ARO trip log day 4

Slept well, again. Immediately after waking, I packed up my gear.

7:53 AM. Had breakfast with Steve, Chas, Katrina. While Bill and Phil paddled around the lake. Mmm, the homemade bread was fantastic. Very tasty.

8:11. Showed Katrina the Alma background in Stellarium, reminded her that the images could be used in Starry Night.

Paid up for my stay. Thanked Caroline profusely. Great food, pleasant accommodations. An excellent tour. Thanked Ben, Catherine, and Chris. Wonderful hosts. My, they wear a lot of different hats.

Photo by Bill Longo.

9:59. We left the site after a group photo at dish. Katrina was at the wheel.

We stopped to hike the Barron Canyon trail. Incredible vistas. Surprisingly deep. I thought of glaciers. We did science, measuring gravity. We had to hustle when the rain started.

Photo by Phil Chow.

I took over driving from the park. Followed Bill then Ian to the outfitter shop. I found some funny gift items. Bill finally figured out where to put his eyeglasses!

1:00 PM. We reached the Wilno Tavern, between Barry's Bay and Killaloe. Non-stop jumbo perogies buffet. Stuffed! Nicole and Bill carried on west while we turned south.

3:16. Despite still feeling lunch, we had to stop for ice cream. Katrina also got her blueberries. The Kawartha Dairy outside Bancroft. I picked up the round for the crew. The last leg for the return, Phil took over driving.

Steve gave us the tour of the Kawarthas region pointing out drumlins and old haunts.

4:16. We passed the Great Dynamite Explosion plaque. Torn! Wanted to get home.

4:22. Finally reached Highway 7. And soon after the 115. It was painfully slow on the 401. Tailgating madness. We surmised it was people departing the cottage early, so to get their kids ready for school.

5:58. First stop, Katrina's. Fred said hello. Assured him the tent worked great. She hardly had any luggage and we were soon on our away across town. Steve was at the wheel to his home in the west end. After dropping Steve and his gear, I drove. Repeated the path to the 401.

By 6:45, I was back "home."

What an amazing, fun weekend with friends. Excellent company, good food, pleasant clean accommodations, a fantastic detailed hands-on tour of the ARO, with a dash of observing and imaging. Katrina's giggle fits. What a hoot.

Highly recommended.