Before the summer started, Sara and I actually got organized for a change (might have helped that I wasn't constantly traveling!) and reserved some camping weekends. One of the weekends/campgrounds we reserved was at Samuel de Champlain, the girls were going to be camping with their grandparents and cousins for the week, and we would go up and spend the weekend with them (and yes, the week at home alone was nice). Samuel de Champlain is a very nice campground, covered it last year so won't go into too many details other than to say - it's great one of the better ones, but at just over 3 hours away - it's not great for a weekend getaway. The girls loved being able to camp with grandpa and grandma though and they called in the middle of the week to say they had seen umpteen turtles, loads of frogs, a loon and her baby, river otters, great blue herons... on one canoe trip! Was a nice weekend for us - other than all the rain, but that's the way it's been this summer.

If you're wondering what to do this father's day, other than relax a lot... there are a few things that you could do with those kids that made you the good dad you are!

My girls have always loved to go camping. There's just something about camping and being in the great outdoors that keeps people back. I love the smell of the air, the sounds of the trees, the picturesque lakes and being able to leave it all behind and just relax.
Even when we were living in the U.S - where it was hot and muggy - we tried to go camping. That experience was a bit of a disaster. Emma was just a baby and Meghan at 2, it wasn't easy, but the heat was unbearable. We spent more time in the air conditioned van than anywhere else. Worst of all must have been those deafening cricket sounds at night. After that experience, we gave up on camping in Virginia - and went back home to camp in the summers.

Fitzroy Provincial Park
This summer we went camping a few times. Our first trip was to Fitzroy Provincial Park, about 30 mins from Ottawa. The whole family went, but it was a bit of a short trip. This summer was not the best in June and July - raining soooo much, and this week wasn't any different. We were tenting, and everything got soaked. Not only was it wet, but it was muggy and when the afternoon's rolled-around the bugs came a calling... We found out there was supposed to be huge storm rolling in later that day - so we decided to pack it in, better luck next time.

Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park
The following weekend, I took Meghan and Emma to go camping with Grandpa and Grandma at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park. I stayed for the weekend, and they got to stay out for the week. It wasn't a long stay for me with them, but we packed in the activities.
We had a great site, one we've stayed at before - nice and close to the beach and a playground. And it's a great beach. Water is nice and warm for swimming, and the beach is great for making sandcastles. Just off to the side of the beach there are some marshes, and the girls will wander around - hoping to find some frogs to catch!

Tents vs Trailers
The girls got to stay in the trailer, while I tented. Tents are for the purists - but not the most comfortable or dry - especially if it gets wet outside. Trailers are kind of like a mobile cottage, they have many comforts of home, but you get to live out in the forest. It all depends what you like, and what you can afford ;-)

Campfires
At night, the girls are always hoping for a campfire. There's nothing quite like watching a fire. The flames flickering and dancing - I guess that's why people keep putting fireplaces in their homes. The girls get into their PJ's (to cover up from the bugs!) and cozy up to a nice fire, and then wait for the marshmallows! They like them roasted with a nice and golden brown outside, so you have to wait for the fire to burn down to get those red hot coals, perfect for marshmallows. Another campfire treat is pie iron pizza's. They're basically iron skillets on sticks that you put right down in the coals to cook. You put a piece of bread on either side, and whatever you want inside, then close it up and into the fire it goes. It toasts up so nice and hot - it's the original pizza pocket! mmmm...Tasty.

Rafting
The next day was going to get really hot, so we decided to go rafting down the river. The Mattawa River at the campground has a great set of rapids to run down, and with all the rain we had had, the river was running high and fast - perfect conditions for rafting. My parents had bought a couple of rubber dingy's for that very purpose, so we got them all blown up, put on our lifejackets and headed out. Grandpa and Emma started down the river, Meghan and I tried to follow - but ran into a big rock right off the bat! The dingy popped and we quickly sank into the river. Luckily, it was only meters from our start point, so we headed back to the car to get the air mattress - and it was great for shooting the rapids. The river was warm, and the sun was hot as we slowly glided down the river. It was so relaxing between the rapids, I could have napped. The rapids were fast and high, splashing and bouncing us all over the place, but we managed to stay on. At the end, we jumped out of the river and ran back part way to do it all over again. Meghan and Emma absolutely loved it.
Canoeing
No camping trip is complete without going canoeing. I pratically grew up in a canoe while camping, and it was the highlight for me to go out and catch frogs. We didn't have any luck finding frogs this trip, but got up close and personal with some turtles and had a unparalleled experience with a mother loon and her baby.
Paddling in the marshes and through the fallen waterlogged trees, we saw a number of turtles out sunning themselves. We were able to sneak in and get a better look at a few, but they'd dive in as we got closer. One though, decided that he didn't want to get out of the sun and Emma decided that she wanted to try to touch his shell. We got up against the edge of the tree, she reached way out and was able to pet him a few times. Of course, he got tired of it after a bit and jumped back in the water starttling Emma a bit - but she was happy to have been able to get that close.



Following that encounter, we saw a few loons out in the middle of the lake and decided to go in for a close-up. Loons are a water bird with an , and rarely can you get very close to them with scaring them off. This trip however, a mother bird was out with her baby, and couldn't exactly take off. We were able to get within a meter of them - with the video camera on! She called out with that haunting loon voice as we approached, to ward us off. I was a little worried when we got so close that the mother would attack us. We finally gave way, and veered off - but it's something I'll never forget and hope the girls will always remember.


It's something no Canadian, or visitor to Canada should ever miss the opportunity to try. Camping has even caught on with the new Canadians, who seemed to have embraced it. I was almost surprised to see so many multi-cultural campers, but I suppose it's very different - the great outdoors, from the busy, bustling cities of where they came from... I know - I've been to some of those places, where the people are shoulder to shoulder, loud and pushy - it's no wonder they like it!