I had often heard about the Fire Tower in Temagami and the hiking trails all around it, but I never took the opportunity to climb it myself. So, when my nephew, Dylan, and his girlfriend, Victoria, said they wanted to hike the Fire Tower and invited me and my mom to join I said "Definitely!".

The path to the tower is quite wide and covered in gravel. It is a short and easy walk.

We picked a perfect day to go. The sun was shining and the trees were donning their beautiful robes of red, orange and yellow leaves for the autumn. 

At the base of the tower is a set of large stone steps covered in fall leaves and pine needles. We didn't head up them right away because off to the side there were some lookouts at ground level that we decided to check out first. 

But it wasn't long before we were making the climb up the tower. I was excited to get to the top and look around and see just how far away I could see. About half way up the tower, I leaned over the edge to take a picture of the stone stairs that we had left behind so far below us. From here I was looking down at the tops of the trees and thought to myself "so this is what the birds see when the fly high above the trees". 

The higher up the tower we went the more windy it got. Also, the more narrower the stairs became. By the time we reached the top it was so windy that it felt like the whole tower was shaking, I had to hold on to my hat so that it wouldn't blow away. Oh, but the view though! It was breathtaking! 

From way up here you could see lakes and trees for miles and miles around. To the right we thought we could make out some sort of fish hatchery or something. To the left we could see someone's summer cabin. We all agreed that we wouldn't want to have that cabin because everyone who climbed this tower would be watching you. No privacy at all. 

Behind us we could see the parking lot. All the cars looked like toy cars that a child would play with. 

The top of the tower was so small that only a few people could be at the top at the same time. The wind was unbelievable but it gave it that extra sense of excitement. My mom and my nephew, Dylan may look like they are posing nicely for the picture below, but they are probably just holding on to each other for dear life.  :) 

We eventually made our way back down in order to let others get to the top. As we climbed back down, I took note of how beautiful the coloured leaves were from up here. 

When we got our feet firmly planted back on solid ground, I noticed that even the flowers were matching in colour to the leaves on the trees. God has made everything in harmony. 

We were already enjoying ourselves and we hadn't even made it to the trails yet. We went back over to the look out for another peek and to rest for a minute on the bench swing that was there. Unfortunately the battery on my camera died on me right after this picture. Luckily I still had my phone with me to take pictures but they are not as good as my actual camera would have been. 

We wandered around for a bit looking for the trail head. There are actually about 8 different trails up here, some longer than others. The one we had decided to do was called the "White Bear Trail". It was just under 3 km long and starts as a straight line and then turns into a large loop. It runs through a stand of Old Growth pines. 

Finally we came across a map that was posted at the trail head. 

The White Beat Trail is one of the newer trails in the White Bear Forest. It contains trees that are between 150 - 300 years old. 

Parts of the trail were marked with white plastic hiking placards to show the way. These were few and far between though. However, the trail was not difficult to follow at all. 

By this time the sun was starting to hide behind the clouds a little. We were expected to get some rain later on in the day. Even though the sun didn't want to show it's yellow colours, that didn't stop the leaves from doing so. 

There were not a whole lot of other people on this particular trail. However, we did run into one gentleman named Doug from Northland Paradise Lodge who was in the middle of giving a guided tour about mushrooms. He told us that he had been in the bush giving tours since 9 a.m. that morning.  We found this to be quite interesting and we may have to look him up one day in the future to go on a guided mushroom hike of our own. After speaking with him for a few minutes we left them to their tour, but all along the way we would find mushrooms sitting in unusual places and we knew that Doug and one of his tours had been through there. 

Not long after, the trail went down a fairly steep, rocky, hill side. It was steep enough that a rope was provided to help you with your descent, 

The rope made it feel adventurous and we felt like rock climbers. It was even more fun to climb back up on the way back. 

At the bottom of our rock climb we came to find a huge fallen tree. It was hollow inside and was big enough that if we had wanted to we might have been able to climb inside. We looked inside to see if we could see anything living in it. But it was too dark inside to know for sure if anything was there. This tree had been very very tall too. We walked beside it quite a ways before we came to where the top of the tree was. 

Next we came to some rocks with big crevasses in them. One was big enough to almost fit a person inside. 

So, Dylan took a stab at seeing how far in he could get. It wasn't too deep so he didn't get very far. 

The Old Growth forest was quiet and peaceful. At this time of year there wasn't a whole lot of wildlife to be seen. 

We did hear some birds though, and a grey squirrel froze like a statue when we crossed paths. It was probably hoping that we hadn't seen him. 

When we got to where the loop began, my mom decided that she wanted to sit and enjoy the quietness of the forest on her own for awhile. I completely understood this because it is something that I like to do myself from time to time.  Dylan, Victoria, and I were a bit more talkative and so we continued on and left her to commune with nature. 

Dylan, Victoria, and I had a great time talking about the different things we saw. We spotted a yellow leaf on the ground that had some holes in it. We laughed because it reminded us of a yellow emoji that looked like it was scared or surprised. 

We were amazes by the size of the roots of the trees that were draped and cascading over the edges of rocks on the trail. 

I was particularly intent on finding inspiration in the changing colours of the leaves for a painting that I wanted to do. I really liked the way the leaves of a small maple went from a red-peach colour and melded into a light green. Beautiful! 

Dylan spotted a tree that was full of lumps and bumps. He said that he knew someone who was able to take tree lumps and turn them into wooden bowls and things like that.  I wonder how many bowls the guy could have made from this one! 

After making our way all the way around the loop, we met back up again with my mom. She was waiting for us under the beautiful orange leaves of the oak trees. 

We began to head back to the beginning of the trail again. We came across a sign posted on a white birch tree that stated the name of the trail "White bear Trail". Somehow we had missed it on the way in. I liked how it was made using a wood burning technique on a piece of wood and not one of paint or plastic. 

As we walked out the leaves continued to amaze us with the variations in the colours. God is such a wonderful artist! 

Eventually we completed the trail and headed back to the tower for one last look over at the look out. I was almost tempted to climb the tower one more time but it was getting late and the weather was starting to turn. 

It had been a wonderful day and we had all enjoyed it immensely. We will have to come back another day and hike one of the other trails next time. Apparently the trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter.  I think that autumn is my favourite time to come here though. 

As the morning sun warmed us, we reluctantly began to take down our tents and pack up to go. Our stay at Grundy Lake had come to an end, but we still had the rest of the day ahead of us to enjoy. Our plan is to go to the French River Provincial Park that was close by and hike the Recollet Trail there. 

As I folded up the corners of my tent and swept off the loose sand and pine needles, I was surprised to find a number of creatures that had taken shelter from the cold under it. It was not as surprising as the garter snake I had under my tent a few years back at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. However, I was not expecting to find a cold little toad huddled there. I picked it up and moved it to a warmer spot in the sunshine at the base of a pine tree. 

I went back to my task at hand was surprised to find a second cold and huddled toad under my tent. This one was darker in colour and was rather beautiful. I scooped it up and put it beside the last one; under the tree in the warm sunshine. 

Also taking shelter under my tent were a few earth worms. I guess that is not as surprising. 

Although this Assassin bug wasn't hiding under my tent, it was camouflaging itself with sand. I am sure if it was sitting on something other than my tent, it would be doing a better job of hiding.  I moved it some place safer. 

Once we were all packed up we got in the car and headed off to the  French River Park. It was only about 15 to 20 minutes away from Grundy Lake Park. I had never been there before and since it is a day use only park there is not as much about it online, ​so I didn't know what to expect. 

We pulled into a fairly large parking lot and found that there were quite a few vehicles parked there. It was busier than I had thought it would be. 

The sign in front of our parking spot reminded us that camping was not allowed here. It's nice to see that they have it clearly laid out for you because some parks are a little ambiguous about this. There was no mistaking it here. 

A map of the Visitor center area was provided which showed a number of picnic areas.

A little red squirrel greeted us at one of those picnic table areas. 

At one of the picnic table areas there were a number of Historical Site signs posted. 

They provided information on the French River and how the Ojibwa were a large part of the trading route. 

The Visitor Center was an interesting shape. Unfortunately is was closed due to the Covid pandemic. I guess we will have to come back one day to see the inside. 

Right at the beginning of the trail were 2 different warning signs. Watch out for Massassauga Rattle Snakes and for Poison Ivy. We did not really think too much about either one. Usually if you stay on the trails you won't run into poison ivy. As for rattle snakes, they are a threatened species in this area so they are very rare to encounter. 

And so we began our hike. Almost immediately we were passed by multiple groups of people. There was a large family of about 10 people, young and old. There were some couples and some smaller groups. They were both coming out and going in. This was not going to be the quiet and peaceful hike that we had hoped. 

The chickadees seemed to be used to the amount of foot traffic through the trail and didn't seem to pay any attention to the passers by. 

The trail is not the most difficult one to hike, however, it is not completely without its struggles and obstacles. In many places there were root covered rocks and slippery spots. That is why when a young man with a fishing rod over his shoulder and his girlfriend came up behind us wearing only crocs on their feet, we were both astonished and amused. We stopped to talk to them for a few moments. Despite their odd choice in foot wear, they seemed to be travelling faster than we were so we let them go ahead of us. We watched as the girlfriend in particular struggled to get up and over some slippery rocks. We hoped that we wouldn't find them later down the trail with a broken or twisted ankle. As more people passed us on the trail we noticed that many of them did not have the proper foot wear for hiking. It was as though they weren't expecting to come here today and that the hike was a last minute stop between wherever they came from and wherever they were going to. 

The trail was a mixture of trees and rocks that had a rugged beauty to it. 

There wasn't a whole lot of wildlife to be seen, except for a little red squirrel in a tree. The colour of red on this little guy was quite brilliant compared to the one we had seen on the picnic table by the parking lot. 

Someone had erected a miniature  inukshuk along the side of the trail. 

The trail would wind through the trees sometimes and then open up into wide open rocky areas at other points. Moss and grass were trying to take over parts of these open areas, but the well worn foot path kept it from encroaching all the way. 

Most people were just passing by us at a quick pace trying to get to their destination, which was the falls at the end of the trail. Mom and I were enjoying the journey and appreciating the beauty of every rock and tree. 

We came to a part of the trail that was fairly littered with rocks and boulders. We wondered how well the girl with the crocs and the people with sandals on had done through here. There were no people on the sideof the trail needing medical attention, so we figured that they must have done all right. 

We came to a quiet little bridge where we stopped to take a short break and to listen to the running water that flowed beneath. 

The sun danced and sparkled on the surface of the flowing water as it tumbled and trickled over the moss covered stones down the hill side. 

We knew we were getting close when we could see the river through the trees and the rocky cliffs on the other side. 

There was a bit of a steep hill to climb down (more like slide down on our butts) but around the bend from that the Recollet Falls came into view. There were a bunch of people already down by the edge of the river. We stood back for a minute or two and waited for most of them to leave. It didn't take long since they had arrived ahead of us long before we got there. We saw the girl with the crocs and her boyfriend fishing at the rivers edge off to our right. We were happy to see that they had made it there in one piece.

I went down to the edge of the river while my mom took in the sights from higher up. The sound of the water rushing and the feeling of power that you know is below the surface, makes me feel the energy of the nature all around me. It makes me feel connected to nature and to God. It's a wonderful feeling. 

As I looked around I noticed a path off to my left. It seemed to lead down towards a place where the water was calmer. Then again, it could be more of the hiking trail. I decided to go check it out. 

To get to the path you have to pass by the historical plaque for Recollet Falls. I stopped to read it. 

A grasshopper was getting its exercise by jumping from grass to rock and back again. 

And a fat little Wooley Bear caterpillar was at rest in the warmth of a sunny rock.

I followed the path that did lead down to the calmer part of the river. Then I realized that this must be a portage. 

It was beautiful and peaceful here. I think this was my favourite spot of the whole area. 

To my right I could still see the rushing waters of the Ricollet Falls.

And to my left was a rock wall cliff. There were some trees growing in front of it with other trees that had fallen down across the rocks. This made it look like a fence or a great place to make a fort. It felt like a hidden section that would be worth exploring. But I didn't really have enough time for that. I knew that we should be heading back soon. So I turned around and headed back up the side trail. 

As I went back to see where my mom was, I caught sight of a blue Powdered Dancer damselfly making a meal out of a shadfly. 

I just love the eyes of damselflies and dragonflies! 

The damselfly wasn't the only insect looking for a meal out by the falls. There was a wasp scrounging around down there too. 

Soon it was time to turn around and go back. The trail is not a loop so we would have to go back the way we came. As we were climbing up the rock that we had to slide down to get to the falls, we crossed paths with a group of people who were very excited. They had just seen a rattle snake on the trail a little ways back! 
They even had a video of it. It was a pretty large rattle snake too. 
With all the people coming and going on this trail I was very surprised that they had seen one. Especially since they are rare to see. I got hopeful that we would see it too on the way back. 

We kept an eye out for rattle snakes the whole way back but we never did see one for ourselves. I was a bit disappointed. Mom decided to stop for a bit and spend some quiet alone time at a nice resting spot on the trail. She suggested that I go on ahead to explore some of the other areas that were closer to the Visitor Center and so I went on alone. 

On the other side of the Visitor Center is another trail. This one was much wider and more groomed than the hiking trail that we had just been on. You could easily get a wheel chair down this trail. I wondered where it led to, so I followed it. 

I took note of another sign that warned about rattle snakes. This time I thought that yes, there really is a possibility that I might see a rattle snake. So I looked a little harder for one. I still never saw one though. 

The wide trail ran right behind the Visitor Center. It was interesting to see that the Visitor Center was being held up and supported by a very large cement post. It was a very unusual building. Very artistic in design. 

The trail was not long at all and it led to a large, green, bridge. Of course I had to go and see what kind of view it had. There was a man and his son who had the same idea as me. 

The further I got out onto the bridge the windier it got. I had to hold onto my hat or it would have blown away. 

The view from the bridge did not disappoint. I could see for miles down the river. I couldn't quite see where the Recollet Falls began but I figured that they were probably somewhere just around the bend way, way, up the river. 

I could hear some talking and I looked straight down. I could just barely make out two people down below under the pine trees. They were fishing. They looked so tiny from way up here. 

When I got back from the bridge I met my mom in the parking lot. We had noticed an interesting looking First Nations ceremonial area just near the bathrooms when we came in and we decided to take a couple minutes before we left to go and check it out. 

The first thing we noticed was a sign that said "Honouring The Canine" and yet it had the symbol for "No dogs allowed". I thought that was very odd and contradictory. But then I read the rest of the sign and it all made sense. 

It reads:
​
" When the Creator finished placing the rest of the gifts on Earth, Nanibush, the helper was asked to visit with all living things. Nanibush did as the Creator asked and walked the Earth to make sure that everything was as it was intended to be. 

As Nanibush completed half  the journey he returned to speak to the Creator. Nanibush shared with Creator that all things were in place. Nanibush said it was a lonely journey as each gift he came across had a male and a female. Hearing this, Creator gifted Nanibush with wolf as a companion to complete the rest of the journey.

After a long time Nanibush returned to the Creator and said all living things had been visited and are in harmony. 

Creator, Nanibush and Wolf celebrated together. Creator honoured Nanibush for the dedicated work and gifted him with a female partner. Creator honoured Wolf for his kindness of companionship. Creator gifted Wolf by promising we would never call upon Wolf/Canine to do more work. This is why today, dog is mans best friend.

Please help us honour the Creator;s promise by not bringing or taking your dog into the Grounds set aside for Ceremony. By doing so, we would be asking dog to work again.

Thank you" 

I thought it was a sweet story.  It made me miss my dog. Since we didn't have a dog with us, it wasn't a problem at all.  We went into the Ceremony Grounds and looked around. We saw a tee pee like structure at one end. It had a fire pit inside and some wooden logs for seats all around it. 
​

There was another unfamiliar structure on the grounds too. It had various colourful flags on it. It seemed to also have some sage or sweet grass or something hanging from it. There was no one around to ask any questions about these structures so we left without learning anything about them. 

With our hike completed and our camping trip done, we headed for home. It had been a wonderful trip and I think this area may be one of our favourite places to visit. We will definitely go camping at Grundy Lake Park again. 

As we drove along, we were happy to see the Sandhill Cranes in the farmers fields once again. Seeing these large majestic birds was a beautiful finish to an already wonderful trip. 

On this windy but sunny morning we made plans to hike the Beaver Dam trail. The weatherman called for rain and a thunderstorm between 3 pm and 7:30 pm. So if we were going to do any hiking today it would have to be earlier in the day. Mom and I had breakfast and got ready to go. We were far enough away fromt he trail head that we had to drive there. 

Once we parked the car and got out, the first thing we noticed was that there was a section just off the side of the trail that was set aside as private property for the First Nations people. 

The trail head map gave us a general idea of what to look for and what to expect. Beavers once created dams and lodges here (known as "impounds") and changed the the landscape. They are nature's ecosystem engineers. They create wetlands that benefit both wildlife and people. 

This trail was pretty wet which shouldn't have been too surprising, It was even more so than the Swan Lake trail that we had hiked the day before. 

The cat tails and reeds were tall. Very tall. Taller than we were. 

Here and there, through the reeds you could see the open waters of the marsh and all the lily pads sitting on the surface of the water. 

Since it was the beginning of September, the leaves were turning red and orange and yellow. They were beautiful against the green backdrop of the pine trees. 

There were plenty of boardwalks on this trail, but one of the first ones that we came to was one that really made you work to get to it. The ground before it was flooded out from the recent rains. In order to get onto it I had to go around to the side and grab the first post and swing myself around and up onto it in order to avoid getting my feet soaked. 

Once we were on it though, it was worth it. It was peaceful here and it was pretty. We stayed here for a few minutes just to enjoy the quiet and to take in the view. 

A red Meadowhawk dragonfly joined us to do the same. 

The next part of the trail had a boardwalk that went through the forest. The ground was not as wet here as it is in other parts of the trail but I am guessing that there is a whole lot more water here in the spring time. 

All over this area were fuzzy, rusty-brown, Virgin Tiger moth caterpillars. These little guys were quite plentiful here. 

A fallen log made for the perfect bench to watch the caterpillars and for my mom to wait for me to catch up. 

In between the slats of the boards on the boardwalk we found some orange, jelly-like fungi, called "Witch's Butter", growing there. 

As we emerged from the trees, the area opened up to reveal blue skies and a beautiful wetland landscape.

It was about here where the trail splits into two. You can continue up the trail or take a side trail to the exit. However, if you aren't careful, you may miss the exit trail because the sign for it was lying on the ground. 

We weren't even nearly ready to end our hike yet, so we opted to continue on. The boardwalk, was so overgrown with the flowers and plants from each side that it all but disappeared beneath them. 

It was so beautiful here. Orange Jewelweed flowers lined both sides of the boardwalk and were dwarfed beneath the heights of the ever so tall cat tails. 

There were also some very tall, pink, Joe-Pye Weeds.

In some places the white Aster flowers were so plentiful that it almost looked like there was a covering of snow or a pile of cotton balls. 

Attracted to all the colourful flowers were White Admiral butterflies. 

Butterflies weren't the only ones who were biding their time here. There were many types of bees and insects here. There was one bee (not the one pictured below) that seemed to have a white face. We weren't sure if that was the bees actual face or if it was just covered in pollen (unfortunately the pictures didn't turn out so I guess we will never know). 

Eventually the boardwalk led back into the tree line again. 

But the butterflies were just as happy in the pine trees as they were in the flowers. This Grey Comma butterfly followed us for a little bit and landed on pine branches every once in awhile for a rest. 

You never know what is around the next bend when it comes to Ontario landscapes. As quickly as it went from marsh to forest, it then went from forest to rock. We climbed up a bit of a rock hill and looked down at the marsh below. 

Just as surprising as seeing butterflies in pine trees was finding frogs this high up on the rocks. And you thought that frogs were good at camouflage in the water... They were amazingly camouflaged in the moss on a rocky hill! And there was not just one frog hiding up here; there were at least 3 or 4 of them that we spotted.  

The point of interest from the top of the rocks was the Heron Rookery far below. At this time of year there were no herons nesting here. However, I am sure that come spring time there will be a number of nests here. 

As we sat on the rocks and had a snack, we were joined by a number of different visitors. It was to be expected since we were sitting in the middle of their home.  The first one to come along was a White Pine Sawfly caterpillar. I like how shiny black their heads are. 

Next was a tiny little inch worm.

And then there was a Tussock caterpillar (which you don't want to touch because their bristles can irritate and sting your skin). 

Not far from where we stopped for a snack we found a cozy little spot that had a picnic table. If we had known it was there we probably would have had our snack at the table instead. This spot is a perfect place for a picnic. I would come here again just to do that. It's quiet and it has a beautiful marsh view almost all the way around you. 

This picnic spot was also the furthest you can go on the trail, as was indicated with the "turn around and go back now" arrow that was painted on the ground. The trail is not a straight line and it does loop around until you get back to the exit sign that was lying on the ground. But it is still the furthest point on the loop. 

The next part of the trail had some very interesting root work on it. Some of the roots were entwined with each other and joined together and were far enough above ground that you could probably hide things under them. It would probably be a great place for a geocache. 

The bright yellow flowers of the Nodding Beggarticks were like little, mini-sunflowers growing near the water's edge.

Eventually the trail circled back around to the boardwalk that was lined by all the jewelweed and aster flowers. Up from the cracks of the board walk popped a garter snake. It didn't stay long and as soon as it felt the vibrations of our feet walking on the wooden boards, it dipped back down into the cracks and slithered away; probably to look for some of those camouflaged frogs we had seen earlier.

Soon we were on the exit trail towards the way out. Above our heads we could hear a hawk calling. I could barely make it out as it flew past and into the trees somewhere out of sight of the trail. 

Although that hawk did not stay to have its picture taken, this hawk did. Meadowhawk that is. This White-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly was basking in the sun under the pine trees. 

Also basking inthe sun was this little mushroom. I believe it is called a Caesar's Mushroom. 

We followed the root filled trail through the trees until we reached the exit. 

We got off the trail at a good time because the sky was starting to turn darker and the winds were picking up. We were going to get that rain we were expecting pretty soon!

It started to rain just as we got back to camp. Perfect timing!  Since it was raining, mom decided to go into her tent and take a nap and I went into mine to read for a little while.

Just before I went inside, I looked over at the neighbour's site across the road. They were still out kayaking but they must have known it was going to rain too because they prepared ahead of time by wrapping a tarp over their fire pit. Now that is good thinking. They will be able to get a fire going quickly and easily when they get back. It started raining at 4:45 pm. I could hear the thunder by 5 pm.  At 5:15 there was a big down pour and the winds really picked up. 

As I lay on my sleeping bag, reading my book, I noticed a little wasp on the roof of my tent. I was not fond of the idea of having a wasp in the tent with me. However, since it was raining and since I had nothing to capture it in, I made an agreement with it. I told it that if it stayed on the far end of the tent, away from me, then it could stay. It agreed and we co-existed in the tent in harmony. I left the door open a crack in case it wanted to leave.
​By 6 pm the storm had passed. It stopped raining at around 7 pm, just like the weatherman predicted. I left the tent to go have supper and when I came back later, I found that the wasp had left too. 

When it got dark, we once again took a walk down to the lake by the amphitheatre. The moon was just as beautiful this night as it had been the night before. The moonlight reflected and danced on the surface of the lake. All was quiet and all was peaceful. 

I woke up to the sound of rain on my tent. However, when I got out of my tent, I realized that it wasn't rain after all. It was just the residual drops of water falling from the trees after the heavy rain that we had during the night. 

Turns out that it was a good thing that we had decided to move the picnic table to the other side of the campsite and put our sleeping tents where we did. The whole are where the dining tent was located was very wet and was one big puddle, inside and out. The area where our sleeping tents were located was much drier and we did not get soaked at all. 

My mom was still asleep so I decided to take this opportunity to walk down to the designated dog beach to see what it was like. We must have had some pretty heavy rain during the night because the road between our site and the bathroom (which happens to be a slight hill) was partially washed out and little rivers of water were still running down it. 

The road was covered with puddles everywhere, but the sun was working hard to shine down through the trees to dry them up. 

The dog beach is only a short distance from our site and it was pretty quiet here at this time of day. 

The dog beach is a large, wide open area with lots of room for dogs to run and a couple of picnic tables for owners to relax at. It was nice enough here but there was nothing overly exciting about it. 

You do, however, get a nice view of the lake from here though. 

​Over by the waters edge I saw only one person and their dog. I got to talking to her and found out that she is camping only a few sites away from us on site 150. 

She told me that her dogs name is Lila. We watched Lila play and fetch her ball from the water as we talked. Eventually I left them there to enjoy the morning together as I headed back to my campsite to see if my mom was awake yet. 

   My mom was awake when I got back so we sat and had breakfast and talked for awhile. Slowly the sun dried up the rain so that the trees weren't dripping on us anymore. It's quiet here. There are a lot of trees so, it muffles the extra sounds quite a bit. Even the kids and the dogs in the area don't seem too loud. 
   My mom took notice of an interesting looking orange tent on a campsite just across the way from us. She decided to go over and ask more about it from the campers there. The tent belonged to a couple named John and Dawn. They told my mom that the tent was a "Marmot" tent which is the same brand as my new raincoat. So, if it is made by the same company, then I know that it is great when it rains. 
   Dawn and John told my mom that they had gone hiking on the Beaver Dam trail and said that the flowers were all in bloom there along the sides of the trail. They suggested that we hike that one. However, we told them that we already had planned to hike the Swan Lake trail today and we would probably do the  Beaver Dam trail tomorrow. They said that they too were planning on hiking the Swan Lake trail today too but not until later in the day. 

So, after grabbing our hats and snacks and sunscreen, my mom and I drove over to the trail head of the Swan Lake Trail. The parking lot and trail head had flooded during the night due to the rain. I wondered if I should have brought some rubber boots. If this was any indication, this area is for sure a "wetlands" area. 

 It may be wet here but it reminded me of a poster I once saw that said :
ADVICE FROM A WETLAND
Make a Splash
Take Time To Reflect
Reed More
Don't Get Bogged Down
​What's the Rush? 

Almost immediately you step onto a nice wooden boardwalk. I could see all the wet foot prints on the boards where people had come out of the flooded parking lot. I am pretty sure the parking lot was the wettest part of this trail. 

The boardwalk, at first glance, looks like one sturdy bridge all the way along. However, after my mom crossed one section we realized that the boardwalk was actually multiple sections that were only attached to each other by some black rubber material at our feet. As she stepped from the first section to the second one, the balance was disrupted and the sections started to sway unexpectedly. It took us a couple of seconds and a bit of adjusting our balance in an effort to not fall over before we got used to it and were able to walk comfortably across it the rest of the way. 

The boardwalk led us to a round landing in the middle of the marsh. It had benches all along the edges of it where you can sit and enjoy the view. 

And what a beautiful view it was. On the one side was a landscape of rocks and pines. You could still see the wet places on the slopes of the rock in the distance where the rain water had run down to the lake below. The sun hadn't quite dried it all up yet. 

On the other side was a green field of water lilies with rain drops still dotting the surface of their leaves. 

On the edge of the water lilies was a Painted Turtle basking in the morning sun. 

Close to the turtle I spotted some Pitcher Plants. Interestingly,  I did a bit of research online when I got home later and found out that this variety of Pitcher Plant is called a Northern Purple Pitcher Plant and that it is actually a fairly rare plant. 

Off to the side a little ways out was an old beaver lodge. I am sure that beavers are pretty happy campers in this place. 

While I was looking over the railing at all the marsh life, a little fly came and landed near me. It was the most beautiful fly I had ever seen! (the picture doe not do it justice). And I had never seen one like it before in my life. It was coloured in shiny metallic greens and blues from head to toe. It's eyes were big and shiny black. I later found out this was some type of Cuckoo Wasp.  

The boardwalk eventually ended and came up to dry land. Well, almost. Before getting to dry land you had to jump over a big puddle. 

In that puddle sat a little speckled tadpole. 

We made it to the rocky area on the other side of the puddle. Hiding in the cracks of the rocks was a little mushroom, He looked like he was just leaning against a rock taking a smoke break or something. Just chillin'.

Parts of the trail were covered in intricate designs of root systems. They were weaving their way over the surface of bare rock until they find their way to some ground somewhere. 

Here and there you would find unexpected resting spots, like this picnic table at the end of a little side trail. 

Much of the trail is marked with yellow markers or painted arrows on the rocks. At one point we came across this yellow marker that was different than all the rest. Someone had put a smiley face on it and it made me smile. 

Some people hike the trails so quickly that I winder if they even get to see anything. We like to take our time and hike them slowly and quietly so that we have every opportunity to see things that would otherwise be over looked or would hide from us. So, we stopped now and again to look up into the trees. 

And we were rewarded with a sighting of a Red-eyed Vireo. 

Aside from the boardwalk, there was one other notable section where we had to do some fancy foot work to keep our feet from getting wet. We almost wished we had a boardwalk to walk across here. But, we grabbed on to some tree stumps and branches and got to the other side with relatively dry feet. 

Of course, the mushrooms are pretty happy with all the rain and the wet ground. 

And so is the moss. 

We climbed up a rocky hill that opened up into a cliff top area. 

From so high up we had a great view of the other side of the lake. We could see the boardwalk that we had crossed earlier. Now it looked very tiny from this far away and this high up. 

The view was beautiful from up here.  We could see another beaver lodge way down below. 

While we were watching the world below, a couple of Turkey Vultures were circling above and  watching us. 

The trail winds down the rock hill and then through some trees until it comes to a wide open rocky area. From this spot you can see a mixture of rugged pines and swaying marsh grasses. 

The most beautiful part about this spot is the marshy fields of Tawny Cotton-Grass that dots the landscape. It's as though someone has come along and glued cotton balls all over the place. It's just lovely. 

And tucked in between the Tawny Cotton-Grass and the water lilies were some bright, yellow, Nodding Beggarticks

The warmth of the sun on the rocks drew in some insect visitors such as a bright red Meadowhawk dragonfly

as well as an American Carrion Beetle

Even an orange Crescent Butterfly was using the rocks as a place to rest. 

The rest of the way was an interesting combination of roots, rocks and puddles. 

The end of the trail was finished off with a wooden bridge that led from the rocky out crop to the parking lot below.  It had taken us more time to walk this trail than most people do but we enjoyed every minute of it. 
On the drive back tot he campsite we met up with John and Dawn who were just about to begin the Swan Lake hike. We told them how beautiful it was and to watch out for the wet spots. 

When we got back to camp we had lunch. Then I drove to the park office while my mom stayed behind to relax and read her book for awhile. At the office I bought my flannel Grundy Lake shirt that I had eyed up when I first arrived. The shirt was under $25 and was good quality and very cozy. This may become my most favourite camping shirt yet.  They have it in red too but the blue is much nicer looking in my opinion. 

Since I was already in the car and driving around, I decided to take this opportunity to explore more of the park. It is a fairly large park so driving from one end to the other was the quickest way. The first stop I made was at one of the other beaches in the park; the beach in the Poplar section. This beach was a fairly busy one but it had lots of space so it wasn't what I would call crowded. 

At one end was a volley ball net. However, the heavy rain from the night before had left a very large puddle right under it so it wasn't really usable at that moment. 

I noticed that there were no buoy lines in the water. I know a few kids who would love that about this beach. The kids here were busy swimming and running around with nets trying to catch frogs. They were having an easy time of it because the frogs were very plentiful here. 

I walked the shoreline for a bit to see what kind of nature I could see. Aside from frogs, the False Foxglove flowers were the most plentiful here. 

Soon enough I was back in my car and driving around again. As I was looking at all the various campsites, it dawned on me that because of the Covid-19 pandemic, all the group sites were not in use. This means that they were empty and I could freely take a walk in them and look around without worrying about intruding on other campers. 

So, I parked my car in the parking lot of a comfort station near Group Site # 3 and walked past the gate that was set up to prevent vehicles from entering. Almost immediately I found that this was a great decision on my part. 

I had barely started walking down the road when I spotted a large bird in one of the trees. It was a Broad-winged hawk! ​It was a magnificent looking bird.

It wasn't long before the hawk noticed me and flew away. I continued my walk and explored the empty site to my left. It looked like a regular site and not as wide open as I had expected to see for a group site. But then I realized that this was only part of the group site. There was more to see a little further down the road. 

When I got to the end of the road it opened up into a much larger area that was more like what I expected to see. There were multiple picnic tables and a couple of fire pits here. It was sandy and flat and perfect for plenty of tents. It was interesting that the group site is divided into two sections. One section for group members who  prefer more trees and privacy and another section for the ones that prefer the open area and closeness of people. 

One of the nice things about this group site is that it has direct access to the lake. I spent a few quiet moments here just enjoying the peacefulness.

Eventually I headed back up to the main road. Where the entrance to the Group campsite is located is also the trail head to the Pakeshkag Trail. This trail is not really laid out in the park brochure so I don't know much more about it than what is pictured in the laminated map that was attached to the gate post. 

The trail is as wide as a road but vehicles are prohibited on it. Only hikers, bikers and pets are allowed.

I started walking down the trail for a bit but I didn't go very far. As I walked I noticed that to my right there were a bunch of campsites with people getting ready for supper and busying themselves with other camping activities. They could see me and I could see them. It didn't make for a pleasant hike really. It was too noisy and there was no sense of peacefulness here. I thought to myself that I would hate to be a camper on any of those sites (sites # 349 - 369 in the Poplar section of the park ) because you would always have hikers going by and staring at you.  I suppose that eventually the trail would lead away from the campsites and it would get better. But, I didn't find out because I decided to turn around and go back before I had barely begun. 

It was getting close to supper time so I got back in my car and drove back to camp. When I got back I found that I had a little hitchhiker on my hoodie. It was a White Pine Sawfly caterpillar.

By the time I got back to camp the sun was starting to sink below the tree line and was casting long shadows on the ground.

We made a fire and roasted hot dogs for supper. 

After super, mom and I sat and talked until evening descended upon us and the trees turned to silhouettes against the sky.

We decided to go into the dining tent to play some board games for awhile because it was still too early to go to bed. When I turned on the lamp and the dining tent was all lit up, I spotted a Sweetheart  Underwing Moth up in the corner of the roof. I rarely see these moths so I was pleased to see one now. It was so pretty with its red colours peeking out from beneath the grey top wings. A few days later, when I went home to look these up, I discovered that there are more than one type of underwing moth. They have names that follow a romantic theme. In addition to Sweetheart underwings there are also Consort, Darling, Betrothed, Joined, Bride, and Mother underwings. They each have slightly different colouring from one another. There are many other types too but I found the names of these ones to be the most interesting. 

We played a few rounds of Quirkle which wasn't the easiest to do because our light wasn't very good. 

It was enough light to attract a few friends though. We had the company of a little leaf hopper.

​And a little brown Caddisfly was hanging out with us too. 

We played Qwirkle until about 11 pm and then decided to call it a night. But before we went to bed we noticed that the moon was out and was full and bright. So we took another walk down to the lake to see it better. The lake was beautiful with the moonlight reflecting off of it. It was a beautiful way to end a wonderful day. 

   Grundy Lake Park was never one that was high on my list of "must go to" parks. the name "Grundy" made me think of the word "grungy" and so I had over looked it in the past.  But, after this visit, I have changed my mind and I have put this one high up on my list of favourite parks. The first indication that Grundy Lake was a good park to go to was when we received a phone call the day before we were to arrive letting us know that they were out of firewood and that we were welcome to bring our own. That, right there, is good service! 
​    It was going to be just my mom and me this time around. We packed up the car and got ready for the 2 hour journey to a park neither of us had been to before. To get there we traveled through the Monettville and Noelleville area where my mom had grown up. She told me that there had been an increase in the amount of Sandhill Cranes in that area, so we were on the look out for them. We were not disappointed. Not only did we see some flying overhead, but we also spotted some in the local farmers fields. 

It was a pleasant drive to the park. There was one section of highway that was under construction just before the park though. It could mean that in the future, the route to the park may change. I guess only time will tell. 

Only 3 people were allowed in the office at a time, due to Covid-19 restrictions. The office staff were nice and friendly. I saw a fleece shirt for sale that I liked and will probably come back for. But for now I just picked up a park patch and sticker for my passport sticker book and we registered for our site. 

All the sites seem to have pretty good privacy. Ours looked small from the road but once we got out of the car we saw that it was actually quite large. 

The picnic table was to the right of the fire pit, but we determined that a better place for it was to the left of the fire pit because the picnic table was currently sitting on prime sleeping tent real estate. The left of the fire pit was too rocky to be comfortable for sleeping on. So, my mom and I picked up the table and moved it. Later on we found out that this was a very sound decision even tough we didn't know it at the time. 

One of the best features of our site was a big, beautiful pine tree. It gave the perfect amount of shade and it had character.  The site across from ours belonged to a couple of kayakers. We didn't see them much the whole time we were there. So, it made for very quiet neighbours. 

We got everything set up by about 5:15 pm  It was too early for supper for us and  we were interested to know what the rest of this park looked like so we decided to go on a walk to the main beach. 

Instead it was a warning that the water was high in sodium. If you didn't have any health issues related to sodium then you were fine to drink it. But if you did have a sodium-restricted diet then it warned that it was best not to drink the water. 

As we made our way to the main beach, we passed by the shack for the Discovery Program for kids. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 there were no programs going on this year. So, the shack sat there, unused.

The main beach is one of 6 beaches in Grundy Lake Park. The park actually has many lakes within its borders; the largest ones being Gurdy Lake, Gut Lake, Gurd Lake, Clear Lake, and Swan Lake. The main beach is on Grundy Lake.  To be honest, this one was not as nice as some of the other beaches in the park. But this is the beach you use if you have a day pass for the park.  The water here is brown in colour and the buoy lines are in an "L" shape, which I thought was very unusual.  

The things that this beach does have going for it is that it is fairly large, with plenty of picnic tables. There is a nice little wooden foot bridge that runs from the sandy beach up to a wide open rocky area where you can get a view of the whole beach. There are many little paths that run off from here and I suspect that they lead to various campsites and other parts of the park. We didn't really explore those paths much. 

The wide open rocky area even has a picnic table to sit at so that you can enjoy the view of the tree covered shoreline and the stillness of the evening. It is a lovely spot at certain times of the day after most of the beach goers have left. 

Across the road from the main beach is a volley ball area. 

Beside the volley ball area runs Nisbet Creek which joins Grundy Lake to Gut Lake. 

It was in this creek that I saw my first ever live dragon fly nymph. I had seen many shedded skins and pictures of dragonfly nymphs but never an actual live one out in the wild. These little guys are expert hunters of  mosquito larvae, tadpoles, and small fish (even in nymph stage they are keeping the mosquitoes away!).

Here, growing along the shoreline were some delicate, pink False Foxglove flowers. 

My mom and I started to explore the paths that run along and branch out from the volley ball area. I followed one that ran close to the shore of the creek. 

Even looking down the side of a rocky cliff I could see them growing far below. 

The water was not terribly deep here, but deep enough to keep the frogs happy. 

As I turned away from the water and headed back in towards the woods and in the direction of the amphitheatre I met back up with my mom who had taken a different path. We admired the unusual rock formations ahead of us. 

We also chuckled that someone had left a pair of sandals behind.  I imagined that someone had partaken in a bit too much alcohol or something. It think it would be quite painful on the feet to walk across the pine needles, jagged sticks and rocks with no foot wear on. So I can't imagine anyone would purposely leave their sandals behind. I am sure there is an untold story here. 

The path we were on led us down to the amphitheatre. It was a nice amphitheatre too; overlooking Gut Lake. On the other side of the amphitheatre is the trail head for the Gut Lake hiking trail, a canoe access point, and Smokey Point which is a place where you can do some shore fishing. 

The snapping turtle was fairly large and impressive. It moved slowly and didn't seem at all concerned that we had gathered around to look at him.

In fact, he would stick his head out of the water from time to time to catch a breath and to take a look at us too. It was so relaxing to put the outside world on pause for a few days and just sit here for a few moments  and watch the slow moving turtle. He didn't seem to have a care in the world and I envied that. 

After watching the snapper for a bit, my mom and I headed up the road back towards our campsite. Along the way we saw another man made helping hand for the wildlife in the park. It was a bat box. We took a peek under it to see if we could see any bats, but the opening was too small and dark to know for sure if anything was inside. 

While circling the building we did find some black berries growing at one side of the building though.

The next structure we came across on our way back was the picnic shelter.