AstroGypsies

Last night at Otty Lake

Saying goodbye to Otty Lake. It is tugging on our heart-strings to leave, the melody of the loons crying is being replaced by the calls of Canadian geese flying South, the great V formations have started. As we have plotted our course West and then South we realize how quickly parks and RV campgrounds are closing, most already have by mid October so we are hunting and fishing looking for places to stay. Our last few days have been grey and drizzling and the air is getting a serious chill to it.

Maple leaves

A beautiful juvenile Bullfrog

No stopping this little monkey

Fall feeling

Beautiful Fall colours down a cottage road

One last forray into Ottawa and we came back with parathas, lentils and spices from the India Food Store as well as a stock of samosas for the freezer. Real bagels and sourdough bread to freeze as well. We’ll miss this diversity where we are going into the American midwest. Still not quite sure what we can and cannot take across the border but we’ll see! We made a trip North into Quebec to Gatineau Park for a visit to Pink Lake. What a treasure for the capital region to have this at their doorstep.

The colours are starting-Pink Lake is named after a family of Irish settlers who in 1826 cleared a farm in the area. It used to be a salt water lake as a part of the oceans. It took over 3000 years for the lake to turn from salt water to fresh water (generally a lake of this size shouldn’t take over a few decades) and as a result some of the salt water fishes adapted to fresh water. Pink Lake.

In the downtown market, Ottawa

I see a carrot cake in my future;)

Garlic braids

Pink Lake, Gatineau park. Pink Lake is meromictic, meaning that its upper and lower layers of water never mix. Normally a lake’s water layers mix completely each year during the spring and fall, because of water density, water and air temperature, and the wind. The mixing of lake waters distributes nutrients and oxygen evenly throughout the lake. Pink Lake’s waters do not mix, because it has a small surface and bowl-like shape, and is surrounded by steep cliffs that protect it from the wind. There is no oxygen in the deepest seven metres of the lake.

As the leaves are turning to brilliant oranges, yellows and reds we have been getting ourselves ready to travel again. The chairs have been put away, cleaning off the pine sap, last bits of garbage collected, recycling taken in, cottage fridge cleaned out and floors swept…saying goodbye to friends and the horses…there is always a bit of trepidation about resuming life on the road, but it will pass.

Last glimpses of Otty Lake

One last morning look down Slack Way

Goodbye beautiful Spotted Orb Weaver spider, see you and your babies in the Spring!

We headed out mid morning, letting the cat’s breakfast settle;) better than cleaning it up later:) We were not quite sure how Gamora was going to react to traveling in the truck, and Groot had shown signs of car sickness since his battle with the bee as well. Only Beezil curls up at my feet and falls asleep quietly.  The first few miles she looked astounded, I guess that is what you could call her look as we started down the road, but settled in quite quickly.  She would dive into her cardboard box when she became overwhelmed. Groot rides shotgun between the two of us and after several jumps of three hours Gamora was fast asleep upside down not caring where she was or what was going on around her…great travellers! A wonderful relief!

Lunch break at a pullout, they both say roast beef sandwiches are great but they should get one too;)

The first jump from Perth to Algonquin Park was a 280 km trip, about three and a half hours, enough to get our feet wet again:) The only campground available during the late Fall and Winter months is the Mew Lake Campground. I was glad we had booked a site ahead as when we arrived a tired looking young lady was turning people away from both the tent sites and nothing was available with electric either! looks like she’d had a few cranky campers stop in:) We backed into our site, quite tight between the trees but happy to be stopped, first day a success, no car sick cats and nice warm fireplace heater going! Time for a glass of wine and putting the feet up:)

Mew Lake at sunrise

The morning was overcast and foggy over the lake. A few ducks, that I thought were mallards, but turned out to be American Black Ducks were diving and swimming about looking for breakfast. The occasional Jay and Chickadee could be heard in the overhead canopy. Another lone photographer graced the beach. The only setback to this park is that Highway 60 runs right by the Northern part of the campground and the traffic noises start quite early.

wilted and ready to Fall

Backlit seeds

Lichens and moss

wet forests

The single red leaf

By noon the fog had cleared off and we had peeps of sun. We drove East on the 60 to the skirts of the park to top up the diesel, stopped for only can be called the worst burger I have encountered in my life at the Algonquin visitor center…OMG…what do all the poor buses full of foreign tourists think, this is Canadian food? A flabby bun with a barely warm burger that had been sitting for an undertermined amount of time under a heat lamp, it was greyish, topped by a wilted piece of romaine and an oxidized tomato slice served by a less than enthusiastic employee…this is a prime Gordon Ramsey set 0_0. HELLO Canada…get it together! This is NOT food, you want the visitors to survive their trip;)

View from the visitors center, Algonquin Park

The magnificent Spruce bog

Jay

American Pipit

American Black Duck, these should be renamed with North before American;)

The view barely made up for the bad taste in my mouth, nothing that a few mints and a walk around the Spruce bog boardwalk couldn’t save though. The wonderful smell of decay, hard to describe, at once slightly sweet, yet earthy…way better than the smell of that food. Back at the trailer for a few hours I explored around the campground watching the Black Ducks and an American Pipit poking about for worms by the water’s edge. We ventured a bit further East later in the day to a trail called Whiskey Rapids.

Whiskey Rapids

Glorious view of the Aspens

Our first truly dark sky in many months and some A-hole has all his lights on, all night:( what is wrong with people. If you are scared of the dark, stay in the city;)

A beautiful walk down to the Oxtongue River and along it for quite a while to a small set of rapids, not the roaring I was imagining but a nice quiet brook:) It was wonderful to have the sun back out and see that blue sky! After astronomical darkness set it, we ventured down to the beach for a spectacular view of the skies, somewhat hampered by an idiot camper with all his inside and outside lights on, sigh, pet peeve, sorry, if you are scared of the dark, stay in the city, leave these dangerous places for us;) It was so nice to see the Milky way setting and the trails of stars and galaxies rising across the night sky.

The next morning we packed up and headed to just South of Sudbury, a bit longer jump, to the only campground open, Carols. Sadly situated right beside the highway it was noisy. Richards Lake was beautiful at close to sunset but after 6 months of quiet at the lake this was not a spot we’d come back to. I couldn’t find a park nearby so we were looking forward to moving on…the big jump, out of Canada…0_0….oh dear, changes they are a coming;)

Richards Lake South of Sudbury

Stay tuned amigos as we cross back into the USA….Sault Saint Marie and Michigan here we come:)