End of an Era

Carolyn and I didn't get to the cottage this weekend, but Whitney Brice sent me these pictures. On Sept. 13, the remains of the Rec Hall were demolished. In her email, Whitney tells me that while the bulldozer operator was willing to try and save some of the perimeter, the mortar was too fragile and so sadly there is nothing left.

Salvage from the Rec Hall

Several leaseholders worked during the day to salvage what they could as the Rec Hall was demolished. Whitney and Tom rescued the tribute to the Yaskovitch's that used to be on the wall

Seasons Come and Seasons Go

Summer has almost left us and Fall is peaking through as the first colors start to show on the lake. For the most part they are soft pastels in oranges and yellows. Here are a few locations already beginning their display. You'll need to click on them to blow them up in order to really see the color. Clockwise from top left - between Bartlett Lodge and Pigeon's, looking back from Skymount Bay, behind Burnett's cottage and behind Pendleton's.

A Splash of Red

Although most of the color showing now is soft and mostly in the yellows and oranges, there is the odd bright splash of red showing through. This is shot at the beginning of the trail along the railroad bed on Cache Lake.

Highland Hiking Trail

We stopped on the way out of the Park to walk part of the Highland Hiking trail. The part we walked is mostly uphill - and steep too. However, the trail is beautiful, the path is wide and the views are wonderful.

View from the Top

Here is just one of the views along the way on the Highland Hiking trail. You can see more of the soft color all across the vista.

Fairyland

If you were a fairy, wouldn't you want to live here? When I see scenes like this I don't wonder that people believe fairies and leprachauns exist - after all, this miniature scene is pretty magical.

The Best Vacation Ever!

Blue Skies - that's how we would describe this year's vacation. Wonderful weather, new and familiar activities, great meals, rest and relaxation, impromptu cocktail parties, catching up with old friends, making new ones, exploring new places, cosy times alone, laughter shared with others - that was vacation 2006. Check out the photos below to see what "the best vacation ever" looked like!

Blown Over

This vacation we walked several of the trails in the Park, and we were surprised to see how many trees had been knocked over by the storms that have gone through this summer. This tree wasn't particularly large, but it's root system brought up a huge chunk of earth on the Hemlock Bluff trail.

Trip to Galeairy

On a beautful and virtually windless day, Barb and Rick put their boat on a trailer and took us off to spend the day on Galeairy Lake. The Lake is accessible from Whitney on the East side of the Park, and though you start from public land, partway down the lake you'll find signs indicating which parts of the lake lie within Algonquin. It is a large and beautiful lake with few cottages, several islands and lots of beautiful points. We picnicked on the point in the bottom right.

Picnic on a Point

We broke out tuna fish sandwiches and salads while we sat on this site high on a point and enjoyed the views.

There Must be a Way to Get That Down!

What is everyone looking so longingly at in the trees - a rare bird up there or a wild animal??? It's better than that - the perfect fungus (perfect for recording your trip on,) and nobody is better at finding them than Barb. Here she's spotted a fungus that seems just out of reach. I tried boosting Carolyn on my leg but couldn't get her high enough so we finally settled for two slightly smaller ones just a little lower down. You can see one of them further down on the blog.

Breakfast on the Dock

The weather was wonderful on our vacation and we had most of our breakfasts on the dock. What a great way to start the day!

Composting for Success

This year the Ministry ran a pilot composting project for the 10 days at the end of August and over the Labor Day weekend. Rick, Barb, Carolyn and I delivered these neat composting bags to all the cottages on the lake where we thought someone might be around during that period. The bags are made of corn starch and vegetable oil and decompose so that they can be tossed directly into a composting heap without any separation. The hope is that in the future we will be able to compost 60% of our waste, recyle 30% and have only 10% go to actual landfill. The Minsitry chose Cache Lake cottagers to start off the initial pilot and a quick peak at the garbage hut on our way out showed a pretty good pile of bags so hopefully we started off with a healthy participation and this project will be considered a success!

A Visit to the Bonds

People from Cache Lake will remember the Bonds from the cottage between the Turners and the Browns. David and I have kept in touch on and off over the years since the Bonds left Cache, and this summer Barb, Rick, Carolyn and I were invited to visit David and his wife Louise, at his family cottage now on Aylen Lake. David and Louise toured us around the large and beautiful lake which borders Algonquin, served us a lovely dinner and we all shared both memories and new stories during our visit. We're looking forward to more visits in both directions!

Cocktails on the Deck

The cottage has a wonderful deck that goes all across the front and it was great place to sit and sip our wine and nibble on veggies while we watched David grill the chicken for dinner. It was a great day with the Bonds, and it was then capped off by an very rare and close up sighting of a wolf on the road right beside us as we approached the Cache Lake entrance.

Fall is on it's Way

Here's a blaze of yellow shot along the Canisbay Lake Road. Spots of color appeared early during our vacation and by the time we left, there was color starting to appear all along the highway.

A New Activity

This vacation we tried a brand new activity. Several years ago the Ministry opened a bike trail that runs from Two Rivers to Mew Lake, to Whitefish and Rock Lake across the old Railway bed. Barb, Rick, Heather, Carolyn and I rented bikes and gave it a try. The trip was 25k, a lot of fun and the trail was quite beautiful. Despite some "saddle soreness", the ride was a success. In these shots you can see one of the information boards posted along the way describing the areas you ride through; Carolyn after her bike got away from her, an old trestle crossing a pond and the gravel road into Rock Lake

The Finish Line

The Rigbys cross the finish line - Heather in fine form, Richard doing his best imitation of Lance Armstrong, and Barb - cheerful to the end even as she was forced to finish on foot thanks to a flat tire near the end.

How I Spent my Summer Vacation - In Pictures

Here's my attempt at a pictorial souvenir of our vacation this summer. The first picture (top left) represents the Wolf Howl that Carolyn and I went to during the first week of our vacation. The Park has been holding public wolf howls since 1963 and people come from around the world to hear it. In a nutshell, it starts with a short slide show on wolves in an outdoor theatre. Then Park Naturalists take up to 2000 people in approximately 500 cars to a spot on the highway where if everyone is very quiet, they will hear a pack of wolves howl in response to the naturalist's howl. This year, for only the third time in the history of the event, the wolves were so close to the outdoor theatre that we all walked down the highway and up into the forest. It was surreal walking with about 1800 people up a path lit with glow sticks until we reached a clearing in the woods. The naturalists howled and a pack howled back - adults and pups - while we all stood in silent awe. It was an amazing experience - both the howling of the wolves, and the co-operation of so many people in making a magical experience. Other images on the fungus represent (clockwise from wolf) paddling, walking through the woods, exploring new lakes with Barb and Rick, biking and swimming. That's just in case you can't tell from the pictures:)

Mushroom Gallery

And here are other "fungal souvenirs" of our 2006 vacation - clockwise from top left - a walk on the Hemlock Bluff trail, our visit to Galeiry Lake and two from our bike ride - a map of the trail and a poem from Carolyn.

Heading Home in the Rain

When I saw this boat coming across the lake, I ran to get my camera. How many times have I crossed the lake on a rainy day and never thought to use an umbrella???

Misty Afternoon

Even gloomy weather can be beautiful. I shot this coming back from mainland at about 5 in the afternoon the day before our vacation ended.