Day 73 – June 15

Due to the mosquito induced sleep deprivation of the previous night we chose to ignore our usual 7:00 alarm and we lounged abed until 7:45. An early morning check of the trap line confirmed our hope that our furry stowaway had either come and gone Ninja style in the same night or had abandoned ship during the day due to the roller coaster highway we had been on. visions of the little bastard staggering down the side of the highway suffering from motion sickness while barfing up the last of our pistachio nuts gave me some small satisfaction. After breakfast and cleanup I tried a few perfunctory casts from the boat launch dock but based on the knowledge of the park manager success was unlikely so I didn’t postpone our departure.

We were well past due for a grey water dump and a stock up of fresh water having been dry camping for several days so again based on directions from the park manager we kept an eye out for a spot where we could get both water and dump our tanks. In her German accent she had explained that there were two similar names of resorts up the road and she told us which one to go to. Best we came away with was the the place we wanted started with a ‘T’. Not far down the road we saw the Todagin Guest Resort. Assuming this was the spot we drove in the longish driveway to arrive at what appeared to be a farm.

We were greeted by a tall soft spoken very pleasant Amish woman (soft spoken Ahmish may be a redundancy) who was sitting in the sun reading her Bible. She took us across the property to the farm owner who told us that what we wanted was Tatogga Lake Resort. OurAmish guide was visiting the owner of the property and we spent some time talking to her, discovering that in winter she and her husband were trappers further north. So hands up who else has met a female Amish trapper. Big check on my bucket list.

Further down the road we stopped at Tatogga Lake Resort where for $10 we did a tank dump and took on water. We also bought gas – rule of the north, never pass a gas station. Inside the restaurant, which which had a full sized stuffed moose and mountain goat next to the tables, we unsuccessfully tried to log on to their wifi while we had coffee, tea and muffins.

Moose on the menu

Our Amish trapper lady acquaintance had suggested that we check out a local trappers store further down the road so we dropped in to explore. We pulled into the parking lot to find three small pomeranian dogs yapping around the yard. Not dissing pomeranians but not exactly my image of trapper dogs. The owner had an inflatable canoe that I was jealously eyeing, next trip I will have a boat with me and leave the bicycles home. Once I engaged him in conversation I got the whole tour, including his new CanAm quad, with track accessories and found out that he owned 3,000 square miles of property. In disbelief I asked him again and yes he said 3,000 square miles. To save you the math that is approximately a square of land 54 miles on each side, the best part of the distance from Halifax to Truro – he doesn’t have many neighbours.

After a few photo stops we arrived at Boya Lake Provincial Park at about 5:00. The water in Boya Lake is aqua blue. As we approached, it looked like a giant swimming pool laid out before us. As there were a few mosquitoes in the air we spent some time picking a site that would take advantage of the winds off the lake. As we were surveying sites we were paying close attention to a bank of rain that was moving across the hills on the other side of the lake. Sporadic flashes of lightening amongst the dark cloud added to the spectacle.

Something is brewing

We found a site that had a great view of the lake and as a few drops of rain began to fall I quickly set out the awning and table to provide some shelter for our planned barbecue of the night. Just as the night before the storm abated as quickly as it had arisen, returning the lake to a mirror finish. A small campfire provided enough smoke to keep the bugs at bay so we sat outside and ate while the far easterly hills slowly took on shades of pink from the reluctantly setting sun. Although we had been staying at campsites overlooking lakes for the past three nights, for me Boya Lake provided a perfect mixture of scenery, weather and lack of bugs that it was one of my favourite campsites. With the clear air, blue sky and calm waters reflecting the mountains beyond I was content to sit for hours and just have the view engulf me. Peacefulness should be breathed deep and savoured long. We went inside just before 11:00 with still enough daylight to read in bed.

Feel the calm

You are feeling calmer…

You are now fully relaxed