Ahead of the plan RVing

It is sad when things that were once good are neglected.

Kap-kig-iwan - Old campground
One of the old campsites, decommissioned and neglected.

The above photo is sad. I think of the wonderful campsite just below the falls. If we’d camped there, we’d wake up to a beautiful view and sound of the falls.

Kap-Kig-Iwan - Sign
Once a beautiful park and may be once again in the future.

In this campground, the night before we left at about 11:30 pm a couple of large trailers pulled in and set up. They must have known which sites could accommodate their large size as they each had picked the proper site and thankfully were able to set up quickly and plug into electricity. In the morning they left before the park opened – maybe even without paying. Frustrating. We knew we’d leave the next day.

Kap-Kig-Iwan - sunset over a field
Sunset over a field at Kap-Kig-Iwan from the trailer dump looked great.

We drove north as we were still ahead of schedule and thought we’d stop and stay at the Flying J in Kapuskasing, Ontario. We managed to pass through Moonbeam.

Moonbeam - Flying saucer
The Moonbeam flying saucer…strange sight on highway 11.

We arrived at the Flying J and realized that it was a little too early to stop at this type of boondock. We continued to Mattice as we’d heard there might be free camping there by the river. We found the campground and showers, but read that it was a part of the Missinaibi River Park and we would need a permit to camp there…most likely not in a trailer.

Mattice - Missinabi Rive Park
The Missinabi River park at Mattice.

As pretty as it was…we continued.

We then thought the Hearst Information Centre might work as a boondock, so we stopped.

Hurst - Pierre Hector and the moose
Pierre and Hector checking out the moose.
Hearst proclaims itself to be the moose capital of Canada.
Hurst - Bull Moose
That is a pretty big Bull.
Hurst - Cow moose
Of course the cow.
Hurst - Finnish sauna
The Finnish sauna at the Hearst visitor centre.

The Hearst area is apparently multicultural and was settled by Slovak and Finn settlers and the sauna was built around 1930 and restored in the late 1980’s for the visitor centre. It is possible to look in the windows and see that it is a functioning sauna even though everything is nailed shut.

Hurst - Dragonfly
A fun dragonfly at the Hearst Visitor Centre.

We moved on and found Fushimi Lake Provincial Park.

Fushimi Lake Provincial Park - Sign
The park sign…strange how some park signs are nice and others are just plain.
Fushimi Lake Provincial Park - Canoe and dock
No it’s not our canoe, but the dock and the lake are steps away from our campsite.

We lucked out and took the last campsite that was available. Fushimi Lake Provincial Park seems to have a lot of seasonal sites occupied and the people on both sides had gone to their homes after the weekend.

Fushimi Lake Provincial Park - cool cloud over lake
Great clouds above Lake Fushimi.
Fushimi Lake Provincial Park - Pierre and Hector in the lake
Even Hector was hot enough to take a short stroll into the lake.

The temperature of the lake was lovely to soak our feet especially after a full driving day.

Fushimi Lake Provincial Park - Panorama copy
A panorama around Lake Fushimi around sunset.

We always explore the parks looking for the ideal campsite – for the last one in the campground, the one we had was pretty good. There seemed to be a lot and I mean a LOT of mosquitos around this day…they just didn’t let up even with the evening’s cool breeze.