A Few Days in Algonquin.....

It's an ill wind that blows in cold and rain for July. Sigh! Well, we packed the ponchos that we wore in June for the bike trip. We may have to use them in the kayaks this week. Did I say that we were planning a few days hiking on the Bruce Trail in August, too? I'll post those dates, when I know them, so you can avoid planing a vacation in the rain, because, of course, it will rain then too!!

Well, it did clear up a little as the day progressed and we headed North to cottage country. In fact the sun even came out at one point, but the wind was still fierce and the temperature, well below normal for this time of year. I would say, with the wind chill, it may have been 10C brrrrrr!!

Ragged Falls

The cottage we booked, sight unseen, was OK. We were 20 feet from the shores of Oxtongue Lake and the resort itself has a small sandy beach with a few canoes and kayaks etc for guest use. Although the view was pretty, the cottage itself was just marginally better than camping :) However, we did have a small kitchen, clean bathroom and shower and a Queen sized bed, with only one side against the wall - my side :) After unpacking, we took a walk around the area, to see if the other cottage resorts were any better. Some were, however, these took bookings for full weeks only. There is a reason why we "lucked out" with this one for just a few days.

Misty Morning

On the positive side, there's nothing like a few days up north to make you feel really Canadian!! Although we were not as adventurous as the "other people," who were packing up wilderness gear to head out on camping trips with just a tent, a canoe, a stove, some provisions and a whole lot of "let's go for it spirit," we did enjoy watching them. I will overlook the fact that these were families taking young children and even babies in backpacks - now I really know that I failed as a mother!! Sigh!!

Cosy Evening

Still we did kayak up the Oxtongue River to Ragged Falls and back. It took about two hours and it was lovely. So lovely, in fact, that we did it both Tuesday and Thursday morning. Wednesday we did some Loon spotting from our kayaks on Canoe Lake. For the most part the rain held off until the evening, so we could do a 2km hiking trail every afternoon. We might have taken on something a little longer except those black clouds were everywhere and we just didn't feel like getting as soaked on this trip, as we had on the last.

Kilarney Lodge

For all it's wilderness charm, Algonquin park does have a very civilized side to it. It has three first class restaurants with resorts attached. On the afternoon that it did rain right at lunchtime, we decided to abandon our picnic sandwiches and have a three course meal at Kilarney Lodge. (This is why I never lose weight!) Unfortunately, none of the restaurants in the park can serve alcohol, however, they do let you bring your own in. Luckily, my husband had a bottle of wine in the car - part of the safety kit, no doubt :)  Kilarney didn't even charge a corkage!!

After lunch the skies cleared, the sun came out and we got a hike in - not long enough to wear off the butter tart I had for dessert, though!!

Have an awesome day!!