July 16-17
What we had imagined would be an easy drive to Wesley Clover Parks Campground just outside of Ottawa turned into a very long day, indeed.
First we snailed along behind a road painting machine for a very long time (although the view along much of our 5MPH pace was quite nice).
Then we had to hit downtown Ottawa, where repaving was happening. The notices of construction were totally inadequate, and untold numbers of busses, trucks, and cars were backed up for miles trying to fit into one lane. It was hot and tedious and frustrating. And we were so very tired.
But we made it to Wesley Clover, which is an enormous park, a huge part of which was being used for the biggest horse show I think I’d ever seen. Tents and arenas, stalls and cross-country courses, multiple tons of horseflesh and riders and grooms absolutely everywhere. And campers, trailers, and other horse-related vehicles abounded.
Happily, this made for a very quiet campground — while there were a lot of folks sleeping there, most got up around dawn to head back to the horse show and ready their charges for whatever events went on that day. I wish we could have managed a walk-around the show, but we simply ran out of time.
We were in Cluster #1, section C, site #3. The C loop in the cluster was intermingled cabins and campsites, and it was a very small and quiet grouping. The facilities were small, but there were so few folks using them, it was no problem to get a shower or a toilet whenever we got to the bath house. We unhitched so we could use the truck to get around, because we had several obligations set up during the Safari Condo anniversary event with our Ottawa Altoistes.
After doing laundry Tuesday morning near the main gate of the campground (and seeing some black squirrels nosing about) we loaded up the bikes on the truck’s hitch-rack, and headed into the city to see Jim and Dale.
They have a lovely in-city home with an undivided back yard that they share with 3 of their neighbors. Parking beside their Alto in the driveway, we got ready to cycle around the city for a sight-seeing tour.
Stopped at an outdoor tap house around 5P for a bit of refreshment.
After a delightful dinner at The Clarendon Tavern, during which we were amused by a father who deposited a second, soundly-sleeping child on its mother’s chest—see pix below), we headed to Parliament Hill for the night’s light show. It was a beautiful evening and the show was fun (narrated history of the province and the country), ending with a rousing rendition of “O Canada,” which many in the audience joined in singing.
I don’t have a super camera for low light, but here are a few pix of the scene on Parliament Hill as the sun set, the moon rose, and the light show itself.
Then we rode back to Jim and Dales’, picked up our truck and headed back to Wesley Clover.
Bike Stats:
- Ride time = 1:15
- Stopped time = 7:20
- Distance = 11.6 miles
- Average speed = 9MPH
peregrinations 
Such a European vibe!