Day 4 Grundy Lake Provincial Park

 

Woke up to glorious sunshine this morning, so took our coffee to the lake without fear of hypothermia! Perhaps a tad melodramatic, and I am not usually over focused on weather, but honestly with the spring we’ve had, you rejoice in a sunny morning!

Sitting at the water’s edge is an entirely civilized way to start the day. Only three other couples had the same idea and with just a pleasant good morning, there was plenty of room for everyone to have a quiet, solitary moment to ease into a Saturday morning.

 

...as views go...

Back at the site we found our chef at work preparing a Father’s Day breakfast. It is lovely to have staff for such things.  Tomorrow is a travel day, so not a great opportunity for celebratory gestures. Today works. Goodness knows this man is well worth celebrating as a Dad!

 

After breakfast we decided to check out the last, unexplored trail in the park. The Beaver Dams Trail claimed to be 3.6 km long and take 2.5 hours. I suspect that estimation of distance was padded. Now, we were moving rapidly due to mosquito activity, but we finished the hike in just over an hour, so doubt it was 3.6 km! Nonetheless, and mosquitos aside, there were some beautiful sights along the way.

A quick stop at the park office and a Momma and baby moose came out to have a look! I was so enthralled, by the time I remembered to take a picture, the heart marks the spot (if you look very closely) that the baby bum is disappearing in the trees!

Always remembering to look up. It's beautiful everywhere!

Huge ferns

These next four pictures were taken from the same spot. I just made a quarter turn before each shot. The whole area was so lush and tranquil

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Look closely in the center of the picture. A Pileated Woodpecker making a heck of a racket!

Some of the boardwalks made me wonder if there wasn't a bit of a party atmosphere to these build? Alcohol may have been involved?

Plenty of boardwalks to get you over most of the boggy bits!

In the afternoon we decided to join a naturalist-led hike to talk about trees. I know, I’m a big nerd, but I really have enjoyed many opportunities to learn from the folks who live here and have dedicated their lives to maintaining these awesome spaces! I suspect if my life had zigged instead of zagged, that might have been the life for me. Absolutely zero regrets for any of my life choices nor consequences, but I take advantage of naturalist programs every chance I get! We learned a few things and spent a lovely hour wandering through the woods with people who shared a passion! Did you know that trees have a sort of vestibular system at their top. it works like your middle ear and helps to orient the tree so it grows up! I always assumed they grew toward the light. Turns out it's not quite that simple, and has way more to do with gravity!!

Beautiful view at the end of our hike, at yet another lake

There's tame and then there's ridiculous! Chipmunks 'round these parts have a death wish. Nola was good as gold, and did nothing more than stare as if to say, "Are you for real?"

Our maiden voyage with the Blackstone was a roaring success. Our fire and evening stroll to watch the sunset on the lake and another beautiful day draws to a close.

Blackstone Fresh Bison Smash Burgers for the win! Closest thing to a moose burger I've tasted.

Not camping without a campfire

Back in Scout days we learned that a piece of copper pipe buried in a campfire will offer green flames. So pretty...except there was no copper pipe 😏??

Walking to the west side of the campground at sunset was worth the ramble