Our first stop on our Summer 2024 Trip was Presqu’ile Provincial Park. Usually, the first place we stay on the opening leg of our journey is a hotel. We both work and to make the distance, we leave as quickly as possible and skip the whole camp setup. Setting camp, from checking in, finding the site, pitching the tent, setting the bed, and sitting down to eat our supper, takes an hour. We could use that hour to travel all that much farther. But this time, I had chosen a campsite for our first night.
We had been to this park before. It is so close to home that I consider driving home instead of staying here in any other situation. We liked this location since it had a beach that faced the sunset. I wasn’t working on this day, and once Charlene was off, we immediately set off. One of my main faults when planning trips and using campgrounds as our outdoor hotels is forgetting to include the park. All too often, the attractions of the campground are overlooked, and I regret not spending the time exploring what is all to offer. This time, I made sure we arrived with plenty of time to set camp and explore.
The time was approaching when it was getting close to sunset. We would head to the beach, but first, we walked it. There is something magical when you have the beach all to yourself. We have been fortunate enough to have experienced this many times. It is a peaceful quietness of the lapping waves, the occasional cry of a bird, and the sound of our breathing. Nothing needs to be said at this moment. All need to be absorbed.
We were casually strolling the beach, slowly walking, looking down to see what interesting thing had washed ashore, when we came to this simple landmark made by a previous beachgoer. Adorable was my first thought. Simple yet elegant, it was a little piece of art I appreciated this evening with my wife, alone on our private beach.
Little did I know that this was a warning sign.
As we walked past this harbinger of death, we started to see things we would rather not see: dead fish, dead birds, lots of dead birds. The farther we walked, the greater the density of skeletons of dead seagulls. We decided not to let this creepy, macabre display of gull carnage ruin our night, so we returned to the beach, where it was just sand and water. There we stayed and enjoyed the setting sun and the sight of healthy, flying seagulls and the waves gently touching the beach.
It was an almost perfect night for our first stop on our extended vacation.
- Presqu’ile Provincial Park has a nice campground with respectably sized sites. Full showers and flush toilets.
- There are several trails, a lighthouse, and plenty of beaches to call your own.
- The camp store serves ice cream, a nice finish to our dinner.
- All The Places We Have Been will show how to find this provincial park.
- Do not let this graveyard of seagulls sway you from visiting this park. It is a gorgeous setting, and these dead birds were a weird situation.
