Last weekend my husband and I headed off to Buckhorn Lake area in the Kawarthas for a short much-needed holiday. Well, perhaps I should speak for myself as needing the holiday. As much as my other half resists packing and leaves it to the last minute, I believe he enjoyed the time away.

 

 

Our GPS took us a lot of back roads once we got off the busy 401 and through a city. It seems as though the workings of the GPS are quite creative in passing by small towns and communities along the way, but I took each turn as it came and only overshot an exit twice in the whole route. On a country road, it’s usually pretty easy to turn around and get back on the path. We took a few stops along the way of what turned out to be a four-hour drive with stopped-up traffic on the big highway—one for food and stretch break and the second to ease some tight muscles in my leg.  Here’s a picture from one of our stops when we were at  about the three-quarter mark.

 

 

And then our arrival at Grandview Resort where family members anticipated our arrival. We got the tour and saw the room where we’d be sleeping. It’s a fine-looking trailer inside and the deck space, built by our son-in-law and his father, that extends the living area in the daytime.  One of the especially nice things about this park is its  commitment to being a clean and well-kept park, one that families can enjoy with a curfew at night so all are respectful of each other. Our family members have friends nearby with small children so they have playmates to spend some time with.

 

 

 

 

We had supper, cooked on the grill, and sat outdoors to eat. No bugs yet.  Then were off to the playground for the children to run off some energy before bedtime.

 

 

 

And the ducks played on the water too.

 

 

 

And of course the big kids—young adults— played badminton or tennis nearby.

 

There’s a marina on the lake for those who have boats …

 

 

And you might think there’s a golf course around here, but you would be mistaken. People ride around on the carts and car and truck traffic is lighter because of it. The park is quite large and the owners, wanting to be mindful of the environment, insist on electric carts. The mindfulness extends to recycle bins for each trailer and a station to drop off garbage and recycling.

 

 

 

And what is camping without a campfire? We did struggle to keep the insects—mosquitoes—from feasting on us, and that’s even with using repellant.

 

We made a new version of s’mores with the tiny cones that one uses for ice cream cones, rather than the graham crackers. Wrapped in foil and laid near the heat of the fire, it made a small yummy treat. The idea came from one of our daughter’s friends who visited the weekend before.

 

Early campfire for the children one evening before bedtime.

 

 

And what is a holiday for except to check out the local places.  We drove into Buckhorn and stopped at the favourite ice cream stop. After washing sticky fingers and faces, we watched a boat go through  a lock before going on its way into the next lake.

 

 

And a photo by the Buck statue that gives Buckhorn its name.

 

 

Even a golf cart has some protection from the rain. We did get a ride on one and a tour of the park. Perhaps a future purchase?

 

A picnic with our daughter and son-in-law’s friends wrapped up a good weekend with only rain in the late evenings.

 

 

Watch for Part Two of our holidays– a day at Lang Pioneer Village

 

Photos by C. Wilker, L. Wilker or a family member.