Owen Sound

Today brought back memories of my first days on the road in Front Royal, Virginia at the front door of the Blue Ridge Parkway when I encountered a Campground located behind a farmyard and pasture.  There were no Texas gates to rumble across this time or cattle to dodge as I drove through a barnyard to reach the Owen Sound KOA but there definitely were cows behind the fence.  To find a modern campground in this pastoral setting was all the more remarkable.  Even more gratifying was to discover that this well equipped park was much cheaper than the one I stayed at last night.  Especially gratifying to find a KOA that is remote from any traffic noise, truly a rarity.  It even affords direct access to the Bruce Trail in its backyard. 

 

I had forgotten just how dull the drive along Highway 6 from Tobermory to Wiarton is.  It is paved however and the majority of the county roads are not.  Alas, even the coastal roads on either side of the peninsula fail to afford much of interest as the majority of the coastline is in private ownership and inaccessible with only rare exceptions.  To truly enjoy the Bruce Peninsula requires one to visit the National Park, one of the many resorts or hike the Bruce Trail. 

 

Saturday was a beautiful day and I'd have dearly loved to have been out and about but after just over a month it was time to do laundry and I didn't much relish lugging newly dried clothes around in the rain.  At least here I had access to enough machines to do it all at once.  Pity the machines didn't work better.  Now my RV looks like a Chinese Laundry but at least I managed to get my bed made up last night. 

 

Awoke this morning to the patter of rain on my roof.  If I want a shower all I really need to do is go outside.  Yesterday there were children making a ruckus splashing about in the pool but it won't look nearly as inviting today.  Aside from the rain it's rather cool outside.  Alas Monday's forecast is even worse. 

 

I must pass on kudos for the Owen Sound IGA's cheese and cherry bread—expensive but good.  Every time one attempts to go shopping in a new town there is always the excitement of learning what local delights await one somewhat balancing out he challenge of finding the things on one's shopping list in yet another new store.  This one, bearing the name Foodland seemed to be well stocked though not always with the container size I'd have preferred.  I'll wait until I find a larger-sized bottle of wine vinegar  but I'm still bemused at what anyone would do with a gallon-sized container of ketchup.  Somehow it doesn't say much for the culinary taste's of the neighbourhood that there would be call for an entire bottom shelf display of it.  I was surprised to find Guinness Cheddar. 

 

The opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway led to a steep decline in business at the port of Owen Sound and nearby Collingwood with its shipyard—the latter unique in that it launched its new ships sideways.  Grain and iron ore that once passed through these harbours could now make it all the way to Thunder Bay and the loss of that trade put hundreds out of work.  The Owen Sound General and Marine Hospital is unique in that it has an alcohol treatment unit directly attached to it.  Matters were sufficiently serious that the city was 'dry' until the early 70ies. 

 

Not that it's likely to do any good but in this time of high-fuel prices and the desire to cut down on fuel consumption I have a suggestion for every municipality that institutes speed zones on major highways that pass through their communities.  In the first place make them visible if you want them observed—I couldn't find the one for Mar until I reached the resume speed sign that indicated there should have been one somewhere.  If you want traffic to slow down from 80 or 90 kmh to 50 please place the signs announcing the change sufficiently far in advance of the speed zone to allow drivers to take their feet off the gas and coast to the new speed without jamming on the breaks—saves on the breaks and definitely saves fuel.  Also allows truckers to reduce speed without the need for those dreaded engine breaks.  Mind you the steep hill leading down into Wiarton forces everyone to apply the breaks.