Back at last!

Did anyone miss me? I miss this blog - but if I am not writing it means I am busy, and as a real estate agent, as Martha would say, that is a very good thing! Our social life has been minimized lately due to my hectic schedule, but I wanted to share 2 things with everyone! Last night Christine and I went to the Dusk Dances at Head Lake Park in town - lots of fun! Our local and extraordinarily talented band, Jazz Kitchen, entertained people as they arrived for the first half hour - the weather was perfect and everyone brought their lawn chairs for comfort. This is the fifth year for Dusk Dances and I hadn't been yet (shame on me!) so I wasn't sure what to expect or how things worked. Our local celebrity - comedian and tv show host (now also council woman) Brigitte Gall, hosted the evening in fine character as a ravishing and blood thirsty vampire! She was brilliant! There were 5 performances, each in a different part of the park. The concept was that you watched a performance, then the horn sounded and everyone picked up their chairs and moved to the next performance. Not sure of attendance but there must have been at least 200 people last night and it was quite a feat! But the constant movement of the crowd added to the fun and atmosphere. The performances were great and it was a perfect way to pass a Saturday evening in Haliburton County! There dogs, children, people of all ages. Tonight is the last performance for this year. As I sat watching the performances, I marvelled at what amazing things happen in our great County - a unique experience, yet only one of many unique experiences that happen here throughout the County - how fun!

The second fun thing, I will admit, did not take place in Haliburton County. Two weeks ago Christine and I snuck away for a 3-day camping trip at Bon Echo Provincial Park, south of Denbigh. Reviews from people about the park were mixed, so we were unsure of what to expect. We were told it was right by the highway and that the highway noise was very unappealing. This is a HUGE issue for us as we camp for solitude and peace, but we booked our campsite on line and chose one that we thought would be quite remote, and hoped for the best. One word describes what we found - gorgeous! We went mid-week, our campsite was located in Hardwood Hills, and there was nobody around! We had to park our car and carry our gear into the site, but it wasn't far and we had complete privacy on a huge campsite. It was a 20 minute drive on dirt roads to get from our campground to the beaches and other amenities, where the crowds were, but we didn't mind one bit. My biggest complaint was how far our outhouse was! Located on Mazinaw Lake, the park offers many beautiful trails and sites. The Mazinaw Rock that looms out of the water is amazing - photos cannot capture the height, but look at the photo and pick out the tiny canoe at the bottom to help! Plus, when you are on the water at the base of the rock, the rock goes 300 feet straight down under the water! Indian pictographs line the rock - over 200 of them and you can take a fun boat tour for a meer $6.25 to learn about the rock, the park and the pictographs - well worth it! We also canoed JoPerry Lake while there - a quiet, peaceful lake of good size with "canoe-in" campsites. Oh yes - and the Cliff top trail to the top of Mazinaw Rock - amazing! 180 official steps, 240 if you count misc. steps along the trail, but incredible views from the top - a peregrin falcon flew past our noses while we watched!

Next venture - High Falls which is part of Algonquin Park but located at the east side of Haliburton County - I hear it is a great hike and Christine and I are off to explore!

Friends of Rail Trail AGM

This Sunday evening I attended the first ever AGM for Friends of the Rail Trail. It was well-attended and held in our Chairpersons home, Pamela Marsales. Pamela reported on the past year's activities, including Sunday Rambles, education, access, nature and history. One key factor this year is the group's impact on local business. The report listed how many local businesses and organizations were affected by post-walk luncheons, visits by participants to art studios, farms, and non-profit locations. It was an impressive list and membership with FoRT is also growing substantially, with $5.00 per person being the deal of a life time! There are some great upcoming events, including a canoe trip/lunch along the Burnt River (July 13th) - FREE! I will post a complete list of upcoming events within the next few days.

Red Pine Lake

The long weekend was incredible! On Monday we went on our next excursion. With over 600 lakes in Haliburton County, there are not a lot I haven't been to yet, but Red Pine Lake was one! As a water-access only lake, the opportunity to see the lake is limited, so Christine and I loaded up our friends' canoe and off we went. North West of Kennisis Lake, it took 40 minutes from West Guilford by car, with the road ending at a boat launch at the dam between Kennisis Lake and the river. Lots of room for parking as there are several water-access cottages on the lake. We met a lady at the dock who said the lake has a fabulous sand beach for swimming, so we hoped to discover it! The river was surprising - there were several areas that were narrow and shallow, lots of driftwood, and you could see the bass swimming under the canoe. But there were also lots of quite wide spots with very deep water. The river was quite calm, so it was easy paddling. Once in a while we headed close to shore as weekend cottagers passed in their boats, heading home for the week. There is a sand bar as you get close to the lake which prevents boat travel in early spring and late fall, but the water is higher now and we had no problem. Arriving at the lake, we were taken back by how large the lake is. There are several small islands, a lot of beautiful rock outcroppings and downright stunning. By the time we got up the river, our time was running low (we should have left way earlier in the day!), so we headed for an island, rolled up our pants and enjoyed the water. It was so relaxing it was very hard to leave! Red Pine Lake is one of several hidden gems in the County....we are so lucky to have such fabulous lakes that provide the best canoeing and kayaking one could ask for. We didn't make it around the lake, it was too large, we were too tired, and the day was running short, but have vowed to make a full day of it. There are a few campsites on the lake for the public - as long as you purchase a permit, and we may attempt an overnight stay so we can find the beach and explore all the nooks and crannies the lake has to offer! I found out today from a colleague that the beach is on the far side, where most of the cottages are located so next time we bring our bathing suits!!

Canoe Trip October 2009

Well, my daughter Christine and I have finally started our adventures that we have talked about forever! In October we went on a one-day canoe trip (to break in our skills). First we got a great Water Trails map from the Frost Centre, then we were off! We started at Margaret's Lake, just south of The Leslie Frost Centre on Highway 35. The lake was beautiful - we entered into a bay and headed north through a narrows that became very shallow, but well-marked. As we entered into the larger part of the lake we headed West to find the portage into Little Margaret Lake. We realized later that we did not go far enough into the marshy area, and didn't find the portage, so we came back out and pulled up on a large rock for lunch. It was an incredibly sunny October day and getting warmer by the minute -we couldn't have asked for better! After lunch we headed north again and followed the edge of the lake, circling around to the other side until we found the portage to Dan Lake. As an "older", out-of-shape person, with a borrowed, heavy canoe - this was an experience! The portage was 338 metres in length - not super long, but lots of rocks, roots and twists. Dan Lake is a very small, pretty lake - you start out in a sea of dead trees then open up into the lake. We checked out each provincial campsite along the way and tried not to miss a thing! Next was a portage to McEwen Lake - a short and easy 124 metres. McEwen Lake was gorgeous with some rock cuts and great camping sites. At the far end of the lake we stopped for a break (photos enclosed), checked out the park's "facilities", and headed home the same way we came. The whole trip took about 5 hours. We poked along and didn't rush, but it was a fabulous day! We are mapping out our next route for Spring - looking at the Water Trails map, we have hundreds of trips to take - never duplicating a route!!