Hi guys! I haven’t written in a bit but we are still here, doing our thing!

This summer has been really hot, the plants and flowers in the yard are scorching and we actually have been reducing our time outside because of it. We also have been up to different things; ComicCon, Otakuthon, being nerds, back to school, planning some crazy future *surprise* adventures, decluttering, welcoming new pets and critters….

This past weekend though, we decided to give the Hipcamp app a shot around here, Montreal. We used the app in Alberta but never tried it out in the 514 area.

We fould a private spot for a really affordable price not too far from here, close to St-Côme. We don’t remember if we really ventured to that area so we decided to give it a try. We picked the spot for the forest and the lake and didn’t have any expectations.

Next thing we know, we are packing for the weekend and decide to go to MEC. It was time for us to up our tent game, as our family has been using the same tent I got for Rockfest where I went with my brother (Hello Mike!) in 2014. The tent isn’t terrible, but it was a cheap Canadian Tire tent that had 9 years of adventures…. Due for retirement.

We ended up picking up the Eureka! Kohana tent for 6 persons and its footprint which are on sale.

On Friday we got to the property early in the afternoon where our host Matthew welcomed us. Super nice guy from BC! (Why would anyone leave Beautiful BC to move to Quebec?) He speaks English and French so it’s already a + 50 points. (I’m a big fan of bilingualism) We drove along the trail until we made it to the campsite, and to our surprise it was ABSOLUTELY secluded. We love privacy.

We set up our tent and we had so much room for activity. Being a big fan of foraging and mushroom hunting, the site was perfect for that! We spent the Friday night just getting set up and exploring the woods. I obviously went to bed early while James and the kids chilled by the campfire.

It rained heavily during the night and our tent kept us entirely dry, to our surprise (probably because we were used to the old Outbound tent).

I woke up early on Saturday morning with Spence and started the fire, prepared some breakfast. We just chilled by the campfire, Spence playing on the Ipad and me going through my mushroom book. When James and Joe woke up it was still drizzling, then raining outside, so we played some Pokemon TCG and Spence really enjoyed putting the pegs in the Cribbage board.

Once breakfast was eaten, dishes were washed, we took our inflatable boat on the lake. We didn’t really expect to catch fish but we still tried. The kids had fun simply chilling, and Spence pretended to fish.

It was quite hot on the water until the wind and rain decided to show up. We rushed back to camp to hide the kids from the torential rain. Pokemon it was again!

We went back again just to chill but this time Spence and I fell asleep on the boat for the afternoon. Later on I went mushroom hunting with Joe. I taught her how to identify the mushrooms and Spence had fun cutting them to pieces and playing Cook Chef but don’t worry, I don’t let the kids eat any of them. I do eat those I can 100% identify but I don’t want to have to rush to a hospital when we’re camping away from home. I don’t know if they’re able to eat anything other than store-bought white mushrooms.

While I wanted to freshen the kids in the creek, they actually ended up spending a lot of time in it, just having fun with their toys. It was pretty shallow but had enough water for them to splash around. They really loved it.

While James loves to feed the fire, we listened to horror stories that we find on Spotify in the tent (try out Dr NoSleep!)

Sunday it was time to pack up! Obviously I had to go around for my last mushroom tour… so many Bolets popped out overnight ! I cooked all my new loot for breakfast and we were ready to go. We packed up and were on the move.

On our way back, just a few kilometers away from our camping spot, we stopped at Pisciculture Tardif to fish for some trouts. We had no expectations as we have never been there before. We ended up having a BLAST! The kids wanted to try fishing but obviously didn’t know how to do it and weren’t able to catch anything but James and I ended up reeling in 16 trouts. Obviously we knew it was too many for us but it was to share with our upstairs neighbour, my brother and his wife.

We really like Pisciculture Tardif as the place is accessible (for wheelchairs and strollers), has picnic tables and is easy to access by car (right on the side of the road). The lady working there was also very nice.

What about the Downs down the weekend?

The rain : Half the weekend was rained on. I didn’t mind but we didn’t seem to be able to keep Spence dry.

The air mattress : The one I got for my Girl Gang roadtrip through the rockies a year and a half ago? Toast. It was really disappointing. For me, anything that doesn’t last at least a few years is not good. James and I being injured from work, it was extremely painful to get up in the morning.

There was a lot of ups though!

Tons of mushrooms and bugs : The site was CRAZY with mushrooms, spiders, frogs…. Anything to entertain me and the kids. Those who know me also know that I love to catch critters and forage, it’s one of my favorite things during hikes and camping trips.

Great waterproof tent : The rain did not touch us at night! We didn’t wake up to a wet sleeping bag or hair mattress. All our stuff was dry! Obsviously except for what was left outside.

Super nice host : Matthew was fantastic and gave us chill BC woodsman vibe. He was so easy to talk to.

Close to the city : We can’t leave anytime to go anywhere we want, and for an easy to plan weekend that’s so close to the city, St-Côme is a great destination!

Trout fishing : No need to add more!

What’s next?

Labor day weekend was fantastic, and we have a post AND a YouTube video coming up soon! Our adventures definetly don’t stop there for this season. We have an upcoming camping weekend at the end of September and a cabin stay in St-Côme (same location) in mid October. In the meantime, you guys can check out our YouTube channel!