Rock Glen Family Resorts - Camping, RVing, Cabins, all in Southwestern Ontario

We left Niagara Lazy Lakes at 09:30 am and headed back into Canada. We were amazed at how easy it was to get back across the border. They never even checked our passports. Just asked us how long and where we had been in Florida, how much we had brought back and whether we had any alcohol or tobacco on board. Took about 1 minute after we got to the booth. Certainly can't complain about that.

We headed on up QEW and turned west toward London on Hwy 403. Originally, we had a reservation at Riverview Campground which is about 15 km north of London, ON. We pulled in there at 1 pm and were taken aback by what we saw. We had to negotiate about 2 km of a badly rutted gravel road to get to the campground entrance.

This resort is listed on page 114, resort #439, of the Resorts of Distinction directory. We found it hard to believe why such a destination would even be listed by ROD. First, the campground was not even aware of our reservation. We arrived to find no staff anywhere. The gate was open but the store was barely stocked and the place was completely locked up. A resident called the owner on her cell phone for us. We were told we could have any spot at the top of the hill, near the entrance. There was a sign directing ROD members to this area but the water hadn't even been turned on yet for this area. We unhooked and drove down a steep hill to see the rest of the campground. We saw many old trailers and fifth wheels, most were there permanently I suspect, but no motorhomes. There was no way we wanted to stay here for six days, especially since there were no sewer hookups at all.

We sat back at the top of the hill for 30 minutes contemplating what we should do. The owner finally showed up and after apologizing suggested we might prefer Rock Glen in Arkona (click on title link). I called ROD from the office and managed to get a reservation in short order. We quickly hooked up our toad and we were off to Arkona.

Rock Glen is the type of campground we have come to expect as Thousand Trails and Resorts of Distinction members. Well maintained, big sites, full hookups, amenities, store and even wifi access for a small fee. We had to drive another hour to get here but the drive was definitely worth it. We are certainly looking forward to our stay here.

Niagara Lazy Lakes

We were on our way early again on Wednesday morning. As usual, I spent some time the previous evening with Microsoft Streets and Trips, planning our route. Our Garmin Nuvi 760 is quite good at getting us to our destination, but MST is easier for laying out long drives because it lets one see the whole trip laid out on a larger map. Changes to any route are just a simple click and drag with the mouse. The Garmin imports all our destinations from MST no problem, but not the route. It plans that on its own, based on user preferred setting, ie no toll roads, no U turns, no traffic, etc. I found it was much easier and quicker using the interstates to get us into NY state, even though it was a little longer. Bottom line, yesterday's drive was about 6.5 hours on fairly flat and well maintained, multi lane roads instead of 5.5 hours through some pretty hilly areas of rural Pennsylvania.

Maintenance is always an issue with motorhomes. Our usual practice, once we have the Saturn hooked up, is for us to check all our lights, turn signals, brakes, etc to make sure all are in proper working order. Yesterday, one brake light on the motorhome was not working. We figured it was a bad bulb or fuse. With no spares on hand, we departed anyway and stopped at the first service plaza on I-70. While Chris went to Starbucks, I got out my screwdriver to remove the rear lense. Bulb was fine. Turned out just to be a bad contact is all. A quick cleaning and the bulb worked fine. Easy fix. We still have no left brake and signal light on the Saturn when it is attached to the motorhome. That has been out for a few days now. Think it is a bad diode in my Saturn's trailer lights wiring but we haven't been able to find a new one anywhere. The motorhome lights are higher than the Saturn though, so motorists have no trouble seeing them. May have to wait until we get back to Ottawa for a new diode.

So yesterday's route took us west along I-70 toward Pittsburgh, then north on I-79 to Erie before turning east on I-90 to Buffalo, NY. Not much traffic anywhere along the way until we hit Niagara Falls. Another sunny day until we got near our campground and then the rain started. This map will give you an idea where we are camped. Lazy Lakes is a very nice and well maintained campground. Sites are wide with a gravel pads and at first glance all sites are flat. We hardly needed any adjustments when we auto levelled. Partial hookups only though.

Last night, we buzzed into St Catharines to see my daughter, Lindsay for supper. That is only a 30 minute drive. The border crossing was painless, going and coming back. We enjoyed a great meal at one of her favourite restaurants, Dad's treat of course. After a quick tour of St Catharines, to see where she worked, we said our goodbyes and headed back to our campground.

Needless to say, we were both exhausted after a very long day. Oh yeah.....its still raining..........

Roaring Run Resort

We awoke to clear blue skies this morning and lots of sunshine. We hit the road shortly after 8 am and headed NW on Hwy 17 to Fredericksburg and then on to Hwy 66 toward I-81N. We had planned on stopping for fuel at the Flying J in Winchester, VA but came upon a truck stop selling diesel for $4.01/gallon on James Madison Hwy in Warrenton, VA and decided to stop there instead. That was a good move too because most other places were at least $4.19 or higher.
The drive was fabulous. Traffic was light almost the whole way. Our route was fairly mountainous especially along Hwy 522. We saw several grades of 8% and 9%. The uphills were a bit laborious but hurray for down hills! We slipped onto I-68 for a little bit in Maryland and Pennsylvania. We were trying to avoid I-70 which is the Pennsylvania Turn Pike and a toll road. Suffice it to say our GPS took us on some interesting backroads as it led us to our destination.




Roaring Run is quite nice. Click on the title of this blog entry to go to their website. We are ROD members, so our stay here is free. The resort is just getting going for the season, even though it is apparently open all year. The country store is only open on weekends. The pool is not yet filled. Not too many rigs here right now as you can see in the picture. We have water and electricity, but none of the sites have sewer. Partial hookups instead of full hookups. There is a dump station though. Shouldn't be a problem as our stay is only two nights. Sites and roads are a bit on tight side. The setting is very picturesque, tucked away in the hills about 20 miles east of Greensburg, PA.

Cellphone coverage is available and we have Broadband Access with our Verizon USB modem. Satellite works great too. What more do we need?