Fort William Historical Park, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6
Today was a fairly short, hour and a half, 58-mile drive, and much less eventful! No spiders, no birds, no scrapes or bruises! In fact, it was so uneventful, I even read my book some. There was one thing though. For some reason, the Jeep’s towing mechanism didn’t lock on like it’s supposed to. It was attached – no fear of losing it – but it wasn’t secure like it usually is, so we had to pull off to the side of the road. Blaine did some fiddling, declared it a success, and off we went. No problem.
Tight squeeze!
And if we’d timed it just right, an airplane would’ve flown low right over us here!
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
The drive from the entrance of the park to the campground entrance was about 20km. Then there was another mile of what we would consider easy Jeep road to get to our site. It was all gravel and dirt. Dusty dirt. And as I followed Blaine, and watched all that dust flying around, all I could think about (with slumped shoulders) was, “How much cleaning am I going to have to do today?” Much to my surprise, it wasn’t too bad! Whew!
Cough! Choke!
This place only has electric – no water hook-up, no sewer. But since it’s only for four nights, it’s not a problem. We have a 100-gallon water tank that Blaine filled to the brim before we left Fort William, so as long as we don’t take really long showers or wash a lot of dishes, we’ll be fine.
Set up. Clean up. And chicken caccatorie for dinner tonight. I haven’t made that in a very long time. It will probably be a very long time before I make it again. You have to brown the chicken first, so grease was splattered everywhere! Every time I make something messy, I’m baffled as to why in the world people prefer gas stoves over electric. My former electric stove just required a bit of surface wiping and occasionally swiping up the floor. This thing, I have to take apart and clean everything on and under and around. Plus, the front burner is so close to the edge, the floor’s a mess too. It was a really good dinner though, so that made clean-up worth it – – I suppose.
After dinner – and clean up – we took a walk around the campground. Well, a small part of it anyway. Almost right away, Blaine saw a deer run across the road ahead of us! And then, we passed by this site and there was another full-grown deer hanging out in someone’s site! The lady of the realm was taking pictures – of course – and I had to take one too. What an experience for her! And for us!
We stopped at the Visitor Center, which was real nice. A visiting little boy, asked if he could show us something, so naturally we went with him! He showed us the silver mine display and then proceeded to tell us that all the stuffed animals in the place were found dead. “They didn’t go out and kill them just for the exhibit.” So cute! Wonder what God has in store for him?
Marie Louise Lake beach
Back home, we were greeted by an incessantly barking dog. After an hour and a half, Blaine was so fed up, he called the Park Warden. The Warden got there just about the same time the people came home. They talked for a while. Hopefully, there’ll be no more barking dog. Maybe the people didn’t know the Park rules say “no leaving your pets inside or outside while you’re gone, where they might bark and disturb others.” Or maybe they’re the kind of people who didn’t know their dog barked constantly when they’re gone. Or maybe they’re the kind of people who don’t care. If that’s the case, I bet they care now. evil grin . . .
In case you want a good and easy meal and don’t mind the mess:
CHICKEN CACCIATORE
2 medium onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. vegetable oil
1 broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
1 can (16 oz.) whole tomatoes, cut up, reserve all juice
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1-2 bay leaves
2 t. oregano OR basil
½ t. rosemary
¼ C. white wine
Cooked rice
In a large skillet, cook onions and garlic in oil over medium heat until the onions are tender. Remove the onions. Set aside. Add more oil to skillet. Brown chicken pieces over medium heat for about 15 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Return onions to the pan.
Combine undrained tomatoes, sauce, pepper, mushrooms, bay leaves, oregano or basil, rosemary, 1 t. salt and ¼ t. black pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the wine. Cook, uncovered, over low heat for about 15 minutes longer or until chicken is tender, turning occasionally. Skim off fat. Discard bay leaves. Serve with rice.
Serves 4