it's a small crime, and I've got no excuse
And so then we camped. After all the adventure-packed weekends this month, we couldn't let this one go without another. It was off to Bon Echo Provincial Park we went, this time with Patrick joining us.

It was about a 2-hour drive southwest from Ottawa, and I was delighted to see the bright sun illuminating the already-turning leaves along the way. Not a ton of red yet, but lots of hints of yellow and orange. Very pretty. The park itself is massive - over five hundred campsites - and a little confusing to navigate without a map, but it was mostly empty and we had our pick of locations. We got a sweet spot with no neighbours around us whatsoever (not even raccoons this time).

We quickly settled in and got our tents pitched and a fire started. Fire-building and maintenance became the focal point of the evening for Patrick, who had not camped in a long time and was pretty excited about the whole thing. We were smart this time and brought an axe, and with the vast amount of empty campsites, we were able to pillage around for fallen trees and abandoned firewood without having to buy any. This meant Patrick got to do lots of chopping, and I think he was thrilled about it. The guy even brought oven mitts to handle wood adjustments in the fire, and you can see the end result in this photo. I told you he was excited.

We had a spectacular dinner cooked over the fire - steak, potatoes, vegetables, fresh bread - then relaxed around the campfire with wine and beer and a guitar. Patrick's dog Louis really enjoyed the heat of the fire, too, and got so close that he melted the rope we had him tied with a couple times . He was an awesome dog to camp with - even when not tied, he didn't wander far and always came back when you called him. He actually helped with the wood chopping by chewing on lots of the smaller twigs and branches we collected, breaking them up for the fire.

I was pretty tired that evening after Devin's party the night before, so I didn't stay up too late. Patrick played with the fire for a couple hours after we went to bed, I think. The nights are getting a bit cooler in these parts, but I was blissfully warm in my fantastic sleeping bag, so I slept like a champ. The boys were a bit cold, though, and were pretty anxious for some hot coffee first thing in the morning. We weren't rushing to get home, so it was nice to enjoy the sights of the park in the sunny morning.

We walked down to Mazinaw Lake and wow it was beautiful. And warm(-ish)! After testing it on my feet, I was determined to swim, so I trekked back to our site to get my swim gear on and slowly waded into the water. Nobody else had brought their swim gear, and neither were they inclined to swim (there was a bit of a cold wind), so I had to brave the water alone. I'm glad I did - it was very refreshing.

There were boats out on the water - canoes, kayaks and some kind of tour boat. Apparently when you get up close to the rocky cliffs on the other side (it's called Mazinaw Rock), you can see all sorts of old pictographs drawn by natives from years past. Also, this is one of the deepest lakes in Southern Ontario, so divers like to explore the depths. Who knew, eh.

I've been pleasantly surprised at the spectacular campgrounds we've discovered the last few months. Just when I think, "I definitely want to come back here", we stumble on another place that is equally worthy of such a sentiment. Camping is a lot of work (it takes us three trips each to load up the car, then unload, too), but it's so satisfying, too, that even getting away for one night is worth it. Even when we woke up in the rain last weekend at Lac Stukely, that was fine (because it wasn't cold!). When you have the right gear (i.e. tarps and warm sleeping bags) and you don't forget anything, the experience can be truly delightful. The rest of my photos are here.

Here's a glimpse of our experience (taken in the morning):

  | ¶ 10:34 a.m.