Business, Pleasure, or Both

I recently spent some time in Algonquin Provincial Park. My accountant is going to want to know if that trip was for business, pleasure, or both; and I honestly don’t know.

Maybe you can help me decide. In the next few posts, I will tell you what happened. 

It started on a Tuesday. We’ll call it day one. 

I had spent the previous couple days packing, which wasn’t easy, as I didn’t know what I was going to be doing when I got there. Camera gear was making up a good portion of my pack (what else is new). The kayak was going with me as I like spending time on the water, but I didn’t know if I would be using the kayak to do some interior camping or not. If I did decide to do some interior camping I was going to need some camping gear. To add confusion to the picture and muddy the waters a little more I had no idea how long I was going for. 

My youngest brother was going for 20 days and I would spend most of my time there staying with him. I had no intention of staying in the park that long, but… hey you never know. 

Day One

It started by loading everything into the vehicle for the trip. My wife went with me to load my kayak onto the roof racks and I dropped her off back at home. We agreed on a date I would be home by. I might be gone for 16 days. A lot would depend on the weather and what I got done. 

I met up with my brother and we formed a two-vehicle convoy heading north – to God’s country. Avoiding Toronto he lead cross country picking up the 400 at Hwy.9. First stop was for lunch at Webers, famous for their hamburgers. From there, we pushed on up Hwy 11 stopping for gas in Huntsville before we entered the park. 

The drive along Hwy 60 has to be my most favourite drive in the province; up and down, in and out, eye candy around every bend. The time floats away and vanishes, whether it’s your first trip or your 100 along this stretch of highway.

The rest of the day was uneventful as we set the camp. That done I had time to sit and get lost in a good book. 

That first night it rained… and rained. 

Day Two

Ontario Parks customer service was 5 stars all the way. We were looking forward to going down to the beach but when we awoke it looked like that wasn’t necessary as they had brought the lake to us. 

The night before I had tied my kayak to a big tree with a heavy chain and padlock, as I had heard stories on social media of kayaks and canoes being stolen. In the morning it looked more like I had chained it up to prevent it floating away. 

I kidded my brother, asking if he was sure he had his vehicle the right way up. 

The rain eased and we decided to venture out to do some photography. We left the park via the west gate and headed over to Oxtongue Rapids. All the rain of the past few days had the water running very quickly. I enjoyed the challenge of capturing detail in the highlights and the shadow areas. Just as I began taking pictures the rain started again. 

Processing the image required some manipulation to bring out all the detail I was looking for. 

Stopping on the way back at Park Lake I captured this image. Again as I stepped out of the vehicle to take pictures the rain increased to the point you can see streaks of it in the image. However, it does add to the mood of the photograph.  

With the increase in precipitation, it was time to return to the campsite and my book. 

I am interested in knowing if you like hearing the story of what took place or should I just post the images. Please leave a comment.