So, by an unplanned series of events (see previous entry), on Tuesday August 20 we woke up in Kanata, Ontario for the second time this holiday, although at a different location (we had camped there on July 24, while seeing the sights in Ottawa). After the standard breakfast from the McDonalds inside the Wal-Mart, Rhonda made a quick trip to the Canadian Tire across the street and then we headed north and west through Renfrew and some other small towns to Algonquin Provincial Park, arriving at our campsite beside Rocky Lake reasonably early. It was nice to go swimming, and just enjoy the area and the sunshine and take a break from driving. I even took two bikes down off the rack for the kids to ride, and Rhonda’s bike was handy for towing a wagon to the laundromat, garbage cans, etc., which were quite a ways from the campsite. The girls met a friend from Toronto and went to her campsite for a fire in the evening, while we cleaned up and then sat outside and played our harmonicas and strumstick.
at Rocky Lake, Algonquin Park
On Wednesday morning we took our time getting packed up. The kids went swimming again, and Rhonda and I took Salty on a bike ride/run to a part of the lake where dogs were allowed to go swimming. We then drove to the Algonquin Arts Centre where we enjoyed the gallery and bought some art, continued to another store/restaurant/canoe rental place by a lake where Rhonda bought a loon flute that mimics the four calls of the Common Loon. We finally left the park by driving west to Huntsville and across to Parry Sound on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay (Lake Huron). Continuing north along the lake, we stopped at Sturgeon Bay Provincial Park for about an hour for a snack, and Lyndsay had a swim. By the time we got to Sudbury it was too late/dark to check out “the Giant Nickel”, so we just bypassed the city and headed west to Chute Provincial Park at Massey, arriving at 10:00 PM. We then had a very late dinner and watched part of a movie before bed.
Algonquin Park
Before leaving our campsite on Thursday morning (August 22) we walked down to the waterfall in the park. The park is named for a wooden chute that was used for many decades to carry logs around the falls, back in the days when they used to float logs down the rivers to mills along the lake. We then drove west, retracing some of our steps from July, waving hello to Serpent River Campground (where we stayed the night of July 11) as we drove past. We continued west to Iron Bridge, then turned north into the hills, eventually getting to 7 Mile Lake outside Chapleau by mid-afternoon. There we were greeted by Joyce and Leo Vezina, parents of our good friend Darryl who lives just down the street from us. Also staying there was their grand-daughter Riley from California. We were shown wonderful hospitality, served wine and scotch as well as a great dinner, and the girls enjoyed swimming in the lake (while wearing dry suits to protect them from the cold water). After dinner there was a campfire, and Rhonda and Leo had fun playing their loon flutes together.
After a nice breakfast on Friday morning, we said our thank-you’s and good-byes and headed west to Wawa and the famous (at least locally) Young’s General Store. We had stopped there for gas in early July, but hadn’t gone inside the store. We spent quite a while inside this interesting store, but in the end all we bought was a big 4 litre jug of local maple syrup. We then drove a short distance to the visitor centre where we had stopped in July, and Lyndsay bought a “Gitchee Goomee” stuffy. Continuing west, we stopped for lunch at Pukaskwa National Park on the shores of Lake Superior near Marathon, bought cheap gas on the Fort William Indian Reserve at Thunder Bay (we had stopped there in July), and carried on to Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park, where we looked at the falls and then camped for the night. This waterfall is higher than Niagara and also carries a lot of water (not nearly as much as Niagara, of course), making for an impressive sight and a lot of spray.
Chute Provincial Park
at 7 Mile Lake
Rhonda and Leo either playing Loon Flutes or smoking something strange
Group Photo at 7 Mile Lake
Pukaskwa National Park
On Saturday August 24 we viewed the falls some more (from the other side of the river this time), then continued west to Kenora, stopping for lunch in a rest area along the road, for gas and shopping in Dryden, and for propane in Kenora. We got a site in a municipal campground on the shore of Lake of the Woods, where Lyndsay had a swim. It was known that a big storm was coming, so we got everything under cover just in time, and took cover in the motorhome until the wind, heavy rain, and lightning passed, while cooking and eating dinner. After dinner we watched a movie. This was our sixth and final night in Ontario this time through, as opposed to 20 nights there in July on the eastbound part of our vacation. Kenora is only half an hour or so east of the Manitoba border, and is in the same time zone as Manitoba. 
Kakabeka Falls
Lake of the Woods, Kenora
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