Camping in Killbear Park

The boys on Bros Rock trying to feed - or target - a chipmunk.
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Can't believe we have only been away for 10 days, it feels like ages already! We are now at our 3rd destination, camping at Killbear Provincial Park in Ontario. The autumn sunshine has been constant - mid 20s and clear blue skies - so we have been taking in the full 'fall' experience. Adam and Amy, our friends from Toronto, have lent us an assortment of camping equipment begged and borrowed from their families, so we don't look as amateur as we really are at the whole outdoor thing.

The site is idyllic, in a woodland grove right next to the lake's yellow sand beach, and scattered with huge smooth rocks which the boys have loved clambering over (they named the largest one "Bros Rock" which anyone who remembers  the band would have to disagree with..). The campsite is underpopulated at this time of year so we're mainly sharing with older retired people in massive trailers (and a good line in astroturf rugs and gas barbeques). They took a few days to warm up to us but now seem very friendly.

better than awesome

Blissful beach - and empty!
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After all the exotic squirrels in Toronto it was nice to see a small red squirrel living in one of the nearby trees, regularly chasing off the chipmunks who pepper the place. The wildlife seems pretty wild to me (used to having some glass between me and them) - last night we spotted by torchlight a big podgy racoon waddling round our picnic table - we've been warned about foraging animals (including black bears) so all food is safely locked in the car boot.

We have settled down to a routine with the boys education -after a few tries we realised that they do best when taught individually (can't imagine where they get their competitive natures from) so we're doing one-to-one with a parent teaching english or maths and then swapping. The class rooms are picnic tables under the trees in sight of the lake which is a beautiful environment - if it had tipped down all week I can only imagine the hell it would have been...

Our camp, with Jont keeping up to date on his travel journal.
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The boys of course are most excited about the food here. This will predictably be the theme for the whole year I'd guess. Roasting marshmallows over the campfire after supper is a big highlight. Archie has declared that the packet mix 4-cheese spaghetti we had with sausage for dinner tonight was "better than awesome" which speaks volumes about his vocabulary AND palate. Dear god.