Back from Canada!
Cy & Grandpa
Hello! It feels great to be back. This may sound cheesy but my heart is truly filled with great memories. We had some long days on the road. About 14 hours of driving each way - and two of those hours are on a very bumpy logging road.
my parents
We had 4 great days of fishing. Breakfast at 7am and then straight out onto the lake until a break for lunch and then back out until dinner each day at 6:30pm. Full days spent on the lake. I went with my son Cy who is 8 and my parents. My husband who also loves to fish but couldn't take the week off work and our younger son Arlo stayed home.
We mainly fished for walleyes. They were big and plenty.
morning stillness
I stared at these patterns for 4 days. Mesmerizing and beautiful.
I may have mentioned this before - I grew up in a "fishing family." When I was 1 year old - my parents packed up their Winnebago and set off for a month in Ontario. Mostly fishing. My dad and his brother have spent countless days in the Canadian wilderness. Quetico. Woodland Caribou. Backcountry for weeks. Fly-in's, paddle-in, drive-in's, etc. My dad is retired now and spends about 4 weeks up in Ontario fishing each summer. A lot of times my mom goes too. When I was growing up, I went on a lot of trips with my dad.
An eagle feather!
It meant so much to me to go back up with my parents and show my son the beauty of the Canadian wilderness. So fresh. So clean. Pure. And visceral... putting squirmy worms on hooks, grabbing slimy thrashing walleyes to pull a hook out, eating something you just caught.
These experiences were great for teaching my son about what the earth provides for us and how we need to respect that.
Shore lunch
We were very careful with our fish. We used hooks that reduced any impact to them. We released them back into the lakes - with the exception of the few that we kept to eat. And our lunches of fresh fish were absolutely amazing! The most delicious fish you could ask for.
stopping for shore lunch
we watched an eagle catch its lunch
Looking for rocks
Gorgeous natural colors
An abandoned cabin. An amazing spot to explore. I hope to share more photos from here in a separate post.
Cy grew attached to the three dogs that live at the resort. After he ate, he'd run outside and they'd follow him around like he was the Pied Piper.
My son Cy fell in love with this sweet pup BoBo. He hopes we can visit Bobo and his mates again someday.
We had so many great laughs on this trip. The mood in the boat was so jovial and we were almost always in high spirits. That's my most treasured part of the trip: the plentiful laughs and smiles.
Our cozy cabin with a wood burning stove
How the lodge gets bait. The pilot lands his plane in a stream, catches minnows and then delivers them to the remote lodges by landing on their lakes.
Moose are in abundance in Ontario. Every few miles on the highway you are warned about moose crossing. They mostly come out at night.
I loved the colors of my dad's bright red boat against the water.
Our friends out fishing
Peace on the lake
Exploring
Coming in after an evening of fishing
Ontario is truly stunning... Wild and free. I will be dreaming of it for a long time to come!