Tuesday July 6 & Wed July 7

Algonquin Provincial Park

We arrived at Algonquin around 5 pm. Algonquin is the very large - larger than the state of Delaware- provincial park NE of Toronto, between the Lake Huron and Ottawa. We were here 32 years ago for our honeymoon. We went in the east gate and thought the area has not really changed that much. The buildings have been renewed, rebuilt, etc, but the style is still the same we remember. We don’t remember what campsite we had at Two Rivers, but since my dad had a 17’ trailer we borrowed, we probably wouldn’t fit in that site with today’s trailer. There was a mix-up in our electric connection, ordinarily not a big deal, especially in this natural area, but the temperatures here in Canada are proportionally as high as home. High 80’s low 90’s. Not much humidity, but the AC is appreciated. There were two opinions how to solve our problem: the office wanted to move us, but the ranger staff was very co-operative; they found us two 30A extension cords, and we were fine. Our campsite came with blueberries. Blueberries up here are the same fruit as Maine, but the plants here are all “low blueberries” occurring in many plants on the ground, as opposed to the “high blueberry “ bushes. Delicious.

Algonquin Campsite

Blueberries from our campsite

Algonquin and the way the park is used has always interested us. We don’t agree with a lot of Canada’s views but the park seems to match our idea of preserving, while still using the environment well. When the Europeans first saw this area, they thought they had 700 years of incredible first growth timber. They moved in, logged it extensively and consumed it in 70. The slash they left behind burned, large areas were no longer forested, and farming had moved in. In 1893, when the park was created, the plan was not to preserve a great wilderness, but to create a wildlife preserve, and to manage the headwaters of the great rivers that rose out of the area. Logging actually increased after the park was formed, but in designated areas. Later, there is a great Algonquin logging museum we want to go through.

Hwy 60 corridor. We are staying in Lake of Two Rivers Campsite

In fact, there are really several Algonquin’s. The best known is the 40 mi. Hwy 60 corridor in the lower area. This is still somewhat primitive. With only a couple well hidden lodges for overnight guests, and several organized campgrounds with electric service only. There are two major canoe liveries where canoes are rented; you’d be surprised how many car top ones you see.

Great numbers of people canoe from the lakes, and hike the numerous trails surrounding Hwy 60, for day trips, overnights or as a launching pad for MUCH longer trips. It is no problem to find a campsite where you will not see another person. On our honeymoon, we opted for two overnights.

In the backcountry, you can get extremely remote, hiking or canoeing, and really see nature in all its grandeur. Observing wildlife, in all sizes is a non-stop occupation. At the nature center, they have a big whiteboard where people can record their sittings. There was everything from beavers, to bears with cubs, and moose on it the day we arrived.

Another component to Algonquin is logging - that still thrives today. They were in the process of revising the “plan” for Algonquin 30 years ago, but the thrust is still the same. Logging in Canada will always continue. It is done in different terrain from the canoe, hiking, and nature areas, but the recognition is clear that the priority is mixed use. Timber is part of Canada’s economy, as the small communities around the park will testify. Likewise, fishing and other outdoor activities give jobs to guides, and others. It is normal to pass a timber laden truck headed to one of the 13 mills the area supports, and have a car with canoe on top right behind.

Wednesday morning we did laundry. We still hadn’t felt a great need to have Canadian currency, we used our credit cards mostly. But we decided we’d better have some so went to the closest ATM, in Whitney. It was in small grocery store, and would not accept any of our bankcards. Different networks. We’d have to try elsewhere. The US and the Canadian dollar are trading near even now. Gas is selling at around a dollar a liter or more than $4 a gallon. Gas taxes are about $1 more than ours are. Canada also just put the “Harmonized Sales Tax” into place, combining all of their sales taxes into one, value added tax. It equals around 25% on most items. Suffice it to say Canada is not a place to come for bargains; taxes are atrocious. We were in Toronto and Montreal a few years back, but the taxes have gotten much worse.

We went to the visitor center later on to post this blog, and to see what changes had taken place. Nice little spot to work on computers, but alas as you know, the bandwidth was lacking. Otherwise, the center was great. Algonquin publishes great booklets on specific topics at “educational prices”. There are books on mammals, wildflowers, birds, etc. , everything you can think of at $2.50 each - valuable. They also publish books on the 30 or so walks you can take through the park. They are available at the trailhead, also in the nature center.

Ranger walk, Lev has one of the booklets

Tuesday, and Wednesday night we went to ranger programs, but I’ll talk about all of them later.