Blogs from Kenora, Ontario, Canada, North America

We skipped doing a canoe trip last year due to a variety of issues (covid, dock, boat lifts, funerals etc) so this year there were thoughts about going back to Dryberry Lake after our return from Ireland. However there were lots of dock and tree issues in June and we typically don’t do canoe trips in early summer due to mosquitos and flies. Our objective then became to do a four day trip at the end of August. Our inspiration to canoe Dryberry Lake originally came from Andy Miles back in 2020. Sadly Andy passed away last May. We also had Roy Ward on two of our trips but it also seems his overnight wilderness camping career is over. The list of people available for travel adventures grows ever shorter. However this year we were able ... read more

This is going to be a 2 part blog which will describe our triumphant return to canoe tripping this past summer. Our odyssey started in the fall of 2018 with the purchase of a used kevlar canoe from a friend. This was not a popular decision as there was widespread scepticism as to whether we would ever use it. ( we also already have 2 canoes) However the new (to us) canoe only weighs about 40 pounds versus 85 for the Grumman and 70 for the Sportspal. The new craft is also quite a lot faster. Trip One-Drewery Lake Our first trip which was planned as a 2 day one night shakedown voyage took place on June 30th/July 1st. This trip route was inspired by a friend (Garth Ward) who had "discovered"this area as an early ... read more

Bonjour à tous, Hier je vous disais que je ne devrais pas être gêné ni par le train, les Harley, ou un groupe de chinois, une chose que j'avais oublié, une voisine très expressive dans ces ébats. C'est la première fois que ça m'arrive à ce point là. Par curiosité ce matin j'aurais bien voulu voir à quoi elle ressemblait. Ça été intense mais bref, et en tout cas, c'est moins désagréable que toutes les autres nuisances. Ce matin c'est le deuxième jour consécutif que j'ouvre le toit avant de quitter le parking de l'hôtel. Cet hôtel en terre indienne c'est avéré très bien, et en plus j'ai bien soupé, le tout pour une somme modique. Comme avec les guides, j'avais pu prévoir ma journée d'aujourd'hui, avec au programme 3 parcs à traverser. Coincé par 2 ... read more

Final days at lake of the woods. Good morning, today was like normal. But people are starting to leave. Rob and Germaine left in the morning. Today we saw a snake and Logan caught it and he got musked.any way Today was cloudy and colder, but Jordan, Steph and I still went swimming, then ran up to the hot tub to get warmed up. At night Janine, Steph, Jordan and Kristen made a cake out of puff wheat and Rice Krispy in the shape of the world map. With a card with everyones signature on it. In the morning, Logan and Jordan left. Following, were David and Kristin at noon. It's winding down now. Today was less exciting and we might be leaving tomorrow :(. Adam, Steph and the three boys left this morning. I convinced ... read more

Today, we got to Lake of the Woods. I'll explain what it looks like we are in a bay in a nice loge cabin with trees around uses e lake In front of use. Wen we arrived we unpacked It was about 6:00. My three cousins, Danny, Kristen and David and Uncle Bruce went out fishing. When they came back, me, Dad, Grampa and Bruce went out fishing. Grampa was the only one to catch a fish. My aunt Jeanine made a nice supper that night.Me and Dad slept in the cabin. In the morning, we set up our tent. Then we had a small party for the cousins with a really good cake. Me, Jeanine and Grampa played horse shoes, And Grampa kicked our butt, but it was really fun. Nearing the end of the ... read more