A Morning Walk Around Brennan Beach RV Park

Most mornings we like to take a coffee walk after our stretching, running or exercise.  On our first morning at a new campground, the coffee walk is almost always about exploring the campground.  We always have to scout out a place for Eddie and George to wake up.  We like to see what types of campers stay there - be it full-timers, seasonal vacationers, snowbirds, weekenders, just-passing-through'ers, or, like us, full-timers exploring the area.  And we have to identify likely attractions for Baxter the Cat to explore on his daily outings.

Our stay at Brennan Beach RV Resort started out inauspiciously on several counts.  First, the desk staff was nearly incompetent.  They seemed unable to comprehend the size site we needed.  They forgot to give us a gate key card.  They tried to recharge us after we had paid the fee in full when we made the reservation.  As we pulled the rig down the camp road to look for our site, we were pretty sure the omens were negative.  Sure enough, when we got to our site, it was too short to park our truck.  There was a mudhole right in the middle of it where the truck wheels had to run and the trailer wheels would sit.  The ground was so wet and soft that, due to the mudhole, our truck couldn't get enough traction to reposition the rig - although we figured out how to compensate for this.  The campground roads are very narrow with some tight turns - not too accommodating for big rigs, even though the campground is billed as "big rig friendly."  Sure enough, as we discovered when we focused on it, the campground is an Encore Resort.  We've run into Encore before, in Florida, and both campgrounds share similar features:  important maintenance items don't seem to be attended to, apparently not the best staff training, too-tight accommodations for larger rigs, and small roads due to too many sites.  And, of course, in this case, grass sites.  We kicked ourselves for not having noticed these features before we made reservations.  But we got in and figure we'll get out.  As our friend, Lee Ann Nachstheim, asserted, "I don't see the problem. You're in & no damage to man nor beast."  In other words, "Put on your big boy pants!"

Okay, so this morning, after putting on our big boy and big girl shorts, we headed out to explore the campground.  It's huge, and, as you'll see, one major feature favoring it is that it perches right on the shore of Lake Ontario.  Another benefit is that it sits between the Deer Creek Marsh Wildlife Management Area, to the north, and Selkirk Shores State Park to the south.  Just to the south of the RV park is the Salmon River, which flows out into Lake Ontario from an interlaced region of wetland waterways that will be perfect for kayaking once we find a place to rent them. More on those opportunities in later blog entries.

The whole area has had extraordinary rains this summer, with the consequence that everything seems permanently soggy.  The ponds on the property are full.  Apparently, run-off from some source has fed too many nutrients into one of the ponds and, while it is very picturesque with its graceful willow and birch trees, the surface of the water is solid green:

Nature has enjoyed some minor recreation here along the shores of Lake Ontario.  We found some trees with the most interesting burls --

-- and some of the most unusual fungi we have ever seen: 

Many residents have small manufactured homes or altered RV's with funky additions, which serve as permanent cottages.  It appears that, in some sections of the park, residents own their lots.  The result is that some homesteads have been here for some time.

Each trailer home has its own unique ambience.  See how many flamingoes you can find on this property:

This gazebo, for example, has acquired a rich patina of moss and looks like it was set in the woods by a family of elves or fairies:

Another benefit of the adjoining wild area is that, just off the outside walking trail, Kathy spotted some blackberry bushes.  A few minutes later, all that sweet fruit was filling the large coffee mug she had just drained:

As we turned the corner of the property along the beach of Lake Ontario, another pleasant surprise awaited us.  Vicki's Sunset Grill serves up a mean breakfast of sausage, egg and cheese on a bagel, accompanied by smokey iced sun tea!  The little cafe is perched right above the beach --

-- so we took our breakfast out to the large deck and surveyed the shore of Lake Ontario as we munched placidly and contemplatively.  To the south lay the inlet to the Salmon River, guarded by a small harbor light on a jetty, with some lifeguard stands in the foreground:

To the north, we could see geese and seagulls hanging out around the inlet to Deer Creek.

The beach is gravelly but clean, and the water is crystal clear.  After introducing ourselves to the shorebirds, we strolled south toward the inlet of the Salmon River:

Looking back, we could see our RV park peeping out from the trees:

Two curious ducks swam out.  Kathy thought they were looking for a handout.  David thought they just wanted to be featured in this blog entry:

Other lakeshore denizens floated by:

After hopping the boulders out to the end of the jetty and looking around, we walked back up the beach, which was the very picture of a vacationer's paradise, waiting for people to wake up and begin their enjoyment of the lake:

We have a couple of days of forecast rain. By Monday, we're supposed to have a stretch of rainless, sunny days.  We're hoping to take maximum advantage of this little outdoor paradise before we move on to Canada again.