Algonquin Park, days 1 and 2

We spent our summer holidays this year in the Canisbay campground of Algonquin Provincial Park. On our drive up, we stopped at the Dairy Queen in Minden for lunch. The $8 cheeseburger meal deal was delicious; the food was fresh, the staff was courteous and prompt, and they saved our Sundaes for after we were done eating our cheeseburgers and fries.

Thanks to the professional and friendly staff at the Canisbay campground in Algonquin Park, check-in was quick and painless. Just like Arrowhead, they no longer provide paper permits; instead, sites are registered by the vehicle license plate number.

We learned there was no water filling station for trailers at this campground, and that the water levels were low at the local campground faucets, so we went to the closest filling station which we were told was around 11 kilometers east down the highway. In truth, it was closer to 13 kilometers.

After getting our water and setting everything up, we enjoyed an easy dinner of sushi we packed for our first evening’s meal.

We set up our trailer on site 234, which had a slope but was very clean and reasonably private. This was an electric site, so we brought our electric bikes. Canisbay lake is a great lake for canoeing, so we also brought our canoe. For my photographs, I brought my Pentax WG-90 as well as my Pentax KP, using the legendary “Fantasic Plastic” “Nifty Fifty” as the only lens on the KP to minimize the amount of gear.

We woke up to a beautiful morning the next day, so after a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with nuts and blueberries, we decided to take a tour around the campgrounds on our eBikes.

When we noticed how beautiful the lake was, we could not resist and took our canoe out onto the lake.

It was a very peaceful and beautiful canoe ride.

The water lilys were in full bloom, and the water was clear.

After our canoe ride, we had a good appetite for lunch, which we kept simple.

It became very warm, and so there was nothing to do about the heat except to spend the rest of the day in the lake.

The stones that cover the bottom of the lake at the beach have sharp edges, so we wore our sandals which I demonstrate here doing my customary handstand.

The water was very clear, so I decided to demonstrate that with this selfie while swimming under water.

The main course for dinner was grilled lamb chops. It doesn’t get any better than this.

After dinner, it was time to hunker down because it started to rain. A lot. And then it turned into an impressive thunderstorm.

This thunderstorm concluded our arrival day as well as our first full day of summer holidays at Algonquin Provincial Park in 2024.