Summit Inspired Gift...

Here I sit, sleepless but with a cowboy coffee just outside the camera's lens. I love my new RCMP bear. Thank you for the gift Mr. Crafter from down south.

10 Minutes south on Highway 35

This is the reward for climbing the Dorset Fire Tower. The view is amazing, and afterwards I suggest you have an early dinner at the Fiery Grill; sit on the water front deck and watch all the boats float by and watch the mischievious kids jump off the ole one lane bridge over the narrows.

Summer is great when your best friends can hang with you. This action shot is a good indicator of the level of happiness this group exudes when they're together. They frequent the pool and the beach and the ice cream counter....its go go go all day every day.

The Surf

Dwight Beach on the Lake of Bays is an awesome day of sun, sand and surf...especially when you can have shore service from friends! Mers helps Mary get the feel for boarding! Super happy to have Mers at the park this year...congratulations on your success.

Portage Store Canoe Rentals

These paddlers choose Portage Store on Canoe Lake in side the provincial park at kilometer 14 from the West Gate entrance. The service from summer student employees is great.

Birthday Girls 2010

5 years later, I am still invited to the annual birthday party for Miss Shi and her celebrating friends from KW. Happy Birthday Shi! You're a superb person to know. I adore your choice in friends.

Summer Time Fun

Swimming in our heated pool is great but with Dwight Beach so close, the options are great! Here is Simon on a serious search for aquatic life with his friend Mers.

What the?

All I have to say is Oh My Gawd!! Ick! What is this chubby striped legged white shelled spider? It's a freak of nature, it must weigh 3 ounces! Its shell is the diameter of a nickle. Do you know what this is? atrailsresort@sympatico.ca

A common request of both provincially and privately operated campgrounds is that our traveling camper clients not move any type of wood. And although recent attention has been on the Emerald Ash Borer beetle, any type of exotic infestation begins with the movement of simple every day items. Domestic bound overseas pallets which would be an accurate mode of transportation seem far removed from our daily lives but simple crticial thinking would point out that we are surrounded by opportunity to pick up a bug, and not knowing, give it a free ride to a sustaining environment perpetuating infections.

I remember as a child losing many trees on our property to the gypsy moth. Now that I own a campground I am just shy of paranoid of a nasty re occurrence caused by something the same or different. Please....when traveling do not move any type of wood. There are more than 40 buggies on the most wanted list in Ontario! You have better chances of being the cause of an infestation than that of winning any of the potential lotteries on the market!! How do I know? I finished Michelle Boue's University Statistics class with a final mark of 86. Not to mention I had Chemistry class with a Canadian Food Inspection Agent who specialized in bug detection within Ontario. So take it from someone who cares about the greenery in her life. Do not move wood, it has nothing to do with making money off of wood bags delivered to your site...remember any reputable camping establishment will credit you the wood you did not burn while camping with them...it has everything to do with listening to the leaves dance in the wind without the sound of chain saws dominating our backyards and vacation spots. Prevention is better than Reaction to an unwanted change.

How are tree infestations spread?

The human movement of infested materials such as firewood, logs, branches, nursery stock, chips or other wood is the most common way damage has been spread. Research indicates that adult beetle can fly up to 10 km, but generally do not stray from the immediate area when it emerges.

Where have beetle infestations been found in Canada?

The movement of infested firewood or other forest products causing infection has been confirmed in the municipality of Chatham-Kent; the cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto; the counties of Elgin, Essex, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex and Norfolk; the regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York in Ontario; and Carignan and the municipalities of Chambly, Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, Richelieu and Saint-Basile-le-Grand in Quebec.

Making Friends

Mary and Simon sporting their new friendship necklaces from Connor and Dylan. When my two run out the front door of the office down into the playground, I never know what stories they will come back with. Yesterday they met some very kind and gentle young men...as they put it. True. On their way out of the park today, Connor and Dylan presented Mary and Simon with thoughtful hand made necklaces. The kids say.... "Thanks Guys! You're the Greatest!"

Ahhh the wildlife....

We are frequently asked if we have black bears on site...the honest answer, not this year. Not in 2006, 2007 or 2008, yes in 2009...but not this season. As I understand; this years natural food sources are fruitfull for them. The black bears typically only deviate from natural food sources deep in the bush when natures bounty is not plentiful. Last year it was common place to watch them frequent nearby eateries and their deep fry grease diposals. I am happy to report the only sitings are limited to jack rabbits, red squirrels...or as my Genetics Professor would command, black squirrles with an allele issue, chipmunks, owls, toads, dragonflies, hummingbirds, wood peckers and various small entertaining non threatening species. As summer moves into full swing we enjoy the sights and sounds of nature surrounded by happy laughter of campers around the pool, playground and campfire rings. Thank you to all of our return and new camping clients for a wonderfully busy season.

July Long Weekend 2010

This is Simon and I at Plastic Welding in Belleville Ontario. This is Gramma Shay's and Poppa Bob's property and home based business. They're located on the south side of the Moira River on Hwy 62, just south of Foxboro.
It is getting close to the 143rd Birthday of my homeland. Canada Day is important to me as the history of Canada tells stories of growth, change, challenges and victories of the people who built homesteads that grew into vibrant centres from which we enjoy so many luxuries. Our region celebrates Canada Day with spectular night sky images and active afternoon activities. Huntsville Ontario comes alive with music and eats, tours and treats. Just south of us in the village of Dorset on Big Trading Bay an impressive evening of fireworks can be seen from the patio at the Fiery Grill Bar and Bistro on the waterfront. Every town in Ontario will show it's affection for it's Country, but mine will boast it's greatness from the steps of the New World Summit Centre on the shores of the Lake of Bays. There's room for you too. Send an email and I hope to see you soon. Happy Canada Day from us in the Village of Dwight. atrailsresort@sympatico.ca

Road Trip / G8 Summit

The G8 Summit has come and gone. The park was extremely quiet without incident as Dan managed it without his family. The three of us went on a road trip to see the fun things near my school, Trent U. Mommy needed some baby time since returning from her first three semesters at Trent University. The kids had a blast for the 5 days we stayed away from the World Summit. Huntsville transformed into a festival of security. All law enforcement and military were serious but very friendly and in good spirits. I am happy to report that many of them liked our Lake of Bays region enough to make their own camping reservations with us. Thanks to all the Canadian Support people who maintained a vigilant front in the name of prevention. Take care and see you soon!

Welcome May 2010

Working on pine needles and fallen trees. Clean up is fun when you have two cuties to help. Here we are on the morning coffee break with raisin toast. Reservations are coming in steady for the May Long weekend. It should be a good weather weekend for many activities, motorcycles, canoes, hiking, swimming in the pool, playing golf on site and just hanging out around the campfire listening to good friends and nature noises not often heard in the cities that most come from. See you then.

Flighty Friends

A Good Day to You! Dan is growing new greenery and I am debating on the date of removal for the once beautiful cedar trees scattered around the park; the deer have completely consumed any hope of keeping the cedar scenery! Urgh. I am home today for the first time in a couple of weeks. I am officially done my first two semesters at Trent University in the Science program. I have a conditional offer to enter the School of Nursing for this coming autumn. The grades were better than I could have imagined for a busy Mom of two, who lives with 5 horses and one dog. Thank God for the Man in that package deal. Hooray to my husband. He survived 8 months minus his wife and business partner. He did well, very well! I will need to babysit the park for the next little while for him to suck up some Harley time. Sweet times to come yet. This afternoon we have a new team of winged park users. These purple finches love our table buffet. It is difficult to see them all, the photo is lacking. There are 5 females and 1 male. Hmmmm.

First Campfire 2010

Ah....8am and warm by the first fire of the season. Our clean up has begun a whole 6 weeks early this year, the snow is saying good bye and revealing all the brown that needs some love and attention. I have one day off school and it is being well used to get the park ready for Friday April 30th. We enjoyed a quiet hour with hot coffee and some plan making for this season. The driving range fence is down so that we dont feel so confined in the common grounds of the park. I never liked the fence, it seemed to cut us off from wide open skies. We are still operating the driving range but now with windows! Its nice. More changes to come. Yes April 30 is the opening day; however there will not be potable water access at the sites until Friday May 7th at the earliest. It all depends on the full moon and overnight temperatures during the first 3 weeks of May. Keep in touch, this summer is going to be "hot"!

2010

Wow, so its been a while since my last blog post. Its not because I had nothing to say, quite the opposite, there has been too much to say. But anyway the spring sunshine is early this year and according to Dan we could be open this week with water....for those who know the "water" story....I think its very funny. But he would still be operating the park alone...school for me isnt over until April 27th. I wont know how many more years I have left at Trent U until around June this year, but I will finish this year with 9.5 credits and need a total of 20 credits for the BScN degree that will launch my career as an RN. That new life will need to allow for my absence each season between June 27 to September 5. Not too much to ask.

Back to thoughts of the Park...this year we are geographically close the G8 / G20 World Summit. It will take place at more than one location during that window of time, but some element of it will be hosted by DeerHurst Resort, 18 kilometers west of us on Hwy. 60. We are under the impression that activity will be controlled and that travellers coming our way from the GTA or south westerly towns between June 20 and June 29 will deviate Hwy 11 north at the 117 and come north east and connect with Hwy 35 north to 60. Good news, its a nicer highway and much more scenic. Call the Park early to confirm your site for that window of time.....it might be a hub of activity.

Friendly Wildlife

Algonquin Trails is home to many colourful birds, but the Hummingbirds are our favorite, and we seem to be theirs aswell. This is my new friend, Kalibree.

Spring brings fun

Here is our resident foxy lady, her and her kits have taken up residency here and we are glad for it, she enjoys Dan's cooking and loves to dine at the kitchen window. After all the rain we have had in past week we are starting to see the green poke through and our energy has returned. We now tackle the renos in Mens Bathroom and the Mini golf is taking on a renewed form. The golf props are beautiful and I can't wait to see them all in action. Reservations are steady and people are excited for the return of a green planet here in Ka-na-dah! Bring on the summer fun. Take care Happy Campers and we look forward to your return. Laura

Victoria Long Weekend 2008

Although the snow is 12 feet deep in the parking lot and the mini golf is absolutely not visible and you can sled off the pool roof onto a slow and steady tobboggan run, the campground is almost booked full for the May Long Weekend! Dont let that comment discourage you, we have created an additional 20 sites again this year and still have openings. We welcome all reservations and answer the telephone 7 days a week. Those who call and confirm their reservations before May 1st will be entered into a free draw. You will have the chance to win a free bag of firewod for your stay. Remember to make all your travel plans in advance to avoid disappointment. Travel safe and I hope you catch Spring Fever! Take care everyone, we'll see you when the wolf howls!!