Canada, Eastern half

 

Locations:            Lake Ontario and Montreal

When:                   Mid October

Miles traveled:     886.8 mi

Price of gas:         $4.35 per gal. (1.573 CAD per liter)
Camping style:     Electric and a tiny hostel
High point:           Day at the beach!
Low point:            Driving frequently and not knowing the currency exchange rate

One thing learned: When hiking, pay attention to directions, landmarks, and time

                                passing.

    Driving through Canada from Michigan to Maine, I camped at three different locations: Bronte Creek Provincial Park (between Hamilton and Toronto), Sandbanks Provincial Park (in Prince Edward County, not the island), and Auberge L'Apero Hostel (in the middle of Montreal.  It's a backpacker's hostel, not a fancy resort).  I would take a day to drive to the new area and then went to sleep. The next day, I explored what was in walking distance.  The following day, I drove to the next area and repeated the steps.  It was a lot of driving, and gave me the impression that Canada is filled with only cities and wilderness.

    As I was only in Canada one week, I did not bother exchanging currency and instead used a credit card for all payments.  My GPS did not have maps of Canada (I did not realize this was something I should have looked into before hand.) so I relied on Google Maps through my phone. (I strongly dislike massive companies like Google and Amazon and how wide their reach is, but I have to admit they are skilled at what they do.) My phone service does not include international data nor calls, but Google Maps tracks one's device with cell towers, and directions can be downloaded for off network use.  It was very helpful when I got lost in Toronto's maze of highway interchange and crossovers.

Sandbanks P.P.

    Bronte Creek Provincial Park was nice.  The campgrounds seemed to be designed rather than carved out of existing wilderness.  It was between a ravine with beautiful views and an apartment complex.  Their hiking trails were not marked well enough for me to follow, and a wrong turn changed my short hike into a three hour tour along the ravine.  I got to see a variety of dogs when I was still on the "correct" trail (it was a leash-free dog trail), black squirrels, and in the ravine fish that were trying to swim up river.

    Sandbanks Provincial Park is on an edge of Lake Ontario, and my campsite was less than 100 feet from the beach!  I was excited to be there.  The weather was sunny, mid 60s warm, breezy, and clear night skies!  I made a small sandcastle and watched the sunset on a cloudless evening.

RÉSO

     My two nights in Montreal were spent walking around the city.  Murals were everywhere.  I climbed Mount Royal, watched "tam tams" drummers who meet every Sunday near the base of the mountain, ate food in Little Portugal, and visited the Underground City, RÉSO.  Everything was closed in RÉSO as it was a Sunday night, but it was still interesting to see.

    I am looking forward to the quiet of a campground in Maine, and am glad to be leaving behind the small noisy rooms of the hostel.