Day 2 Grundy Provincial Park

 

Today it was perfectly clear that all efforts to get here yesterday were totally worth it! We were up with the birds, literally, after a great sleep. Our early morning stroll was lovely. Meeting and chatting with the other early risers.

After a leisurely start with the business of the day, we set out on our first hike. Gut Lake Trail was lovely! We were told it was 2.5km (moderate to difficult) in one guide and 3.6km in another. I suspect the truth was closer to the 3.6km estimate, though I question the difficult rating. Details aside, the hike across the Canadian shield was beautiful! The pictures will tell the story far better than I!






...and I can't get flowers to grow in a garden of rich soil!😏

So many cracker berries!
Hiking over the Shield

Spectacular views, no matter where you look

Painted turtles enjoying the sunshine



Spring hikes present loads of new growth
Bead lilies
Even the old deadwood is beautiful

Spot the friend

Back at the site, those who needed to work, did. I made an early supper for everyone so we could take in another hiking trail this evening.

Offices in the wild, complete with extended screens, dual keyboards and internet access!

After dinner we hiked the 1.5km Swan Trail. We didn’t see any swans but there was plenty to catch our eye.

Met a naturalist on the bridge monitoring Blanding's Turtles. It's a species at risk, so this is cool!
Saw plenty of industry, but no beaver sightings tonight

Thoughtful boardwalks to navigate the wetlands
Light at this time of day is stunning


Check out the V-formation in the water on the left. An otter heading home with supper

If you zoom in, in addition to Picture Plants, you can see the otter, just chillin' on his front porch!

The legend!


Slipper orchids were everywhere!

Back at the trailer with almost 15,000 steps recorded, it was time to sit a spell and enjoy a competitive game of Canasta. Sadly, the boys won, this time! However, the laughter was more evenly distributed. Jonathan and Jenna are great company. It is so lovely to fall asleep in our cozy trailer to the haunting call of loons and be virtually guaranteed another fun day tomorrow!

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