Driving for the Capital

The rain and thunderstorms never materialized, and we awoke to another fine day. The chipmunks here are just as tame as the ones we saw at Caliper Lake, ranging around us quite unafraid. Following a quick breakfast, we were off in search of the sister of my gt-gt-grandmother, and her family, who died in Baysville, a bit south of here. Hopefully, they are also buried in Baysville. So we took a scenic drive along the west side of Lake of Bays, through Dorset (which has a historical society, but appeared to be closed), and along the south side of the lake into Baysville. We found the cemetery, and with a bit of searching around, found our gravesites. It was impossible to stand still to photograph them, though, without being attacked by swarms of mosquitoes and black flies. So back to the car to add to the Deep Woods Off, and then back to the graves to go for a quick photo shot. That worked, and we ended up finding five of the family,although we'd only known about 3 of them. As we headed north, along the east side of the same lake, we passed a lake named after the surname of these ancestors, Tooke, so checked out the roads there to try to find an old homestead, or hint of them. But only summer-type cottages seem to be present along there now, and none of them have the Tooke name on the mailboxes. We continued into Huntsville, to meet up with our old friends Bent and Anna, who we'd chummed with while sailing in Cyprus and Turkey. We had a fine lunch, and traded stories and reminisces. I was tempted to stay for a bit longer, and go sailing with Bent on his boat which was tied up on the lake below the house, and maybe for dinner too (they tried hard to convince us to stay).



Bent and Anna at their home in Huntsville









But by mid afternoon, it was time to start back eastbound, so we bade them farewell, and headed into Algonquin Park. As we drove along the highway, we saw two more moose along the edge of the forest. A short time later found us setting up camp at Mew Lake, about halfway through the park. It was a reasonably secluded site at the end of the lake, with a breeze blowing off the lake to keep the bugs at bay. Again the chipmunks and squirrels show no fear of us. We had a bite to eat and then walked around, exploring the area a bit. Around dusk, as we were going to bed (10PM) a group of young people showed up and set up in the campsite adjacent, and then started to party until who-knows-when-in-the-morning. I guess that's my comeuppance for the same kind of thing I used to do many years ago (what comes around goes around....even if it involves decades!).
We did, however, manage to get a little bit of sleep, so bright and early next morning we decamped (if that is a word), and continued eastbound out of Algonquin Park, and through Renfrew, eventually ending up in Ottawa. Actually, it is a camping ground about 20 Km south of the city, as we didn't feel right about setting up our tent on the banks of the Rideau Canal or beside the Prime Minister's Home. We have a couple of first cousins here, and hope to touch base with them before leaving Ontario. Both Jamie and Ian have replied to my emails, so we should be able to set up a bit of a visit with them.