Learning about Tom Thomson and the Group Of Seven
Oh yeah, this place will probably be lively in a few weeks when Beerhurst gets underway. I figure that by not drinking beer, I must be missing out on some of the greatest things in life....
Looking out from the front doors of the lobby
The plan this morning was to pick up Voltaren (Sandy is still feeling the effects of the walk) and Polysporin (For the blister on her toe - I did not pack any of my three tubes). Then we would drive through Algonquin Park to the Visitor Centre, which was the only park facility open during the winter. After that, skating on the lake here or at Arrowhead Provincial Park followed by pool time.
The pharmacy pickups were done at the Huntsville WalMart. The kids also got an adjustable pencil sharpener.
Wally World - Huntsville
Just before noon, we headed east on Highway 60. The Algonquin Park Visitor Centre lay about 50 miles ahead of us, well through the park. The road was clear and the traffic was light, so it was a pleasant drive. An added bonus was seeing a pair of moose browsing in the trees near the highway.
Those are big moose signs
Highway 60 is a nice motorcycle road in the summer
It is picturesque in the winter
Moose in winter
Two of them
Enjoying the low snow levels
Not a track on the lake
We arrived at the Visitor Centre just after 1:00 PM where I bought a day pass to display on the dashboard. Sandy and I had never been here before and were pleasantly surprised. There were some nice dioramas and historical exhibits about the wildlife and park history.
Early rangers
Train station
Rangers cabin
There was more on Tom Thomson, a quintessential Canadian artist, who died near here back in 1917. He captured the spirit of the park and the Ontario wilderness it represented.
Do any of my Canadian friends remember the kids show The Forest Ranger back in the 1960's? The uniform below made me think of it.
The temperature had gotten up to the mid 40's and snow was melting everywhere. It was a gorgeous spring T-shirt kind of day accidentally placed in February. We had no complaints until we found skating had been shut down at Arrowhead Park due to the soft ice conditions.
The drive back to Deerhurst was uneventful. The ice on the lake was too soft for skating, just like Arrowhead had been. We decided to put any skating off until tomorrow morning after the ice had a chance to set in the cooler overnight temperatures.
The ice on the rink was almost slush
Winter attire
Giant Muskoka (like Adirondack) chair
Since skating was a bust, we headed right on to the pool.
After a couple of hours and wrinkled fingers, we headed back to the room. I had found the Fitness Room and planned to go back later. It was 6:00 PM, time for supper (the second meal of the day since breakfast had been so late).
It turned out that there was a Chuck's Roadhouse here in Huntsville. Our Cambridge experience had been so good that we tried it again. I had another steak, 10 oz NY with a Caesar salad. I have paid three times what Chuck's charged for a steak that was not half as good so I went away happy. Robyn and Sandy split chicken fingers while Jolene had fish.
While waiting for the meal, I was sitting with my water glass in hand when it looked like Jolene was going to spill her Coke. It was hard to figure how my move to grab her glass ended up with my water all over the table and all over me as well. I think I twitched or jerked or something. Manual dexterity has never been my long suit.
The three ladies split a concoction called a Chuck's Buckaroo for dessert.
We got back to the resort about 8:00 PM. The car temperature readout said it was still above freezing. I worked on the blog and never did get back to the Fitness Room. This night, Jolene slept on the fold out bed, Robyn took the couch cushions on the floor and Sandy and I took the double beds in the bedroom.
Today's Route (113 Equinox miles):
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