It turned out to be a beautiful morning after all. After being woken up by the raccoons trying to destroy my trailer around 4:30 am, I was then delighted to see such a beautiful sunrise over the lake. Dax and I rode quietly through little hamlets that ran along the lakeshore. We just took our time enjoying the scenery till we finely had to stop to get some breakfast and take some pics. It was cool with little wind, just a pure joy to be on the road this day.

We travelled down highway #17 to Antrim Rd where the #17 is barricaded off. We swung north on this quiet gravel road then east to catch up with the #17 again. Then headed north to Morpeth at highway #3. This is where we turned east.

There had been a lot of discussion with many of the locals over the last few days whether Dax and I should continue north to catch the CASO Rail Trail that would take us to Dutton, or take the risk of riding on highway #3 with the traffic. After the struggles we experienced on the Crysler Green trail and no one being able to guarantee the conditions on the CASO trail, I decided I just wanted to be on pavement. So by the time we arrived at Morpeth, my mind was made up to take the risk and ride the number #3. Turned out to be a very good decision. Because Dax and I travel so early in the mornings, there was very little traffic and the traffic that we did get was very respectful. Being able to be on pavement was a big relief to say the least. The only issues that I could see now was we were going to have to find a water source within the next 48 hours.

Dax and I took our lunch break at an old cemetery along highway #3 near Morpeth. This gave us time to relax in the cool shade of the church as the heat of the day was starting to come on. I sorted out all our gear. Put out all the tarps and tent pieces to dry in the sun. Ate a nice lunch, fed and watered Dax and got to work on seeing what kind of damage the raccoons had done. Fortunately, they only tore apart my cooler bag. The trailer itself didn’t sustain any damage. I patched up the bag to keep it as water proof as possible using some electrical tape I had in my tool kit. Had a good walk around the cemetery to stretch my legs and check if it would make a good wild camping spot. Decided that if I had arrived closer to dark, it would be a good spot. But because it was around noon, it was way too early yet to stop riding. So, after collecting all our gear and repacking the trailer, Dax and I started off down highway #3.

We road for another few hours as the heat of the day increased and we started looking for a wild camp for the night. Dax and I rode by several little cemeteries along highway #3, considering and deciding each just wasn’t the right spot. Intuition plays a big part in these decisions. We were hopeful that we would find a nice place to tuck away for the rest of the day in some shade and not have to then search for a wild camp later on. Since by this time of the day, we were both hot, dusty and tired of travelling. We had been up since 4:30 am and it was close to 4 pm when we finally stopped for the day. It was just about this time that I noticed a small monument along the side of the road. It was a marker for an old village that had been settled there in the 1800. Beside it was a grassy pathway that lead to another monument of an old pioneer cemetery. It was a nice hike back to see this second monument of grave headstones. The pathway was totally covered in shade and was a wonderful reprieve from the heat. Wish now I had taken more pics.

For the first few hours, Dax and I just set up enough camp to be comfortable in the shade along side the grassy pathway and not attract too much attention from passing cars. We rested, drank water and read until it was time to get supper ready.

Just as we were riding off the highway upon our arrival that afternoon, we noticed a fresh cob of unshucked corn lying on the gravel shoulder. Our first thought was vegetable road kill!!! 🤪 Then our second thought was fresh corn on the cob for dinner!! 🌽…

This was our first and only “road kill dinner” … haaaa!!!! 🤣 It was delicious!!!

When darkness finally came, we felt secure enough to add the fly to the tent, get our bedding out of the trailer and settle down for some shut-eye. We both slept really well.

The next morning we were up early again. I set the alarm for 4am and we were packed up and on the road by 5:30 am. Fortunately, it was getting lighter earlier each morning and so it was light enough that we felt safe getting back on to highway #3, knowing we would be well seen by passing motorists.

Check out our next blog – Episode # 11 which will drop on Saturday November 23rd at 8 pm when Dax and I are in desperate need of water, we find a Blueberry Farm Market… yummy!! And we meet up again with our new friends who had hosted us over night at Rondeau Provincial Park!

And don’t forget to like and leave a comment. You being here and enjoying these blogs means the world to Dax and me!! We’d love to hear your thoughts.