TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:)): Grand Bend Web Cam

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

WE ARE A MINORITY ON OUR OWN BLOG

THAT IS A SALT WATER POOL AT DEER PARK.....I cut those Cherry tree limbs off a week ago & Kelly stuck a couple birdhouses on them:))

Again I am short of photos so quickly cracked off a few shots at Deer Park Lodge where Kelly works. I was there today trimming a lot of overgrown shrubs etc. The rest of the pics are from my photo files.

NOTICE THE LADDER ON THE LEFT WHICH I FORGOT TO MOVE OUT OF THE PICTURE (plus the garden hose).....I HAD STOOD ON THAT LADDER TO TAKE THE TOP BIRDHOUSE/POOL PHOTO FOR THE POST

Grand Bend Ontario is a small village on the shores of Lake Huron about 20 minutes south of us here in Bayfield. On the Southside of the river in 'the Bend' is the Grand Bend Yacht Club with it's dockside buildings & moorings. One of those buildings is a taller replica light house. In the winter time that lighthouse acts like a beacon for us although we may be up to 3,000 miles away in the Arizona or California desert. With a few magical clicks of our computer mouse we are able to instantly check on the weather back home with an actual bird's eye visual view of the Grand Bend harbor area. And how is that possible??

On the top floor of that light house, inside & out of the weather behind a window, sits a live webcam mounted on a tri-pod. This cam takes a photo once every minute 24/7. From the warm comfort of our Motor Home in a windblown desert location we can see how much snow is on the ground or ice in the river at any time. Are they having a snow storm or is it a bright sunny day back home. Sometimes we see people & cars on the screen. Maybe even a sea gull or two sitting on a post by the river. We can even see a partial sunset out over the lake some evenings. In the springtime when we check the camera I particularly watch to see when the ice breaks up in the river because once the ice is gone we know it's time to start planning our journey home. Here you can see the live view from that GRAND BEND WEB CAM

(click to enlarge)

Be sure to read LAURIE'S POST about their visit to the Memorial crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania a few days ago. The fourth plane hijacked on September 11th, 2001.

I think it was TRAVELS WITH EMMA who had a question a couple days ago about how I decide which camera lens to take with me when I head out the door. Our morning walk takes us through a pine forest with a few open spaces here & there. Anything moving is likely to be small & of the wildlife nature. That lends itself to a telephoto lens so that is generally what I carry. I have been trying for the past couple of years to get a picture of a flying Kingfisher near the pond so every morning I have my camera & telephoto lens locked & loaded as I approach the pond but so far he has just been too fast & elusive for me. For hiking I carry two cameras with 2 separate lenses that covers all the basis from 18mm wide angle right up to 300mm telephoto.

<<<< FILE PIC WITH MY 2 CAMS & OLDER 55-200MM LENS (June 2009)

While reading a few blogs this morning I came across some folks talking about blog followers & how some followers come & some drop away for whatever reasons. As human beings we are all so vastly different yet so much the same with our many varied interests, preferences, & ideas. As RV folks we all have a common bond in our love of travel & an alternative lifestyle different from what is considered 'the norm' by the majority of house people. Full Timers of course are way out there on the leading edge & we Snow Birders are not far behind with our winters in the south. Week-end RV campers bring up the rear with shorter get-aways whenever they can. Within the RV lifestyle are many mini lifestyles as well & quite awhile ago something occurred to me about our blog which concerned our, 'blogs we follow' list in the right hand column.' I realized we are in a minority of our own, even right here in our own blog.

JUST ONE OF THE MANY COLORFUL LITTLE SHOPS ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

As anyone knows who has followed The Bayfield Bunch for any length of time, we do not fit 'the norm.' (and we are quite happy with that) Not only at home here but in the RV world as well. And I emphasize the word 'we' when I am talking about all of this by the way. The vast majority of RV folks are RV Park people which means they prefer nice level concrete sites with full hook-ups & all the comfy amenities like pools, spas, & shopping malls. We prefer to boondock in out of the way quiet places & enjoy the natural world around us. A lot of folks like to go from point A to point B & stay there for the whole winter. Three weeks in any one place is plenty long enough for me!! Most east coast folks prefer Florida, Georgia, & Texas but our preference is New Mexico, Arizona, & California. RV people are an extremely sociable lot with constant visiting & socializing. We as a rule prefer to hang out by ourselves & avoid all that pressure. We like to hike & go places by ourselves & not in groups. We are not 'food' people & heading out on restaurant excursions in search of fine foods is not up our alley. Seems most of the folks love to have the 'Grands' come for a visit. I'm still trying to figure out what the heck a 'Grand' is. Got a fair few religious speaking folks on our list too & once again we find ourselves in a minority. Most RV people are animal lovers though so we definitely made the normalcy grade there but it's no wonder I get myself into hot water sometimes on the blog here when I express my thoughts & opinions from time to time. (like tonight for example) As I said before, in an odd sort of way, we are a minority on our own blog............................