Here comes the bride

As music wafted over the water the bride was paddled around the point by the groom's youngest sister.

Better than walking down the aisle!

Ever the gentleman, John helps his bride ashore.

They do!

While family and friends looked on, John and Sue repeated their vows.

Dancing the Night Away

Congratulations and wishes for a life of discovery and happiness to John and Sue Glynn-Morris!

Vacation Pictures are up

I have finally loaded all our vacation pics and placed them in the right order. The first few may seem familiar but if you scroll down you will find new ones. Enjoy!

Moonlight arrival for a summer vacation

We arrived on the lake a little after 10 p.m. to start this year's two week vacation. We were greeted by clear skies, a full moon and mist rising from still waters. A beautiful beginning!

Float Night - Thriller

Our first "vacation activity" was attendance at Float Night. Thriller - a tribute to Michael Jackson was the most elaborate of the four entries this year.

Cache Flash Delivery Service

Still Life

Pirates of Cache Lake

Loading Up

Right after the Bartlett Brunch, Barb, Rick, Heather, Carolyn and I set off to explore a previously unvisited (by us anyway) territory in the Park. This year our trip took us to Kiosk up in the northern part of the Park. We decided to rent a cabin in Mattawa, not far from North Bay and then drive in for a day trip to Kiosk. We were resigned to roughing it and had to make do with the bare minimum when it came to food and supplies - lasagna, pea meal bacon, smoked salmon, sirloin strip steaks, lobster. wine, candelabras, silver platters, and of course a floral centrepiece.

L'auberge des pionniers

This was the entrance to "L'auberge des pionnier", the once camp and now guest cabins where we were staying for the next two nights. The site was spectacular, right on the high banks of the Mattawa River and surrounded by nature conservancy and crown land so that you really felt you were on your own. The cabins were well appointed and comfortable and would have been complete perfection except for the rather large mouse/bat population that kept everyone alert at night. I wasn't particularly bothered by them - just more than irritated when we discovered they had eaten a large portion of our delicious gorp on the first night!

View from the Top

We quickly settled into our cabin which came with three bedrooms, sleeping loft, living room, dining area and kitchen capped off by a verandah with this great view of the Mattawa River.

Verandah Karma

Not only did the verandah afford us a spectacular view but it's large expanse was a great place for drinks, breakfasts and watching lightning after dark on our first night.

River Views

Soon after arriving and unpacking we hopped in the boat and set off to explore the Mattawa River. The banks were high on either side and the views spectacular. The owner of the Auberge told us the water was up to 170 feet deep.

Secret Falls

As we boated along the Mattawa river, we explored a fork on the right and discovered these beautiful falls tucked between the rocks and the trees

Face in the Rock

I just happened to snap a shot of this rock because I thought it was interesting. It wasn't until we returned from our river ride that I realized that I had captured a face that the locals refer to as Manatee. In fact it turned out that when we checked our cameras, Barb and Carolyn had inadvertently shot similar images.

Lake Kioshkowki or Kiosk

The next morning we got up bright and early, ate delicious breakfast sandwiches of grilled peameal bacon, eggs, tomatoes and cheese on English muffins, and then properly fed, we set off for the northern boundary of the Park. Soon we arrived at our destination of Kioshkokwi Lake. Since none of us had ever been on this lake before we were eager to unload the boat and see what awaited us. There is a boat launch, campground, ranger cabin and Park Office all accessible from this parking lot.

Exploring Kiosk

With a tank full of gas and our cameras at the ready, we set off to discover the sights on Kiosk

How many ducks?

Either this was a very large family or a quacking big town hall meeting. We counted 21.

Portage

Our first stop was a portage around a set of rapids and into a pond. We tied up the boat at this end and went for a walk in the woods to see what we could find.

Rushing Water

The trail first took us across these small rapids.

Ease on Down the Road

Next we found a dirt road used by the Ministry and possibly the odd lumber truck.Barb walked the trail with us, despite needing a cane for a sprained ankle. The cane was also handy for pointing out noteworthy sights as we walked along a dirt road.

Must have mushrooms

We are all trained (by Barb) to scan the woods for “the perfect fungus” so that we can use its surface to record our adventures. Barb spotted this fungus and Heather forged through the woods to retrieve it, only to discover it wasn’t the type you could write on.

A Very Big Tree

As we walked the portage we came across a stand of very old and very big pines. Between them Heather and Rick couldn’t get their arms around this one.

Looks Like a Dragonfly

But it’s not. I have no idea what this is, but dragonflies are supposed to have transparent wings. There were three of them flying around me as I stood taking pictures and I managed to snap off this quick close up. Anyone knows what it is, I would love to hear about it.

Lunchtime

After our walk through the woods we had all worked up an appetite so we found ourselves a lovely high picnic spot with a beautiful view and some comfortable log benches where we enjoyed our annual lobster sandwiches

Many campsites

Kiosk actually has cottages, but only three. The remaining shoreline is dotted with many beautiful campsites. Because the lake is large, many trips that leave from this lake spend their first night in a campsite like this.

Sermon from the Mount???

As we left Kiosk and headed back to our cabin on the Mattawa we drove past a sign on the road in the middle of absolutely nowhere that proclaimed "Calvin Shrine, 14 Stations of the Cross" We knew we had to explore further so Richard obligingly swung the car and the trailer around and drove into the dirt road which lead into a clearing with a hill and crosses on one side and a rudimentary building with a roof and no walls on the other. Immediately in front of us was a gate and a path which led up the side of a hill towards three very large crosses. Heather was determined to discover the mysterious fourteen stations and so set off to climb the hill. She was unable to identify all 14 stations, but she did arrive at these “crosses on the mount” where she gave us a wave before rejoining us at the bottom of the hill.

Me and My Buddy

In addition to the crosses on the hill there was also a building which consisted of a roof with no walls. And in the building we found among other things this bigger than life plywood rendition of You Know Who. I'll probably go to hell for this, but I thought it was a unique opportunity for me and JC to pose for a picture together!

Wolf Howl in the Park

Once we were back on Cache Lake, we took some friends who had rented a cabin on the lake to their first Wolf Howl. The public wolf howls are “wildly” popular and are held every year in August when the wolves leave their cubs in one spot for a prolonged period of time while they go off in search of food. If the park rangers are able to locate a pack they then hold a public wolf howl that begins with a presentation in the ampitheatre. As the sun goes down, the crowd gets into their cars and proceeds down the highway to a designated area where everyone parks by the side of the road and quietly gets out of their cars. The rangers howl and if you are very lucky first the adult wolves and then the cubs will answer.

Waiting for the Wolves...

With bated breath...
There were close to 500 cars and nearly 2,000 people lined up on the road with Carolyn, Molly, Matthew, Nadia, Derek and I while we waited to see if the wolves would respond to the rangers howls. Unfortunately, there were unable to get a pack to howl back although we did think that perhaps we heard some cubs yipping at the very end.

Hoping for a Big One

On their last night, Mathew, Molly, Derek and I went out for a little evening fishing by the trestle.

Success

This one didn’t get away - Matthew caught this very respectable bass within minutes of lowering his worm into the water.

Annual Get Together

This year it was the Bonds turn to visit Cache Lake during our annual get together. As always we had a great time catching up our news and events of the past year.

Touring the Lake

As we took the Bonds on a cruise around the lake the sky filled with very dramatic clouds. Surprisingly it never rained a drop!

Evening Paddle

This could be one of my favorite shots of me ever. I love the blue light and the blurry motion.

Rainy Day of Rest

We somehow picked the very best two weeks of the entire summer, and had only one day of rain towards the end of our vacation. By this time we were happy to have an excuse to lie around inside the cottage reading our books and admiring the soft mists that rose through the trees.

Another happy vacation is over

Finally our two weeks were over and it was time to go home. I think our happy, rested faces say it all - it was another great vacation!

Lots of pictures

I have many more pictures of the cardboard canoe race and the regatta, so I've posted them all to a separate site for those who care to look at them. The cardboard canoe race can be found here and the regatta pictures can be found here.

Regatta 2009

This may be my biggest blog posting ever, but it was a fun filled weekend with lots of "photo ops" for the blog. Our Annual General Meeting was the kickoff event and for the first time ever it started under the protective shade of a big white tent. The tent itself was a huge success and will stay on site for Float Night and trophies next week. This year's AGM was well attended and started off a weekend filled with friendly competitions and social time for leaseholders.

Burger Fest

In addition to the tent, we also threw a burger barbecue for anyone who wanted to stay after the meeting. It turned out to be a big hit, with over 100 burgers flipped and consumed.

For Sale

Leaseholders line up to buy Cache Lake Hats and Cache Lake Maps prior to the meeting. Both can still be obtained by contacting Barb or Rick Rigby.

Cardboard Canoe Race

A weekend of community competitions began with the cardboard canoe race. Contestants are provided with cardboard and tape and given 30 minutes to design and build their watercraft. They are then judged on presentation, design and of course the results of the race itself.

They're off

There was lots of enthusiasm from all five crews and the newly launched vessels began to race.

Best floater

This boat proved to be the most seaworthy of all, but it's captain had a little navigation trouble along the way.

Roundng the Buoy

Despite what appears to be a close race while these boats round the buoy, neither of these boats floated long enough to cross the finish line - in fact only two of the five stayed above the water line!

Fair Winds

Last but not least of Saturday's activities is the sailing race - and what a race it was. Winds were high and several boats dumped more than once. Here the boats jockey for position before the final flag.

Staying afloat

Cousin Rick and friend Dick entered this year's regatta. Despite high winds and some serious heeling they managed to stay high and keep dry throughout the race.

Rick and Dick go sailing!

Looking pretty happy with their sail, Rick and Dick cross the finish line second overall and first in their class!