When we travel with our tent, Ken and I have a finely-tuned chorography for getting ready. I have lists that are years old. We each have our own tasks that we do without even consulting each other. Our trips run smoothly because we’ve done this so often.

Juniper has introduced a new routine. There are no lists yet. We’re making up the chorography on the fly and we’re bound to have some stumbles along the way. Our first night out from Ottawa, we discovered one – a pretty major one considering the length of our trip.

We went as far as Algonquin Provincial Park the first day and treated ourselves to a beautiful campsite with electrical power. We set up, not that there’s much to do with a self-contained motorhome. We went for a walk to visit the campground and the beach on the Lake of Two Rivers.

After dark, sitting over our supper, a charcuterie board and a fresh salad accompanied by a glass of wine, I suddenly had a thought. “Kenny, where are the sleeping bags?” I wasn’t alarmed yet, he had done much of the packing while I had stocked the kitchen. I was just curious to see where he’d found a place for them. Ken’s eyes opened wide and he immediately got up from the table. He moved to the back of the campervan, only about 10 feet away.

At this point, I knew the answer to my question – we’d left the sleeping bags behind in Ottawa.

It was raining and the night was going to be chilly and damp. Without sleeping bags, we gathered up towels and jackets to use as our blankets.

After a night that turned out to be more comfortable than anticipated, we had to decide what to do: return to Ottawa to get our sleeping bags, a drive of more than 500 km, or buy new ones. I hate backtracking and Ken had no inclination to do so either.

So, instead of spending the whole day exploring trails in Algonquin Park as planned, we drove to the next town, Huntsville, and bought a couple of sleeping bags. 

I’ll miss our old sleeping bags that are so warm and cozy, but these new ones should serve. When we get home, we plan on donating them to the Salvation Army. Their outreach team likes to have some on hand for the homeless at this time of year. Any unused ones lying around your home that could be passed along to their cause?