We just returned from a trip into Central Ontario and considering that the weather forecast was rain for most of the week we made out all right. In fact we only saw a little rain the first morning and then the next two days reached a sunny 13 degrees. The sad part was that half the snow melted away leaving mounds of muck and brown grass. What with the mere dusting of snow we've had this year it didn't take long for the blue skies and shining sun to make it feel like Spring had arrived.
Day 1 we met up with our friends at the small town of Foymount, Ontario's highest populated point at 500m (1650') above sea level. It is also home to the Black Water Designs Factory Store open 7 days a week. Tons of deals to be had here on outdoor clothing and gear - always worth a stop.
Over the next few days we went hiking in the area and hit some of the nearby geocaches along the numerous ski-doo and ATV trails. Thankfully there was still snow on the trails and the mud had not yet poked through.
We also checked out the Maynooth General Store and the Madawaska Art Shop. They were very different from each other but equally impressive. Obviously they make most of their sales during the summer when the campers and cottagers come zooming through here on their way to some weekend R&R.
Thursday we did our annual day trip in to Algonquin Park. Checked out the visitor's centre, some more hiking, and then had a fire by Pog Lake and heated up a yummy lunch. On the way in we talked to one of the park wardens who mentioned that this winter has been especially hard on the deer and moose. The mild winter and lack of snow has brought out the tics in full force and the moose have been scratching and rubbing themselves down to the bare skin. Then when the cold nights hit and the temperature dropped below -20 the furless beasts were dying of exposure. Crazy but true. If they could I bet they would invest in authentic fur coats or even some fleece from Foymount. But alas, they lack the opposable thumbs required to zip up the jackets. Poor creatures.
Other than the outdoor activities there was some serious time spent in the jacuzzi hot tub and the sauna. Finally on the Friday we packed it up and headed for home but not before stopping in Combermere for our traditional goodbye breakfast.
Chalk that one up as another memorable March Break.
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