It’s the first week of May and here in Ontario (and most of the other provinces as well) provincial parks don’t open until May 12 or 19, so we have to find somewhere else to stay for a couple of weeks.
Thanks to the omniscient oracle (aka Google) we located a small hobby farm/rv resort in Kenora, Ontario. Leaving Fort Frances behind, a short 2-1/2 hour drive gets us to an unusual location in Kenora.
The 16 acre property is hidden from sight by screen of suburban houses. Driving thru a subdivision you turn into a driveway that doesn’t end in a house, but passes thru a chain link gate and into a rural picture. Well sort-of rural, there are the requisite animals, but also a few cabins and trailers that can be rented, as well as some RVs that are owned by seasonal residents. Seasonal residents pay about $3000 per year and can leave their RVs in the campground year round, but can only use them from May-October.
Our campsite is tucked into a tight space in-between a cabin and the gravel road that loops around the property.
Two new cabins and a pergola are currently under construction.
The husband and wife owners have only been running the resort part of the business for a couple of years and it is still a work in progress (for example, the site electrical is very new and the site water has not yet been hooked up)
Previously, it seems that water for campers came from the owner’s well, but since they turned it into an official business (incorporation?) they can no longer send well water to the campers due to insurance issues and are in the process of connecting to city-supplied water. We found a hose (near the outhouse) that worked, so we filled up one of our water containers for washing dishes and for the dogs. For our own consumption we purchased (many) 4 litre bottles of water from a nearby grocery store.
The farm has the usual collection of animals, including horses and pigs. One unexpected guest was a raven hanging from a rope over the chicken area. The raven, expired, had been attacking the chickens. Apparently if you hang the carcass of a raven then the other members of the unkindness (yep, that is the name for a group of ravens) will avoid the area. Things you learn on the farm.
We found an area which looked like something had attacked, successfully, a chicken or other type of bird and left a whole mess of feathers. When we asked the owners we discovered that there was indeed and attack on a turkey. The Christmas turkey apparently, and the aftermath of the plucking had not yet been cleaned up.
The owner invited us to a seminar they were giving on raising chickens. I chickened out, but B attended, and is now in possession of everything needed to know in order to raise chickens for eating or for eggs (of which we received four). Not that chicken husbandry is in our future plans.
We enjoyed our stay on the farm and will look for other such opportunities.
Trip Summary:
Depart: Bayview Motel (Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada) 10:30 am May 4; Odometer: 223978 km
Arrive: Bed n Bale (Kenora Ontario, Canada) 3:30 pm May 4; Odometer: 224202 km
Gas Summary:
Emo, ON (May 4): 52.4 l @ $1.63/l (CAD$85.31) – ODO ?
Kenora, ON (May 7): 62.5 l @ $1.69/l (CAD$105.62) – ODO 224289 km