a peek inside the fishbowl

I might seem like I’m so down with this camping thing, but I should also tell you that I can’t handle more than five nights of camping. At the beginning of each camping trip I’m thinking: WOW! I love being outside! It’s so relaxing! Outside is great! Fresh air! Nature! By the end of each camping trip I am tired of eating out of a cooler and exhausted from all of that nature and fresh air. But I still love it. And I love that my kids love it and that we can all love it together.

So what else did we do while we were at Achray? I’m sure new campers and non-campers are wondering how we filled our days. Wellll…

We read books and magazines in a hammock we strung up in a spot overlooking the lake.

We found a nest of water snakes. Here’s mamma. I think:

The kids went fishing.

There was rock collecting and minnow-hunting.

We went swimming. The girls had inflatable mattresses and so they swam out with them, which gives one a whole new perspective on the beach. And maybe even life itself.

We went hiking.

We rented a canoe.

We watched the sun set.

We picked wild raspberries and kept our eyes peeled for local flora and fauna.

I took a few hundred photos of chipmunks. It couldn’t be helped. (You can see more of them here.)

We played Uno.

We had fun with sparklers and glow sticks.

We made banana boats.

We cooked our food over the open fire (when we weren’t using the camp stove, that is).

We built fires. We sat around the fire. We stared at the fire. We let ourselves get hypnotized by the fire.

And sometimes we did nothing.at.all.

Suffice it to say, each day was a full one.

(If you like, you can see the rest of our camping photos from Achray right here.)

I have a few parting words for anyone who’s looking to book a site at Achray:

• Cell/mobile service is almost non-existent. You might be able to grab a very shaky signal near the camp office building, but that’s a big maybe.
• There is no comfort station, but there are flush toilets and running (potable) water. Don’t let this scare you. There is a lake after all!
• The camp office is also the camp store. This is where you get your firewood and ice (blocks or cubes), but it’s not a store per se. They sell minimal stuff here: think bug spray, marshmallows, tampons, postcards, a few frozen treats. If you’re out of milk/bread/fuel it’s a 45 minute drive to the nearest store. What they DO have at the camp store is Keurig coffee available to buy and brew on the spot. This came in handy for caffeine emergencies.
• They do not sell worms. We asked.
• There’s no kayak rental, only canoe (life jackets and oars are always included FYI)

You can read more about the Achray campground on the Ontario Parks website.