The Vermilion River traverses Sudbury from top to bottom, entering at Sellwood, coming through Capreol, then meandering through Hanmer and Dowling before leaving via Whitefish Falls and Espanola.  It has a sandy bottom and is remarkably shallow in many spots, leaving only a foot of depth at numerous locations.  You can see clearly in the shallow sections of the river although the deeper sections are more opaque.

The river is known for good fishing.  The name means Whitefish River.  There were over 20 different fish species identified in the river a decade ago, and it is a diverse habitat for wildlife as it flows throughout Sudbury.  There is a dam at one end opened over 100 years ago and owned by mining giant Vale, along with numerous indigenous reserves along the river.  There is a continuous current, and the river is known for flooding frequently in the Spring such that it rises more than ten feet to flood the nearby cottages and camps.

The afternoon was about 20 degrees with a light breeze and ample sunshine.  It was a beautiful end to summer vacation.  Although the paddleboards were not as fast as a canoe, they were far easier to carry because everything you need fits into a large backpack, including your paddle, board, pump and fin.  The Vermilion River is a perfect place to paddle, because of the sandy bottom and warm water.  It is a long tributary and has a constantly flowing current so you can enter and exit anywhere along the river and be almost guaranteed a good time.  We certainly had one.

We have run the 5K Foamfest for the past eight years.  They are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and we were early adopters.  It has been hosted at Dagmar Ski Resort a few times, once at a conservation area in the GTA, at Horseshoe Valley in Barrie, and this year's race was the best yet, right on the beach at Wasaga.  Although walking and running on sand was difficult, being able to jump in Lake Huron whenever we were hot more than made up for it.  The concept of the run is that you have fun[; become foamy, muddy and wet; and encounter 21 obstacles along the five kilometre trail.  Everyone takes it at their own pace and it is always a good time.

We are staying in Kimberley, about 50 minutes from Wasaga Beach, in a converted school house built over 100 years ago.  The space is charming and rustic and the surroundings are beautiful.  There is a pond on the adjacent property where the puppies took a swim.  I could hear frogs croaking, ducks quacking and geese honking while there.  It was very rural and peaceful.  Last night when I walked the dogs, the big dipper was so clear in the sky is almost jumped out at me.  There is no ambient light and there were no clouds in the sky so the stars were bright.  The moon was full and shining.  It was a lovely night.

We ate on the patio at The Iron Skillet in Collingwood last night and it was delicious.  Today we swam in the lake during and after the Foamfest, then enjoyed a great meal at Boston Pizza.  Currently the girls and I are relaxing at the airbnb while the boys, their girlfriends and Daddy are enjoying the beach in Collingwood.  This part of the world is pretty, with promontories from which the vista stretches for miles, old dirt roads that run straight for as far as the eye can see, ski runs, beaches with sand like flour, and a very relaxed, charming vibe.

Our family loves to eat, and there was a live edge table gracing the schoolhouse dining room that we used this morning.  There is a typewriter, a radio, an old fashioned phone, a stuffed hawk, a gorgeous fireplace, and a lovely yard.  The dogs enjoyed running around with the kids on the front lawn.  There were two large majestic hawks circling so we could not leave the little dogs alone outside.  There was also a turkey vulture sitting on a hay bale this morning during my walk.

You get a sense of the promontory we are on when you see the view from the front porch.  There are older trees providing shade and the house is on the corner of two sideroads, so very quiet and peaceful.  The lack of traffic and the slow pace of life here is welcome on the weekend.  Although the community of Wasaga Beach was rocking this weekend due to the Foamfest in addition to the general lure of the world's longest freshwater beach, there are spots that are quiet and beautiful everywhere you look.

Both of my sons indicated they could live in Collingwood given the amenities, the stunning scenery, and the relaxed beach vibe.  The Foamfest chose well this year.

There is a bit of the wilderness in most Canadians.  A hotshot Toronto executive might not feel it every day, but when Canadians surround themselves with nature, there is a peace that settles in along with a wonder.  Whitefish Falls and Willisville are good reminders of that.  With about 300 permanent residents and breathtaking beauty, these two spots are just north of Manitoulin Island, just south of Espanola.  They are about a four and a half hour drive from Toronto, but a world apart.

What you notice most about Northern Ontario is the rock and the evergreens.  They surround you.  Those two components interact to cause most people to take a deep breath and really take it all in.  Couple that with the numerous lakes and you can understand the wonder Canadians hold for the north.  I had never seen wild blueberries before, although they are also a Northern Ontario phenomenon.  People stop along the highways and pick them, and they sell for between $15 and $25 per liter on the roadsides.  When Rory and I began climbing up the Willisville Lookout, they were everywhere.  With blueberries often come bears, but thankfully Rory's mere presence acts as a bear deterrent.

The view from the top of Willisville Lookout is everything you would want from the north.  Grand vistas and big sky; lakes and evergreens and rock; a sense of vastness that makes you as a human being feel small yet somehow content.  It is no wonder that the north inspired the Group of Seven to paint.  There is natural beauty literally everywhere you look, from the bright yellow mushroom growing beside the tree to the blueberries to the white rock face worn smooth over the years from the water to the trees that grow out of the rock.  Rory is my daughter Shannon's Bernese Mountain Dog, and she proved her mettle climbing up to the Lookout.  Willisville is not for the faint of heart.  You head straight up the rocks to the peak where you stand on yet more rocks to survey the bounty below.  A couple with a baby in a bjorn were heading up when I was heading down - they were the only other people I saw on the trail - and I was impressed with their sense of adventure with a baby strapped to their body.

The ChurchMouse Cafe was next on our agenda.  Homemade chicken soup and chicken salad on a sourdough baguette constituted lunch.  The owners bought the church and converted it into a charming cafe before COVID.  During COVID, they built three bunkies which currently rent for $65 to $100 per night.  Another thing to love about the north - most everything is affordable.  The bunkies are simple yet charming.  One of the owners brought Rory water, and when I asked about a hike to an old generating station, her husband suggested Heaven's Gate instead.

Heaven's Gate is a 40 kilometre hike through the LaCloche Mountains.  I only tackled about four kilometres of it, and would definitely return for the full experience.  You hike through beautiful forest, coming upon swamps and rivers and lakes, always surrounded by trees and rock.  I didn't see a soul there during my four kilometres.  It was peaceful, solitary, quiet and calm. 

En route to Heaven's Gate, and en route back, we came upon deer nonchalantly munching grass at the side of the road.  They were nonplussed by me and the dog, although Rory was intrigued by them.  Having lived in a city most of my life, I still marvel at the beauty of deer on the side of the road...perhaps because the deer bring us ever closer to that Canadian wilderness within.

Where would you like to rest for eternity?  For anyone who lives by the ocean, their death usually involves some sort of burial of body or scattering of ashes in, on or around the ocean.  When you live by the Atlantic Ocean, it comes to define you in so many ways.  It is such a big presence and its power and majesty are always on display.  The cemetery in Bouctouche, New Brunswick fits the bill for many Maritimers.  If you believe that your spirit lives on in some capacity or other, then the view of the ocean that is constantly changing and evolving, embracing seasons and squalls and peaceful waves lapping the shore would be a good location for your final resting place.

Bouctouche is a charming east coast town with 2,361 residents, all sitting at the mouth of the Bouctouche River running into the Atlantic Ocean.  The ocean defines the town.  Winter is severe and replete with winter sports, including constant ice fishing and snowmobiling.  In summer, the town comes alive with people seeking the sand and surf of the ocean.  Living in the moment is common, given that the ocean drives the town life.

We rented a car that was too smart for its own good.  Artificial Intelligence postulates that cars will be able to drive themselves sometime soon.  If so, I don't want to be a passenger.  This car would start shimmering and shaking whenever we crossed a dotted line without signaling.  It would turn off at every intersection.  It decided on its own whether the speed control I had set was appropriate, and would arbitrarily slow down at will.  The wipers turned on and off without any prompting from me.  When someone was nearby, it would start beeping incessantly until I moved away.  I wouldn't pay you $10 for it.

With Artificial Intelligence, the theory is that we are supposed to be able to eventually live forever.  Given my experience with the "smart" car, I figure I'll be content some day to be buried in a cemetery by the water while AI continues to irritate my children and my children's children.

The Atlantic Ocean has its own cadence.  There is an incredible feeling when you arrive, like you are seeing something so powerful...so wonderful...so amazing.  It is far bigger than any of the towns that front it.  It must be the vastness and sheer force, but being by the ocean is good for the soul.  It makes you marvel at the large world around you.  It puts things into perspective.

 Shediac, New Brunswick, is a town of less than 7,000 people right on the Atlantic.  Our first stop was Adorable Chocolate, the local chocolate shop.  It boasted chocolate covered wafers, almonds, nut concoctions, and everything delicious.  We ordered one of everything and ate them all en route to the beach, the wharf and the big lobster.

Shediac's giant lobster, the world's largest, is one of the most photographed installations in New Brunswick.  34 years old and still looking stellar, it sits right on the Atlantic Ocean.  You can climb on it and explore.  It is realistic and was sculpted by a local, weighing 180,000 pounds and measuring 36 feet long.  It is surrounded by row houses of varying colours and an attractive seascape.

The Point du Chene Wharf is wonderful, stretching in a long line of colourful houses to the ocean.  In winter, it is frozen and a somewhat bleak vista, but it is obvious how vibrant and enjoyable it must be from the May long weekend to Labour Day in the summer.  There are restaurants and a lighthouse and local fisheries.  There would be boats bobbing in the ocean and people selling food and admiring the water.  Spa services, ice cream, coffee, and incredible sunsets are all on offer.

Our final destination in Shediac was Parlee Beach.  It was frozen when we were there, but in the summer it boasts sun and sand.  You can watch the tides come in and out and play in the parks surrounding the beach.  There is a large campground.  The views of the ocean are marvelous.

Shediac was a charming East Coast town with everything necessary for a wonderful day of exploring.  Fueled by chocolate, the smell of salt water, and the ruggedness of the ocean coast, we left vowing to return in summer.  Experiencing the Shediac shore in summer would leave one with a different perspective than in winter.

Killarney is a town of 500 people surrounded by a famous provincial park and is known as the oldest community on the north shore.  It is the gateway to the famed North Channel and situated on the north side of Georgian Bay.  In the Sudbury District, it is about an hour southwest of the town of Sudbury.

The Killarney Mountain Lodge has one of the prettiest northern settings I have seen.  Pink rock and quartz abound.  Sitting right on the water, it evokes the wilderness beauty that surrounds it.  The Lodge is closed from late Fall until early Spring, but its sister property, the Sportsman's Inn, is open year round and in the winter hosts snowmobilers and yesterday a number of people endured the Polar Bear Swim then celebrated in the pub thereafter.

We came to hike the Lighthouse Trail.  You follow the signs to Canada House on the grounds of the Killarney Mountain Lodge, then head into the woods.  It is truly beautiful.  Georgian Bay is on full display, along with an abundance of rocks, trees, flora, fauna, leaves, and multiple colours.  The landscape is evocative of Canada, with its wilderness feel.  The hike was fairly easy and very picturesque, with only a few spots a bit difficult to traverse.  We went along the water and marveled at the sunset and the natural wonder all around.

The lighthouse itself was modest, white with red accents, with a bright light atop.  It was locked with a padlock and overlooked the lake.

We had a wonderful five kilometer walk, heading through the woods to the lighthouse and then back along the road because the sun had set.  Our dog loved all the smells and sounds, and the setting was lovely.  After working up a healthy appetite, we retired to the Sportman's Inn for nachos, poutine, chicken fingers, burgers, chicken pot pie and toffee cake with ice cream.  It was a most enjoyable day in a perfect Canadian setting.  It is no wonder we Canadians identify with the outdoors and the vast wilderness that surrounds us...Killarney is a perfect example of that wondrous wilderness.

Muskoka is a fabled part of Canada.  Novar is just north of Huntsville.  It is the boundary between receiving a discount on your license because you live in the north and not.  It is also just south of a beautiful place called Clear Lake.  Clear Lake is spring fed hence a little cool, but clear and fresh and gorgeous.  We spent a sunny, blue sky day fishing Clear Lake.  While the kids fished, I swam off the boat.  It was an idyllic experience.

My friend Jim, with whom I am privileged to work, and his wife Elisa invited us to enjoy a day of fishing and tubing off their boat.  It is a shiny 2019 pontoon boat.  His 19-year-old son Alex is an acclaimed MMA fighter and expert fisherman, having fished over 20 lakes in Ontario with success.  He was brilliant at finding the right spot, trolling for fish, setting everyone up for catching, and helping remove the fish from the lines when the hook caught in their gills.  We caught small mouth bass and rainbow trout until my 10-year old daughter reeled in a Ling.  Rare in this lake, with only one other that Alex knew about having been caught, it was ugly but apparently makes really good eating, tasting a bit like lobster.  Part of the cod family, Ling is tall and slim with olive and brown colouring.  The white flesh is incredibly tasty.

Canadians have a short but gorgeous summer season and any sunny days spent on a boat are treasured.  We took full advantage of the opportunity, with a few of the group tubing off the back of the sea doo and all of us enjoying the snacks Elisa brought on board.  Novar and Emsdale are called the southern gateway to the beautiful Amalguin Highlands.  Novar was founded in 1910 as a logging town.  Emsdale is a bit north of Novar, and both communities highlight Brooks Falls as being worth the hike.  We spent the day on Clear Lake, which is in between the two, so did not see the falls, but will explore when we are next in the area.

Clear Lake Ling Fishing was wonderful, and the lake was the perfect place to spend a relaxing afternoon.  There was no place I would have rather been.

Art is personal.  Different people are attracted to different genres, styles and mediums.  I love colour so French Impressionism is a favourite.  My youngest daughter loves using pencils to draw facial features, having recently published a few videos on Youtube of her pencil drawings of eyes and thereby generating more than 4,000 views.  Peter Camani loves making massive sculptures out of concrete.  He owns a 310 acre property just north of Burk's Falls.  In it, he has created a weirdly wonderful park full of massive art.  It is fascinating and neat, strange and evocative.  Some people find the erections creepy and reminiscent of black magic.  Others find they bring to mind medieval designs.  Unquestionably they are interesting, thought provoking and beautiful in a strange, somewhat unsettling way.

The day we were there, a lovely August afternoon, there were at least 50 cars and all sorts of families with children and dogs exploring the park.  There is a farmer's market set up beside the parking lot, and the artisans there sold us fridge magnets, shoulder bags and a mirror, all featuring the screaming heads.  The park itself is a marvelous wander.  You move from large metal scaffolds to screaming heads made from concrete to wooden bridges to serene waterways with lily pads.  Everywhere there is something to see, something to ponder, something to inspect and about which to form an opinion.  Your mind scrambles from one installation to the next, always roving and wondering what inspired such an unusual output.  The acreage is where the artist lives and his house is apparently also unusual, although we did not see it.

The same day we explored the Screaming Heads, we also toured the tiny town of Burk's Falls, a stone's throw away.  There we found good food at the Burk's Falls Cafe and Grill.  We ate a chicken Caesar wrap, club sandwich and homemade tomato rigatoni soup. It was bustling on a Monday afternoon, with about 50 people sitting inside and on the patio.

We also explored the covered bridge at the Visitor's Centre.  There are a few hikes you can take around Burk's Falls that show you the beauty of the surrounding countryside and the water from which the town takes its name.  Incorporated in 1890, it has stayed relatively stable in population over the years, with just under 1,000 residents.  Cottage country means in the summer that number swells with all the beautiful lakes surrounding the village.

My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring The Screaming Heads and the small village of Burk's Falls.  We capped the day off with ice cream before heading home.  It was yet another enjoyable northern adventure.

Friday afternoon of the long weekend, sunshine reflecting off the lake, wind rustling through the trees, old growth forest and rock, and spending time with friends.  Where else would you rather be?  One of this blog's readers recommended the trail to the Massasauga lighthouse as being quite beautiful, so that was our destination.

Canada's railroad united the country.  It permitted people to travel from west coast to east coast and from north to south.  The Canadian Atlantic Railway was a North American railway located in Quebec, Vermont and Ontario.  It has since been decommissioned and turned into a walking trail.  In Parry Sound on Oastler Lake you can pick it up and wander for many kilometres.  We walked seven kilometres through lake, old growth forest, moss-covered rocks, pretty open expanses and bridges spanning rivers.  There were benches along the trail engraved in memory of various people and lots of natural beauty all around.  My friends and my daughter's dog were good company as we explored.  But no lighthouse...

Parry Sound is known for being a cottage country community in northern Ontario with almost 7,000 permanent residents and at least double that during the warmer months.  It has the deepest natural freshwater port.  It is also the largest freshwater archipelago with 30,000 islands.  With numerous lakes dotting the landscape in and around Parry Sound and three provincial parks, there is a lot to see and do.  The downtown is simple and located on the water with the railroad in the background and the lake in front.  We enjoyed Salty Dog ice cream after our walk while sitting looking at the Island Queen cruise boat that explores the islands.  Still no lighthouse...

We checked out Oastler Lake Provincial Park, which has a lovely beach...but no lighthouse.  There is also Massasauga Provincial Park which is great for boating...but no lighthouse.  Finally we checked Killbear Provincial Park.  Jackpot!  Killbear has a lighthouse.

Parry Sound made for a relaxing and enjoyable day.  The town is small and facilitates the enjoyment of summer.  As for the elusive lighthouse, I now know it is in Killbear Provincial Park, not Massasauga, and will be back to see it someday soon.

Lake Panache looks like swiss cheese in the form of moose antlers and that is from where the name derives.  It spans Sudbury, Sudbury District, Espanola and Lively and is fed by the Whitefish River system.  180 feet deep in the channel, it has an average depth of just under 50 feet.  The channel can have very rough waters, when waves swell over 5 feet high.  Navigating the lake often involves using the islands for shelter as you tack your way from one place to another.

Greg Cholkan writes a fishing blog and the map above comes from it.  We tried fishing off the island but only caught two fish in over an hour before finding a great spot just under the docks of the boathouses where we reeled in fish after fish, albeit smaller ones, in just under 30 minutes.  Fishing is way more fun when you are actually catching fish.

Through this blog, I connected with a former Killarney Park Ranger named John and his dog Simba.  He was kind enough to tour us around the Panache Bay Marina, which he indicated is under great new ownership, and to show us the beauty of the lake and its surroundings.  He also fed us spaghetti dinner in his unique log house that he built himself on the road to the marina.  A really enjoyable afternoon.

My favourite photo came from the fishing spot my son found.  The sky was blue and full of clouds and the sun seemed to be shining down on his specific spot, where he netted some great fish hiding under the dock.