Holy Smoke!

Here I am in front of my new favorite toy – my Texas smoker. And boy does it smoke! This weekend I smoked salmon, and as a taste test I smoked both Atlantic and wild Pacific. Carolyn and I agreed we like the richer more refined taste of the Atlantic salmon best, but both were delicious!!

Weekend Wildlife

This weekend in the Park was a busy one for wildlife. Amongst our wildlife sightings we counted 3 moose, 1 deer, a heron on our point, many dragonflies and this little snapping turtle that we found wandering by our sleeping cabin. It made me wonder if perhaps we have a little nest of baby turtles under our cabin!

A New Pond in Algonquin??

This used to be a ditch with water that ran off into a culvert that is slightly behind where this picture was taken. This year the beavers got busy and dammed the ditch, so now instead of running off, the water is forming a brand new pond next to the highway. We actually saw the beaver hard at work as we went by, but he’d gone underwater by the time we pulled over. We thought this was some pretty impressive work for one spring so we took this picture. I wonder how big the pond will be this time next year?

The Bolls in Algonquin

This weekend, Bolls drove from Texas, Washington and Montreal to spend a weekend together in Algonquin Park. Our weekend started with an early morning departure from the Park to meet Steve and Pei Chin on the U.S. side of the border. Driving through the Park at 6:30 a.m., we enjoyed scenery like this all along the way.

A Real Texas smoker!

An exciting part of the weekend was the arrival and subsequent baptism of my birthday present from Steve and Pei Chin - a Brinkmann Smoker –driven all the way from Texas. I could hardly wait to get it unpacked and smoking and so once it was installed, I loaded it up with 6 racks of Pork Ribs. Mmmm, mmmmm good!!!

7 Bolls in a boat

Meanwhile, there were many activities to be packed into the weekend, starting off with a morning boat ride to get to a hearty breakfast for all at Canoe Lake.

Things to do, places to see

The weather co-operated on Saturday and was perfect for fishing and canoe rides. It's a good thing somebody got some exercise, because we also spent a fair amount of time doing something else we all love - eating! There were the ribs, a 4 lb. smoked meat brisket from Schwarz’s in Montreal, two fabulous rhubarb pies provided by Marilyn Smith at Bartlett’s, 3 barbecued chickens, various cookies, crackers, chips and salsa, and big breakfasts at Canoe lake!

Tourists

The Brothers Boll took every opportunity to document the weekend, while Ian was less impressed with the scenery. Between the three families, there are many, many pictures of the weekend!

Busy Kids

Ian caught many fish, including one not seen here, but big enough for his breakfast on
Sunday morning. Leah went solo in the kayak and became an expert on the boat knot.

Margaritaville

For the grown ups there were margaritas on the Poop Deck, and time spent sharing family photos, chatting and relaxing together.

Family Singalong

And another great cottage pastime – the family sing along. Steve brought his mandolin and so we gathered round to listen to some pickin’ and to sing a few songs together.

Grosbeaks at mainland

These two grosbeaks were flying around the parking lot. I've seen lots of them around in the winter, but seldom in the summer. I love the bright yellow of the male.
If you want to see more pictures from the weekend, click here. for the full gallery.

Fall Colors in Spring

There is a period in the beginning of the spring when leaves of gold, red, orange and yellow begin to emerge on the trees along with the bright new green. It looks like a soft version of fall and it only lasts for a few weeks. Carolyn took this picture as we were driving through the Park near Tea Lake.

Moose spotting

We had to go to Huntsville to get a part for our gas line and on the drive to and from Hunstville, we saw 9 moose (accompanied by many admirers) along the side of the road. We saw two more on the way out for a weekend total of 11!

In the hand of a giant

On Sunday it was quite breezy and so we decided the Beaver Dam trail would probably be fairly free of blackflies. Along our walk we found this “mini cave” that Carolyn obligingly posed in. I think she looks like she is being held in a giant’s hand.

People of the world

This is a picture of the guest book on the Beaver Dam trail. We were impressed by how many countries were represented on this one page that covered two weeks. Visitors signed in from Arizona, Malta, Austria, Germany, Poland and Holland.

A little on the chilly side

The weather might be described as “variable” this weekend, with hot sun on Saturday, cold and wind on Sunday, and a sunny, warm Monday morning followed by a chilly grey afternoon. I seized the opportunity on Saturday to go for a dip. The water was a cool 58 degrees – not particularly comfortable, but bearable.

Happy Birthday to Me!

All the usual suspects were present on Wahbahmimi for the first weekend following ice out. This weekend also coincided with my 50th birthday, and so Barb, Rick and Heather Rigby arrived for dinner bearing balloons, cake, champagne, decorations and a very royal crown to join Carolyn, Jamie and I in celebrating my 50th birthday and the beginning of my 51st summer in the park.

Celebrating 50 Years

We had a hearty dinner of barbecued lamb chops and assorted vegetables and capped it off with a delicious and very PINK birthday cake. Of course an auspicious occasion such as this demanded both a speech and a letter from the Queen (via a BOND-ed messenger!)

Signs of Spring - A Bug's Life

This critter might not be considered pretty right now, but in a few weeks time a dragonfly will emerge from this shell and after spending 15 or 20 minutes drying it’s newly unfolded wings, it will fly off across the lake.

Spring Run-Off

This time of year there is alwatys water pouring over the damn and swelling the river. We took a walk along part of the Track and Tower Trail and found wonderful views of rushing water along the way. For more pictures of our weekend, click here.

Waiting for Spring

Things are melting around Montreal where we live, so on Sunday we took a ride into the Park just to see how things were moving along. All the rivers leading into and in the Park are completely open and only the still water still has ice. The ice is soft and grey and it doesn't look like it would take a whole lot to move it all out. You never can tell just by looking, but I'm going to be bold and guess the ice will be out by the 23rd.

Ready and Waiting

The boats are lined up on the shoreline at the Rec Hall - ready to go. The ice has only pulled out a few inches around the beach, but it's fairly soft. We threw a big rock off the end of the dock to see how thick the ice really was. It didn't go through, but it didn't bounce or skid either - so the ice appears to be very mushy.

Open Water

The largest open water we saw was behind Hepburn's island. There was also water under the little bridge between Cache and the back bay, and smaller spots along the shoreline and around the docks at mainland and the Rec Hall

The Black Holes of Cache Lake

The lake is now full of these black spots. They're not actually holes yet, but from what we saw on other lakes on the way in, the holes develop pinwheel cracks around them and water seeps through, turning the ice black until it finally goes out.

Doing our part

Carolyn pulls out some chunks of ice by hand, and I break up ice next to the dock with a stick. Now that we've helped, I'm sure the ice will go out much faster!

Arrving for a winter weekend

Here we are arriving for a three day weekend in March. We were both excited about our winter weekend, and so we loaded the sled with supplies and set off across the ice.

Keeeping warm

It was -15 when we arrived, but there were were plenty of things to do to keep warm while we waited for the fireplace to heat up the cabin. Here we clear the roof, shovel the deck and drill a hole through the ice for water. By the time we were done with all that it was comfortably warm in the cabin. Winter tip - if you cover the ice hole with lots of snow, it will stay open all weekend and you can get as much water as you need without having to drill again.

The secret to the outhouse in winter

The question we are most often asked is "What's it like going to the outhouse in the winter?" The answer is - not bad at all - as long as you have your handy toilet seat made out of styrofoam insulation! No matter how cold it gets outside, it's never cold to sit on!

Winter Barbecue

We'll never understand why people stop barbecuing in the winter. You can stay nice and toasty by standing close to the barbecue, and for whatever reason - it always seems to taste even better in the winter. Our first night we dined on deer flank, (bought at a market in Montreal - this is NOT roadkill!) along with grilled sweet potatoes and onions. Yummm!

Dishes

We kept our dishes to a miimum since we cooked on the barbecue, but Carolyn still had a few to do after our dinner and before we went out for a night trek on the lake.

On the ice at night

I love being on the ice in the black of night. You almost never need a flashlight with so much white around you, even when there is no moon. All you can hear is the creaking of snow under your snowshoes. It's mysterious and peaceful all at the same time.

Howling for wolves

We had seen plenty of evidence of wildlife on the ice - otter holes, moose tracks, wolf tracks and wolf scat - so we thought we'd try some howling while we were out snowshoeing at night. We didn't get an answer, but Carolyn did hear some howling early the next morning.

All roads lead to Wahbahmimi

You can see all our comings and goings from the tracks left in the snow. There are also some tracks left by Tom Pigeon who was celebrating his 70th birthday in the Park. Happy Birthday Tom!

Heading up the Madawaska

Sunday was sunny and the ice was nice and crispy. We headed out on our snowshoes for a trip up the Madawaska river

Here are the narrows leading into Lake Tanamakoon. The ice looks very different here with little snow on it. We stay well to the edge, as this ice is often not very solid because of the current through the narrows.

Lunch Outdoors

Although the thermometer was below 0, the sky was blue and the sun was shining, so we opted for lunch on the point. There ae lots more pictures of our weekend if you'd like to see more. Just click here and enjoy!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night - Our Last Weekend

We drove through lots of rain on our way up to the Park, but as we got to the East Gate the sky was crystal clear with thousands of stars. We thought we were in for a beautiful night, but by the time we had loaded up the boat, the wind had risen to gale force and clouds scudded in to cover all the stars. We bounced across the waves, through the whitecaps to the island. When we got there the thermometer read 0 degrees, and my trusty wind chill chart told us it felt like -15. That felt right to me, but we lit a fire and soon had the cabin up to a toasty temperature.

Let it Snow....

We woke up to a series of mini blizzards in the morning. After a while snow began to stick to the dock and the trees and it looked distinctly wintery out there. We enjoyed this little taste of the season to come, but by 11 a.m. all traces were gone and the rest of the day was a weird mixture of sun, black clouds, rain and wind. We went for a short walk at the end of the day as the wind died, but mostly we stayed cozy inside.

Things are Really Simple in Winter

Since it was a cold weekend, we opted for winter operations. That means simple meals cooked in the living room instead of in the kitchen cabin. In this case chili on potatoes - the chili heated up on the wood stove while the potatoes boiled on the Coleman.

Winter Configuration

So here's how we're set up for cottaging in the winter. First (and most importantly), the bed moves into the living room right beside the fire. We live in this room, cooking on the wood stove and on a Coleman, we put food in a cooler in the back hall and then close the door so it's not heated. We actually put the food in the cooler to keep it from freezing in this instance. You can see an ice auger in the rafters and we use that to drill a hole and get water through the ice. There are plastic storm windows on the side and back and plastic over the screen on the outer door. All in all it's pretty cozy - even in the -30's.

A Final View Before the Freeze

A final view of Hepburn's Island before we leave the lake. Someone once told me this was the most photographed island in the Park. With an evening light like this, it's easy to believe. Anyway - we're gone now until the lake freezes, so unlike most people - we hope that winter comes fast and furious. We like a very cold snap with no snow, because that's the surest and quickest way to good solid ice. Cross your fingers for us and come back for some winter pics once the lake is frozen.

Thanksgiving in the Park

The weather was fabulous and people flocked into the Park even though the colors were mostly gone. All the trail parking lots were as packed as this lot here at the Track and Tower trail.

Things to be Thankful For

This Thanksgiving I was thankful for spectacular weather, great food and my incredible good fortune to spend the holiday in Algonquin Park with my wonderful wife, kids to play with and good friends to celebrate with.

Fall Scene

This marsh view along the side of the highway shows all that is beautiful about soft Fall browns and dark greens. I loved the textures and the colors in this scene.

Fall Along the Highway

By this Thanksgiving weekend, the color was mostly gone. A few Birch and Aspen showed some yellow along the road, but most of the leaves had fallen already.

Gobble., Gobble

We had a traditional Turkey dinner to cap off our Thanksgiving weekend. It was so warm we had the kitchen windows open while we ate dinner.

A Different View

This part of the shoreline sure looks different now that the Rec Hall is completely down. These piles of rubble will be shipped away at a later date.

Piles of Rubble

Piles of rubble are all that's left of the Rec Hall now. The bulldozer operater did manage to leave a two foot high piece of the back wall and one side, as well as the fireplace, so when all the rock and lumber is cleared, there will be something to mark the spot.

Thanks for the Memories

What's left of the old piano stands next to the remains of the fireplace.