A Long Weekend in Northern Ontario

We packed our car and headed 6 hours North West to the land of Sudbury. Our primary reason for visiting this part of Ontario was a friend's wedding, but we also decided to take full advantage of the area.

The highlight was our hike on the Chikanishing trail ("Chicka") in Killarney Park.

A rocky, moderate-rating terrain. Luckily, there were red arrows
painted on the rocks indicating where to go.

Margot loved hopping from rock to rock.
She nicknamed this move"the bunny hop"

Almost scrambling

Tree pose with a view of Georgian Bay.

An eagle and a tree balancing in the windswept terrain
(more breezy than windy)

What made this hike fun was the uneven terrain and the company

It wasn't all rock, there were a few forest interludes.
Simon and Margot finding raspberries.
Simon is using his sense of smell to check it they are
poisonous… doesn't smell like it ;)

We went off-course to get closer to the water.
The clear water was quite chilly!
I guess we won't be swimming there today.

The view

In the town of Killarney (population 500), about 10 minutes
outside of the park, there is the world famous "Herbert's Fish & Chips"
There is always a line up (this was at 2:00pm) and we waited
for about 30 minutes.

Margot enjoying the fish and chips.
It was good, but "world famous"? Really? Hum…
Maybe it's because everyone is so hungry after their day in the park
and it's the only place to eat...

We also played tourist in Sudbury and visited the top two attractions:

# 1 - The Big Nickle:

That's the small nickel and the long-gone penny

#2 - Science North Museum 

This museum exceeded my expectations! The layout, interactive displays and enthusiastic staff members made this a fun-filled Saturday.

Margot in the free-flying tropical butterfly gallery
This one who landed on her was a "Queen Butterfly" (related to the Monarch)

She wore an orange vest so it would attract the butterflies.
Behind her is the eclosion cabinet filled with chrysalis.
Most of the butterflies were from South-East Asia and Central America
(there was even a row of chrysalis from El Salvador!)

This is "Plain Tiger" (from Singapore)
Margot loved the butterflies

Margot LOVED touching insects.
This is a true katydids (i think)

A watersnake

Turtle

Petting a tarantula

Walking up the ramp. Fun and sunny!

We went to see a demonstration about air.
That's us in the theatre.

And this is a nice picture of Simon and I at the wedding:

Discovering New Places

We discovered an Ecological reserve/ Conservation area about 45 minutes from our house: La Forêt LaBlanche.

We followed trail #3: le ouaouaron (the bullfrog)

The forest has six well-identified and well-maintained trails (with benches and picnic tables on route).

The 2.4 km loop was a rocky terrain, but flat around the two lakes. There were informative panels along the way, describing the trees, the vegetation, the birds, etc. encountered. Forêt-la-Blanche has one of the oldest growth forests in Eastern Canada and some of the trees did look like they were 400 years old!

We had a great time and, for the most part of our walk, we had the forest to ourselves.

Whirling leaves

Jumping in the forest

It was Simon's b-day on that day, so it was extra special!

Snacks kept Margot going.

Us

Margot got a free ride near the end of our hike

Simple Pleasure: Hiking

Last weekend we went on a proper hike (not a wander around city streets or a stroll in the safe woods) It was a hike laden with steep uphills, rocky and slippery terrain, malicious tree roots, and obstacles of water.

It was a hike worthy of hiking boots (and even walking sticks) and a litre of water. As you can witness from the pics, you'll notice that our attire wasn't "hike-worthy". I wore sandals, Simon wore jeans, and sockless Margot didn't have a hat. Nope, we weren't prepared for the challenges of the Blanchet Trail and looked quite amateurish to the eyes of the serious trail runners, the day hikers and the sporty walkers who passed us along the way. But we knew what we were doing and had so much fun!

Margot was a fantastic trooper and for 90 minutes enthusiastically led the way.

Hiking is very meditative and therapeutic. It feels so good to be in nature doing a physical activity which requires concentration (so you don't sprain your ankle), exercises all your muscles, allows you to appreciate tiny beauty, and breathe fresh air.

When there's a bit of tension in the house, the best way to release it is to go on a family hike. In nature, you can find your own stride all while keeping pace with your lil' gang, wash away negativity and "foggy-brain" syndrome, and you get a beautiful change of scenery!

Moving forward, exhaling deeply, putting things in perspective, truly living in the present; hiking is the best remedy!