Presqu'ile ... Farran ... Sandbanks

Or, if you prefer ... 

"A Small Selection of Autumn Camping Sites for Anti-Social Old Grumps Like Us"

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Presqu'ile Provincial Park 

This is a wonderful park ... for easy walks, hikes and bikes. At this time of year it's much quieter, 'car-camping' becomes more appealing, there are fewer people, many visitors are birders or naturalists, all the local critters are preparing or gathering for winter. 

Not all sites would suit our camping style; regardless of the season. However, we scored a very private campsite with decent solar exposure, in the forested, un-serviced area and because we're in a 'dry' camping area; didn't have a single, nearby neighbour our complete stay.

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Some of our photography while here ... 

It takes years to build character ... 

Sphynx Moth 

Merlin 

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Farran Park Campground

We stayed here  ... in September, on our way to the east coast. We consider this to be, a premium site; it's unserviced, partly shaded with full solar exposure if needed, large, private (only 1 neighbour), and well away from the main campground. No neighbours our last or this stay!!

Bonus! ... our oldest friend dropped by for dinner on our second day.

The wild asters were blooming in the large open fields to either side of our site.

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Campfire rebuild and a Dutch oven dinner ...

Original: This was the condition of the firepit when we first camped here in September.

Rebuild 1: I dug it out and cleaned out all the old garbage and scattered the cold, wet ash into the surrounding bush. I added a lot of new rock and exposed the front for easier wood loading for cooking; our primary use for wood fire.

Rebuild 2: We use a woodfire primarily for cooking; burning wood for bonfire heat is not something we do unless necessary.

Air vent

Show rocks, flat stones for irons and grill.

I added even more rock from the nearby shoreline, added an air vent opening and some large show rocks at the water side, a couple of large, flat stones near the wall ends to support cooking irons and a grill, formed a secondary cooking area (primarily for dutch oven cooking) on the right side with flat stones near the ground and a rock post with pedestal. I also felt this rebuild deserved one of our 'CTCO Refurbished Campfire' signs. 😁

 

Two old firends telling lies.

10" dia. aluminum Dutch oven (placed on trivet), 5 briquets on the bottom, 15 on the top, cover with asbestos hood, bake for 45 minutes.

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Met Jackie & Dan, a couple of Journeymakers; on our last day here. We leant our battery booster and brewed a couple of cups of coffee; they passed along some freshly caught bass and a recipe ... what could be better?

The geese appeared to always congregate within this zone of brighter water couration. I believe it may indicate a shallower channel and an abundance of food.

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Lost Villages

The Lost Villages of Mille Roches, Moulinette, Wales, Dickinson’s Landing, Farran’s Point, and Aultsville; the hamlets of Maple Grove, Santa Cruz and Woodlands; and the farming community of Sheik’s/Sheek’s Island, were not lost through carelessness, they were disposed of  with Government approval “for the common good”. Over 6500 people were displaced in the name of progress for the sake of the St. Lawrence Seaway and International Hydro Electric project. Casualties of progress, the villages and hamlets disappeared beneath the waters of the newly created Lake St. Lawrence, but they stayed alive in the memories of their former residents.

A nearby museum ... unfortunately, when we visited; seasonal staff had left and the buildings were not open. Nevertheless, here are are a few photos of our walk-about ... we'll just have to return.

The Corn Crib, built circa 1860, was not from one of the lost villages.  It was originally on the J. Fulton farm, Lot 37, Concession 5, Township of Cornwall, which was just north of Moulinette. It is typical of corn cribs of the period and is constructed from sawn planks over a frame of hewn and rough timber. It has a steep-pitched roof and slanted sides, which allowed the rain to run off away from the building, keeping the corn dry. The original cedar roof was replaced with a tin roof many years ago. There are vertical ventilation openings on the side walls to allow air to circulate in order to dry the corn. Corn cribs in the past would have been placed on stilts to ventilate the building. The stilts would have been covered in tin or a tin plate and would have been attached to the top, preventing mice from entering and eating the farmer’s crop. 

Peeking in ... 

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Sandbanks Provincial Park

Our first stay here  ... we've lived nearby for nearly 8 years and it's less than a 25 km drive ! We're on site 319 in Cedar Campground; it's rated as average privacy. We only have one neighbour visble to us, the area is quiet at this time of year, the rear of our site is bermed and provides some noise protection from a nearby secondary road. We also have a short trail adjacent to the site which crosses over to the dunes and beach. The site was relatively tidy when we arrived; I cleaned the firepit of excess ash and raked the area around, picked up a minimal amount of burnable debris, found 1 fork & 1 spoon to add to our utensils tray and added some unburnt wood left by the previous campers to our stockpile for the next couple of days. Solar exposure is decent and the site is level.

A short trail, follows a berm (ancient dune?) at the rear of the campsite. A short walk leads to one of the beaches here with good views of Lake Ontario. At this time of year the beaches are very quiet.

Dune rehabilitation barricades can be seen at the forest edge along the upper right corner of this photo. I believe the snow fence barricade is in place to separate swimmers and sunbathers and also allow maintenance crews or lifeguards unobstructed access the length of this beach. Sandbanks beaches are often at capacity during high season and every square inch is often covered.

The END

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                                                      Not US, but could be one day soon.😁                                                  

We're LOAFin Around ... follow along if you'd like; content is ours, unless noted.

Click on Trip 167 for all photography for this trip.

Cameras:     1. iPhone 16 Pro Max

                        2. Nikon DSLR P1000

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