Parry Sound!

Aug 17, 2019

We were in a section of the campground that did not have a nearby shower facility, so we decided to set up our own.  We had not had to use it for quite some time.  It was great to have our own shower at the trailer even though we had to conserve our water.  We had breakfast and our neighbor Barrie came over to apologize for his car alarm going off at 12:30. I remember waking up thinking it was ours but fell right back asleep.  Debbie hadn’t heard it.  Barrie’s wife Brenda came over and we talked for a long time about camping, trailers, and Ontario.  Barrie is a retired conservation officer and Brenda a retired teacher. They had just purchased a new trailer that was built in Ontario and this was its inaugural run. They were still learning about it, but enjoying it.  Barrie and Brenda live in Minden, Ontario.  We were heading into Parrie Sound to check it out so, we agreed to see them in the evening for cocktail.

Parrie Sound is a small community that thrives on the cottage industry.  The area boasts 30,000 islands and most of these islands have summer cottages and even lakefront permanent houses.  Most of these cottages are accessible only by boat in summer or by snowmobiles in the winter. The Sound freezes up in late November and the ice melts in late April.  The town has a large marina and boat storage facilities.  Many of the industries in Parry Sound are support facilities to this cottage  lifestyle.

Parrie Sound is also the home of Bobby Orr.  There is a Bobby Orr Hall of Fame inside the impressive Performing Arts Theater.   

Our eldest daughter, Myra, worked extensively in the Parry Sound region about two years ago and suggested that we buy a coffee and a coconut cream pie at Richard’s Café,  we weren’t disappointed, the pie was delicious.  We continued our tour of the town and remarked that the only real way to see Parry sound is by boat.  The Island Queen is a sightseeing boat that provides regular trips around the area and between the islands.  We tried to book a trip for today however the only one available is tomorrow morning. We decided to book anyway as we would be back and still have enough time to break up our campsite and leave for our next leg.

We made a quick trip into Sobey’s for groceries and fueled the truck and returned back to the campsite.  After another delicious barbeque we sat around the campfire and then walked over to Barrie and Brenda’s site.  We talked and exchanged stories until 11:00 and it was time to go to bed.

Aug 18, 2019

Today we are going into Parrie Sound and boarding the Island Queen for a two-hour tour in the Sound.  The boarding time was at 9:30. 

The Island Queen is a well-designed boat for sight seeing around the islands.  It can carry 550 passengers and weighs 550 tons.  It has a shallow draft, making it easy to move through some of the shallow channels between the islands.  There is a small cafeteria on board and a liquor bar for the evening cruises. Today there were only about 50 passengers.

We slowly departed Parry Sound and as we cruised by the various islands, the Captain gave us an informative talk about the points of interest. We passed by the community of Nobel, named after the inventor of dynamite.  This community grew and prospered in the first and second world wars, as it was the base for CIL, a large explosive manufacturer, which built ammunition for both the Canadian and the American Armed Forces.  After the wars and because of changing technology the plant eventually closed.  

We cruised though the sound looking at the many cottages and some very impressive permanent houses built on the many islands.  We developed a much better appreciation of the beauty of Parry Sound.  

It was now time to go back to our campsite, dismantle and head down the road again.  Our destination this time is the Algonquin Provincial Park. 

We had not reserved a campsite at Algonquin so we are hoping that there will be a campsite available for us in this famous and popular park.  Debbie and Miss Taken navigated our way through Huntsville along highways # 141, #11 and Hwy#60, arriving at the West Gate at 4:30.  We were informed that there were a few sites still open and we chose to go to the Rock Lake Campsite. 

This campground is on the western edge of Rock Lake, and our campsite was right in the middle of the Campground.  Our intent is to kayak in the lakes and rivers near our campsite so it was a very good choice.  The campsite is full and the trees are pines with no low growing underbrush, making it quite an open campground with very little privacy. 

We set up camp and enjoyed a campfire and supper and went to bed looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures.