Pukaskwa: First Official Paddling Day!

Finally. On Saturday morning, we headed out from the Puk River Campsite.

After just an hour or so of paddling we got to Imogen Cove and had the opportunity to check out the old Pukaskwa Depot, a logging town from the 30s. There wasn't much left to explore, but the bits and pieces left are enugh to inspire the imagination & have you seeing the old town alive again in your imagination!

Imogen Cove also had a beautiful long beach, and we ate lunch here (more like snacks & oranges.)

After leaving Imogen Cove, it took us another couple of hours paddling on the beautiful, calm lake to get to our destination for the evening: Bonamie Cove.

At Bonamie Cove, we found a surprise. Although there was no loo for us, yet there were real patio tables, a full size shovel, and a wire grate for over the fire. We took advantage!

Dinner at Bonamie Cove was supposed to be lunch....quinoa salad. We added the ham that was supposed to go with the evening nasi goreng meal and I have to say, I think it was my favourite meal of the trip!

Good-bye Puk River campsite!

Destination: Imogen Cove

Shaun checking out the remains of a cabin in Pukaskwa Depot @ Imogen Cove

My boat & Ed's taking a break on the beach at Imogen Cove

Our party at Imogen Cove

Ed filtering water at Bonamie Cove.

First group shot at Bonamie Cove on our wonderful, shoveled-out sand bench :) L-R: Richard, Shaun, Kim, myself, Ed

Sunset @ Bonamie Cove

Silhouette group shot. Who's who?

Pictures of the full campsite @ Bonamie coming tomorrow!

Pukaskwa Trip - Arrival Day!

After a brief blip in our last few hours, we got to the park at about mid-day.

(I wasn't driving....but yes there was a little green slip of paper. Grrr.)

Finally, arrival at the 7th park in my goal to visit all 42 Canadian National Parks!

After we arrived, we had to sign in, pay all of our fees, have a back-country orientation & then figure out if all of our gear fit into our boats! (And I managed to get in the last hot shower for the next ten-ish days!)

Richard & I packing our boats (it all fit in!)

Ed's boat, Kim & Shaun packing their boats

 Our gear fit (barely), we unloaded again, and in came the water taxi to take us to our first campsite at the Pukaskwa River mouth.

water taxi incoming!

Drop off at Puk River

First kayak campsite!

First kayak sunset!

:D

Pukaskwa Trip - An Evening at Agawa

On Day One (Thursday, July 26) we left at approximately 6 am (I think a touch later.)

Our cars:

Stuck in construction traffic....

stopped for lunch...or a break...or gas...or the other kind of gas..!?

It was a long day of driving - the first half in the rain.

We got past the Sault and decided to start thinking of a place to stay for the night.

First we stopped at a look out....we were preceded by this dude...who actually came after us....??

I think I'm with the guy calling "poo" on the right...

By the time we got to Lake Superior Provincial Park, we decided to pull into the campground and find us a site for the evening.

Agawa Bay, site # 145. Book it if you're ever going that way. It's right on the beach, and a short distance to the comfort station. AND it's not on the road like the campsite like many of the back row are. This is the view of the tents. The fire pit was on the other side of the picnic table and off to the right was the beach.

Little tent for the girls, big tent for the boys.... dinner's cooking!

If you need more convincing that this was a great site/park: look at the sunset at the bottom!!!

perfect water for stone-skipping

miniature wave splashing up on the beach

And Ed's cam has even nicer shots:

We ate dinner here (sausages, potatoes & fresh green beans. Yum!)

And away we went the next morning....

Date Night

Last night, Ed & I visited the Bayfront.

(Seriously, I know everyone knows about it, but I love that place. Usually you can even find a pretty quiet/private spot.)

And we had deep conversations while watching the sunset. And Ed took pictures.

And then we went to Williams & had drinks & cake.

:)

A Joyful Noise!

Last Saturday, I headed out to my favourite waterfront park with friends to enjoy a day of Christian music - free! The concert was called "A Joyful Noise" and this theme came from Psalm 98 - one of my favourites.

It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day:

Mandy, myself, Alyssa T enjoying some rays :)

Adam was there too! It was like a mini-KY reunion :)

Kevin - Lake Ontario was actually quite warm!

Hillside seating, & vendor booths

Stage & sound booth

Gorgeous sunset - it kept changing!

Music's still goin' on!

NewWorldSon - got the crowd moving!

Still the same sun setting :)

Rink came! Yay!

An Easter Holiday

Here I am.
I'm smelly (like smoke & a beginning-of-season cottage) and itchy and my hair is limp and tangled and, let's face it: disgusting.
But, I'm also rested, relaxed, and so glad to have spent the celebration of my Lord's death and resurrection with a good group of friends (old & new) in the midst of yet another part of God's glorious creation.

Here's a summary of our holiday:

Friday:

1. Shaun, Joel, Kim, Sandra & Ed arrive at mine & help pack my stuff into our two vehicles.
2. Stop at Reinink's to pick up Etta; help her put two kayaks on her car.
3. Try out Lambert's new creation: the dune buggy. (It just brings tears to your eyes, it's so wonderful.)
4. Get to the cottage by dinner time. Unpack. Heat the place.
5. Eat Joel's spaghetti dinner.
6. Walk down to the beach to watch the sun set.
7. Chill in the living room, play Apples to Apples (I win! I'm refined, poplar, stunning, misunderstood & something else...apparently.)
8. Bedtime, in the loft for me & Etta :D

Saturday:

1. Lazy sleep-in
2. Omelette breakfast by Ed.
3. Morning kayak to the islands with Ed, Shaun, Etta & Joel (Ed & I try out our kayaks for the first time!)
4. Lunch; Mike, Lambert & Sharlene arrive
5. Hike at Bruce Peninsula National Park( a separate post on it's own!)
6. Burgers for dinner - Etta's meal.
7. Campfire on the beach
8. Euchre
9. Showers
10. Sleep time!

Sunday:

1.  Up early; pancake breakfast by Shaun
2. To church in Owen Sound
3. Lunch @ Reinink's
4. To church in Owen Sound
5. Back to the cottage
6. Bring out Ed's Aussie-rules footie; play at the beach (I waded to the sand bars in my wellies)
7. Eat Kim's delicious dinner
8. Say goodbye to Etta :(
9. Hang out inside, take naps & crash.

Monday:

1. Sleep in; Eat bacon cooked by Sandra.
2. Take a nap
3. Do devos with Ed
4. Walk to the beach to find the others; they're not there (yet) so we chill & enjoy the beautiful weather
5. Leftovers for lunch; pack up & clean
6. Drop Etta's forgottens off at Reinink's
7. Nap in the van.
8. Drop me off. Get weekend pics from Sandra & Kim
9. Change facebook cover photo & profile picture.
10. Shop for jelly-beans. Walmart has none.
11. Procrastinate on report cards by blogging...

Now I'm going to shower. This will be edited with pictures soon. For now: it is being posted as-is.

Tales from the North: Spring has Arrived!

Today, I caught the temperature gauge on my car at 27 degrees. Celsius. See?

The crocuses that were barely showing purple this morning, were in full bloom when I got home. (Yes, I know they close at night, this was the first time they showed up, however.)

This one was still wokring on opening for the first time.

I'm eating baked chicken, watermelon & potato salad for supper.

Baked Chicken recipe: [my (better) version of shake'n'bake]
Ingredients: 

• chicken
• "shake'n'bake" (2 c. bread crumbs, 1 tbsp each: parsley, oregano/basil, 1 tsp each: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder.)

Directions:

1. The recipe above makes enough "shake'n'bake" for 20 chicken breasts, so adjust your amounts according to how much chicken you're making.
2. Rinse chicken with water
3. Dredge in bread crumb mix
4. Place on foil-lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 325-350 for 30-35 m
6. Serve & enjoy!

And then, on my way to run errands, I saw a beautiful sunset. Approximately 30 seconds after the picture was taken, the clouds completely closed over the sun.

Love the clouds!

I finished my evening by running out to grab a specialty ingredient for tomorrow's food & nutrition lab at Michael's. Of course, I couldn't resist browsing, and came away with some gifts & fun things for myself too (they had a rack of stuff for $0.45!)
And, as I walked out, I noticed that they give a discount for teachers. Of course I'd notice it then. Next time, I'll take advantage!