We didn’t make it out to a campground last summer, what with the cousin visits and the Pirate Days, and the trips to Nova Scotia and the Morley cottage filling up the weekends, but we got “camping” on to the calendar early this year and invited Trace and the kids to join in.
We booked side-by-side sites (204-205) on an inner loop in the Lac Phillippe sector of Gatineau Park, about 45 minutes from here. While we planned a two-night stay, Mother Nature had a different plan in store for the Friday night. Torrential rains delayed our departure, but—as is often the case following a storm like that—Saturday and Sunday brought bright blue skies and warm temperatures. We loaded (and reloaded) our gear into our not-so-SUVs and headed east on Saturday morning. By noon, we had set up two camps, had a quick lunch of deli sandwiches, and were en route to the closest sandy beach.
Like a long, thin finger, Lac Phillippe stretches through the beautiful forested hills, joining Lac Mousseau to the south which itself reaches the tip of Lac Meech miles and miles away. With the mind’s eye, you can practically see the glaciers carving out this gorgeous “outdoor playground.” The water is clear and cool (but not too cool), the air is fresh, and the woods are picture postcard. Happily, the four sandy beaches spread along the campground’s shore were busy without being too crowded, which made them a perfect place for the kids to make friends and for the grown-ups to enjoy the sun.
Sam and Carter played with a few other boys and their pump action water noodle squirt guns and spent a good deal of time at the end of the beach sharing another boy’s fishing gear. But what they played the most was “Waterbender,” a movie-inspired game that had Jeremy flinging them high into the air where they struck warrior poses before splashing back into the lake. Luckily for them, Jeremy has superhuman stamina when it comes to water play. They clocked hours in the lake/air both days, and the boys’ enthusiasm for it never waned.
While most of the weekend’s entertainment centred around beach time, the campsite itself was good fun, too. There was a pair of huge rocks directly behind us that made for good climbing, and a couple of little trails connecting sites that offered up exploration opportunities (
especially by flashlight). And that’s not to mention cooking over a campfire, playing in the tent, or following the road to the washrooms all by themselves—the stuff that brings back happy memories of my own camping days. And Sam pulled out a few faves of his own: the Ninja Hunt and the Ghost Walk.
One of Sam’s highlights from this trip was a bedtime visit by a family of raccoons who discovered the beach snack bag we forgot about in the dining tent (and we were so careful about cleaning up after dinner and smores!). Sam heard the growls and grunts first and then looked on in nervous fascination as Jeremy corralled the big mama and her babes back into the woods—they took the granola bars and drink boxes with them! “I’ve never seen a real racoon before!,” Sam said excitedly. “Only ones on TV that wear clothes and go to school!” And Carter chimed in from next door: “No fair! Sam got a raccoon in his tent!” You just can’t put a price on that sort of back-to-nature experience.
We really should do this more often.
We booked side-by-side sites (204-205) on an inner loop in the Lac Phillippe sector of Gatineau Park, about 45 minutes from here. While we planned a two-night stay, Mother Nature had a different plan in store for the Friday night. Torrential rains delayed our departure, but—as is often the case following a storm like that—Saturday and Sunday brought bright blue skies and warm temperatures. We loaded (and reloaded) our gear into our not-so-SUVs and headed east on Saturday morning. By noon, we had set up two camps, had a quick lunch of deli sandwiches, and were en route to the closest sandy beach.
Like a long, thin finger, Lac Phillippe stretches through the beautiful forested hills, joining Lac Mousseau to the south which itself reaches the tip of Lac Meech miles and miles away. With the mind’s eye, you can practically see the glaciers carving out this gorgeous “outdoor playground.” The water is clear and cool (but not too cool), the air is fresh, and the woods are picture postcard. Happily, the four sandy beaches spread along the campground’s shore were busy without being too crowded, which made them a perfect place for the kids to make friends and for the grown-ups to enjoy the sun.
Sam and Carter played with a few other boys and their pump action water noodle squirt guns and spent a good deal of time at the end of the beach sharing another boy’s fishing gear. But what they played the most was “Waterbender,” a movie-inspired game that had Jeremy flinging them high into the air where they struck warrior poses before splashing back into the lake. Luckily for them, Jeremy has superhuman stamina when it comes to water play. They clocked hours in the lake/air both days, and the boys’ enthusiasm for it never waned.
While most of the weekend’s entertainment centred around beach time, the campsite itself was good fun, too. There was a pair of huge rocks directly behind us that made for good climbing, and a couple of little trails connecting sites that offered up exploration opportunities (
especially by flashlight). And that’s not to mention cooking over a campfire, playing in the tent, or following the road to the washrooms all by themselves—the stuff that brings back happy memories of my own camping days. And Sam pulled out a few faves of his own: the Ninja Hunt and the Ghost Walk.One of Sam’s highlights from this trip was a bedtime visit by a family of raccoons who discovered the beach snack bag we forgot about in the dining tent (and we were so careful about cleaning up after dinner and smores!). Sam heard the growls and grunts first and then looked on in nervous fascination as Jeremy corralled the big mama and her babes back into the woods—they took the granola bars and drink boxes with them! “I’ve never seen a real racoon before!,” Sam said excitedly. “Only ones on TV that wear clothes and go to school!” And Carter chimed in from next door: “No fair! Sam got a raccoon in his tent!” You just can’t put a price on that sort of back-to-nature experience.
We really should do this more often.
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