Come Buy the Point Farms Provincial Park

I figure just for shiggles I'd write this Blog as an ode to Charlie Farquharson.
Point on the Farms. By Robert C Fidler

We woke with the roosters the day we were leaving Inverhuron.  Had a cup of the black stuff and hit the road, rubber side down.  Now the two parks are only 'bout 50 some odd clicks apart so we took the winedy trail closest to the water to get there.  Some people got alot of money stashed along the coast of Huron in the way of cottages and boats and maybe just stashes, but we's was more interested in the water.  Took us to 'bout time for lunch and a nap to get there and right outside Point Farms is a mini-golf -- can't wait.

Well we done go into the park and the oddest thing -- they don't sell burning wood, heck they don't sell lighting wood neither.  They also don't sell ice and I think that dog don't hunt.  Guess who does -- the mini-golf.  So back out we go to get some wood and ice then finally to our site.  We choose a good one, maybe the best one; number 188.  It was big and private, but it did have a downfall -- the fire pit was under the power lines.  Way back in school they used to joke 'bout people living under the power lines glowing like a firefly, but I figured if it was just for a couple of days maybe I just get a glowing personality.  Here's what she looks like.

Getting into some lunch before setting up temporary shelters.

The reason why it be called Point Farms, is dumb simple, it used to be farms.  The government bought them up and opened up the provincial park back in '65.  Once we set up, Bev and I went for a hike then down to the beach.  The beach be something pretty like Inverhuron and a similar hike to get to her, but well worth it.  Take a gander.

There's my gal behind the magical picnic table.  Beach volleyball be included in the deal.

Far as the hikes go there's a few that circle 'round the campground, so I'll do her clockwise and try to be clear.  Ravine Trail (12 min.) from the beach to the group camping road, travels along this little crick where tonnes of birds and other vermin hang out.  Government couldn't kick 'em off the farm.

Grosbeak checking us out.  Figure it must be Germans who named this bird cause I think the beak is not bad looking.

From there you catch the Old Farm Trail (1hr); goes by the ole barn, the grazing fields, orchards, and marsh that used to make up the old farms.  Again flocks of birds, but also different wild apple and pear trees, no vermin (that we saw), butterflies, and a bunch of Carolinian forest varieties.  An easy hike, but good for the britches and a great deal to look at.  Like this.

This ole farm it ain't what it use to be, ain't what it use to be, ain't what it use to be. 

At the end of this one is another called Below the Bluff Trail (8 min.) which takes you just inside the forest, below the bluff, but not yet in the sand dunes. The only real good reason for this trail is to join the other two or if you hate beaches.

"Look the beach gone and ate that picnic table Martha.  Let's go home. I hate beaches."

Sites there be good and bad, the good ones are in Huron #93 and 99 and in Colborne #167, 168, 178, 184, and 188.  All in all this is a good campground 'cause of the beach, but similar to Inverhuron just without the Nuclear Power Plant beside it.  Yeah?

Site Cleanliness:  The rangers did a good job of cleaning it for the start of the season.

Privacy:  Good is good.  Bad is not good.  Lots of not good because it's in a hardwood bush (but it's better than some others).

Hiking and Activities:  There is a ball diamond, thought that was kind of cool.  The hiking is good and bird watching amazing.

Park Class:  I've got to guess this is Historical like the last for the same reasons as the last and I am ... wrong.  Recreational class and I get it because there was much more to do here then at Inverhuron.

Beach Quality or Ease of Getting to the Water:  Not great.  While being on top of a Bluff has it's advantages (less wind, beautiful view, the chance to write bluff) it still took at least 15 minutes to get down the 20 meters to the beach.

Recommended Length of Stay:  I would say easily 3 days; every day you would want some beach time, one could do a small hike every day, mini-golf, and there is a great deal of nature to check out.

Overall Impression:  Bev and I did enjoy our stay at Point Farms.  We spent many hours in the water, couple hours hiking, and we did play mini-golf, which she let me win.  It's a good park, like Inverhuron, but because there are not a lot of totally private sites, and it's a hike to the beach it has to be ranked accordingly.

Rating out of 107:  Just a smidge better than Inverhuron, let's say by 3, so #53 she be.  

Again if you're keeping track:

#2 Algonquin

#3 Quetico

#19 Sandbanks

#21 Neys

#22 Wakami Lake

#23 Nagagamisis

#29 Pancake Bay

#33 Chutes

#53 Point Farms

#56 Inverhuron

#93 Rainbow Falls

#101 Turkey Point

First mushroom of the season.  Bondarzewia Berkeleyi (inedible).

I'll raise your Huron with an Inverhuron Provincial Park

Back when we all thought the Blue Jays had a World Series team the last week of June 2013, Bev and I were out camping for a week along lake Huron.  Our first stop was Inverhuron Provincial Park, just north of Kincardine.  The start of camping season for us is always an exciting time when money is just paper and at that time it still was.  And I can remember back in aught 9 when we still had a penny too, but I digress.  On the way to the park, we found Hoity Toity Cellars on Kings Highway 9 just south of Walkerton, where we decided to stock up on some Ciders to enjoy during our trip (made solely with fruit, I asked -- no water involved, if anybody's watching).

No, I'm not getting paid for this plug.
It was just great ciders with unassuming names like '66 Pick-up' and 'Paint the Shed Red'.

Now for any of you out there without young children, the last week of June is one of the best times of the year for camping. The weather is warm enough for swimming (in the twenties most days), most campgrounds are quiet during the week (with students still in school), the beaches, trails and campsites are pristine (freshly cleaned for the season), fishing is good (not yet spooked by a culling), and the staff are all super friendly and helpful (not jaded by the job yet).  You will miss out on the campground programs, which I get so much information out of, but understandably they are usually geared towards children (For example Flashy feathers and bashful birds talk at Bronte Creek or Invasive species talk at Darlington which I'll talk about in future blogs).

And no, I'm not getting paid for this plug.  View of Bruce Nuclear Plant from the trail at Inverhuron
-- couldn't they just put up a big blue curtain?

And now a short history lesson:  Inverhuron opened in 1956 with 351 campsites and offered families a campground with a beautiful beach, hiking and overnight camping and there was much rejoicing. Yah!  Then in 1970 the province of Ontario decided to place Bruce Nuclear power plant on it's northern border. Why not?  I'm sure some people loved watching the construction in the early days but in 1976 concerns rose about the production of heavy water. Eleven percent denser water means more floating, but don't drink more than 50% of your body weight or you'll shuffle off this mortal coil.  And Inverhuron was reduced to a day use park only.  Boo!  Bruce Nuclear stopped producing heavy water in 1998 when they started using enriched uranium.  Yeah?  And overnight camping resumed in 2005 with 125 campsites.  Whew!  Inverhuron is redeveloping and eventually wants to have 250 campsites, new trails, and an amphitheatre.  By my count only 90 more sites and an amphitheatre to go.

The back exit of our site, right onto the trail.  It's not the beach but you can get your feet wet anytime you want.

The sites at this park are excellent when it comes to privacy, other than the gaping hole to the trail.  One can easily solve this problem by putting a tent up to block any looky-loo's or maybe a curtain.  The best sites at Inverhuron were chosen for privacy and not necessarily because of their proximity to the water since there are no sites right on the beach, but 7 and 72 are really close.  The best sites are #7, 27, 68, 72 (the best), 113, 159, and 169.  Bev and I were both pleased with the site we chose and the beach. And here they are in that order.

Site 159, left side.  Obviously after dishes, as our towel racks are full.

AND NOW...

Site 159, right side.  You'll notice we plugged the hole with our sleeping tent and put up a choke wire for any raiders.

The trail right out of the back of 27 of the campsites leads south to the beach which at most could be a kilometre away.  Not crazy convenient, but not Turkey Point.

The beach at Inverhuron and as an added bonus; a boat launch.

Before this trip, I thought lake Huron would be freezing cold at this time of year and I was happily mistaken.  All along the coast of Huron there are sand dunes and because of that there are mini sand dune/bars in the water.  So you go out the first 20 feet and the water is beautifully warm and probably only 3-4 feet deep, then there is a sand bar, then there's another 20 feet of tepid water about 4-5 feet deep, and then another sand bar, then it's swimming time in cool to frigid cold water.  And I guess that's how sand dunes work.  The single hike the campground offers, Scenic Drive Trail (4km) was an easy hike that goes the full distance of the park and could be done by mountain bike if you're into that sort of thing.  As a side note, this was the first time I saw a Yellow Lady's Slipper wild orchid and it made me smile because I have killed/given up on so many orchids in the last few years.

Obviously if this one can live here I'm doing something wrong at home.

All in all this was a good start to the trip.

Site Cleanliness:  Excellent.  This maybe because it was the start of the season, but it still was way above average.

Privacy:  All the sites are trying to be private, but some are succeeding more than others.  There are also a lot of pull through sites which to me was curious.

Hiking and Activities:  Beach and a hike is a little sub-par, but they are trying to improve this with more hikes -- coming soon.

Park Class:  I have to guess historical (because there's not enough recreation, wilderness, area for nature reserve or natural environment, and there isn't a waterway) and the answer is... historical.  There is proof that this area has been used for 4500 years for fishing and hunting by First Nations peoples.

Beach Quality or Ease of Getting to the Water:  Beach quality is very good, but ease to get to the water falls on the poor side.

Recommended Length of Stay:  I'm going to be kind and say 3 days, 2 nights.  If you bring a boat and want to fish then it could be much longer.  I think this is a great relaxation park, but I can't wait to see it in a couple of years.

Overall Impression: Good, but meh.  But hey, it's only been reopened for 8 years.

Rating out of 107:  As much as I'm trying to be nice to Inverhuron it's still has to fall in the 50's so let's give it #56 for the year it opened in all it's glory and hope that it can get back there, so when we are doing MacGregor Point we can pop in for a surprise visit.

Again if you're keeping track:

#2 Algonquin

#3 Quetico

#19 Sandbanks

#21 Neys

#22 Wakami Lake

#23 Nagagamisis

#29 Pancake Bay

#33 Chutes

#56 Inverhuron

#93 Rainbow Falls

#101 Turkey Point

Trying to get a tan, while reading Bob Newhart's autobiography (Thanks Jason Enberg) and carrying around a baby squirrel on my chest.  He was just interested in the nuts.

Quetico Provincial Park : A Hermit's Haven, A Canoeist's Cornucopia and A Wild Mushroom Wonderland

Welcome to Quetico Provincial Park, the Algonquin of the north (or Algonquin is the Quetico of the South) and the park you should plan for.  In this trip, Beverley and I planned to stay for 3 nights and that wasn’t enough, period, dot the i and cross the e, because the t is already a cross.  Similar to Algonquin you could spend a lifetime exploring this park, but if you only have three days – you shouldn’t only have three days.  When we arrived early September 2013, there were more cars parked in the canoe launch than there were in the rest of the park and that is because Quetico is a canoeist’s paradise.  "We spent three days, living in a canoeist paradise," thanks Coolio.  Lake upon beautiful lake abound in this northern park and the fishing, I hazard to say, is better than Algonquin, just not for us.

Why didn't we get a canoe?  Oh Yeah 3 days.

Our site was the best in the park (always a good first step, #11 in Chippewa) and nightly we went to bed listening to the water and the lovely loons. All of the sites next to the water in Chippewa Campground have a private canoe launch, where you can tie up for the night or tie one on as the canoeists say.  Everyone talks about the fishing here, but because we didn’t have a canoe all we caught were a couple of babies close to shore.

From Left to Right: Tyler Whale, Robert Fidler, Korb Whale, and Derek Fidler.
Looks like Tyler has been out of the water for too long and Korb looks exactly the same 38 years later.

If you want to hike, the trans-Canada trail travels over 90 km south through this park to the U.S. border, but there are also four family friendly hikes you could do straight from the campsites. I promise not to talk too much about mushrooms, but I can’t guarantee anything.  Teaching Trail (3.4 km) was the first of the three hikes we attacked during our stay and here was the first time I have found Chanterelles (Cinibar Chanterelle).  Bright orange, they stick out in the forest like a hermit relieving themselves.

Cinibar Chanterelle; cook with butter and salt and pepper, sweet, earthy and solid.

O.k. not about mushrooms.  This moderate hike was a length and a loop following the water and joining the two campgrounds. Gorgeously overgrown forest and abundant wildlife surround this trail. 

Quetico, Quetico, Quetico, it's the campground for me.
Mushroom hiking or fishing or just beating Beverley (in Cards).
Can you guess the song? Answer at the end of the Blog.

Second the Whiskey Jack Nature Trail (1.7 km) is a partially boardwalked trail that takes you through marsh, rock and forest.  Again a moderate trail it is a bird, blueberry, and mushroom cornucopia.  

Now Beverley and I originally wanted to do some back-country camping but it would have meant a 5km hike on The Pines Hike in and out with all of our gear.  I’m glad we chose to forgo it, but we did hike in to the first backcountry site to see what we were missing.  We found more boletes than two people would ever be able to eat. There were easily 30 different varieties of mushrooms along the trail, we literally stopped every two minutes to check out a different variety.

Strap Shaped Coral Mushrooms getting ready to attack.  Fun Fact under each of these mushrooms is a worm trying to escape.  (Inedible)

Wait, STOP! Remember no mushroom talk.  The backcountry campsite was as nice as we’ve seen since Algonquin.

The spacious back country site with seating and a fire pit.  Washroom? -- dig a hole.

And we found this extremely strange mushroom;

A Blue Tooth Hydnellum Caeruleum,  I put my ear next to this mushroom and I swear my computer was talking to me.

(inedible)

YOU PROMISED.  NOW, SHUT-UP ABOUT THE BLASTED MUSHROOMS ALREADY!

Then we found the private beach.

Life styles of the rich and famous camper... where's Robin Leach when you need him?

The third hike we did is simply called Boardwalk (1.6 km).  It was a really easy length and loop hike following the Pickerel River from the day use beach to the information pavilion. There were quotes about nature all along the Boardwalk mostly from naturalists and First Nations sources, that I found really cool.  And we found Studded Puffballs!  Smaller than the giant puffballs of southern Ontario in my opinion they are similarly bland.

Edible, but only great when soaked in butter.

Man I think I have a problem with mushrooms.  The last hike was The French Falls Hike (6.8 km) a meandering stroll with a wide path, a beaver dam in the middle and a falls at the end.  Mr. and Mrs. Beaver (I assume) swam around their pond as if we were not even there.

It felt like a real Hinterlands Who's Who.

The falls were water descending over rocks and a fine destination but the highlight of the hike I really shouldn't mention. Here's what the falls looked like.

I wonder what make these falls French?  Maybe the river just wanted another crossed e?

Ah screw it -- There were Bolete's over 20 cm's tall and at least that wide. The slugs had gotten to them so we only took a couple, but I'd never seen them that big before. Fun Fact: Bolete's are any mushroom that has a sponge like underside and all of them are edible in Ontario apart from one that will turn black within minutes after its cut. This one is an orange Bolete.

I don't blame you if you've quit reading the mushroom Blog.

Quetico turned 100 years old the year we visited and was originally formed to save waining moose populations from being shot for food.  It is a gem, it is a jewel, and it is a place I recommend everyone to visit -- Newfoundland first, Quetico second.

On our last night, a couple pulled in just before dark and the rain and in true Beverley form she invited them over to our site to hang out.  Well, before I knew it we were playing euchre with our new friends, Robin and Louis, until it was past the time to sleep.  Camping is such that it is soo easy to make new friends, then it's just up to you to keep the friendship going.

Beverley showing off the fives she never got to use when Robin and I skunked them.
Bev wants me to add that they lost every single game of euchre and crib and she blames Louis.

The best sites at Quetico are in Ojibwa campground 55, 56, 79, 80, and 100 are the best, 50-54 and 90,92, 94, 96, and 98 are all beautiful, but very wide open.  At Chippewa campground 11e*, 13-16 and 21 are best but everything by the water is great, but not as private.  Here's our site.

A car park above your site.

Then...

Down the stairs to the eating and sleeping tents (yes we have an eating tent). 

And once you're set up with a fire going...

The view from the fire. It doesn't get better than this.

Site Cleanliness: Perfect.  It really doesn't get better than this.

Privacy: We could barely see one site before we set up, but after setting up the tent it was just us and the lake.

Hiking and Activities: If you had unlimited time you would have unlimited hikes.  They actually have a "Birds of Quetico" book you can get from the park office so you could go on a bird treasure hunt throughout the park.  There was also a mushroom program they held right before we got there -- darn.

Park Class:  This is a wilderness park -- of course.  But I also thought it could be a nature reserve and a natural environment park.

Beach Quality or Ease of Getting to the Water: Beach.  There is one for the regular campers and it's o.k., but the one at the back country site was amazing.  Ease of getting to the water was excellent, but not necessarily for swimming, even though Beverley did.

Recommended Length of Stay:  Two weeks is my recommendation because I don't think most people will get here more than once in their lifetime.  There are canoe trips lasting 30 days, fishing for at least two weeks, hiking for a week and relaxing forever.

Overall Impression: I love Quetico, it's just how long it takes to get there.  If only it was in Oakville I'd be there every weekend.

Rating out of 107: #3 for Jason Hannley and because I want to keep my options open.  Jason Hannley is a friend of mine who loved the number three and because I think that this park has everything in three's.  1. Oh Lord this is beautiful.  2. Thank Jesus this is in Canada.  3. And if only the ghosts of this place could tell you a story.

Again if you're keeping track:

#2 Algonquin

#3 Quetico

#19 Sandbanks

#21 Neys

#22 Wakami Lake

#23 Nagagamisis

#29 Pancake Bay

#33 Chutes

#93 Rainbow Falls

#101 Turkey Point

The answer is "Finland" by Monty Python.

Yeah!