Welcome to Ontario

It is now Friday, May 28, almost a full month has gone by since we left home. The time has gone quickly, or so it seems to me. My first knitting project is still not done, though this isn?t really a negative thing. What it means is that I don?t knit very quickly and there have been lots of things to do and great scenery to see. Lawrie has commented a number of times on how much walking we seem to do on trips away from home. I know this is a good thing considering how much time we spend sitting!

Cabins, cabins, cabins… cabins on the shore, cabins on islands, they are everywhere. Even with the size of Lake of the Woods, it is not hard to imagine that every single island and little bay has some type of structure on it.

We decide on a smallish Ontario Park called Sioux Narrows about 55 kms from Kenora. There are only 5 sites occupied tonight at our campground and here we were worried camp sites would be in short supply as the weather has turned very warm and sunny and it is the weekend. We had thought to stay at Rushing River Provincial Park, but we were greeted by two incidences of rudeness in less than two minutes of arriving. It is a big park, about 217 sites, and is much closer to Kenora. I very much dislike rude behaviour and so we just left. Considering the friendly staff at this park, I?m very glad we changed our minds. We rented a canoe and paddled about the lake several times. Very lovely spot as you can see from the following photos!

Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods

We have a bit more than two weeks to travel to Stratford. There are lots of options for routes and things to see. Decisions are going to be tough! Any of your ideas are welcome …

And these names are all pronounced how? I know now, but will probably not get them right tomorrow! These are all Ojibwa names … and even that can get spelled a few different ways! These are also places in the area we have just gone through in Northwestern Ontario. Many, many Americans towing bass and pickerel boats abound as well. When we went through Fort Frances, there were about 200 lined up on the highway (2 lanes thankfully) returning to the States over the International Peace Bridge. There are also two big pulp mills which saturate the town with that rotten sulphur smell these mills are famous for!

Pulp Mills in Fort Frances

Fort Frances is a blue collar town and most probably work in the pulp and paper industry, but it isn?t without a gardener or two … and at least one of them has a great sense of humour!

Fort Frances Hedge

Tomorrow we plan to leave this great canoer?s haven with no less that 2,200 camp sites in the backcountry, and go to Thunder Bay. It will be a day to update this website, do a bit of shopping, call family to make sure everyone is well and happy, and maybe even do the laundry, but that is up for debate!