The Ghost of Ontario (Part 1) (10 Grade Draft)

Chapter 7: The Shadow Behind the Dumpster

        After another half hour of tedious driving and me banging on phone and attempting to turn it back on, Camp Juniper finally made it to Finlayson Point Provincial Park. Finally. Ugh. Those last thirty minutes were terrible.

The Excursion turned onto a gravelly road in a very buggy-looking forest, and Dad announced, "We're here! We've made it! We've made it to Finlayson Point Provincial Park, Camp Juniper!" He lifted one hand off the steering wheel, and together, he, Aunt Delia, Aunt Lydia, and Uncle Harrison yelled,

"Yahoo!"

I rolled my eyes and placed my palms on the window's glass, which was rolled up again because I didn't want any mosquitoes in the car. Behind the forest's trees, I saw a large lake and more trees. This was as bad as the Grand Canyon we went to in 8th Grade. There, we just saw rocks. Here, we only saw trees. Trees and lakes. It was so beautiful (sarcasm). I sighed and mumbled to myself, "More trees. What a surprise."

We drove on the gravelly road for only a short time, and finally, after seven tedious hours of driving, Camp Juniper had finally made it to Finlayson Point Provincial Park!

        So yeah, Finlayson Point Provincial Park was our first destination of the big canoeing trip in Ontario. After our seven hour-long drive, we arrived there around five in the afternoon. All of us were exhausted. I knew we were. It had been a long day, and we wanted to get to our campsite (s) before anyone else claimed it (them). To do that, we needed to sneak a peek at the ranger station and ask the rangers about it. The ranger station was the first place we went to when we arrived at Finlayson. We followed the gravelly road to it. The ranger station was to our lefts, and it was up on a hill. It was a small ranger station, brown all over, and it was decorated by a staircase and ramp that people could take to gain access into the station. It was a cute, little building.

I remember I was still staring out the window because duh, my stupid iPhone died on me, and I saw that the road continued on and on. It then disappeared around a corner.

        Dad turned right to get into the ranger station's parking lot. We pulled into a parking space, and he peered back to us, again asking, "Who's ready to canoe?" Dad just loved to ask that same question over and over during the trip.

I stifled a yawn and lifted my hand, saying, "Definitely not me." Ken's warning could not leave my head. It left me hanging.

"I am!" Uncle Harrison suddenly shouted. I moved out of the way as he climbed over the bags and seats and plopped down next to me on his front. He then reached for the door and opened it.

Before he got out, Dad brought his fist to his lips and acted out a tour guide again. "Attention, passengers of Excursion Expedition, we have now arrived in Finlayson Point Provincial Park located in Ontario, Canada. We ask you to please collect all valuables at the exits if necessary, and to please enjoy your time in Ontario." One at a time, each of us escaped the Excursion and shut the doors, and while we were doing so, he waved at us and continued, "Goodbye, goodbye, have a nice evening. Bye bye, and please recommend our company to anybody wanting to do international travel." He waved one last time, "Bye bye," and broke character. Dad crossed his arms and leaned in towards Uncle Harrison, "That's how I passed all my classes in high school." A grin stretched across his face. I could tell he was excited. He was exited, whoopee, but Mom and I weren't.

        Not even ten minutes in Finlayson, and already the mosquitoes started to circle us.

I groaned and swatted one on my arm. Todd was right! They were enormous! I had never seen mosquitoes that huge before! Trying to ignore them, I plopped down on the ranger station's grassy lawn and placed my hands behind my head of long, red hair. I groaned as I stared at the treetops and said, "It's been forever." A mosquito whined by my ear. I swatted it away.