Algonquin, Aug 20, Thursday

Aug 20
This was a "Rest Day", meaning, our campsite was the same for two nights.

We had our first campfire--we had one almost every night. I forgot to pack marshmellows (poor kids!!) so instead we roasted dirty diapers and watched them disappear...saved us packing them around and adding to our weight.

Halfway through the trip my memory card was full (I didn't even have a hundred pics yet!! I messed it during my last holiday) so I had to delete a bunch. Philip would not let me delete all of his disgusting bug pictures. I saved one for him so that he can identify it later.
He was wondering if we were seeing some pine beetle damage during the trip.

All the happy campers:





(It's only day two and look at Matthew already!!)


We had enough sunshine in the afternoon for the kids to splash in the lake a bit.

Notice the calm...before the storm!! Apparently Thursday was tornado day for other spots of Ontario. I believe it! After the peaceful sunshine in the early afternoon, clouds rolled in. Then it started to drizzle. We had lots of time to get out the rain gear and set up the tarp. Dduring supper I had to rush all of supper stuff to the small dryish spot under the tarp, where we gobbled our food and watched in fascination as a great wall of rainwater rushed across the lake to us. Then it poured and poured!!


We went to bed early (there isn't much to do if you don't want to get muddy and wet), and it started to thunder. From inside our cozy dry tent we could see the water pouring down the hillside like a creek. Good thing we were set up on a slope, and not at the bottom in a valley, or we would have been swimming in our sleep. It sure was impressive, such a vast amount of water! Some of the thunder also shook the ground...which you can really feel when you're laying right on it in what feels like the center of the storm--I've never felt that before!! The kids dropped off to sleep before and during the noisiest part of the the thunderstorm.

Algonquin, Aug 19, Wednesday

What a fabulous holiday!!

For future reference for myself, I'm adding daily info on the trip...so that next big trip planning will be easier (I hope). The scheduling of the trip worked out great, and we were almost always already at our new site by 1, and the latest at 2, with the exception of the first day when we arrived sometime after 3 in the afternoon. So the days were leisurely enough for a young family of 5.

The electric green is where we went--so you can see what section of Algonquin we spent our time in. We hardly saw any of the park! Last year we were up in the north west part.


Each day is a new color. Lines are water travel, dots are portages or campsites, the number corresponds to the date we spent the night there.

Aug 19

We set out from home by 9, and got to the park by noon. It took us an hour to paddle across Smoke Lake, these pictures were taken at the end of the portage. This is one of the two portages that Matthew did on foot, since it was relatively short, and besides, it was flat with very few rocks and roots in the path. Nathan and Melanie walked them all. :)


A man made dam at the end of the portage. There was a log chute built here back in the day when it was heavily logged. (More details on the logging and damming on the 21st.)


What a beautiful sunny day! I got roasted to a painful cherry red in just a few hours!! Next time the sunscreen should be left accessible!

Back safe

details next week

Packed up

Ready to go...except whatever important things we must be missing...everything fits in fewer bags than ever before--and we rented a bigger canoe than ever before...must mean we're forgetting something very important! We shall see!

Mommy Roze's Photo Shoot

Inspired by my friend, I tried my best to capture my only awake child while I was in the "artistic mood".




Maybe I'll try again with one of the boys next time...
how do I rate for an amateur?

Puzzles and packing

I told Nathan one morning that I thought he could finish the puzzle that day, since he was getting them in quite easily...and only had a bit more than 20 left. He managed to do it too yet! But not all at once--when Melanie and Matthew were having too much fun downstairs, he thought he should be there to restrain them. ;)


I started packing food for the camping trip, and this is how far I've gotten. It looks so yummy, that if I have to wait much longer, I may have to buy and bag it all over again!! Not that healthy looking though. :o I'm sure glad that I don't need to carry the food bag...once all the meals are in too, it's gonna weigh a ton!!

Top quality through the window pictures

The kids are busy outside as I type. I didn't dare step outside and get nice pictures because
1. The neighbours might see me and think I'm weird
2. The kids will see me and likely go back inside with me.

Instead, I leaned awkwardly at the window with my camera in order to get a good angle. This, I'm sure, looked perfectly normal to my neighbours.

Note the beautiful new asphalt! We got that a week or two ago now...but only we were the lucky ones. Around the corner, just past where you can't see anymore, it is still dirt.
Wasn't it nice of them to even go so far that we wouldn't see any inconsistencies in the completion of road work from our yard?
Some people are so thoughtful!

Blond Moment or Pregnancy Brain?

(Seems like I have to lock my keys in the van/car at least once each pregnancy.
I can't remember doing it with the last pregnancy...but maybe that's because I'd already done it once when I was still unmarried? Or maybe I just forgot about that one.)

I've done it again.

Me and the kids pull up at the mall to do my annual bulk barn and dry sausage run at the mall (it being farmer's market Wednesday). I put my keys in my purse, opened up the door, hit the unlock button (so I thought--but I actually pushed it the OTHER way, which is lock!) and stepped out to open the hatch at the back. I shut the door. (Usually I double check where my keys are, or hang them around my neck because I JUST KNOW I'm gonna do it to myself again sometime.) I try open the back of the van.
No go.

It's locked!!!!

Out of my mouth a bad word leaps forth (with the back window open a crack this is bad for young ears! :o ).

Once my pounding heart subsided, some logical thinking began...and the problem was solved in less than two minutes.

FORTUNATELY Nathan is no longer a baby. He is also in a booster seat. He can undo the seat belt, get out entirely unaided. The solution was simply a matter of instructing him to get out, climb to the front of the van, and push the unlock button I was pointing at.

The van is unlocked. I lunge for my purse (and keys), and thank my oldest son profusely!!

(Can't wait 'til next pregnancy. ;) )