Ontario Summer

Started out from a really soggy Port Huron Campground after many inches of rain last night. Detroit isn’t far away and they got 6″ of rain overnight. While it was bright and sunny on departing the campground, as soon as we cleared customs the clouds rolled in and the temperature went into free fall.

Don’t they get summer in Ontario, or did we miss it?

Wednesday 13th August 2014

Port Huron Michigan to Cookstown Ontario

Temps – almost freezing, max of 17C

Weather – dull and overcast from arrival Canada

Wind – Fresh SW to W’ly

Cloxs – no change (Z-4)

Distance today – 254 miles

Total Distance – 3,084 miles

Navigation

This could have been another easy day for Judi the Ace Navigator with only 2 roads and 200 miles, but we decided to take a side trip and then left the 401 onto local roads, as the motorway resembled a parking lot.

Departure Port Huron

What initially looked like a challenging departure turned out to be much easier. We had a tree at the front of the site, on each side, with about 2′ feet to spare. Also had about 63′ clear ahead of the trees, so managed to pull straight out then cut hard, missing the trees by about 3′. This was followed by a tight corner made worse by parked cars.

Detailed Voyage to Cookstown KOA

While researching our route I noticed St Thomas and Aylmer were close to the most direct route. As Judi was born in the former and lived in the later for about 2 years, I thought she might be interested in seeing them – so started the first detour. We then talked to another redwood owner, who operates the forum and agreed to meet up for a spot of tea and a chat. He lives in Tillsonburg, which is on the same road as St Thomas and Aylmer.

We didn’t see the hospital, which probably isn’t the original one Judi was born in; St Thomas is an older town, but clean and well kept. A large sign at the outskirts mentioned a railway museum, so definitely worth a return visit in the future. Aylmer is very rural, but no sign of the Air Base or base housing. We subsequently learned the base is long since gone.

Then it was off to Tillsonburg to find the Canadian Tire parking lot to meet the chap that operates the redwood forum. Judi and I joined him and his wife for a nice cup of tea and general discussion about Redwood. Really nice people.

After a couple of hours we had to get the dogs out and back on the road. Back on Hwy 401 we made good time until the traffic came to a grinding halt and a high speed motorway transformed into a parking lot. In an hour we moved a whole 4 miles – that’s even worse than Vancouver. Judi the Ace Navigator jumps to the rescue and hauls out her trusty atlas. I check the GPS for upcoming exits and Judi found the next exit onto Route # 25, which headed North, or the general direction we needed. Huge celebration – we are actually moving and even in 6th gear. We stayed on the back roads for another 70 miles until reaching the campground.

After a great start to the day, it went downhill rapidly with the cold weather actually requiring the heat turned on in the truck and a serious traffic jam. Oh well, not the best start for Ontario, but it can only get better.