Quite a while ago, on the day we left Thunder Bay we met a nice chap, Paul, when we were stopped beside the road for a quick snack break. He was very interested in our trip and before he drove on, he told us to come visit him if we pass thru Wiarton. It turned out his town was right on our way down from the Bruce Peninsula so we stopped by. Paul and Leslie gave us a very warm welcome and even offered their guest room for us to stay in.
Their cat Elliott (see pic below) made for a very entertaining time at their house. Elliott is young rescued cat bursting with energy. They had just bought him a little pet tent which he kept attacking. When he was inside the tent he would periodically jump up and make the whole tent leap and roll around then living room. Incredibly funny. The poor doggie is just terrified of this new family member.
THANK YOU PAUL AND LESLIE FOR THE HOSPITALITY AND FUN TIMES!
Our next stop was in Clifford. When my mom was in her twenties, she spent a few months traveling around North America. She stayed in touch with a family she became friends with in Ontario and since James and I came near their town, we decided to visit them.
The ride from Wiarton to Clifford took the whole day because rain squalls forced us to take shelter several times. One time we stopped in a barn until the rain passed. The barn was litteraly swarming with cats of all ages, sizes and colours. It was quite entertaining to watch them play and fight with each other. Their favourite spot seemed to be a draped corvette which they climbed over, hid under and ambushed each other through the cover.
The next rain squall was about to hit when we came past a nice farm where we asked to shelter in the barn. The picture below is the neighbouring farm which caught the last rays of sun before the clouds moved in. The lady on the farm kindly allowed us to put our bikes in the barn and then invited us in for a hot drink. She ended up feeding us delicious carrot cake and even ended up making us chicken wraps with all the fixings. It was just wonderful. THANK YOU SOO MUCH BETHANY!!!
We arrived in Clifford shortly after 8 pm. It had started raining again and it had gotten totally dark by that time. Not the most pleasant riding conditions but the discomfort made the ride feel like a real quest. Siegfried and Christa had an amazing dinner ready when we finally arrived at their house. Below is a photo of their house, which is the oldest house in Clifford. The architecture in the area shows a strong European influence. Very pretty.
Siegfried still farms 150 acres of wheat and soybeans. He drove us out to his fields and gave us a quick tour of the operation. There is a large Mennonite community in that area so we came across many horses and buggies. It felt like having been transported back in time.
Siegfried`s combine. I would have loved to drive it but the battery was dead :-(
A flock of geese in the wheat field.
Beautiful evening light on the recently harvested wheat field. One of my favourite pics!
Soy beans drying on the stalk, waiting to be harvested.
Since Siegfried`s farm is very close to Lake Huron, we stopped there very quickly to enjoy the view. It was very windy and cold but the scenery was very impressive and dramatic.
Nice hot drink stop at Tim Hortons!
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY, CHRISTA AND SIEGFRIED!!! IT WAS A TREAT STAYING WITH YOU!!!
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