14 - Wild Rose Part 2

The next day was much the same except we walked a little further down the trail in the even warmer sun. We decided to stay for another couple of days because we really liked it there. The German couple bade us farewell but they had mostly kept to themselves while at the campsite. We met a retired couple who were moving their recently-bought trailer, which remained permanently at the campsite, to a better spot. They live in Sault Ste. Marie so it will often be utilised during the summer. Again, they were extremely friendly and interested in our trip. When we told them we weren’t really sure of our route and they suggested that we do the Lake Superior Circle Tour which is a favourite of RVers. We hadn’t thought about it but it seems like a good idea. It would mean that we would get to visit three states in the U.S. while enjoying the wonderful scenery provided by the lake. Unfortunately, it would take us above our 4000km quota and we would have to pay double per kilometre for each one driven over our allowance. Once the mileage is chosen you are not allowed to change it which is obviously a way of the company making extra cash, especially since Canada is so vast.
We would have to research the route a little more before making a decision.
After our walk, Tala was acting a bit strangely, not wanting to sit down and whining a little. She also hadn’t held her tail up for the duration of the walk which is unlike her – when content, a Canaan Dog holds its tail curled over it back. Fred tried to examine her but she yelped every time he touched it. We started to get worried but after thinking hard we eventually attributed it to Fred grooming her the day before. He had paid particular attention to her tail which was still moulting but had used a new brush we had bought in Parry Sound. The bristles are quite sharp and must have scraped her skin. She was feeling extremely sorry for herself. We took for a short walk to the beach to try and lift her spirits. She seemed slightly better but her tail remained down. On the way back to our RV, we walked past the campsite owner’s house and there was a noise behind the door. Tala, on the lead, went to investigate and Vinny, the resident Shetland Sheepdog, appeared from behind it. They had met the day before and Tala liked him; she is a real tart with the men. Unfortunately, the owner’s female Labrador which is usually tied up came flying out of the door like a bullet past Vinny and went straight for Tala’s neck. She took Tala to the ground but Tala managed to wriggle free and turned away getting a nice nip on her backside. Tala swung round and the gentleman who had run out of the door after the dog managed to grab her before Tala could retaliate – she wanted to though and shouted loudly at the other dog! Poor girl was not having a good day.
We went back to the RV and put her in there so she could have a bit of peace. Meanwhile an old beat-up van full of new age hippy types had arrived and set up their tents. The driver had a beautiful primitive-looking dog (dark red, squarely built, a kind of heavier set version of Tala). He told us he had found him in the woods as a pup left tied to a tree
so had rescued him. It was obvious they had a really tight bond.
He had been to a family reunion in Quebec City and was returning to where he lived in Vancouver; a distance of 5500km! He couldn’t afford the petrol on his own so advertised on the internet and ended up with a group of five more people. They looked very free-spirited and one of the females immediately visited the shore of Superior to do some yoga.
We didn’t have as much wood as the night before but the few logs we had were quite big. Fred started the fire before nightfall at about 7.00pm and I wondered why he had because I didn’t think it would last into the darkness. It turns out that the massive logs took forever to burn and we were up to almost midnight just waiting for them to die out! The campsite owner joined us for a while and told us some stories of her canoeing days where she undertook long and arduous journeys to go moose hunting, carrying packs weighing in excess of 50kg full of heavy camping equipment and tinned foods! Each expedition, she said, they learnt a bit more about what to take and what not to take. She also told us a lot about visitors to the site all with their own unique stories. A young guy, in his early twenties, had
arrived late the night before on a bicycle and slept overnight in his tent. We had noticed the tent and briefly saw the lad but he was gone again early in the morning. She told us he had cycled from Nova Scotia, in the north east of Canada, and was on his way to British Columbia, in the west of Canada. What a feat!
We also talked about how our perspective relating to distance had altered dramatically since arriving in Canada. If a town was 50 or 60kms away, we felt that it was quite close. The closest town to Wild Rose takes about one hour to reach and the campsite owner told us that she is very organised and when visiting the town, she knows exactly what she needs for the next few weeks in case she doesn’t go there again for a while.
Finally and thankfully we got into our beds shortly after midnight and quickly fell asleep.
Our last day at Wild Rose, we followed the same routine and ate our last lunch at the Voyageurs’ Cookhouse. I had a fantastic beef broth and chicken roll and Fred had the usual burger, albeit a slight variation, and a mountain of chips.
The hippies that had arrived the night before left to continue their long journey to the west and we were once again the only visitors at the park.
We drove to the general store, literally 30 metres from our hook-up, so we could connect to their wireless network in the warmth of the van. Fred left me surfing and catching up with emails while he used the store’s phone and called the Algonquin Reservations to book our campsites for a 13 day trip around the park, our first night to be the 16th May. A little closer to canoeing an Ontario Park, we began to get excited.
In the evening we took a nice walk along the shore for the last time and went to bed without having a fire because we had run out of wood.