Finally a chance to camp but as it turned out only Sara and I were able to swing it. So while Emma shuffled off to a double-sleepover and mom slunk down to the basement to churn out report cards, Sara and I packed the tent and some grub and zoomed off to Murphys Point Provincial Park.
The weather forecast was sketchy but as it turned out it was more than adequate with the bulk of the rain falling during the night while we were snuggled up in our 3-man tent.
Upon arrival, we set up camp and than walked over to the beach - me with my new comfy chair and Sara with her newly patched rubber dingy. We were only there a few minutes when Sara came walking back with her first watersnake of the season (and first of 4 on this trip). Good catch Sar.
The mosquitoes seemed to come in waves but and mainly around our campsite. No worries though as the park was relatively deserted allowing us to wander down a couple of sites to one with more sun and breeze and far less bugs. The beach was also bug-free thanks to the dive-bombing dragonflies.
The animals kept us busy/entertained. Kato the raccoon (Sara named him) showed no fear as he zoomed in and out of our campsite looking for stray scraps or unattended babies. We scared him up a tree a few times but he would always come back looking for a bite of our yummy "Pete & Gus" sausage. It got a little tense when he walked to within 2 feet of me like he wanted to check my pockets. It was at that moment that Sara decided to yell, "He's got foam around his mouth Dad!". LOL Sara. I thought I couldn't jump any higher until later that evening as I was rummaging for my toothbrush I looked down with my headlamp to see 2 large June bugs crawling up my jacket only inches from my mouth. Now, those things are scary up close!
The other entertainer was Zig-Zag the snapping turtle (I named him) who we managed to save from certain death 3-4 times. The first time we spotted him on the road we stopped and I picked him up and carried him to the side that he appeared to be heading for. Moments later we drove by again that he was - smack in the middle of the road. This time I quickly moved him to the other side. A few laughs later and we found ourselves coming back down the road to find you know who hanging out on the pavement. Ok, enough already. This time as we approached he popped up like a Fred Flinstone car and his little legs just started motoring. It was hilarious. Luckily Sara managed to get it on video with her new iPod. Anyhow, we went to bed that night knowing that we would have made Ranger Rick proud.
