Quite an exciting day for the kids and I. I brought them on a hike to the Lonesome Bog, a 1.5 km trail through the forest of Esker Park. This one is an easy trial I chose for the kids, especially Frankie being the youngest and I didn't plan on carrying her around.
Before hitting the trail, we were greeted by this great view of the bog. Beautiful sunny day, nice breeze from time to time and happy kids ready for an adventure.
It's a nicely groomed trail with a few tree roots above ground. Some uphill but seriously, the only reason to sweat was from the heat. Perfect for the kids with tiny legs as I have mentioned but I would like to come back and hit the other trails that are long and more challenging.
What's cool about this trail is that every now and then they have these informative stops that talk about the place, how it came to be, like for instance this one that says it was made from glaciers losing pieces of ice to make the kettle lakes.
Seeing places like this is what makes it all worth while. I love the area, love the trees and I love the beauty of nature. It's calm, it's clean it's pure and awesome.
Well maybe not so much for clean per say. Can you tell what it is? It's definitely not chocolate lol. Moose poop! And a lot of it. We found quite a bit on the trail actually, which is cool cause that means the wildlife is active here and safe.
Here, we arrived at the easiest path ever but also quite the most beautiful area; the board walk!
I couldn't help but take pictures of the kids 😁
Oh yes the kids has fun here and thought the board walk and the trees were the coolest! I think I was more willing to learn about the area and the plants than they were. That's ok as this place looks like it came out of a fairy tale. When I pictured Little Red Riding Hood in the forest, this is what I see.
There is a lot of great medicinal plants through this forest; labrador tea, old man's beard, wintergreen, berries in the making and much more I don't even know the name of. Next time I will be equipped for pickings!!
Fast forward a bit through this trail, we hit an interesting section. There's isn't anything more that I could share about this than what's already written. Up here in Northern Ontario, we are surrounded by gold mines, some still going and some are shut down and some are in the process of reopening. About 80% of the working population here is in the mining industry. Don't quote me on that cause it could be more.
Here my son took on the role of being a park ranger. "Watch your step, be careful, there's mud here, oh watch your step again, lift your knees!" And he would read to us the information signs before running ahead again to resume his position as park ranger. 😊
A little more history about the place.
We finally hit the lookout spot for a snacking break that the kids have long been begging for.
It looks like an island in a swamp. The bugs weren't bad here so it was a good place to crack out the strawberries.
And also a time for me to take in the view.
I was able to just take in the moment to enjoy my time away from home, the kids being happy and away from anything busy and noisy. The only technology is my cellphone to take pictures, no service, no internet. YES!!!
Aaden once again being the park ranger, using his fingers to point out the facts that are written down. He found this one particularly interesting because it talks about fire. Finding out how fires can be a good thing for the ecosystem.
Shortly after we finish the trail and arrive back to the parking space.
By this time Frankie and Emma were dragging along, not wanting to walk anymore but Aaden was still filled with energy.
It was hot and our skin was itchy from bug bites. So what better way to relieve the itch and cool down from the heat than to go swimming! Woohoo!
This place is like an all in 1. It's a place for camping, hiking, swimming, picking, kayaking, it's got a baseball field, a place for parties and fancy gathering outside but still under a roof with built in charcoal grills.
A day pass here is only 10$ Canadian and you can pretty much do all you can within the 8am-10pm hours. So why not take advantage of their natural spring water beach.
Water was warm at the edge and cooooold the further you get.
The kids had a blast at this place, cold water or not.
And when they got cold, the kids had fun burying Frankie in the sand.
All good times.
So this concludes our little trip to Esker Provincial Park, the first of many more to come.
Thanks for coming by and checking out the northern views!
