'The best way of being kind to bears is not to be very close to them.' I considered this sage advice from Margaret Atwood as we left the prairie and Winnipeg behind and arrived in Kenora, situated on the Lake of the Woods. Of course, we all know about bears and woods, right? Even so, we encountered a sign that put this part of the world into perspective and made me wish I'd opted for the bear spray.
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| Not your average bear |
Wildlife appears to be on most people's minds in this neck of the woods. We know this because:
* We drove past a deer casually eating the grass in front of a home on 2nd Avenue
* All the children's pyjamas in the shops were covered in fish, moose or bears
* You could buy a hunting license on the way into town
* Canada geese and their goslings were swimming on the lake
*Signs on the highway indicated zombie moose waiting to eat your car at night.
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| Nightmare on Elk Street? |
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| Thinking about all the good times at the Boathouse in Canberra |
The area around Kenora filled us with delight, not least because we were able to settle in at the Boathouse and enjoy the lake as the sun went down. We chatted with our 'hostess with the mostest', Alice, who was once on the Canadian swim team, whose father worked maintaining the TransCanada Pipeline, and who one day hopes to study medicine.
Meanwhile she's dishing up food with the small talk, letting us know that not only does it snow in Kenora, but in winter the lake freezes over. Apparently people drive across to a nearby island. Hope they pack their anti-freeze and their insurance.
We decided to keep driving before any hint of winter appeared and lost count of the lakes and rivers we passed on the way to Thunder Bay. We're hoping it doesn't live up to its name because we're off to the ballgame tonight.
We'll let you know how the hotdogs and beer work out in the ninth!
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| Near Kenora |
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| Gordon Lake? George Lake? Little Joe Lake? |
