Time to explore

Yesterday it was sunny and warm with a projected high of 27 degrees or so. With a forecast of cooler weather coming for the next week or so, Rob and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather, and follow up on the advice of a friend to visit a local lake and beach area. I hesitate to even mention it on our blog, as it seems to be a bit of a local secret! But as mostly family and friends are reading this, I don't think it will send droves of people to this truly beautiful place.

It's about a 40 minute drive, up past Wilbur Lake, and Golden Lake and up to Round Lake and it was a beautiful drive, past many lovely little cottages (and some not so little!) with glimpses of the lakes and river through the trees.

The Bonnechere River that runs past our cabin, begins in Algonquin Park, and the first lake it empties into is Round Lake, then Golden Lake and then it winds it's way down past us and empties eventually into the Ottawa River. The beach we were looking for is located in Foy Provincial Park, on the east side of  Round Lake. There are no facilities at this park, and it seems to be used mostly for hiking and swimming. We were told to look for a trail just after the park gate, which we found easily, and we set off down a very lovely path. We were also warned not to stray off the path as there is lots of poison ivy in the area, but we are used to that here!

After a short walk, we came to the beach. It was as lovely as described, and we made our way past the few people that were using it, to a sweet area in the shade, and unpacked the few things we had brought. Rob was off into the lake before I even had a chance to think about it. There were just a few feet of small rocks at the edge, and then lovely sand. The water was warm, but there were some odd little cold currents that would come in every now and then. But nothing to complain about, it was lovely. The water was clear as can be, and the view across the lake was wonderful. It's funny because I dream about swimming almost every night, so this almost seemed like a dream!

Looking back at the beach from the lake, we couldn't believe how beautiful it was, with a line of pine trees all along. Our friend had told us that if we had a hammock, to bring it, as this is a perfect spot to hang one between trees, and she was right.

So, we swam for a while, walked the beach a bit to dry off, took a few photos, marvelled over and over at how lucky we were to be so close to such a fabulous spot.  Made plans to return again soon, maybe bring a picnic lunch along. Lamented that Rob's Mom wasn't along - it was her birthday and she was already in our thoughts, but we knew she would just love this pretty beach and lovely lake, and would have enjoyed the sun and swimming.

Gathered up our stuff, wandered back along the path, and made our way home. All that sun and fresh air and swimming of course meant I fell asleep in the car! Luckily Rob was driving.

There are so many places to explore here. We are lucky to have friends that live in the area that can point us to some of the places to go, and things to do. Tomorrow is the Annual Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn Traditional Pow Wow and we hope to be there to watch and listen to the opening ceremonies and to stroll around.

There is of course lots that needs to be done around here, but we try to make sure we take some time to explore the area too, especially while the weather is so nice. Today we will get what we need to get ready for a concrete pour up at the sheds, and Rob will probably try to fix the bottom edge of our road up a bit too.  It's sunny, but windy and cool, so we are really glad we went for our swimming adventure when we did!