AMAZING ALGONQUIN PARK

Here is one of my favourite shots from our portage camping trip to Algonquin Park.

We packed our Red Honda Civic full of camping gear...

and strapped on the canoes.

So for the uninitiated, a portage canoe trip is when you canoe across lakes and hike through the forest with everything you need (tent, food, clothes, bowls, pots, utensils, rope, hatchet, flash lights, bug spray, cameras,...you get the picture) on your back, including the canoe.

Here is the tent all four of us slept in for the entire trip. We stayed at a different campsite every night.

We brought steaks for our first night. Jenn keep with her none-flesh-eating ways and had a yummy salad.

These cups/bowl/plates were used for almost every meal. We used them for porridge, coffee, pasta, hot chocolate, steak and potatoes, rice... So you either ate your porridge or drank your coffee but you could not do both.

Jenn appointed herself kichen director. She did everything, find/make the kitchen table, collect firewood, wash the dishes ... everything but cook.

Every campsite has a Dunny/Privy for well, ah, um, ... well the toilet paper says it all.

But I can't think of anything more beautiful to look at when you're doing your business than an endless woodland.

Look Mum, One hand!

Oh Steve, quit showing off

Don't worry, the green cases on Mary Jane's back are not for guns, they're for the fishing rods. The rods were used A LOT! The number of fish we caught...well we'll talk about that later.

By the second day Steve was a pro at portaging and steering his canoe with the "J" stroke.

We rented these waterproof backpacks. They were huge but worth the rental price, even though we had blue skies everyday.

OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS

We spotted this sticky-toed frog on our tent on our last night.

These tiny tree toads were all over the portage routes. Some were grey, or green but we really loved this red/copper one.

This cheeky little chipmunk (whom we named Chippy - actually we called every chipmunk at every camp site "Chippy" and pretented it was the same chipmunk that had followed us across land and water) was so bold, I got within a metre of it to take this shot.

Some gorgeous dragonflies of myriad colours flew around us daily.

Hey look it's "Chippy" again!

One evening while Steve and I were "fishing" we spotted this beaver and tried to follow him.

These baby loons swam by us while Steve was "fishing".

When this butterfly had it's wings folded, it blended right into the rocks but brillant colours are displayed on the top.

SO, WHAT DID WE DO ALL DAY?

We went swimming.

Relaxed with Mother Nature.

Jenn slept everywhere - maybe 'cause of the jetlag, maybe the fresh air, maybe because of the the 40Kg backpack???

But as soon as she awoke from her slumber, she put on her makeup and fancied her hair and dressed like she was heading to the prom ( above photo is a more accurate discription).

We "fished"

... and "fished"

And look at all the fish!!! On the end of that lure is every fish we caught and ate. That's right we caught exactly ZERO fish.

Thank goodness we didn't listen to Steve when he suggested we not take ANY food and live off the bounty of his excellent angling.

Actually Mary Jane caught something, not sure how tasty that particular species of "fish" is though.

If you could read Steve's mind you would hear him saying " Why the BLEEP can't I BLEEP'ing catch any BLEEP'ing fish? My BLEEP'ing friends told me it was so BLEEP'ing easy to BLEEP'ing fish here, that I could catch BLEEP'ing fish with my BLEEP'ing bare hands!!!

If you could read Duncan's mind you would hear him saying " Why the BLEEP can't Steve BLEEP'ing catch any BLEEP'ing fish? His BLEEP'ing friends told him it was so BLEEP'ing easy to BLEEP'ing fish here, that he could catch BLEEP'ing fish with his BLEEP'ing bare hands!!!

Thank God we brought enough BLEEP'ing food and didn't listen to the BLEEP'ing EXPERT-FISHERMAN when he BLEEP'ing suggested we BLEEP'ing eat what we BLEEP'ing catch.

But all is well that ends well. Look at that beautiful sunset!

By the end of our canoe trip we were all smelly, tired, dirty, smelly, in need of something to drink that wasn't full of bark, bugs and dirt...oh and did I mention we were smelly? But I can't think of a better way to get back to basics and in touch with our Mother Earth than a camping trip away from everything with GREAT friends and family!