Cruising on the Georgian Bay

One of the last things I did while we were in Canada was going on a three hour cruise on the Georgian Bay.  Since dogs weren't allowed on the cruise, Ben and Laney went hiking at a nearby park.  The cruise was very relaxing and it was fun to see some of the many islands in the Georgian Bay area.

The lower deck of the boat.

How would you like to live on this little island?

The lighthouse at Killbear Provincial Park.

It was fun to go through the narrow channels

Kristen, Andrew, Me, and Rich

And lastly, a pic of our boat.  

Kayaking to Jump Off Rock

On Thursday morning, Andrew, Ben, and I went back to Horn Lake to go kayaking again.  It was a beautiful warm morning and the water was calm.  We decided we wanted to check out the old beaver lodge and jump off rock.

Ben and I making our way across the lake.
The beaver lodge is in a little cove to the right of jump off rock.

Some of the fall colors were just starting to peek out.

The boys at jump off rock.

Ben jumping off!

Ben climbing up the rope to jump off again.
He jumped several times.

A fun pic of me that Ben took while he was underwater.  

You can see that the lake water is pretty clear.

I was trying to get a pic of Ben hitting the water.  

This was as close as I got.  

Heading back to Birch Crest Resort.

Andrew and I practicing our synchronized kayaking.  ;)

Smiling and having fun!  It was great time on the water.

Laney's Canoe Trip on the Tim River

Here are some fun pics of Laney on our canoe trip.

Ben and Laney

The three of us

Another of the three of us.  Laney is getting a little tired in this pic.

Snuggling with me.  

A fun pic from outside of the canoe.

She found a good spot to rest her head.

So glad to be on solid ground again.  Poor thing, she was pretty tired.

Laney's Preoccupation

The primary target of Laney's preoccupation, the piney, also known as a red squirrel. Laney didn't happen to see this one, as he sat on a branch right over the trail in Algonquin, watching us intently.

Laney peering off into the brush on a hike. It would be fun to know what her senses are experiencing, but I think most of the time she had squirrels on the brain.

Laney pointing towards a piney.

Laney and I were hiking at Killbear, when we saw something dart off into the woods. We gave reckless chase, and ended up at this tree.

It's hard to tell whether this raccoon is bored or disgusted.

Laney was quite proud of her accomplishment.

Portaging on the Tim River

One fun thing about our trip on Tim River was portaging.  It was the first time we have ever had to portage on a trip.  It wasn't too difficult since we had only packed a lunch for the day, and the men easily carried the canoes. Here is the portage sign.

Ben's impression of the Portage sign.

Coming down the hill.

Ben made it look easy, only using one hand.

Andrew smiling for the camera.

Rich finishing up the parade of canoes.

When we got done canoeing for the day, I decided I wanted to try to carry a canoe too.  It wasn't horribly heavy, but I am not sure I would have wanted to carry it up and down a hill.

Another shot of me, so you can see my face better.

After I tried it, all the other girls needed a pic too.  Here is Kristen.

And last but not least, Susan.

Canoeing the Tim River in Algonquin

On Wednesday, we headed back to Algonquin to canoe on Tim River. Ben's plan was to canoe out for about 3 hours and then turn around and go back the way we came. It took us a little longer coming back (since we had to go against the wind) so it took us about 6.5 hours for the whole trip.

Our group (Susan, Rich, Kristen, Andrew, Ben, Laney, and me)

Ben, Laney and me in our canoe.

We didn't get to see as much wildlife as we had hoped, but we did spot this Loon.  One funny thing is that we saw him poop in the water.  I was lucky enough to get a decent picture of it too.

This was the first little portage spot.  We also stopped here to take a nice relaxing break for lunch. It was pretty evident that bears and moose enjoyed hanging out here, as well.

This is a view from the top of the hill of the second portage spot.  The men did great carrying our canoes (see pics here).  

It is so peaceful out there.  

Some of the fall colors starting to peek out.

A little beaver dam that we had to go around.

My attempt to get all of us in a picture while canoeing.

The final stretch.  It was such a beautiful day!