The next morning was sleep-in morning. We had decided that the night before.  Julie was the first awake and was already outside enjoying the beautiful sunny morning with the lakeside view.

I noticed a little Sandpiper walking back and forth on the beach. 

It was in search of its breakfast. At first it was pecking at the plants and grasses along the shore. Then it found a butterfly and knocked it into the water. 

It stayed for quite some time before finally taking off to another part of the lake. 

Down in the water also looking for food were a couple of Great Pond Snails. These snails were pretty big snails. They had been eating well without getting eaten themselves. 

After breakfast Penny and I went for a canoe ride.  It was very calm and relaxing and we were able to see schools and schools of minnows everywhere. There were so many minnows! No wonder the loons like it here!

The day turned out to be a very hot one. We spent a good portion of the day inside the cabin and we even took a nice long nap. 

Once the sun was a little lower and the heat not so intense, we decided to venture out of the cabin for a bit. 
Anika had noticed that the park staff had come to clean the bathrooms earlier in the day but they had not brought us any toilet paper and we were almost out of toilet paper. So we decided to drive down to the park office and ask for toilet paper as well as garbage bags and to buy  some ice cream while we were there. 

At the park office we got our ice cream and I started out by asking if there were any garbage bags available. The girl at the desk was rather dismissive with me. She quickly said "No, we don't have any available here" and then brushed me off as she turned to talk to another employee.  I was just about to ask about the toilet paper when a  new customer came in the door and was headed towards the other employee and the one I was trying to talk to said to her co-worker. "I have him over here" and proceeded to call him over to her and cut me off. So I left the office a little dismayed and without any toilet paper. 

Needless to say, we were not impressed and we decided to take the matter into our own hands. We got back into the car and we started to drive around to every bathroom in the park. Where ever we found a bathroom that had extra toilet paper (some had 4 rolls of toilet paper in one stall when there were only 2 paper holders in each stall), we would take a roll of toilet paper from it and bring it with us. 

Soon we had 3 rolls of toilet paper and we brought it back to the cabin instead. It kind of felt like stealing but really it wasn't. We were just re-distributing the rolls to different places. If they had done their job properly, these rolls would have been in the cabin bathroom already in the first place. 

When we got back to the cabin we were a bit taken aback to find that there was a boat with a tow motor and what looked to be a father and son fishing. We were surprised because the cabin was advertised as being on "our own private lake" on the website.  So all of a sudden it didn't seem so private anymore.  I mean, there are 22 lakes in the park, and they had to choose this one?  Actually, because it was such a small lake, it made it feel awkward to take the canoe out which would bring us into close proximity of each other. The fishing duo stayed for hours and we didn't get to get in another canoe ride that we had planned to do.  We were also a bit confused as to how they had got there.  There was a cabin down at the the other end of the lake with a dock but we thought that was for park staff only. Were these two part of the staff? How did they get their boat in? Had they come in our driveway while we were gone? It was a bit of a mystery. 

But since they weren't using a powerful motor (only a tow motor) and they weren't disturbing the loons, and weren't really disturbing us much, we didn't worry too much about it.  We were actually wondering if there were any big fish in the lake since we had only seen minnows the whole time we were there. But then we saw from a distance that the son had caught a nice sized fish. So now we knew that there were some fish to be caught in this lake after all. 

We had a nice BBQ for supper and then after supper, I drove down to the office to buy some ice. The office was empty at first but then after a moment a man came out from the back and told me that one of the girls would be out in a minute.  Clearly he didn't work the desk or the cash register.  While we waited I started to ask him about the lake. I asked him who stayed at the cabin at the other end and he told me that it was the Superintendent of the park, Kayla. (So that meant the that fishermen did not come from that cabin). Then I said "oh I was just wondering because there are a couple of guys fishing on the lake". I think he misunderstood me and thought I was asking if we were allowed to fish there because he said "Oh yes, fishing is allowed on that lake. I think there are pickerel in there".  I gave up trying to point out that our private lake was not really private at the moment and instead just opted to reply with information I had learned at the Visitor Centre and said "Actually there are trout in that lake".  At about that time the dismissive girl came to the desk and I got my ice and left. 

On the way back I noticed there was a truck parked along the road and a tiny path through the trees that led to the lake. So that was how they had gotten onto the lake!  It is my guess that this was not the first time they had been fishing here. 

After dinner I went for a walk. I noticed what looked to be moose prints in the dirt not too far from the cabin. It was great to know that a moose had been that close. 

The rest of the evening was spent playing board games and laughing and having a good time. We had to leave in the morning so we didn't stay up as late as the night before. Despite the little unexpected issues that we had, it was still a great trip. We really like this little cabin getaway and we will most likely be back again next year for another little retreat. 

Today we meet up with Anika and Julie to rent a cabin in the park. You can't check in until 4 pm and Anika and Julie wouldn't arrive for a few more hours yet. So, Carsten, Penny and I packed up our things and took down our tents from site 40 and headed over to the picnic shelter on Slab Lake to play board games to pass the time. 

About an hour before Anika and Julie were scheduled to arrive, Carsten decided that it was time that he started home. Penny and I stayed and played another board game or two. 

While we were there, we spotted a Yellow-Bellied Sap Sucker in the tree next to the Comfort Station. ​

We tried to get as close as we could for a picture. The comfort station has 2 entrances with the tree growing within feet of one of the entrances. So, we thought maybe we could go in one door and then walk down to the other door and quietly pop out close to the tree undetected to get a better look. 

It didn't really go according to plan.  We didn't anticipate that someone else would come in the other door and scare the bird away while we tried to get closer. But that's ok. We had still gotten a couple of pictures before the Sap Sucker flew away. 

The cell service in the park is not very good so we were not sure that Anika and Julie would get any text messages we sent regarding where to meet up. Since that was the case we decided to play it safe and pack up the board games and just go and explore the Amphitheatre for awhile. 

At the Amphitheatre we spotted a group of about 3 or 4 Grey Jays., also known as Whiskey Jacks or Canada Jays. They are Canada's national bird. 

I hadn't seen a Grey Jay in over 10 years, so to see am bunch of them all in one place was a real treat for me. 

It was getting close to 3 pm and Anika and Julie could arrive at any moment, so Penny and I headed over to the park office and bought some ice cream and sat and waited for them to show up. 

As we sat outside on the picnic table benches, a Red-spotted Admiral butterfly came and waited with us.

We didn't have long to wait at all. Maybe 10 minutes later Anika and Julie arrived and we were able to register for the cabin we had reserved on Irrigation Lake. 

This year we found that they no longer had a key for the cabin or the gate. Instead, they had a combination lock. We didn't really like this much because, unless they were changing them combination between each visit (which I highly doubt they were), this meant that all the visitors who rented the cabin previous to us had the combination to get into the cabin. 

We backed our cars into the private parking lot and excitedly started to unload our stuff and bring it into the cabin. 

After last years mouse invasion, I decided to bring along a live trap for mice this time. The way it works is, the mice climb up the black ladders on either side of the orange bucket until they get to the top where the bait is. They walk under the yellow top and fall through a trap door into the bucket where they can't get out. 

However, we did not seem to have any mice in the cabin this year. But it was better to bring the trap and not need it than to need it and not have it. 

Out at the bathroom we found a sign saying "Do not disturb the birds nest".  We located the birds nest up in the corner by the sink just like it was last year.  It was empty though. 

In the yard between the bathroom and the cabin sat a Northern Flicker checking us out..

And of course our family of loons was back. They only had one baby this year instead of two.  Since loons always return to the same lake, we knew these were the same ones from before.  In the visitor's log in the cabin someone had written about the loons. They named the loons Guida and Miguel. 

As we sat drinking our drinks and watching the loons we noticed one of the loons behaving strangely. All of a sudden it seemed as though it started flopping around and bashing its wings against the water. Almost like it was trying to fly but couldn't.  We thought maybe it had gotten caught on a fishing line or something under water. 

In a flash, operation Loon Rescue had begun! Julie and I grabbed life jackets and a canoe and quickly headed over to the loon to see if we could help. 

Of course in our haste we hadn't really thought this through. If the loon was caught on something we hadn't brought any scissors or knife to free it with. Nor had we brought any gloves or towel to protect our hands with. 

The loons let us paddle up quite close to them. By this time the loon that had seemed to be in distress was no longer in distress and was just looking at us. 

We paddled around for a bit and kept an eye on it but ultimately determined that the loon did not actually need any help. We took a wild guess and figured that perhaps they were teaching the baby to either fly or how to scare fish in the direction that they wanted them to go in. So, we headed back to shore.

The rest of the afternoon, evening and well into the wee hours of the morning were spent eating a great BBQ meal, drinking booze and playing board games. We were loud, we were laughing and we were having a great time. 

The nice thing about being on our own private lake, is that no one came by to tell us to keep the noise down. It was probably about 2 in the morning before we got to bed. We are definitely going to be sleeping in tomorrow! 

There is nothing like fresh blueberries on your pancakes in the morning. 

Especially when you just picked them from around your campsite minutes before eating them. Now that is as fresh as it comes.

After eating breakfast we checked up on our ant and wasp situation.  The ants had covered the tops of most of their holes with sand during the night. Perhaps to keep out predators? Or maybe to keep out rain? We are unsure. 

Our friend the Ant-Queen Kidnapper was back and was busy digging around in the dirt. We were amazed at how far it could throw the dirt it was digging. It was like watching a dog dig in the dirt. We decided to name our wasp "Digger". It wasn't digging for ants because the ant hills were everywhere and easy to find. No, it was sticking to a certain area and seemed to be searching for something. It was only a few minutes before we figured out what it was looking for.  It was looking for its own nest. Whenever it left its nest it would bury the entrance with sand and then when it came back it would dig the opening up again.  We assumed this one had a little bit more trouble because we had been walking in that area and moving our chairs around and we probably messed up this wasps world a little. As we watched a couple other wasps open and close their doors, we noticed that the entrances were often near the base of a plant or stalk of grass. 

I wanted to show Carsten and Penny one of the beaches on one of the lakes that I liked but I couldn't remember which one it was. So, after breakfast we hopped in the car and drove around to some of the lakes to try to find it.

The first one we stopped at was Green Lake.  This one was not the one I was thinking of but it was a nice one too and we got out to look around for a bit.  It had a big picnic shelter and then a little shelter beside it so that you could BBQ in the rain if you wanted to. 

It had 2 sets of stairs that went down a hill and joined together in a Y shape. 

At the bottom of the stairs was a nice little sandy beach where some kids were playing and catching frogs. 

The bouyed area seemed deep enough for  good swim but we didn't test it out. 

Off to the side of the stairs was a quiet bench and picnic table area. 

On the steps we found  couple of Clear-wing Grasshoppers. 

And in the grass we found these little white flowers that looked to me like the wings of a butterfly. I haven't been able to find out what kind of flowers these are yet. 

We got back into the car and drove around to the other side of the park. We went to Point Lake next.  This was the beach that I had been thinking of. 

Just like last year it had pretty little pink Musk Mallow flowers growing all over the place. 

We also found a large patch of Round-leaved Sundew growing off to the side close by the shore. I had to rescue a small dragonfly from the plants sticky grasp.

Carsten pointed out these three-leaved, dark pink plants growing near the sundew. They are pretty but I have no idea what they are. I tried looking them up but no luck so far. 

On each of the fence posts there were patches of Pixie Cup Lichens growing. Love that name! Truly makes me picture little Pixies coming by and drinking dew drops out of these. 

Also sitting on the fence was a White-spotted Sawyer beetle. We call them Pine Beetles and avoid them because they bite. 

But this little beauty I have no fear of. This is a Spotted Spreadwing Damselfly. I just love the colour of its eyes. 

After driving around to the beaches we went to the Visitor Center to see the displays. The girl running the Visitor center told us that the park is often nicknamed "The Bird Nursery" due to the high volume of birds that are sighted by visitors. It isn't actually a bird nursery, it just gets called that. But we could see the reasoning for it because we had seen more birds here than we have seen in most other parks. She also told us how to identify an owl feather by the down at the top of the feather. We learned that Irrigation Lake is the deepest lake in the park and that it is stocked with Trout.

​After the Visitor Center we went next door to the park office to treat ourselves to some ice cream. Carsten wanted a cup of coffee but there was no water in the coffee machine. When he told them about it at the desk he was made to feel like he was inconveniencing them for mentioning it and that they were going to begrudgingly fill it even though it only took them a couple of seconds to do so. 

​Soon after that we decided to go for a hike on the Wintergreen Trail which was walking distance from our campsite. 

This trail is a beautiful, wide, flat, open trail. It starts off like a road and then narrows a bit as you go, but always has an open feel to it. 

At the beginning of the trail there is a Bird Bingo card. We took a picture of it and played it as we walked. Carsten was the first one to complete it. It gave the trail an extra little bit of fun. 

We hadn't gone far when Penny acquired a hitch hiker on her shoe.  It was a beautiful Silver-bordered Fritillary butterfly. This butterfly liked her shoe a whole lot. It wouldn't get off. She would shoo it away and it would just come right back. 

Eventually it found a place in the sand that it was content with and Penny was able to leave it behind and continue on with the hike. 

But there were lots more of these butterflies where that one came from. 

We were lucky enough to have a beautiful day of sunshine for our hike and we were seeing all sorts of plants and flowers and things that we would stop and take pictures of.  

As we were walking and talking we heard a little scurrying sound and a tiny creature dashed out across the path and into the underbrush on the other side. I peeked through the plants and there, hiding in the moss and leaves, was a tiny little mouse. It sat perfectly still and didn't move a muscle. We quietly moved around it to try to get a good picture and it never moved at all. I guess it thought that we didn't see it and as long as it sat still we wouldn't notice it. We got our pictures as quick as possible and left the area so that the poor little thing would feel safe enough to move again. 

We discovered a couple of benches along this trail which was a nice touch. 

We were able to sit down and watch the woodpecker in the tree nearby. 

And look at one of the lakes though the trees. I am guessing that at one point the trees were not as tall and the view of the lake was better, but it was still a nice enough view even now. 

As we sat a little green Pink-edged Sulphur butterfly came by and landed on a green plant. 

If you didn't know it was there you would almost think it was one of the leaves on the plant. 

A little Tricolored Bumble Bee was also hanging out in the green leaves but he didn't do as good a job of blending in as the butterfly did. 

Further down the trail we found a spot where you could see the lake much better through the trees. 

On the other side of the lake we could see a beaver lodge but no beavers. 

As we left the trail and came back out to the road we decided that since the Slab Lake beach was along the way between the Wintergreen Trail and our campsite, we might as well go down and check it out. 

Penny and I started looking for turtles and frogs down by the lake while Carsten went and found a picnic table to sit at and wait for us.  We didn't see any turtles or frogs but we did see a Chipping Sparrow. 

And we also saw another woodpecker.

As we were bird watching long came a group of young people, probably about 8 of them or so, all with life jackets on.  It soon became apparent that none of them had ever been in any sort of boat before in their lives.  Penny and I joined Carsten at the picnic table as the entertainment began.

First, one of the guys grabbed a kayak and he seemed to do all right. But then a couple more guys grabbed a canoe and tried to get in it before it was far enough into the water to be able to go anywhere. A couple of the girls and guys had to come and push them into the water. One of them was sitting backwards in the canoe and both of them were trying to paddle forward. It was hilarious to watch! 

Next, a guy and a girl tried to get into the paddle boat. They couldn't figure out how to steer it and ended up getting it tangled in the buoy lines.  Now they didn't know what to do. It took 3 of them to try to untangle it. They tried diving under and they tried lifting it up. Finally they got it untangled only to jump back in and almost get it tangled up a second time.

By this time the canoe was back and one of the girls tried getting in while it was still out in the water. She couldn't get her legs high enough to get in, so a couple of the guys tried to turn the canoe over on its side for her to make it lower so she could get in. Of course this led to the canoe filling with water and the girl falling completely into the lake.  Now the canoe was full of water and they kept trying to empty it by turning it on its side while it was still in the lake instead of bringing it to shore to be emptied. 

I am not making a single bit of this up. This was all unfolding before our eyes and we were just sitting there watching it all and laughing like it was  a TV show.  Of course they were all laughing and shouting and having a blast too. So we didn't interfere or try to show them how it was done. 

Eventually we decided to leave them to their own devices and head back to camp for supper. 

But as we walked up the path away from the beach I spotted something green and metallic on the ground. It was a Splendid Earth-boring Beetle. It was so pretty and so shiny! 

I didn't want it to get stepped on so I picked it up and carried it off the path and over to a quiet little mossy area near some trees. 

We had enjoyed a wonderful day and now we were ready for supper and a quiet evening of board games by lantern light. 

Tomorrow we will be trading in our tents for a cozy little cottage here in the park. 

The next morning was warm and sunny in contrast to the cold of the night before. I could now see the set up of our camp by the light of the day. The site was nice and big. 

We were camped on site 40 in the Island Lake campground. 

The site is encompassed by  roads on 3 sides. You would think that this would make for a high traffic area, but it really wasn't. The tiny road on the north side was so small and un-used that it seemed more a part of our camp site than the road. 

However, I decided that I should not park my car in the middle of it, on the off chance that someone actually did want to use it. Instead I parked along the edge of the camp site. 

The cars may not have been using the road but a Compton Tortoiseshell butterfly was making use of it as its resting place. 

The bathroom was directly across the road from our site.  It was a typical outhouse style bathroom, but it was very clean and well lit. 

I did notice that someone didn't like the park toilet paper (on the right) and instead brought a roll of their own (on the left).  I  don't blame them because the toilet paper here is thin. However, it is much worse in other parks.  At any rate, the nicer toilet paper was appreciated by the rest of the campers. 

Even the sink area was nice and clean and had a soap dispenser and a mirror. 

There were "Boil Water" notices up in various parts of the park. However, not everywhere in the park had an issue with the water; only some places. 

As we were sitting and eating breakfast in the morning sunshine, we started to notice a lot of movement at our feet.  Apparently our site is situated on top of a huge ant hill. There were multiple colonies of ants of all shapes and sizes. There was a lot of ant activity.

We also noticed 2 or 3 Eastern Ant-Queen Kidnappers (wasps) flying around. They seemed to be weighted down by something. Upon further inspection we realized that they were weighted down by large flying ants. We were not familiar with the habits of the wasps so we were unsure if the wasp was being attacked by the flying ant in an effort to protect a colony or if the wasp was attacking the ant. Maybe a bit of both. There definitely seemed to be a bit of a struggle going on from both sides. 

Later on in the day I saw an Ant-Queen Kidnapper drag a motionless flying ant down into a hole in the ground.  Once I got home a few days later, I did a bit of research on the ​Ant-Queen Kidnapper.  There was very little on it except to say that "the nests are provisioned by winged queen ants".  
However, I did find information on a wasp that seems to be very similar to the Ant-Queen Kidnapper called a Beewolf. So, I imagine the information is very similar, only the Ant-Queen Kidnappers prey on ants instead of bees. It said "Beewolves, also known as bee-hunters or bee-killer wasps, are solitary, predatory wasps, most of which prey on bees, hence their common name. The adult females dig tunnels in the ground for nesting, while the territorial males mark twigs and other objects with pheromones to claim the territory from competing males.
As with all other sphecoid wasps, the larvae are carnivorous, forcing the inseminated females to hunt for other invertebrates, on which she lays her eggs, supplying the larvae with prey when they emerge. The adults consume nectar from flowers."

The Ant-Queen Kidnapper did not seem to be interested in any of the other ants, just the large ones with wings, which I guess are the queens.  

Carsten and I decided that it was a nice day to do a hike. Penny wasn't feeling up to it so she stayed behind. 
The hiking trail was up the road a bit and we decided to just walk to the trail head.  This gave us the opportunity to see a bit more of the campground. 

When we got near the comfort station the first thing we saw was a sign warning drivers to slow down. When I saw the sign, I laughed and said "Slow down for one-eyed green children and dogs!" 

At the comfort station was a little red library where you could borrow or leave books. We knew Penny would be interested in this so we made a note in our heads to tell her about it. 

On the large billboard outside the comfort station was a sign showing salamander boxes. I have never seen one of these boxes before so it was interesting to learn that they were made and around in the park somewhere. 

I got excited to read about the Annual Blueberry festival. Blueberries were at their peak of the season right now and all these events sounded fun.  But then Carsten pointed out that this festival wasn't even at this park, but at Esker lakes Park.  I was disappointed by this. 

Right beside it was a posting for the Discovery events that were taking place in this park. I was particularly interested in the Sunset Painting At Point Lake. 

We eventually made it to the trail head. The name of the trail we were hiking is called "Oh-Say-Yah-Wah-Kaw'

Right away we noticed some discrepancies in the description of this trail. 

The other thing that we noticed was the starting point on the paper map (indicated by a black diamond shape) was on the left when actually it is on the right. As well, the start and end points are at almost the same place, but on the paper map it makes it look like the two entrances are up the road from one another. Both maps were missing a small trail that connects both sides of the trail and creates a second loop. 

We discovered the connecting trail shortly after beginning the hike.  We took a quick detour to see where the side path led and it went to the lake and connected the two sections of the trail. We were surprised that this wasn't indicated on either of the maps. 

After enjoying the view of the lake for a minute or two, we decided to go back the way we came and follow the trail in the direction of the arrow as the trail was marked. 

Along the way we saw some interesting plants, like some Pelt Lichen and some Ghost  Pipes. 

We noticed a charred and burnt tree stump and wonder what had caused it. Was it the remains of a forest fire from long ago? Or had this tree been struck by lightning? No other trees in the area showed signs of being burnt; just this one. 

As I was walking a little moth came and landed on me. This pretty little hitch hiker is a Birch Leafroller moth. 

It did not want to leave so I had to coax it gently onto a nearby Birch tree. It blended in pretty good with the white and dark colours of the Birch bark. 

The trail was wide and well groomed.  This trail was an enjoyable one.  It was at about this point where Carsten and I stopped to listen and see the birds. There were so many birds here! Mostly small sparrows and vireos. But they were elusive and fast so i couldn't get one to sit still long enough to get  a good picture. If you want to do some bird watching this is definitely the place to be. 

Sometimes you had to be careful about where you stepped so that you didn't step on a small creature like a Spur-throated grasshopper.

Or a baby toad. There were quite a few baby toads on the trail. 

Or even some plant life such as this orange fungus. 

There were interesting old trees to see. 

Including a stump of a tree that looked like a beaver may have eaten. However, it still has a long portion of it standing in the middle of the stump. It was an odd looking stump and made you wonder how it came to be exactly. 

Eventually we came back around to the lake again. I looked along the shore hoping to see a turtle, but there were none. 

However, from a distance, we did see a Solitary Sandpiper feeding along the shoreline. 

Once you pass the lake, the trail leads back into the woods. This is where I saw a plant that I was not familiar with. Later I looked it up and fount it to be Stag's-horn Clubmoss. It may be a moss but it looked almost like tendrils of a pine tree. 

The description of the trail says that the last portion of the hike is a bit of a climb. There were a couple sections that were an up hill climb to some degree but it wasn't anything too terrible. 

Closer to the end of the trail was an information post. There were a few of these along the trail, all of which were dirty and hard to read and in need of a serious clean-up.  But this one in particular was the cleanest and easiest to read. I found it the most interesting because it told you how the trail got its name.  Apparently "Oh-Say-Yah-Wuh-Kaw" means "Sand Ridge". 

The last little bit of the trail went through a stand of birch trees. They were beautiful with the sun streaming down between them. 

The trail ended at the same place that it began, just a few feet over.  Now we had to walk back to our camp site and see what Penny was up to. 

As we walked back to camp we could see a couple of birds along the roadside. One Chipping Sparrow in particular came very close to us and landed on the ground nearby.  Then all of a sudden it took flight and headed straight for me!  I thought for a second that it was going to land on me. But at the very last moment it veered off and landed in a tree instead. It took me by surprise to say the least. 

When we got back to camp and told Penny about narrowly becoming a bird perch, she told us a bird story of her own. Apparently she had a bird that was being aggressive towards other birds in the area and had also dive bombed the netting on the dining tent.  I wonder if it was the same little sparrow down the road? Perhaps there is a nest in the area. 

After swapping bird stories we sat down for some lunch and then we played a new board game that I had just bought called "Bare Bones".  It's a great little game and easy to play. 

We spent the rest of the evening playing various board games until it was time to go to bed. The long hike and the fresh air had made us tired.  

We noticed that the whole park is a very quiet one at night. At least it was while we were there. When we were ready to go to bed at about 11 pm we seemed to be the last people still awake in the park. It was so quiet and peaceful here. We knew we would sleep well tonight. 

The beginning of my vacation week started in the dark. 

I finished work at 7 and then had a 3 hour drive to meet my brother and sister-in-law at our campsite in Kettle Lakes Provincial Park.  By the time I arrived it was tricky to find my way around the parks long winding roads and the park office was closed. Luckily I had a map of the park from last year so I wasn't completely lost. But I still made a wrong turn once or twice. 

Eventually I made it to the site and sat down by the fire pit to enjoy the evening with Carsten and Penny. 
It was a pretty cold night so the fire was welcome and inviting. 

It was not long before we noticed that the Northern Lights could be seen directly above our heads. 

It is unusual to be able to see them so close. Usually they are off in the distance and are only a ghostly green colour and hardly any movement to them from where we are located. Often times they look more like cloud cover or the milky way. But tonight was different. Tonight we could see the pinks and purples and greens. And the dancing that the Aurora Borealis was doing was beautiful. The lights were constantly changing shapes and positions and morphing their colours. 

We watched the lights for about an hour until eventually they started to fade away. 

We figured that this would be a good time to head to bed. We went to the nearby bathroom to brush our teeth and get ready for bed.  Then on the way back we noticed that the moon was starting to rise. And the moon was so bright. It was just beautiful. 

So there we stood with our heads tilted up to the sky once more; taking in the beauty of the night.  
​As the moon rose it got brighter and brighter and illuminated the trees all around us. And the stars were also shining bright. 

We stayed and enjoyed the peaceful scene in the quiet camp until we were too cold to stand there anymore. 
We made our way to the tent and snuggled into our warm sleeping bags. 
It was such a wonderful way to start our camping trip and I felt truly blessed to have had the experience. 

We slept well and we were warm and cozy. There were no mice to be seen when we woke up. 
It was a bit of an over cast day, but there was no rain. 
After eating breakfast, we began our "Amazing Race" all over the park starting at where yesterday's last clue took us, which was the Kettle Trail. 

We did not see our next clue at the trail head so we figured maybe it was at the half way point.  It was a good excuse to go for a hike. 

The trail is a big circle. We decided to start on the right leg of the trail. It led us down to one of the small kettle lakes called Pine Lake.

Down one of the embankments we noticed a rather large hole that looked like the den of some medium sized animal. It was too big for a chipmunk or snake, It looked more like the size of something that could house a rabbit or a groundhog. There was no scat around or other signs pointing to whose homeit was, so we never did find out. 

The bunch berries that earlier in the year had white flowers were now sporting red berries in their place. 

Not many trees were changing the colours of their leaves just yet, but those that were changing, were quite beautiful. 

Off in the distance, we could see a beaver lodge. 

The trail led us closer to it so that we could get a better view, but we didn't see any beavers. 

Way out in the long marsh grasses we could see some pitcher plants growing. 

The Kettle Trail, after leaving the marsh area, turns into a wide open space on either side of the trail. It looked as though there was a carpet of green. We had gone more than half way around the trail and we still had not found the next clue yet. 

We may not have seen much in the way of animals, but we did find some interesting looking mushrooms.  

And these caterpillars were also in abundance. 

Near the end of the trail there was a little bench to sit on and take a rest. We didn't rest though. We were on a mission. We had to find that clue. 

We were almost at the very end of the trail. We could see our parked car at the side of the road. And then we found it. The clue was located right at the exist. We laughed because if we had taken the left leg of the trail instead of the right leg then we would have found it right away.  But that's ok because then we wouldn't have gone on a nice hike. 

Our next clue led us to Hughes Lake. 

This lake is one of the biggest lakes in the park. 

We figured that this one would be worth taking a canoe out to see more of it. But we were too busy with our clues right now for that.  We quickly and easily spotted our clue and didn't stay long before we were in the car and on our way again. 

The next clue had us drive down a long winding road to the opposite end of the park where we came to  us to Point Lake. 

Point Lake had a large picnic area and a beach. 

It had a firepit with the initials of the park engraved on it. Actually, that was part of our clue; to look for this particular fire pit. 

Point Lake was not as large as Hughes Lake, but it was still one of the larger lakes in the park. It would probably be fun to take a canoe out in this lake too. 

It had a set of bathrooms up a ways away from the lake.  

The were just your regular non-flushing vault toilets.  Nothing fancy. 

We grabbed our next clue which took us down another lonely dirt road to our next destination. The only people we saw down this road was an older couple who had stopped to pick blueberries  and a ministry truck that passed us by. Other than that, it was nothing but trees.

This road led us to the Oh-Say-Yah-Wah-Kaw  Trail. 

It would have been nice to hike another trail but we had already done one and the sky was getting grey and looking like it might rain. So we decided not to hike this one today. Besides, it would give us something to do the next time we came to the park. And we are definitely planning on coming back.  Instead we found our next clue, which was not hard to find, and we continued on to our next stop. 

The next clue brought us to a horseshoe pit.  This is a nice set up for horseshoes that they have here. there are 4 pits and some benches so that people can sit and watch the games. 

The horseshoe pits are located in the part of the park where the regular campsites are.  There were a few more roads in here instead of just one straight one, so we got a little bit turned around.  But eventually we found our clue and continued on tot he next stop. 

Our next stop was Island Lake. This lake has one of the main beaches on it. It is walking distance from many of the campsites. 

To get down to the beach you go down a set of stairs. 

This beach isn't very big but it has a couple picnic tables and a bouyed area for swimming. 

To the left there was a rack of rental canoes and one of the paddle boats that you can also rent. 

One of the clues sent us to Slab Lake which was the same place that we had gone for the presentation on loons the evening before.  This lake had the main day-use beach with a huge picnic area, a playground for the kids, and a comfort station. 

Not too far away from the comfort station, just up on top of a hill, was the amphitheater.  It was close to the comfort station so I did take a moment to take a quick peek at it.  It was cute and with the benches being on a hill, the audience would easily be able to see the stage below. 

I went back tot he car and we headed down the dirt road towards our next clue. 

This brought us to the Bike Trail. Julie and I got out of the car to look for the clue while Anika parked the car. 

Julie found it first. It was attached to the post of the big trail head sign.  This was our last clue and now we had all the letters we needed to finish our puzzle and find out what the secret message was. 
While she was reading, I took a look around. This trail looked wide and open. It had a red gate across the entrance that kept cars out but left enough room for bikes and hikers to get by. 

The trail consists of 3 connecting loops . The smallest loop is 2 km, the medium loop is 5.5 km and the largest loop is 8 km. We didn't have bikes with us but perhaps one day when we come back we will bring some bikes with us.  Or perhaps, one day we will just walk it on foot. 

Near the trail head sign was a picnic table. The forest floor was a carpet of green. 

Upon closer look we realizes that this carpet of green was actually all blueberry bushes!  So many blueberry bushes!  The older couple that we drove by on the road earlier would be in heaven if they had come here to pick their blueberries. They could have had sooo many! And a picnic table to sit down at when they got tired. 
Now that we know where this treasure trove of blueberries is, we will have to make a point of coming here to pick some next year. We could have blueberry pancakes for breakfast. 

While we were exploring the area nearby, we came across a strange little building.. We had no idea what it was for.  A note on the door said it was the "Assistant Superintendent And Resource Steward's Office" .  That is quite a mouthful of a title. Try saying  that 5 times fast!  

Outside the ​Assistant Superintendent And Resource Steward's Office was a phone booth.  You rarely see those anymore!

We were curious to see if it still had a working phone in it. So, we went to take a peek inside. It did! 

With our puzzle figured out and our secret message in hand, we headed over to the Visitor Center. That is where the puzzle directed us to go. 

On the wall outside the Visitor Center there was a big bulletin board made of plexiglass. 

This was the final stop for our Amazing Race. We had a great time finding the clues and we thought that this was a fabulous way to get people to see most of the park. Especially when many people probably wouldn't normally explore much past their own campsites. We thought it was a very creative and fun way to get people out there and moving around a bit. 

Since we were already there, we decided to go inside the Visitor Centre to see what it was like. There were all sorts of tables set up with different nature displays. And there was Sarah, the staff member who had done the presentation on loons the night before. Today she was telling all the kids and visitors about the different displays. She had a wealth of knowledge to share. I stopped to talk to her for a few moments. I had noticed that there was a collection of old birds nest in a display in a corner. I remembered the empty birds nest we had found near the bathroom up at the cabin. So, I asked Sarah if she would like us to bring it to the Visitor Centre to add to the collection. She said no and that it would be best to just put it in the bush so that the other animals and birds could take it apart and recycle its materials to make new nests of their own. So I did that once we got back to the cabin. 

While Sarah talked to some of the other visitors, we wandered around and checked thigs out.  I liked the "Touch Table". It was filled with thigs like animal furs, and deer antlers, and feathers and many other things that could be picked up and examined up close. 

There was a display of various animal bones. There were also some taxidermy birds. It was interesting to see just how big a loon is in comparison to a duck or a Canada Goose. Loons are surprisingly big. 

There were also displays about insects and plants. There were bookshelves full of books on various nature topics. There were also brochures and kids coloring books that you could take home for free. I took a couple of the activity books and a couple of business card sized magnifying glasses to give to some kids that I would be camping with in just a few days from now. It is something that I knew the kids would love. 

Even the ceiling inside the Visitor Centre had something you could learn about!  There were paintings of the constellations all over the ceiling. 

Now that our Amazing Race was over and we had seen all there was to see inside the Visitor Centre, we headed back to the cabin. We were getting hungry and it was past time for our lunch.

We ate our lunch out on the desk and relaxed in our chairs and soaked up some sun for a bit. But the canoe was calling to us and we finally decided to go for a canoe ride. 

There were life jackets in the corner of the cabin, however, they were a bit old and didn't fit the best. Plus there were only 2 of them and 3 of us. We will have to remember to bring our own life jackets the next time we come.  As an alternative to one of the life jackets, we decided to inflate one of the tubes that we had brought with us. We knew it wasn't a great substitute for a life jacket but it was certainly better than nothing. So we went with it. 

The lake itself was pretty small. It took hardly any time at all to get to the other side. We were surprised to find that what we had thought was a log on the other shore, was actually a dock. There was also a cabin over there too. We had been under the impression that we were the only ones on this lake but it turns out that we were actually sharing the lake. We had heard a guitar the previous night and had seen a light from this direction. Now we knew where it was coming from. We don't know if this is someone's private property or if it is where the staff go when they are not working. Either way, we had no intention of pulling up to the dock. Instead we just paddled on by. 

That was when we noticed the mama loon and her two babies. We made sure to keep our distance so that we didn't spook them or stress them out. As we paddled around we found a few wooden boxes that were submerged under water. We thought that it was a bit strange and wondered what they were for. Later on, we did some research and found out that the submerged boxes used to to be old nesting boxes for the loons. They were no longer needed by the loons so they were abandoned and eventually they got water logged and sunk. 

After reaching shore, we decided to go for a walk to the ed of our road way and see if we could see the beaver at Heart Lake. We didn't see any beaver today but we were not ready to go back yet so instead we walked to the next lake, which was Spring Lake. 

From the road we could see what looked to be a wooden wall. We were curious to see what it was. perhaps it was the foundation of an old boat house or something. 

When we arrived, we found it to be some sort of support wall to keep the dirt from falling into the lake. 

There was a set of stairs that led right down to the waters edge. I am assuming this is some sort of boat or canoe launch. We really didn't know for sure; it was just our best guess. 

Spring Lake is a small lake. It is even smaller than the one our cabin is on. It was very quiet and there was no one else around. 

The only one who seemed to notice that we were there was a little Green Frog. 

We still weren't ready to head back yet, so we continued walking to the next lake, Hughes Lake. We had been here earlier that day on our Amazing Race, but now we were less rushed and had more time to take look around. 

We noticed a bird house out in the middle of the lake. We wondered if anything was living in it. 

​By now we were ready to head back to the cabin. We had been walking quite a bit today and we were starting to get tired. The idea of getting back to the deck and putting our feet up for awhile was seeming rather appealing. 

On the way back we discovered a side trail off to the side of the road.  I was curious, so while Anika waited by the road, Julie and I took a quick walk down the path to see where it led.  Before we got too far, we were startled by the wooshing sound of the flapping of wings as a couple of Ruffed Grouse made a mad dash for the higher branches of the trees.  It made me jump because I wasn't expecting it. 

The path was a short one and it lead to the road outside the boundary of the park. So we turned around and went back to where Anika was. Apparently while we were gone, Anika had the opportunity to see a humming bird fly by. 

When we reached the private road to the cabin, we noticed a path that we had over looked before. Anika and Julie were tired of walking so they headed back to the cabin. However, my curiosity urged me to explore this path despite my energy levels starting to wane.  

Unlike the path that had the grouse on it, this path was much longer. It went through the pine trees and through the ferns. 

Eventually the ferns turned into scrub brush. There were some fallen logs but the path was pretty easy to navigate. There were some foot prints and dog tracks in the dirt and I could tell that this trail was probably used by some local people who most likely lived just outside the park boundary and used this path as a personal dog walking path. I thought about how lucky they were to be able to live so close to a provincial park to be able to do that. 

The trail ended at a road and at the park boundary. there were big blue signs posted tovlet you know where the park begins and that you couldn't hunt or ride ATVs past that point. 

With my curiosity satisfied, I turned around and headed back to the cabin. On the way back I noticed a piece of an old fence off to the side of the trail.  I hadn't noticed it when I passed by the first time. I might not have noticed it this time either because it was so over grown with plants, if it wasn't for a little squirrel that was climbing over it. I thought it strange that this one piece of fence and no other pieces was way out here in the bush with no particular purpose that could immediately be found. It was a bit of an oddity. 

When I arrived back to the cabin, Anika was getting ready to cook us some hotdogs on the BBQ.  Julie made some home made nachos to go with the hotdogs and voila.... we had a quick and easy glamping meal! It was delicious! 

After supper, we spent the rest of the evening playing board games until it was time to get ready for bed. We didn't see our mice friend all evening while we played our board games. 

However, when we went outside to go to the bathroom and to brush our teeth, up in the rafters of the bathroom roof, there was a mouse!  This mouse was bigger and a much more lighter colour grey than the other two had been. We left the mouse to its own devices and headed off to bed to get some sleep.

But the story of the mice does not end there....  We may not have seen the mouse from the night before in the cabin all evening, but he was still there. He made his appearance in the wee hours of the morning after we were all in bed. At about 6 in the morning I was awakened to the sounds of Julie and Anika talking about the mouse. The mouse had been running around inside the cabin for hours and was keeping them awake. Apparently it had run up on the bed and had run right across Anika. In the dim light of the morning I could see it sitting near the door. So I climbed out of the top bunk and grabbed a blanket and tried to catch it and throw it outside like I did with his brother the day before.  The blanket landed right on top of him and I was sure that I had caught him. Unfortunately, when i went to scoop him up he escaped from under the blanket and ran under the bed.  I sat there in the semi darkness for the longest time just waiting for another opportunity to throw the blanket on him. But the opportunity never came. I guess he decided that he was tired and was going to hide in whatever hidey hole he had. He never came out again. When it was almost 8 a.m. I finally gave up waiting for him to show himself. By this time I figured there was no point in going back to bed. We had to be out of the cabin by 10 and we still had to pack up. So, although we were all pretty tired, we decided to just get up and get packed up. Despite the mice, we had an excellent time and we will definitely come back. But next time, we will bring a live trap with us..... just in case. 

This trip was a Glamping Getaway trip.  Just three of us; my sister, Anika, our friend, Julie, and myself.  We were headed to Kettle Lakes Provincial Park and instead of a tent, we had rented a cabin. We had been looking forward to a much needed rest from the busy world.

Since this was going to be a luxury trip for us, and we wanted to be as lazy as we possibly could, we decided that we didn't want to have to do much cooking. So, we stopped at a Subway along the way and bought some subs to bring along with us to eat for supper.

We arrived at the gatehouse at about 3:30 pm. The staff was super friendly and made us feel very welcome. 

Inside the gatehouse is a little store. It had the usual souvenirs and such. The clothing was quite pricey though. They were asking $85 for a basic zip-up hoodie, which is about twice the price I would have been willing to pay for one. 

They did have the sticker for the provincial parks passport book though. I got the last one for Kettle Lakes because my sister let me have it.  They also had stickers for a couple other parks there too (Kap-Kig-Iwan, and Tidewater). 

We just happened to arrive at a time when they were doing an Amazing Race in the park. They were running it for the month of August.  You got your puzzle page from the gatehouse and then you followed the clues around the entire park and looked for letters to fill in your puzzle.  We are puzzle lovers so we were excited to play.  Plus it was a great way to see the whole park!

We got our keys from the gatehouse and then drove a short distance to the little road that leads up to the cabin. Julie hopped out of the car to unlock the gat for us. 

Attached to the gate was a mailbox with a combination lock on it. We had no idea what this was for. Our best guess was a place to leave the keys when you were leaving if the gatehouse wasn't open. But we didn't know for sure. 

There are two sides to the gate that can be swung open. If you drive carefully, you can get away with opening just one side though. 

We drove down the dirt road and passed a sign that said "Cabin occupants only". This made us feel special; like it was our own private "No Trespassing" sign or something. 

We pulled up into the parking lot and got out of the car and put our permit in the holder on the post. The cabin is site # 200. 

We just stood there in the driveway looking around for  moment and already we were in love with the place. This place seemed to have just about everything! 

At one end there was a ramp for those who used a wheel chair or walker. 

There was a wide open, grassy area between the washroom and the cabin.  We didn't put it to much use on this trip.  But now that we know it is there, we will probably bring a game of Croquet or Bocce Ball the next time we come. (And yes, we plan on there being a next time!)

There was a fire pit with both a bench and a picnic table to sit at. 

And there was even some wood that someone left behind for us. Although, truth be told, we never did make a fire. So, I guess the wood was actually left for the people that would arrive after us. 

The cabin is not huge or anything, but it was the perfect size for a peaceful getaway. It had a deck and some chairs to sit on. It was very cute. 

We eagerly opened the door with the key to see what it was like inside. 

It has a little closed in porch that housed a couple more chairs if we needed them. 

The key to the first door also opened the second door that led to the main part of the cabin. There were 2 keys on the keychain. One for the cabin doors and one for the gate.

We opened the door and were very happy with what we found on the other side. The whole cabin was made of cedar planks and logs. The floor was a dark brown faux wood finish. It was beautiful!  And it was very clean!

To the left was a double bed.  This was where Anika would sleep. 

To the right was a bunk bed with a double bunk on the bottom and a single bunk on the top.  Julie would take the bottom bunk and I would take the top bunk. 

There was a little wooden night stand between the two sets of beds. 

Across the room was a round wooden dining table and 5 chairs. 

To the right was a gas fireplace with a mirror above it. 

On the mantle was a lamp, a battery operated lantern, and a few other items. There was a sign that told us that the cabin was run on solar power. 

There was also a guest book where we could write what we thought about our stay and read what other people had wrote. But we didn't have time for that right now. We were too busy checking out the rest of the place and getting settled in. 

On the other side of the room were some empty shelves, a cabinet with some pots and pans in it, a drawer with some BBQ utensils in it, a mini fridge, and a small vacuum off to the side that was plugged into the wall.
 
The only thing that was missing that would have been convenient was a microwave.  We had anticipated that there would be a microwave and Anika had brought some microwavable popcorn, but we could easily do with out it. We were still very happy with the place. 

Stepping back outside onto  the deck we surveyed the scene before us. In front of us was our own private lake!  It was a small lake with an unflattering name (Irrigation Lake), but we didn't have to share it with anyone except the loons. 

And there was a whole family of loons on this lake. There were the parents and 2 baby loons. 

It was so peaceful knowing that we had it all to ourselves. We could feel the stress of the busy world just start to melt right off of us. 

The lake wasn't very deep as far as lakes go. But it was deep enough to swim in and there was a sandy part that was perfect for swimming. 

It wasn't perfect though. There were signs on both sides of the beach that warned of Poison Ivy. 

And on the left side, the edges were just over run with it. So much Poison Ivy.  But we kept clear of it (thanks to the signs) and we didn't have any itchy incidents while we were there. 

Instead we enjoyed the other plants in the area like these Pearly Everlastings. 

In the sand I could see the track of a snake that had gone by earlier from one side of the beach to the other. 

In the water there were small black minnows and some water bugs playing in the leaves of the water plants. 

Above the water flew a few Bluet Damselflies. 

At the beach we  had our very own canoe and kayak that came with the cabin. 

The bathroom was a quick walk not far from the cabin. When we were  booking the cabin the description on the website had made it seem as though the bathroom was quite far from the cabin but it really isn't. 

The cement floors were interesting to look at because there were leaf impressions in. You cold tell that when they had poured the concrete for the floors that some leaves had blown into the wet cement before it had a chance to fully dry. This actually made it look more artistic and almost as though it had been done on purpose. 

Outside, on the ground, was an empty bird's nest that someone seemed to have taken down from one of the walls. Later on when we read the guest book in the cabin, we found out that it used to belong to a family of Robbins. The babies had long since grown up and flew away. 

There were two sinks with cold running water outside the stalls and a soap dispenser. We realized that there were no paper towels though. So we have to remember to bring some the next time we come. 

Just outside the cabin is a water faucet since there is no running water inside the cabin itself.

After settling in we spent a great deal of time just sitting in chairs out on the deck talking and enjoying the sunshine. 

We sat around until we became hungry. Then we went in and grabbed our submarine sandwiches and ate an early supper out on the deck. 

After supper, I decided to go for a walk by myself down the road that we had come in on. I was hoping to maybe see some birds or some wildlife. 

I didn't have to wait too long. I hadn't gone very far at all when a Meadow Vole ran across the road right in font of me. It stopped for a brief moment and just stared at me before moving very quickly into the safety of the under brush at the side of the road. 

The purple pink blossoms of Fireweed lined the side of the road and caught the rays of the evening sun.

I found an old abandoned bees nest in the middle of the road. I wondered how it got there. I looked up into the trees to see if I could see where it had come from, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

At the end of the road, not far from the gate we had unlocked to get to the cabin, there was another lake. Heart Lake.  I couldn't believe how close this second lake was. 

This lake was super tiny. Even smaller than our lake up at the cabin. 

As I approached the water's edge I noticed something swimming around in it. At first it was fairly close to me but the closer I got, the further away it swam, naturally. 

It was a beaver. I looked around for it's lodge but I couldn't see one. I watched it for awhile. It seemed to be hanging out near a bunch of fallen birch trees. It would go up to the shore, take a birch branch and drag it into the water. It kept doing this over and over.  I don't think it was building a lodge. I think it was just storing some food. 

I stayed there watching the beaver until an older  gentleman pulled up in a pickup truck. He got out of the truck and proceeded to dig out some fishing gear. We had a nice chat about fishing and about the beaver. Then I headed back to the cabin and left him in peace to try his luck at catching something.

Back at the cabin, we were getting prepared to go see a presentation on loons. We donned our bug spray, grabbed our comfy blankets to wrap around us and keep the evening chill off of us, and grabbed our map of the park. The presentation was at Slab Lake at 8 pm.

We were a bit early so we decided to explore the park a little an also to see if we could find more clues to the Amazing Race puzzle. One of  the clues took us to a trail near the Pet beach. Julie hopped out of the car and ran to get the clue for us. 

We figured that since we were there and we had some time to kill anyways, we may as well go check out the Pet beach. 

It was empty at this time of day since it was getting later in the evening.  The Pet beach was pretty nice. It had a couple picnic tables and a bench. It was on a small lake with a nice sandy beach the was fairly shallow and perfect for pets to play in the water. 

This lake was larger than the one at the cabin. Across this lake I could see a swimming area for humans and I could see some people taking an evening swim over there. 

Although there were no pets at the beach at the moment, there were signs that some had been there not too long ago. 

There were also signs that some sort of bird had been there too. 

We stopped for a minute or two to admire the pink Water Smartweed in the water before continuing on our way to the loon presentation. 

At slab lake we pulled into the parking lot across from a large covered picnic area. 

At the top of the picnic shelter was a bat box.  We didn't see any bats though. 

A blue Discovery flag signaled to us that we were in the right place. Anika and Julie went to the nearby comfort station while I continued on alone to get us some seats. 

The beach on Slab Lake is one of the main beaches in the park.  In the distance I could see kids having fun on the playground equipment. 

I spotted a small gathering over by the picnic tables and headed over.  There was a fire going in the fire pit and people were chatting as they waited for more people to show up. There were 2 staff members there. Sarah, introduced herself and told us that she would be doing the presentation. Hailey was there to assist. 

I found a good spot to sit. As we waited Hailey came around with Park Review questionnaires.  I filled one in as I waited.  Eventually Anika and Julie joined me. They were excited because they had found another clue for the Amazing Race up at the comfort station. 

Sarah had a large map mounted on a board and she came around to each person and asked what park was their favourite park in Ontario. Then she would put a red sticker on that park. I chose Bon Echo as my favourite park but the majority of the people there chose Kettle Lakes as their favourite. 

Eventually enough people came that Sarah could get started on her presentation about loons. I learned a lot from her.  I learned that loons can dive as much as 80 meters (240 feet). They mate for life, and they always return to the same lake each year. This is called "lake fidelity". 

Sarah played us some different loon calls and explained what each call meant when the loons were communicating. 

It wasn't just the loons we learned about. I also learned that there were 22 lakes in Kettle Lakes park. 20 of them were spring fed and 2 of them had an outside water source. 

Sarah did a wonderful job as presenter.  All in all, it was an interesting presentation and we were glad to attend it. 

When we got back to the cabin we could hear the loons calling outside our door on the lake. It was interesting to now know what those calls actually meant. 

We set up a board game on the dining table and began playing. But then ,out of the corner of my eye I saw a small dark shape moving in the corner near the fridge. "Was that a mouse?" I asked.  Sure enough there was a little mouse running around. It was quite dark in colour, almost black, with tiny pink feet.  And it was small and absolutely adorable. 

​What I didn't know until that moment is that Julie is afraid of mice.  So, where normally I probably wouldn't have thought twice about the mouse being there, I figured that for her sake I had probably better catch it and put it outside.  

So, how do you live trap a mouse when you are in a cabin in the woods and have no live trap with you? Well, you have to get creative. I started off with a pot and piece of cardboard hoping to scoop it up or use the pot like a net.  It soon became clear, after failed attempts,  that it was not going to work and that I would have to come up with a different tactic. 

It was about this time that we realized that we did not have one mouse in the cabin, but two!  Now I had my work cut out for me. 

​I switched gears from a pot to using a light weight blanket that I planned to throw on top of the mice and scoop them up and carry them out side.  There were not a whole lot of places to hide in the cabin and yet they were proving to be difficult to catch because they still managed to hide. We couldn't figure out where they were getting to. 

Then all of a sudden we saw one climbing the metal grate of the gas fire place!  That was when I rushed over and put my blanket trap into action.  And it worked! I managed to scoop the little mouse into the blanket and I took him outside and released him into the yard. Off he went under the cover of the darkness of the night.

The second one, however, was not to be caught so easily. He was either smarter or more shy. Either way, I couldn't catch him. We tried to coax him out of hiding by placing a cherry on the floor. It almost worked. He came out for the cherry and grabbed it and dragged it under the bed where I couldn't reach him. We had to laugh though, because the mouse was about the same size as the cherry. So when he went to drag it away he struggled with it and decided to hop with it in his mouth. Soon we were giggling as this mouse was bouncing around with a cherry that was way too big for him. It was quite comical.  Unfortunately he was doing this under furniture so I was not able to throw the blanket over him.  

He too climbed the grate on the fire place but I didn't get to him on time so he actually made his way right inside the fire place and he wouldn't come out. We could see his tiny face once in awhile as we shined the flashlight in the crack he had crawled into, but he wouldn't come out and we couldn't get the grate off. 

The pilot light was on in the fire place but the flames were not high. Besides, he had found a place that was actually in the walls of the fireplace that had zero access for a human unless you wanted to take a crowbar to it.  So, by the time bedtime came around we had given up on catching him for the night. We would try again tomorrow. 

​Poor Julie. I offered to switch bunks with her but she decided to be brave and she stayed on the bottom bunk.   I am sure that she spent the night worrying about whether the mouse would climb into bed with her in the middle of the night. It didn't take me long to fall asleep though as I listened to the sounds of the loons calling out to their babies.  It had been a really good day and we were snug in a cozy cabin. Life is good!