toadyandtadpole

my cat checking out the maps for next spring’s trips.

AY Jackson’s red maple and me!

barren landscape near Sudbury ON. Less forest= less bears. Too many bear encounters this summer. YIKES

The rare seeded and bEARy filled flower that nobody wants near their tent.

giddy grins before digging in!

teamwork

My dad and my son at the campfire. Our last “glamping” trip at thanksgiving.

Last thing we checked after our bear encounter. Thank goodness I had the skills to do this.

Josh and I didn’t even use the fly on the tent. It was so hot and clear!

the calm before the storm on Stormy Lake

lunch

Josh’s view. He cut out the paddle. Amateur!

Josh and I after a sleepless night from a bear encounter.

the box of thunder.

Josh getting into the Hap Wilson book!

I want to be where the people are….(not). My mermaid tale! #wildnernessbling

smooth moves. Joshua was learning to paddle with stealth, keeping the paddle in and gliding it, silently through the water.

reading canoe roots on the canoe trip

let the tetris game begin!

It was an adventure all summer growing this beard. He is friendlier then he looks. :)

Bird Banding today. Citizen Science in action!

Temagami North, Temagami West….etc. So many places to choose from. Jeff’s map will get you there.

When in Temagami…..get the outfitter staff to hold the PITPC flag :) Funny, she has one too!

It was as hot as H$LL on the H$ll’s gate trail in the provincial park!

best camping coffee maker!

this was hard to do for so many reasons: 1. past my bedtime waiting for darkness, 2. It is freezing, like a fall night, 3. losing my balance, squatting near the fire and operating camera and holding flag. But got it!

KapKigIwan Provincial Park, Engleheart Ontario. This park has stolen my heart. The waterfalls are amazing. What a shame that the government has downloaded this park to the Municipality.

It is not ideal for kids/families due to unsafe water for swimming, but this park is sadly overgrowing. Campsite fire pits are full of over growth. The built infrastructure is rotting and is such a shame. So many vistas to see and...

capturing the falls in the sketch book

looking out through the looking glass for birds

big tall trees = big umbrellas. Our fire stayed burning thanks to the canopy in Awenda.

kayak on the water. Eagle Lake, South River ON

Haileybury ON. Cafe/Bistro Meteor. Brand new and amazing! Gluten Free, dairy free, whatever your body needs, they make it. I love this place. Named after an old steam ship from Lake Temiskaming. Ship artifacts decorate the bistro.

Montreal River Power Station. It is so big and scary!

my friend is both older then me :) and has not been out there in a very long time! It was great to get her hiking Devil’s Peak and stand on a 300 foot cliff.

hiking to Devil’s Peak to see 300 foot cliffs.

camping in Awenda. So far our most southern Provincial Park visit.

which way? I got lost at Awenda on the trails. So many crossings, so few markers. No distance markers. But being lost just meant I saw and experienced more, right?

“regrowth” Natural planters! There were trees all through the park that were regrowing new shoots. They looked like mini flower pots!

casting call?

So this happened a couple of weeks ago. If you ask Josh, he wrestled out of a head lock with a bear. If you ask me, a trampoline was involved. Hopefully cast comes off tomorrow and we can get back to the...

Hello Hap!

In line at dinner for the North Bay Mattawa Canoe race. Lo and behold, this guy is in front of us. Felt slightly stalker-ish, but it was for a good cause! :)...

crack. Should have gotten out of the canoe before the water level dropped over the rocks. Oops.

Big Joe Muffraw. A new 16 foot wooden carving statue unveiled this weekend in Mattawa ON.

Joe Montferrand (1802-1864) is one of Canada's most famous lumberjacks and athletes, and as Joe Mufferaw, has recently become one of Canada's folk heroes. He would marvel at the changes in the forest industry, as shown in the Forestry Expo in Mattawa beginning today and...

In the Mikisew office with Park staff and our permit.

Mikisew Ranger at the beach

This ranger was putting up the signs that Joshua requested to advocate for the ducks safety....

Duck Advocate.Joshua visited the park office 3 times and asked the staff to please put up signs that asked campers to not feed the ducks.

The ducks were dependent on humans feeding them chips, bread and other non-duck food. The ducks were also getting fairly aggressive on the beach. Josh also approached campers, adults and kids, and explained to them why feeding the ducks was harming them, and...

Tree education at Mikisew

Amy was a great program facilitator for kids at Mikisew Provincial Park! Here are the kids with their park magnifying screens studying leaves, cones and needles....

Fall in July?

Reading in the hammock with down blankets in July. It was chilly! Couldn't get on the water today, the waves were too big....

learning how to tie knots at Mikisew Provincial Park

Josh and I rented a double Kayak. We needed to explore some islands to find geocaches, and I was able to teach him some knots to secure our kayak. Great fun!...

paddling tandem

Joshua and I paddling a double kayak together in Mikisew Provincial Park. Both of us in our PFD's! ...

sunset on Eagle Lake at the Narrows

after fishing was done, we caught the sunset. ...