Call of the Wild erness

---

August 6 Burk's Falls Ontario

Pleasant and uneventful drive to Burk's Falls. The roads are good and very little traffic.
I even drive half the way after a stop at Tim Hortons - a canadian institution -
for coffee and cookies.
The scenery changes to vast mixed forest and frequent lakes with long straight roads.
Almost no buildings just miles of nature. The view is uplifting and makes driving a breeze.
Stop at a lakeside picnic area for a comfort break and have to work hard to stop the boys
getting soaked in the lake.
Nearing our destination a few 'towns' start appearing along the road.They are 90% commercial
centres with the usual billboards and car lots.
Arrive at the cabin site mid afternoon.
There are 6 rustic log cabins set in the woods along the lake shore.
Ours has 2 bedrooms (well two bits semi partioned off) a veranda with insect screening and
a view of the lake, a good kitchen with huge fridge and cooker and a living room area with
a bot pellied log stove.
The main part is made of huge logs and statisfies my idea of what all canadian houses
should look like.
The toilet is outside up in the woods and contains an 'RV' toilet i.e. it isn't mains.
Back to not throwing loo paper down the toilet. It's amazing how normal that seems now.
The door has to be locked on the outside when not in use to keep out the wildlife.
There are 2 showers in another cabin a few metres away.
We have our own dock, there is an outside firepit for communal use and a small sandy
playground.
That's it really...no shop...no bar...no TV (hurray!)...no internet access and no mobile
phone reception.

The owner gives us a run down of the best places to swim and the need not to leave food
outside as it encourages the racoons and bears (There are bears in this wood?) and we are
left to fend for ourselves.

It is extremely peaceful and so beautiful.

Take a walk in the woods. Very rocky but with a bed of pine needles to soften the ground.
No one else around and only the odd power boat on the lake breaks the silence.


August 7 Lake Cecebe

Woke up really early as it was very cold and we did not bring blankets!
I venture into town to see if the shops can help with that. Had to wait for them to open
but got 3 fleece blankets so tonight should be ok. Very lucky as it is Sunday.
Lazy day enjoying the peace and quiet and the views.
Steve, Owen and Rory swam in the lake but I chickened out.
There is a diving board set near a deep part of the lake so there was lots of jumping
and splashing. It looked like great fun.


August 8 Lake Cecebe

Not so cold this morning thank goodness.
After breakfast and a swim we drove into Huntsville, a nearby town, for a look around.
Feels like a frontier/colonial place. Lots of old fashioned shop fronts and the like.
The town skirts another lake a bit more upmarket from where we are staying. Too many
motor boats for my taste.
Super veggie lunch in cafe in the back of a gift shoppe.
Raid the tourist office and then try to find the local Museum.
The museum looks closed but it isn't. It is attached to a 'pioneer' village in the
style of Ironbridge. We are too late to visit the theme village so make do with
the exhibits instead.
Although it is a small place there is a lot of interesting info about how and when
this area was settled (mostly by the English and Scots) and several odd looking artifacts
from the trapping and hunting era.
The town was founded by a George Hunt in the 1860's. He is not one of my ancestors that
I know of.
The boys are bored because I am taking my time and so they climb the tree at the
entrance to the museum. How embarassing.
Stop at supermarkets on the way home. The boys are moaning for pillows
(we didn't bring those either) and I think the red wine stocks might be low.
Find and buy both.
Custody of a canoe for the evening.( Steve says: That is a canoe and not a kayak. Canoes are open, less stable and easier to fall out of.)
Great fun paddling around the lake. Owen not the best steerer in the world but we got
back eventually and no-one fell in.
A swim before tea but again I could not be pursuaded to join in.

August 9 Lake Cecebe

A quick breakfast and then Steve takes it in turns to paddle with Owen and Rory.
They are getting better but I'm sure Suzanna would have had a few comments on their style.
Another swim ...no I didnt go in and then we leave Owen reading and doing Maths and the
rest of us drive around the lake.
Stop at a dam which was quite impressive but not much water going over it at this time
of year.
Then proceed to get lost on the back roads. There are miles of forest roads with the odd
drive for a homestead and then miles of nothing. It must be very isolated here in the winter.
Most of the roads we used could not possibly be passable in snow and temperatures of minus 30.
Eventually make it back to a town more by luck than judgement and stock up. Strange shop and it seems very expensive.
Another swim before tea for the boys. They tried the swimming platform near the cabin today
but they didnt like the weeds much.

August 10 Lake Cecebe

No outings today. Swimming, walking in the woods, reading and card playing are the orders of
the day.
The surroundings are so beautiful that it is easy to do very little.

August 11 Lake Cecebe

Trip to Baysville today where one of my ancestors emigrated in 1871.

Situated at the South end of the Lake of Bays.
Mostly wooden houses painted pastel colours with a few brick houses here and there.
It no longer has a school but has at least 2 churches.
There are no fences at the front of properties, something that appears the done
thing in Ontario.
One edge of the village is bounded by the river which culminates in a dam near
the town dock.
The other side of the village stretches along the Highway 117.

On both sides of the river there were benches and swimming holes but no obvious
authorised parking on the village side.
So we crossed the bridge and picniced at the water's edge. It would have been very
peacful but for the crew demolishing the old trading place shop across the road from us.
The boys decided to swim before lunch and happily jumped in the river.
It was then established that Owen is not a fast enough swimmer to catch ducks.
Just above the shoreline is the forest hiding more houses.
The Lake of Bays opens out above the village and accommodates hundreds of small wooden
docks, motor boats and canoes.
It is very picturesque.

We cross back to the main village and park on the road. A short walk takes us to the Dam
where the view downriver is amazing.
At the village end of the dam are more picnic benches and a carpark.
Steve, Rory and I wander along the main street leaving Owen contemplating the river.

The village has several antique shops and more than one ice cream parlour.
The one we visited was not a typical sterile stainless steel chain but was located
in what seemed to be someones kitchen.
There was a range of 1970's cupboards behind the counter with 3 teenage boys lolling about
drinking smoothies. They were not neglectful though and waited paitienly while Rory
chose from some unique flavours.
These included caramel snapping turtle (which Rory decided on) moose trail, bear claw and
death by chocolate.
Moose trail was white ice cream with chocolate bits in - remember there is snow on the
ground here for 6 months of the year. I will leave the brown bits to your imagination.
They did not include one flavour we found and tried in Burk's Falls named Tigers Tail.
Orange and liquorice an aquired taste in my opinion. What do we do with
the other 1.8 litres?

After failing to find the phone box (there is no mobile reception here) we return to find Owen making his way across the river by way of rocks. Not the most sensible idea he has ever had.
He gets back to shore with only one leg wet to the thigh.

Drive to the phone box and I ring Ruby Jackson who I am told will help me with family info.
Ruby invites us to 'visit' for a while and she'll tell me what she knows.
Her house is 1 minute down the road with a sign outside saying Jackson brothers.
We leave the boys in the car with the nintendos and retire to an airconditioned porch.
Ruby is a Jackson by marriage but has a lot of knowledge of the clan.
We hear some interesting stories and get directions to cemeteries which might hold
some Jacksons.
I promise to let her know if we find Raymond and Annie but it seems a long shot.

Fruitless visit to a couple of cemeteries but we do find the grave of Raymond's first wife
in Stoneleigh where his farm was. The farm is no longer in the family.

Swim before tea ... again not me...and then cribbage before bed.

August 12 Lake Cecebe

Last full day here and the weather is rotten. Dark and rainy and actually quite cold.
School work, reading, sewing, planning next leg of trip and more cards.
Rory is disenchanted with cribbage so we play rummy and I beat the pants off everyone
for a change.

Will be sorry to leave here.

August 13 Pembroke and Montreal

Pack car and reluctantly leave our cabin. All of us have enjoyed it here and thankfully
there have been no bears. Just the odd chipmonk popping out from under the privy steps.
Stop at Burk's Falls to phone Mum. Text message from Josephine informing us that she has
written off the car. Apparently not her fault and no one was hurt.
Drive through more gorgeous scenery (through the Algonquin National Park), stop for 'fries' at the Chip Wagon in Barry's Bay en route to Pembroke.

Pembroke is on the Ottawa river on the Ontario side. It is Saturday afternoon, family fun day, there is a fair in town and ... there are no people.
We walked along the equivalent of the High Street at 3 pm and we were the only people around.
Some of the shops may have been open but tourist office was not and the cafe we chose (from 2) shut 5 mins before we got to the door.
We were planning to stay here for the night but there is little point really.
Get back on the road and keep an eye out for a motel. There is nothing.
Once we hit Ottawa we decide to continue on to Montreal.
Phone to check if that is Ok with Elaine to be told they are in the midst of painting
'our' room but if we can live with the smell they are happy to have us.
You dont know how grateful we are to hear this.
Short diversion to pick up an Indian take away as a peace offering (and because we
have not had curry for an age).
Meal was very good.
'Our' room is now yellow and green. Very colourful!
Oh what a comfy bed! And a flushing loo!

---

Photos

My Idea of Canadian Dwellings
Our Housekeeping Cabin on the shores of Lake Cecebe

Lake Cecebe
View from our dock

Lake Edge
The view from below our cabin.

Opposite side
The view from below our cabin looking the other way. The 'grass' at the edge are water hyacinth.

Houseboat
This is what we could see from the rocking chairs on the porch.
With the movement of the 'swing' it was like beinging at sea

3 men - where's the boat
All the boys suitably dressed to try the canoe

Are we ready for this
Me and the boys fighting over the paddles.

Real tree trunks
The main body of our cabin

Go Jump in the Lake
Rory jumping into the lake from the diving board.

The Deep End
Rory and Owen swimming in the lake.
It is deep here but Owen has found an underwater rock to stand on.
Both boys are singing 'Rock Lobster' but you cant hear that luckily for you.

Cool Boys
Owen and Rory trying to be cool

Too much paddling
Owen after two circuits of the lake.

Sitting on the dock of the bay
Steve and Rory chilling on our private dock.

Another lake jumped in
Baysville lake. The boys took dip here before lunch.

View from Baysville Dam
Baysville Dam looking downsteam.