Fall colours in Algonquin Park are at peak - don't miss it!

"Smoke Creek" by Olaf Schneider

Even when you are lucky enough to live up here, you can never take the fall colours for granted. Every year the colours seem different and every year the "peak" seems to happen at a different time. I suppose you could define "peak" as the time when reds, oranges and yellows are the predominant shades and there are still lots of leaves on the trees.  Personally, I prefer the time just before peak, when there is more contrast with the green leaves that haven't turned yet. That's the stage in areas like Huntsville and Muskoka right now. Once the leaves peak, you still have several weeks of good colour viewing but run the risk of being disappointed if rain and/or wind cause the leaves to fall.

This year, many natural events (like ice-out and bug season) occurred earlier than usual (with a few setbacks), and peak fall foliage colours are no exception. Here is a quote from the Algonquin Park foliage report, updated today:

Fall colour in Algonquin Park is now at "peak". The Sugar Maple canopy is providing the best viewing of the season at the current time. If you are planning a trip to Algonquin Park to view the autumn colours, now is the time!

If you can't make it to Algonquin Park, check out the fall colours report for a provincial park near you on the Ontario Parks website.

I posted the images of two paintings by Olaf Schneider because, a), we like Olaf and his work (next time you visit, ask to see the original Olaf painting that hangs in our "back shop" at Oxtongue Lake), and b), they are good examples of what you can expect to experience in Algonquin Park at this time.

"The Other Side of Life" by Olaf Schneider

Some nice fall photos

During the fall, Algonquin Park is a photographer's dream: the changing autumn colours, fantastic light and morning mist are just a few of the natural events that make it a special season. Photographer Paul Madden dropped by the Oxtongue Lake store the other morning and asked if he could take some pictures at our waterfront. Sure, why not? Paul sent me a few of the images and gave us permission to post them for all to see. I have to admit, when you can look out the office window and see views like this, life seems pretty good. All the images on this post are courtesy of Paul Madden and are protected by copyright.

Time to get on the water

Eerie morning mist and sun

The view from a tent cabin

Coffee and morning paper anyone?

Where did the time go? It's fall!

Well, long time no blog. I humbly apologize to any regular readers, or for that matter, even casual readers. It was a VERY busy summer at Algonquin Outfitters, which is good, but sadly this blog seemed to take a back seat to everything else that was going on.

So on the first official day of fall, let's get back into it by patting ourselves on the back. Late this summer, the Oxtongue Lake location took delivery of a few special canoes. Swift has been selling their new integrated carbon/Kevlar gunwale system for a year or so and we finally decided to test out a few of these very lightweight canoes in our rental fleet. For the moment, we are surprising customers we know and trust by saying, "hey, do you want to test out a new canoe?"  One of these lucky parties, Tony and Lois, are a couple who have been doing an annual fall trip for many years and always ask for "the lightest Kipawa you have." And so, that's what they got. Here is their report. Sadly, it rained for most of their trip and Tony did not have any pictures to go along with the story.

We've been home from our annual canoe trip for a couple of days now (still up to our ears in gear that needs to be washed and dried before storage!), but I wanted to take the time to thank you for taking such good care of us this year.  My wife and I really appreciate having been given the opportunity to put a brand spanking new Carbon Fusion Kipawa through its paces on this year's trip. 


While we keep coming back to AO because we're always pleased with both the products and the services we receive, it was a special treat to be given the chance to experience a canoe as spectacular as this one is.  Same load handling capabilities and same efficient hull design as the standard Kipawa, but so light that I almost looked forward to the portages!


You know you're in the right canoe when a pair of senior citizens (OK, I'm only 58, but my wife is 65) have no trouble cruising by canoes from other outfitters being paddled by 20 year olds! I can assure you that it has a lot more to do with the canoe than it does our paddling technique.


Thanks again for taking such good care of us.


See you next September


Tony and Lois

The official word on the G8 lockdown

This just in from Calum Rennie, of the G8 ISU Community Relations Group:

Residents of Huntsville can expect security measures to protect the G8 Summit to be put in place on the morning of June 23. They are currently planned to stay in place until June 27. This includes restrictions on traveling on a portion of Highway 60 and roads leading to the  Deerhurst Resort. See the map of alternate routes on our website (www.g8isu.ca). (editor's note: see my recent blog post with map and Google Map of alternate routes).

Additional security measures could be put in place in other specific areas a few days prior to June 23. This includes restrictions on marine activities on Peninsula Lake that will begin on June 20.

There will not be any security-related parking restrictions in the downtown core of Huntsville during the G8 Summit. The Integrated Security Unit will have additional police officers in the area to help with the flow of traffic.


Residents can contact the Community Relations Group at 1-888-446-4047 or via email at crg-grc@g8-g20isu.ca or g8.isu.communityrelations@ontario.ca for more information or to relay concerns.

 Here are a few shots I took recently of the security corridor on Hwy 60, around Deerhurst Resort:

Waiting our turn to drive through the fence construction zone

 Entering the security zone. 

The fence to the left goes right through my friend's property

 Inside the fence. Eastbound traffic waits it turn, 

including the mysterious white van with the satellite dish on top.

 

 Next morning, I was first in line and got to follow this guy. 

Note fence still under construction.

 If you are lucky enough to live along this section of the road, 

this is what your driveway looks like.

Rich Swift on Breakfast Television

We had better be careful or they might make him the host! Our fearless leader, Rich Swift, made another appearance on CityTV's Breakfast Television last Friday. He was helping our friends at Ontario Parks with the festivities in Toronto's Dundas Square, celebrating the start of Tourism Week in Ontario.

Rich and Jennifer discussing the rules of the competition. 

Click here for the full video segment. 

Rich got to assist BT host Jennifer Valentyne and did a great job of coaching the three teams engaged in a tent-setting-up competition. The team led by Michael Chan, Onario's Minister of Tourism and Culture, was the no-contest winner, followed by Linda Jeffrey, the Minister of Natural Resources and BT host Jennifer Valentyne.