Camping at Killbear for the Thanksgiving weekend is a long tradition of many OMDAites.
The weather was cold, except for Saturday, when it warmed up enough for people to enjoy outdoor pursuits.
Wim and Allison came with the Boat from Midland to join the group for Dinner.
Aleid took his Dutch visitor Johannes out for a cruise.
They sailed to The Pancakes, where they stopped for a snack, then sailed back through Canoe Channel.
A hardy bunch of grown boys were jumping off the diving Rocks when they returned, but they were too late for action shots.
The good weather held for a great dinner on Saturday evening.
Unfortunately, the weather deteriorated late in the evening. On Sunday it was colder and there was hail!
Sunday Night the wind and water surge washed Wim and Alison's rubber Dinghy away and Hanzo led everybody in searching the beaches until midnight, sadly to no avail. Allison got soaking wet getting out of the Kayaks they borrowed from the Brendekes to get back to the Boat! Fortunately they found the Dinghy the next morning washed ashore a few beaches away.
Some of the OMDAites camp at Rock Lake in Algonquin Park before heading to Killbear for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Aleid's nephew Johannes was touring Canada, and he spent the last portion of his trip with them at Rock Lake and Killbear. Aleid provided the following account of the week.
We had a great time. The weather was a little cool but we biked and hiked and kayaked and fished and explored the area for animals, mainly of the larger variety, (moose , bears, wolves etc.). A rather small contingent was of OMDAites were there: Maureen and her son Chris, Peter and Linda, Margaret and Dave Hull, Henk and Cathy and the three of us. Johannes saw 3 bears, too far away to take pictures, and many moose and other small wildlife. Also 3 Bears explored Rock Lake park during the night, small, 350 lb and 450 lb approximately. Fortunately we did not personally encounter them! One moose swam right by us heading to one of the Islands when we were fishing (I caught a trout).
We kayaked to the Falls and to Mew Lake Dam, Johannes and Henk biked the trail to Twin Rivers Campground where Johannes encountered 3 Moose(he has a nice movie of them) strutting away. The smallest had a broken leg and was limping noticeably. We also hiked the Booth Trail and played many games, enjoyed our cocktail hours and the blazing fires at night to stay warm. Hot Chocolate and Rum helped!
Thanks to Aleid Brendeke, Hanzo van Beusekom, Heather Pugh and Paulette Tae for capturing some great photos.
© 2009 Ontario Mirror Dinghy Association