada–great for dogs!

Posted on July 16, 2017 by ontheroadwithmilo

Grundy Lake Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada is a good place to camp with your dog. Except for the beaches, you can take your leashed dog everywhere in the park, and there is a waterfront leash-free pet exercise area. The pet area, adjacent to a parking lot and boat launch, is not the prettiest part of the park, but it does offer a lovely view across the lake, and Milo didn’t seem to notice the aesthetic drawbacks.

Pet exercise area at Grundy Lake Provincial Park.

Probably due to the convenient parking, this pet exercise area gets used. Every time Milo the AwesomeDog and I showed up we met one or two other dogs. Since people tended to keep a close eye on their dogs I felt comfortable letting Milo enjoy this swimming spot.

German shepherd running along the shore of a lake.

Just a dog and his ball at the beach.

Although when one woman did show up with five kids and two big dogs, Milo and I beat a quick retreat. That just seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. Overall though, Milo spent enough time swimming to tucker him out, which is really the point.

German shepherd trotting along the shore of a lake.

Milo enjoying Grundy Lake.

On the road with Milo

looking for a philosophy of people and dogs

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