Sanctuary

It's a place you feel safe. That is indeed how I feel when I climb into bed in our van when camping. Safe. I close the sliding side door and kind of sigh, shutting out the noisy nearby campers, the smoky campfires, the rain, the bugs, and the bears...
(see our blog postings from last summer re building a bed in the van: Ron's and mine)
Last year when we camped in grizzly country it was nice to get up close to a grizzly during the day yet not worry about them being around while sleeping.

Grizzly - Click for larger

But sleeping in the van is actually more than sanctuary to me. It is cozy. And warm. Somehow that double air mattress advertised as queen-sized actually feels more spacious and comfortable with the two of us in it than most motels’ double beds that are really physically wider. In a motel we are closed off from the outside world. We can't see a moose walk past;

Moose - Click for larger

tell when the light is good; or, if it is our van's alarm going off. But inside the van its tinted windows offer great 360-degree views of our surroundings. And we see lots of beautiful views in our travels.

Tombstone Viewpoint - Click for larger

Sure sleeping in the van has some drawbacks. I still can't get dressed standing up; I still have to go outside to walk to the dining tent or the bathroom; the windows need to be open a little for ventilation; and so we have to attach screens. If it is raining we either need to close the windows or put up a tarp covering them. Yet still we would rather sleep in our van if there is a nice scene or something else we want to photograph nearby.

Piping Plover - Click for larger

Already on our travels this year we've seen some beautiful scenery. In Gros Morne National Park the Long Range Mountains, The Tablelands, the forests, the bays on the Atlantic and inland freshwater fjords and ponds (lakes to us from ‘away’) all make for stunning vistas.

The Tablelands - Click for larger

We camped quite comfortably for a couple of days at Lomond with views of the mountains across Bonne Bay. The weather was sunny and pleasant on the first day. The second day was cloudy and muggy and not great for photographing scenery. About 9:30 in the evening it started to lightly rain - no problem we had a brand new tarp that we hung over the van that was so big we could stand outside the doors and not get wet. The rain became heavier but still we stayed dry and cozy in our van. As dawn approached a little after 4am the wind picked up and the occasional big gust violently whipped the tarp around on its ropes startling us in and out of sleep. At 6:30 another angry gust tore the grommet right off one corner of the tarp and broke a peg holding down another. That's when we knew it was time to get up and take it down before the wind blew the tarp or our dining tent away. The winds can be fierce in Newfoundland! So we moved on. Unfortunately there isn’t always a campground near where we want to be. Or like today not only is it raining but the temperature has dropped so low that would make hanging out in the dining tent during the day quite miserable. So we found a motel and hunkered down for a couple of days. Our bodies never quite appreciate motel beds though – they always are either too soft or too hard. The air mattress in the van? It’s always just right!

Iceberg Alley - Click for larger

Poor Man's RV

I haven't been sleeping well lately. Maybe it was the recent full moon. Or maybe I have simply been overwhelmed with the preparations for our upcoming photo journey - after all it is going to be a long one. Mostly while lying awake in the comfort of our own bed my mind has been wandering back to this sign in the Yukon:

Bear Warning Sign - Click for larger

It is haunting me.

We tent camped near that sign and indeed the soapberries were ripe and plentiful on our campsite. The few other campers were all in some sort of hard-sided accommodation like truck campers and RVs. If a bear wanted a little protein to accompany his fruit we were the obvious choice - we were just behind a thin nylon wall. Yet come morning we never saw any indications that bears had been around our tent - no droppings or scratchings and even the ripe berries were still waiting to be eaten.

But still that sign haunts me.

Grizzly Bear - Click for larger

I'll admit it - I'm afraid of bears. I'm tired of being bear bait. This time on the road I don't want to wake up in the tent and wonder if the rustling noises I'm hearing outside are made by the little chipmunk we saw earlier or something bigger, much bigger!

Chipmunk - Click for larger

Why is it little rodents can make so much noise anyway?

No this time I wanted options on how, or more correctly where, we sleep. Especially if a bear has been spotted nearby.

Black Bear - Click for larger

Bighorn Sheep - Click for larger

So these past couple of weeks when I've been unable to sleep, instead of counting sheep I've been thinking about options, wondering just how to sleep on the road with something a little more solid than a tent between us and the bears. In spite of my last posting/shameful plea seeking sponsorship from RV Manufacturers or dealers, I came to the conclusion that we would have to take the matter into our own hands. We would build a platform to sleep on in our van.

It took me awhile to convince Ron that it could work. We stood outside and stared into the open van and measured and "discussed". Gradually I turned those sign haunted nights into planning and design sessions. Eventually we were ready to try building something. See Ron's recent blog posting for the results.

There will be no inside plumbing so I'll still have to get dressed and go outside to find the nearest outhouse when nature calls at night. (I'll make Ron walk me so don't worry Mom!) And I'll still have to dress while lying down. It may not be the luxurious accommodation I've been lusting over. No it's rather more like a Poor Man's RV. But the walls are not only harder than tent nylon there are plenty of tinted windows. The windows just might offer scenic lakeside views. We'll be able to stargaze from bed through the tailgate window and possibly even watch bears munch on soapberries. Maybe, just maybe, this time while on the road instead of being spooked by outside noises I can finally get some sleep!

Kluane Lake, YT - Click for larger

A Confession

(also known as "This Space for Rent")

I must make a confession. While camping this past weekend I coveted my neighbours trailer. Yes it is true - I want to be trailer trash!

Robins in Nest - Click for larger

We tent camped at Rondeau Provincial Park, hopeful that staying in the park would allow us to view and photograph many beautiful migrant warblers travelling to their northern nesting grounds. And indeed we did see and photograph some lovely birds.

Baltimore Oriole - Click for larger

The hikes at dawn were good for the soul. The rising sun warmed our backs and lit up the little birds as they flitted about.

Magnolia Warbler - Click for larger

I really enjoyed that. Honest. A beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail, a butterfly that's rarely seen in Canada even posed for the cameras.

Pipevine Swallowtail - Click for larger

But sadly all these sightings just weren't enough to keep me from lusting over the trailers of other campers. No doubt I was drooling when we were invited to step inside a friend's trailer. I just couldn't help myself!

No I couldn't stop myself from imagining Ron and I having a meal or processing the day's images at the table while sitting on chairs with real backs, rather than the backless benches of a bird-dirt splattered picnic table. We wouldn't even have to set up a dining tent let alone haul bins back and forth from the car. Instead everything would be stored away in the handy cupboards. Just how much food could be kept cold in the refrigerator when a bag of ice wasn't hogging space? I wondered how comfortable the always-made Queen-sized bed would feel compared to our air-bed that becomes slack with the dropping night temperature. About four steps is what I figured it would take me to get from that warm duvet covered bed to the enclosed bathroom - no shoes or pyjama bottoms required. I also wouldn't have to worry about the unzipping of tent flaps and running out into the dark to look for the nearest outhouse with who knows what (bears?!) might be lurking nearby. In the morning I could actually step out of bed and choose from a drawer what clothes to put on that day. I wouldn't have to put back on the yesterday's clothes (the night before I usually forget to find fresh clothes from the great abyss the van becomes on road trips). But the best part of all would be those clothes could be put on while standing up! I wouldn't have to struggle into jeans while lying down - something I thought I could stop doing when the skin-tight jeans from my youth went out of fashion. Even undergarments could be put on correctly rather than leaving me feeling slightly askew all day.

Sleepy Raccoon - Click for larger

Yes indeed, a trailer or better yet a truck camper or van would be ideal for our up-coming road trip across the country. So if there are RV dealers or manufacturers reading this blog we are open to offers of your providing us with one. In exchange you would get the free advertisement in this space. No doubt I would go on at length about the RV's many features and how we were enjoying our travels in it. And of course there would be pictures of the RV against some stunning vista. But failing the selling of this space (and my soul) I will try to remind myself of the advantages to our tent camping: the lower fuel consumption, the portability, nothing to tow, low enough to get into underground parking garages, the not having to sleep with odours of the day's meals... I'll pretend that we have sacrificed our comfort in order to be more environmentally friendly and help save the planet. And if during our journeys any of you out there are indeed reading this blog, maybe you might even believe me. Well maybe just a little!

2008 Photographic Review - second half

As promised in my last post here is the photographic review of the 2nd half of 2008: (Note if pointing your mouse at an image doesn't display a larger version make sure you are reading this blog at www.ronerwin.com/loris-old-log) The first day of Summer 2008 found us on Manitoulin Island, Ontario – the largest freshwater island in the world and part of the Niagara Escarpment. (Left: Bridal Veil Falls - a Niagara Escarpment plunge type waterfall in Kagawong) Manitoulin, or "The Island" as we like to call it, is special to us for many reasons not the least of which is the fact that I was born and raised there. Many, MANY years have past since I lived on The Island, yet still at any time I could forget myself and call it "Home".

Photography on The Island can be amazing due to its abundant wildlife (such as this Sandhill crane above left and Whitetail deer above right), beautiful flora (such as this striped coralroot orchid below left and this wild columbine below right),

and stunning landscapes (like these images along the Kagawong River below Bridal Veil Falls and a sunset over Bayfield Sound).

Manitoulin's slower pace and lower population also means it's one of the few places left in Ontario were it’s still possible to sit on a backroad and photograph or watch something like this Upland Sandpiper without someone else coming along and scaring it off.Upland Sandpipers and other prairie birds like sharp-tail grouse breed in Manitoulin's Grassland Alvars. As kids my siblings and I would roam these seemingly barren and rocky short-grass prairies near our home in search of wild strawberries. Perhaps that's why we were fond of the 1970's TV show "Little House on the Prairie" – we were prairie kids! Back then we hadn't even heard of the term Alvar, so we didn't know the rare habitat was also home to rare and endangered flora and fauna. (Click to visit the Nature Conservancy for more info on Ontario's Alvars) Now whenever Ron and I are on The Island we make a point of searching grasslands near "home" for photo subjects like these native wild chives. But we also always go for a hike in Misery Bay Provincial Nature Reserve to see what wildflowers might be growing along the Pavement Alvar there. In spite of the flower shaking wind this summer's visit would not disappoint photographically.

Ron would get pictures of more chives (note how this clump seems to grow right out of the pavement/limestone bedrock), Indian Paintbrush or Scarlet Cup (in Misery Bay these wildflowers often are more yellow not red), and Lakeside Daisy - a wildflower that is listed as Threatened under the Species At Risk Act (SARA) that is globally rare (only found along the Great Lakes) but that is so common on Manitoulin's Alvar coast that it is called Manitoulin Gold. At Misery Bay we were also lucky enough to spot an ever smiling Blanding's Turtle – not specifically an Alvar species but another North American only species that is listed under SARA as Threatened in Ontario/Quebec but Endangered in Nova Scotia. In keeping with the Species at Risk theme, on our way home from Manitoulin Island we stopped into Wasaga Beach to see with our own eyes the two pairs of Endangered Piping Plovers that were reported to be nesting there - the first nests in Ontario since the 1970's. Anyone that knows us well knows that we have made a point of photographing Piping Plovers across the country (click to see other images). So we were pretty excited to hear that they had finally returned to nest in our home province. Unfortunately just the night before, a sudden hail storm came up and killed all the week-old chicks from one brood. Incredibly the eggs in the other nest were hatching during the storm – causing one egg to fail to hatch and the Mother and the three hatchlings to flee for cover. But in the end the desperate Mother just stretched out her wings and covered her chicks with her body –taking the force of the hail herself and getting covered in ice. When we arrived the horrified volunteer monitors were still worrying about possible injuries– but the Mother and the three chicks were alive! Ron managed to get some shots of an adult male, but all chicks remained resting far enough within the restricted/fenced off beach area to be out of good photo range –even with long camera lenses. But that’s okay. We were happy just to have seen some Piping Plovers in Ontario at last! (Note only one chick from the two broods would survive the summer to migrate) The main theme for the rest of the summer was the canoe. We started with a canoe trip into the interior of Algonquin on Lake Opeongo’s north arm where our photo subjects were mostly moose, frogs, water lilies and their habitat.

Next we headed to Lake Superior Provincial Park. After a few nights of car camping at Agawa Bay and day tripping in our canoe and/or doing hikes,

we decided to canoe into the Park's interior further up the coast of Lake Superior and do some remote camping in Warp Bay and Gargantua Harbour.

Although it was by all accounts a wet summer in Ontario, for our trips it seemed to be mostly sunny or would only lightly rain or mist on us. On all our trips the downpours seem to wait for the days we would be paddling back out into civilization or already at our car. Lake Superior is such a big lake that is usually rough. Even when it is flat it is still usually moving in soft swells up and down like it is breathing. But for several days in a row during the summer of 2008, the Lake was the flattest we had ever seen it. That didn't necessarily make being in a canoe any easier as sometimes such a thick fog would roll in that you couldn't see the islands off shore.We would spend the last week of July with all the comforts of home in a cabin on Rock Lake near Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario.

But even there we would grab our canoe and head off up the lake exploring rivers and portaging into other lakes. It was a nice change from camping in that we didn’t have to crawl into a tent on our hands and knees to go to bed!

At the beginning of August we beached our canoe and headed back to native prairie – this time tall grass prairie at the Ojibway Prairie Complex in Windsor. There we walked along a trail through Big Bluestem grass that eerily enough was taller than me.

Also in Windsor we photographed along the Detroit River looking north towards the City of Detroit Michigan. Yes believe it or not Alaska isn't the only state that can look south and see Canada!

On route to Windsor we stopped to car camp at Long Point Provincial Park on Lake Erie. Port Rowan and the Park are part of the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve. Unfortunately thunder storms and huge swarms of ankle biting flies kept us from spending much time on the beach or on the park's trails.

Driving home from Windsor we were enticed off the 401 first by the thunderstorms brewing over an ethanol plant in Chatam (noted by Ron: tripods probably make good lightening rods!), and by the subsequent torrential rain that caused our vehicle to hydroplane – unsettling at anytime let alone in heavy traffic. So we went south of the 401 and ended up getting a room in a cheep little motel – one that seemed clean enough until my bare toe bumped into a dead lizard on the floor under the bed’s edge! Needless to say the room and the sheets were carefully examined for any other surprises. We were rather startled by this find – a strange reaction from people that spend the summer mostly in a tent and aren't normally frightened by little critters. In the past we've been sniffed in bed by raccoons, had mice run over our pillows, bats fly within arms length above us while we were sleeping under the stars, and have even pulled a couple dozen Daddy long-legs out of our sleeping bags after getting that creepy crawly feeling in the middle of the night. Each time we just noticed, dealt with it and went back to sleep. But for some reason we were so unnerved by this dead lizard that I wouldn't even try to identify it and Ron didn’t take any pictures. Instead I made Ron dispose of it while I somehow tried to sterilize my foot. Needless to say we spent a rather sleepless night. However that made it easier to get up early to take a few photographs at dawn down in Port Stanley before it started to rain again.We wrapped up the summer’s travels with another canoe trip back into the interior of Algonquin.

This time we paddled and portaged our way into Lake Manitou finding a lovely campsite on a sandy beach. Bliss! One of us had just commented on how quiet it was when our illusions of tranquil seclusion were shattered – a group of 11 noisy teenagers and their 2 young guides (exceeding the park’s rule on group size by 4) parked their five canoes at the end of the beach and set up camp right beside us. By dawn we had learned more about their lives than we cared to know. Why do some people become hard of hearing once it gets dark? So we loaded our canoe, moved on and found ourselves another campsite. This campsite’s smaller sandy beach proved less tempting for others to try and share. We spent a few sunny days and one hailstorm there. See Ron’s blog posting Twenty Minutes for his views on the light after the storm.

In the fall we did some shooting closer to home – right here in Toronto at the Chinese Lantern Festival at Ontario Place.

Some of those pictures might look like we were out of the country – like the ones of the Eiffel Tower, but it too was part of the display along Toronto’s Lake Ontario shoreline.

Ron also turned his camera toward a couple of WWII vets and took their portraits. See his blog posting HDR Images - Pushing the Limits to see one of these portraits in HDR.

It would be hard to pick a favourite amongst our photographic journeys. For 2008 I might choose our trip by train to the historic old City of Quebec - maybe because it is the most recent in my memory. Or, maybe it is a favourite because the snow and cold, the City's festive lights and old-world charm made it seem like the perfect place to spend Christmas. (check out Ron’s blog posting Christmas in Quebec)