A little rain never hurt anyone!

After a coffee I decided to hit the trail again before we left this fabulous place. It was so peaceful walking through the woods and along the lake so early in the morning. The clouds were low and shaped like waves or mountain ranges in the sky but I wasn't worried about rain. Maybe I should have been though, just as I reached the same point that I had gotten to last night the sky opened up and down poured. I was drenched within minutes with water actually pouring off of my arms and face. I was still happy though and had a great view of the lightning storm that was making its way across the sky. It reminded me of hiking on the Appalachian trail where it rained more days than it didn't. There was nothing I could do about it and I was already soaked so I might as well enjoy my hike back. The great thing about rain is the bugs all disappear so I got to enjoy the whole way back without a single bite! Mosquitoes love me so that is a big deal! Back at the bus I left my puddles in the doorway changed into dry clothes and looked at the map. Where to next? We had so many options! We could head over to the Mono Cliffs or Boyne Valley Provincial Park or to Earl Rowe Provincial Park. We decided on Earl Rowe and made our way there. It looked beautiful as we drove in and went straight to the day use area. On first sight it looked like a lake with islands and a nice beach surrounded by a manicured lawn littered with picnic tables and trees. Perfect! We sat and relaxed for a bit before taking the dogs on a tour of the park trails. The beautiful park we were in was just a man made lake that collected nearby town and agricultural runoff and was so contaminated that they had added a huge wading pool for everyone to swim in as the lake wasn't safe. I guess looks really can be deceiving! As we walked along the lake we realized we could actually smell the waste in the water. Ewww! Disgusting! I would have loved to let Melkie off the leash but I was worried he would head straight for the cesspool. As we hiked farther from the water Michael momentarily forgot about the polluted mess and let Cooper off leash only to yell at him moments later as I heard a splash in the swampy water. I have to admit I laughed at his foolishness and when Cooper returned he brought a cloud of bugs with him. Even though Michael rinsed him off our bus has had flies in it ever since. Gross! It was a nice area to hang out in and get a few chores done including having a shower and topping up our water (from a safe water source). We decided to back track a little bit and check out Boyne Valley Provincial Park. This turned out to be another wild goose chase just like yesterday at Forks of Credit but it was a beautiful drive heading toward the escarpment and the horizon was dotted with wind turbines. We joked about pulling up under a turbine for the night and saying it was so hot we needed the giant fan over us to cool off but in the end we decided to check out the town of Shelburne. We drove around looking for the best spot to park for the night and then headed to a local ice cream shop for a treat. Michael didn't bother reading the signs and just started asking questions which led the guy behind the counter to start up a conversation about literacy and the importance of reading. I laughed and suggested the guy make a video that is sure to go viral but I think the last laugh might have been on him. I'm pretty sure I handed him a ten dollar bill but he gave me the change as if I had handed him a twenty. I was about to correct him but realized that maybe I had mistakenly given him a twenty. As we walked out with our ice cream cones in hand I explained what I thought may have just happened to Michael and he just laughed and said " I guess math is important too!" We may or may not have just walked out with free ice cream cones. Anyway we headed over to the spot we had chosen and while setting up for the night a friend sent me a message and it turns out she is staying at a nearby campground. We were going to head over for a visit but I thought that the dogs might not be able to handle a full campground and bark their heads off. We decided to stay put and have a peaceful evening. It was a hard decision though not only were we turning town a campfire with friends but she said she was with someone who had hiked the Appalachian trail last year! Oh well, another time! Good night World!