Chasing the stars

We have been waiting all summer for this weekend. Our plan was to go out and photograph the Milkyway ever since we came home from Arizona. We wanted to find someplace out in Owen Sound where we could aset up our cameras and see what happens.  We were on the road early yesterday morning.  First stop was at Starbucks to get some coffee.  It tasted pretty good.

We had a nice breakfast at the Sunset grill in Barrie. The temperature is pretty cool Yesterday.  I'm glad we brought pants with us.

Since we are out this way we planned a round of golf at Lora Bay and  Cobble Beach.  The day turned out to be quite nice.  We had a little rain at the beginning but soon the sun was shining.   It was quite windy though and this made for a challenge. We golfed with a nice couple from Alliston (Chuck and Anne).

We enjoyed a nice dinner in Owen Sound at a local pub.  The food was really good.  I highly recommend the Lobster Ravioli.

After dinner we drove to Lion's Head which is almost in Tobermory.   We knew that this was an area that Joel has been too.  We found it too windy and too light at the marina so we drove around looking for a dark secluded spot.  We went down "Old Cemetery Road" which led up to the Bruce Trail.  It was the perfect location for us.  By this time it was getting pretty cool out but we didn't really notice as we were so mesmerized by the stars. The Milkyway was up early and it was huge travelling way up in the sky.  We couldn't capture it all with our camera.  This is an un-edited picture to give you an idea of what we saw.

It was well worth the wait this summer.  We stayed for about an hour and a half.  We then headed back towards Owen Sound where we stopped at Cobble Beach and attempted to take a few right by the water and lighthouse but there was too much light pollution.

We then drove to Walmart and slept in the parking lot ☺.  It wasn't too bad at all.  We stopped first at Tim Hortons and used their bathroom and then made up our bed in the back of the truck and after enjoying a little night cap went to sleep.

I was up early though as my bladder isn't used to sleeping all night long so we made another Tim Horton's run, enjoyed a coffee and then went back to Walmart for another nap.

Full moon

I have always had a fascination with the moon.  On Thursday after spending a lovely day with everyone up at Killbear Park, we were blessed with a full "orange" moon while driving home. I was thankful to have my good camera with me but didn't have a zoom lens for it.  The highway puts it in perspective though as it was beautiful when it was coming up.  It seemed so "huge" in the night sky.

Our talented song Writers and Singers

Today the girls shared with me a song that they wrote.  I love the natural talent they have and how much they love God.  It is an answer to prayer.

Planes

This past weekend we got to enjoy a nice visit from Brody.  He arrived early on Sunday morning and we enjoyed the day together.  He has such a fascination with planes that we decided after church to take him to see them by the airport.

We went to two locations where he had an opportunity to watch them land and take off.  He just loved it.

Angus Glen

On Wednesday, Ralph and I spent the day together and went golfing at Angus Glen.  It was a very hot day but loaded with lots of cold water we were quite happy.

The first 9 holes went really well.  The pace of play was really good as there wasn't anyone in front of us.  We knew that this wouldn't last for long though as there was a tournament on the course that we were playing.  By the 10th hole we had caught up to the group ahead of us and we ground to a complete "halt".

The weather started to change as well as we waited hole after hole.  The sky's got dark and ominous. Soon the rain started. It got quite strong and was blowing straight across the course.  Within 5 minutes Ralph and I were soaked.  It was thundering but we didn't see any lightning.  After about 10 minutes were decided to head in.  It wasn't letting up and we were drenched though.  The course was very generous and gave us a raincheck to use on another game.  We'll be back for sure as we really enjoyed the north course.

Algonquin - Booth Lake Canoe Trip

For the past couple of years, Arja has organized a canoe trip for the women to go on.  It's exciting and well planned. Everyone looks forward to going on it even though it tests our physical abilities and provides some interesting challenges.  I have been able to join on two occasions and this year I had the opportunity to go again.

I wasn't sure that I would be able to make it as I came down with a "stomach flu" that lasted a little over two weeks.  As a matter of fact, I still have queasiness in my stomach after eating some meals.  I got my results back from a test that was run and all seems good.  It's just a lingering virus that is a challenge to go away.

Anyways - I did join and I'm so thankful that I was able to go.  There were 14 of us this year.  What an amazing group of woman from all age groups.  We got along very well and it was nice to spend the weekend all together.

Our day started out early with us being on the road by around 5:45 a.m..  Tim Horton's was the first stop before we headed off to Apsley to pick up Ellen.

After that we were off to Algonquin where we met up with the rest of the group.

We were all pretty excited and ready to go.  After unpacking the vehicles, we were partnered up and went to get our canoes.  I was partnered with Janette Vantol.  I was happy with the choice as I thought we would make a good "team".   Getting our canoes is the first test that we go through to get acquainted with the "weight" that we will be carrying over the portages.  These felt pretty good. After taking the time to get everything loaded and tied down into the canoes  we looked over the lake and saw a major rain storm heading our way.  Oh no we all thought.  We better unload and cover up all our stuff to keep it dry. So, we unpacked the canoes and flipped them over our backpacks, tents, food barrels and anything else that we had.  We then took cover by the Ranger Station.  It poured for about 40 minutes without any break.  After a while, it looked like it was starting to let up, so we decided to "repack" and start out over the lake.

We all got into our canoes and set out to paddle.  We didn't get too far before the rain started again. First it was a light drizzle which gradually turned into a downpour.  Oh boy was all I could think.  I hope it doesn't rain the entire time.  It took a long time before it started to let up.  Some of the girls were required to "bail" their canoes.  So much water came down.  We were all pretty soaked.

We had two portages. The first was a short one of about 90 meters.  This first one had a set of rapid's running beside it which was interesting.  The ladies decided to "run these rapids" on the way back.  It was fun to watch, but Janette and I opted for the "safe route".  The portage itself wasn't too bad.  It was short and pretty easy to walk through.

The 2nd lake was a nice easy paddle although it was still raining.  It wasn't enough to dampen our spirits however and we kept moving on.  The next portage was about 540 meters.  It was more challenging because the route was wet and boggy.  There were wooden boards in areas, but also some pretty messy parts in other parts of the trail.  We all made it without mishap.

The boards help crossing all the muddy areas. 

Sadly no boards here

We finally made it into "Booth Lake".  Now the challenge was finding a site.  To do this, you simply paddle around the lake until you find one that is available.  After a while, we split up with one canoe going to the far end, and another one searching along another shoreline.  Thankfully by this point in time the rain had stopped.  The lake was pretty calm which was nice for canoeing.

Faith and Amy found us a nice site which worked out perfect for the number of tents that we had.  We were all quite happy to set up the tents and clothes lines to start drying things out.  Sadly some of the ladies found their clothes and sleeping bags had gotten pretty wet.  This is where the real spirit of the woman come through as others loaned dry clothes, helped rig ways to keep warm at night etc.  I found myself to be pretty cold.  I shivered for a long time this first night. I'm sure it had to do with the fact that I had forgotten that I had put a "cooler" scarf around my neck and it had gotten soaked and "was doing it's job" and keeping me cool.  A lesson learned, that's for sure.

Saturday morning we woke up to a beautiful day for drying our wet clothes, tents and other things. The lines were filled and by the end of the day everything was dry.  We took it easy and enjoyed the sunshine and took nice leisurely walks around the island that we were staying on.

The food committee kept us well fed and did an amazing job this weekend.  The bugs were pretty bad, but we managed to keep them away using lovely smelling Essential Oils and bug spray.

I was up early on Sunday morning and spotted this "lone paddler" on the lake.  It looked so peaceful. Upon further checking I realized it was Arja out for an early morning ride.  It was so pretty on the lake.

During the day we enjoyed a nice paddle around the lake and spent some time in the afternoon by one of the Ranger Stations.  It was a beautiful sunny day and a great way to relax and enjoy God's creation. We had a great lunch all together.  A tai salad that was very tasting before pointing the canoes back towards our camp.

After enjoying dinner it started to rain a little.  This triggered all of us into action and we packed up as much as we could and tucked it under the canoes to keep it dray.  We usually didn't have late nights and by 9:30 we were all in our tents laughing and relaxing and getting ready to go to sleep.

We woke up to a crack of thunder on Monday morning around 6:00 a.m.  Oh know we all thought.  Not another rainy trip!!  There was a little rain but thankfully it stopped and we were able to enjoy a nice breakfast and pack everything up by 8:30.  We were on the lake in good time to be back at the vehicles by noon.

The portages went well on our trip back.  The short portage was walked by Janette and I while the other girls road the rapids.  They did great.  I didn't want to chance it with my insulin pump and took my enjoyment from seeing how much fun they had.  We met some other canoer's who had rented one of the Ranger Cabins and they invited us to coffee and breakfast (which we declined) and also showed us what the cabins looked like. I think they were surprised when they realized how many of us there were.

Once we made  it back to "dry land" we packed everything up and headed towards home.  We enjoyed a nice lunch all together at the Kawartha Dairy.  What a fun weekend we had.