Hike to the Beaver Trail Hunt Camp

We just came back from a very enjoyable hike up to the Beaver Trail Hunt Camp located in the Madawaska Highlands. The weather was warm and wet, but we had a wonderful day.

We arrived at Green Landing at about 10:30am and then rented a boat with our friends Rick and Melanie and crossed the Madawaska River. We hiked into the camp and then around some trails up to the top of a mountain close to camp. The view was amazing! Even though it was a wet hike and the kids really enjoyed it! It was certainly good exercise for all. We had lunch at the top of the mountain. After a much tougher (aka STEEP) hike down we crossed the river and were home by about 4pm.

Here is Alana and the kids taking a rest at the "Balsam Watch" just before we started up to the top of the hill.



Here is the view from the top of the mountain where we had lunch. Spectacular! It was a tough hike, especially for the kids, but they were both very happy that they made it!




I have uploaded a few more pictures to Picasa.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the pictures.

Tom

Camping with the Cubs and Beavers

We just returned from our Scout camping trip of the new year. Anna is in her second year of Beavers and Matthew is in his second year of Cubs.

The destination for this grand adventure Fitzroy Provincial Park which is located about 30 minutes north-west of Kanata off of the Ottawa River.

There were 9 Cubs and 4 adults with the Cub group and about 15 Beavers plus leaders and parents in attendance. Our program including tenting in the rain (the oldest of all scouting traditions ;-), as well as a campfire, lots of food, and a canoeing program. A great time was had by all!

Here is a picture of Matthew and his friend William in a canoe with a parent volunteer.



Here is a picture of the group (a few parents are missing) at the end of the camp:


I have placed many more pictures on Picasa.

CLICK HERE for the other pictures.

Tom

Back to School

This was Matthew and Anna's first week back to school. Matthew is now in grade 4 and Alana is in grade 1. They both enjoyed their first week and like their teachers. So far so good!

Camping

Unfortunately our big plans for camping over the summer never worked out. With the weather looking good this past weekend, we decided to head out for a one-night camp at the Ottawa Municipal Campsite, located only 10 minutes from home. This was surprisingly a nice campground with lots of services and unserviced sites, a playground for the kids, and modern washroom facilities.

I took the kids out just after lunch on Sunday and we setup the camp and made supper. As Alana was working we were on our own until we picked her up at 7pm. We had a nice campfire, cool evening for sleeping and then headed home just after lunch on Monday. What a great way to relax before the kids go back to school!

Here is a picture of the kids resting in the shade of the mini-van. We camped in a nice, albeit open "unserved area" that is great for tenting. There were a few shaded sites in this area, but they were taken by the time we got there.


I have placed the rest of the pictures in our Picasa album (click here).

Enjoy!