Killarney Sep 6

 You know it's gonna be a special day when you have hot chocolate for breakfast!

Even if it's raining.

 The loons came out to entertain while we enjoyed hot choc and bday candy. Yum! We did add something a bit more substantial to our stomachs as we were moving along today. Three (or four?) small portages and lotsa paddling.

 Jennifer got the front seat -- Daniel said he'd be a gentleman for her today.

 Candy at portages...makes it not feel like work! Makes the wetness not be as noticeable too. :)

 What a load to carry on a special day! Looks pretty impressive.

 For her size and body weight it is a lot.

 Evelyn has to carry a fair bit too.

 Yup, all the kids are helping out...so then we don't need to double back. :) Although if it's just 50 meters, the kids come back for paddles and odds and ends.

 Another lake, another paddle...

 And a new bag of candy at every portage! Wow!

 Almost there! The weather is clearing up...cloudy still, but no more rain. :) Time to set up camp. And open another bag of candy. Mmmm. (there's no cake, after all)

 A gift!! Someone packed that in with care and hid it well to save for today.

 Her own iphone! Daniel put a lot of thought into the apps he installed. And included a manual, as Jennifer doesn't know much about electronic devices. Very nice.

Jennifer and I went off to paddle together. It had been her special request.

 After we took off we saw Matthew and Daniel following us. After we explored the island we hid out of sight. Had they seen us land?

 Yup!! After they landed we dashed off again. And the chase was on!

 There was a really hilarious (for us, not the boys) occurrence of the boys getting way behind and desperate to catch up they ended up sitting facing opposite directions and making a huge racket. It looked like it was meant for a Norman Rockwell painting. They managed to get back to the campsite, rather slowly, but were not happy with each other. So us girls headed out for a quieter exploration trip. This time nobody chased us.

 Checking out a hillside.

 Take a picture of me!

 Practicing for PNG style play, the kids found an old pail from some other campers left behind as garbage and used it to play...lugging water (it did leak, but who cares!) and dumping it.

Killarney Sep 5

 Today was our "rest day". Meaning, we get to camp on the same site and not have to pack and unpack. BUT we were going for a hike today.

 The hike could be accessed off of David Lake, but quite on the other end. So it took over an hour to paddle over there. We just hopped in two canoes...to maximize our number of paddlers per boat.

 The trail had open sections at the beginning which are very beautiful to walk through. There are huge piles of stones to mark the trail...lest you get lost in the fog and rain, or snow. Maybe.

 So folks, we have to head to the left, go down, then go forwards, head right and go back up.

Better get goin'

 It sure is hot out, so rest time is in the shade.

 The other kids got ahead of Evelyn and I. We plodded on at the back, taking gorp every now and then, or water, for energy. Are we almost there?

 Yay! We made it!

 What a view!

 Heading off to where we thought the peak was...it was actually on the other side. We did make it eventually.

 View to the ocean. Oh, oops, that's just a lake. Great.

 Lotsa fun walking on the open top. Lots of flat smooth rock to run around on.

 Lovely views all around.

 Back down again...steep sides to walk past!

 The way down was long. Lotsa tired folks plodding along. Had to ration the water a little as well. And once at the lake we weren't home free either. Lotsa paddling 'til we are back. We were happy that it wasn't windy or rainy, just a plodding paddle back.

 Yay, we made it!

Killarney Sep 4

8

 The only dry place to sit after a soaking day is good old rocks. Jennifer and Evelyn enjoyed a morning chat over their morning breakfast.

 Some of us just stood up to keep our bottoms dry. And tried to get some warmth from the campfire. It helped, a little, on one side at a time.

 Portage time!

 Nathan and Melanie headed out to check a further campsite. We were to be on David Lake for two nights, so we wanted the best site on the lake! Being a large lake, though, we only checked the sites within a reasonable paddle.

 I had my heart set on a site that was open and sunny and full of gorgeous Killarney style rocks. But I could not find three spots to put tents up...sleep was more of a priority over beauty.

 The second best site turned out get more sun than the first one, and we all did enjoy having comfy beds.

It was almost warm enough to swim. Jennifer and Evelyn did a little. More of a wading style and exploring the water swim most of the time though. And it didn't tempt the rest of us.

 Chilling. It's a holiday, after all!

 We explored around the shore...it was nice and accessible. :)

 Matthew Melanie Daniel and I bushwhacked to hit the shore at a different spot and then followed the shore back. It was a beautiful walk. We got fairly close to the site that Melanie and Nathan had checked out (also didn't have enough good tent spots).

 Someone spotted this very cool spider's web. It's like a tornado funnel, and has two open ends. In the middle was a spider, waiting for dinner to show up.

Killarney Sep 3

 We knew Tuesday was going to be rainy later on...so we had paddled as far as we could the day before to make this day a quick one. We were packed and ready to go by 9am. A really early start for us!

 A quick paddle to the end of the lake

 and a windy bit until we got to the very short portage.

 We unloaded on the first available site...it was pretty reasonable for us, so why not?

By 10am we had a tent set up!! Which is great as our old faithful tent is a bit less waterproof these days...it was a big benefit to have it put down onto a dry surface. :) It was a long wet day...but we got through it. Between downpours and heavy rain we explored a little, and best of all we had mostly dry tents and dry clothes...and since it's September we certainly want that!

Killarney Sep 2

 Apparently we are not allowed to skip out on camping even for one year when we have a big trip planned. So, off we went to Killarney...we included Labour Day so that it was a worthwhile trip (meaning, enough camping to make up for the packing, unpacking and cleanup).

 Wow we love driving together as a family (occasionally).

 Our canoes looked super empty this year. That's 'cause we rented three!

 My fellow boat-mates. We were so light on the water we whizzed over it like dragonflies. ;)

 Setting up camp on Little Joe Lake.

 Lovely views and peaceful camping. Oh yeah, that's why we like going! :)