Algonquin Park 2009

Now that the children are older, we find that we are really beginning to enjoy camping again. This year we went for a week at Algonquin Park in Northern Ontario. This is not our first time camping in this incredibly beautiful park, nor will it be the last I'm sure. We love the quiet lakes, rocky trails, and the abounding opportunities to see wildlife in their natural habitat.

Home sweet home for a week. Our sleeping tent and dining tent.

Tarps are used not only to keep out the rain, but to keep leaves, pine sap, pinecones, and other falling paraphernalia from landing directly on the tent.

We rented a canoe as we don't own one, but more and more we're beginning to think owning our own canoe would be a good investment. We spent hours on the lake canoeing and swimming from choice spots along the water. One day was even a day trip spent canoeing along the lake and investigating the river at the opposite end. The weather was beautiful for being out on the water.

A beaver out for an evening snack.

Great blue heron getting ready to fly.

Herring gull ready for take off.

Black-throated green warbler.

Common loon. There were eight of them in the lake near our campsite. I have always loved their calls. It's such a wild untamed sound.

Red squirrels abound. The one above we saw on the Hemlock Bluff trail and the one below at our campsite.

The chipmunks however, are always the hit of the week -- and the most interactive. We know we are not supposed to feed them, but this guy was so bold, it was incredible! We almost thought we should take him home as a pet. His antics were enough to keep us chuckling for hours.

When and where it is available, we like to rent a canoe for the week. At the price of it though, we beginning to think it might be time to invest in our own canoe. We canoe everyday, sometimes several times a day when we camp. It is so beautiful and relaxing out on the quiet lake and we don't have to worry about motor boats or jet skis running us over like we would if we were out on our local lake at home.


We also did some biking and hiking. Nothing is flat (except the Old Railroad Bike Trail), so you always have to watch out for roots, ruts, and rocks, as Beans says. We did a mountain bike trail (as I mentioned in my bike post) and wondered if we would make it out in one piece. We ended up hiking more of it than biking it. When we finally made it to the end of the trail, we read the board about the trail. Umm yeah, we certainly are not moderately experienced mountain bikers. Oops! The rest of the trails we were able to do without a problem and were much more able to enjoy the beautiful scenery without taking our life into our hands :o).

A beautiful view on the Hemlock Bluff trail.

Biking to the beach.

The scenery is breathtaking at every twist and turn we took weather, hiking, biking, or riding in the van.

Dropping Bub off for cadet camping. He only spent the beginning and the end of the week with us as he was enjoying the Algonquin experience with other cadets from around Ontario.

Sometimes canoes grow legs of their own and walk ;0)! I'm glad ours didn't.

Finally, what camping trip would be complete without a fire every evening!

*Sigh!* I only wish we were going for our annual September trip in a few weeks, but the Engineer will be tied down at work for the next six weeks or so. It is so nice to get away!