Good Morning, Lake Pickle and dear readers! Today I'm off to the best hidden trail of them all. Marlene's island cabin! Who is Marlene? Just wait and find out.
I started the day off with my usual coffee, in the comfy room at the Lake Pickle Hotel. Its an early start once again. I was up and at it at 5 AM.
As I left my room, I took in the cloudy surroundings. It was a bit of a grey morning, but unlike other early morning starts there was someone right outside. As I started taking things down to my car, I saw a local walking by.
I found out he was a native of the Mishkeegogamang tribe. He told me about how his grandmother had been living here when they signed the treaty in 1901, and that she lived to be 109 years old! What an incredible life span, with so much history that she lived through. I said my farewell as he continued on and went back to loading my car.
The reason I had gotten up so early was that I had hoped that the cool air of the early morning would keep the mosquitos and black flies to a minimum, as they prefer warmer weather. Well, apparently, they got the "memo" about a Texan trying to sneak out early without saying goodbye and decide to come out in droves to greet me. I had sprayed the car with DEET the night before in hopes to add an additional deterrent, but that didn't seem to have helped either. They were out with a vengeance!
Now all packed up, I began my drive out to Devil's Gap Marina where I will be meeting the Marlene. I took a picture of the parking at pickle lake hotel before I drove off. As you can see, the hotel is completely full. I'm glad I booked a week in advance because I doubt I would have had a place to stay in Pickle if I hadn't! Let's just say the options for accommodation at Pickle Lake are not so abundant. I might have had to go camping after all! Good thing I didn't...
I greatly enjoyed my comfortable stay in the hotel, and learned a lot about the First Nations from the people there. My impression of the natives is that they are very stoic people, not very talkative. They are happy to answer your questions, but won't elaborate beyond. So you have to ask specific questions to get specific details. They seemed very reserved and formal, but also extremely hardworking. And I was shocked to see how they handled the mosquitos and flies! They just get on with things, and don't even seem to notice the swarms of insects buzzing around them. They don't even wave their hands to shoo them off when they get too close to their faces! Meanwhile, I can't even last 2 minutes outside with the mosquitos before waving my hands around and running for cover.
Boat Ramp off 599
Now on my way to Kenora, I saw a sign for a boat ramp not long after I'd left Pickle. You know what that means. Boat ramp = lake! I decided this was going to be our first hidden trail of the day. Hidden behind the forest along the road was a lake waiting to be discovered.
And it did not disappoint! I pulled the car up right along the shore. The cloudy morning was starting to clear up and the sun was rising, poking through the clouds. Another serene view of a beautiful Canada Lake.
The trail to get here was also not so bad. Considering the 3 miles of bumpy rocky dirt roads coming out of Dog Lake Resort, this was a dream.
Sioux Lookout
Next up, I arrived at Sioux Lookout and decided to have a look. 😉
It seemed that the people here had also had an early morning start.
The area was lively with people fishing, planes taking off into the sky, and even some local fishermen going out on what looked like a joy ride in their boat.
Dryden
I stopped in Dryden for some quick errands. I filled up on gas to get me to Kenora. I had tried to fill up at Sioux Lookout but the gas station there didn't have 91 so I decided to keep going. A risky decision since I was at less than a quarter tank and had 60 km to get to Dryden. The car said it could make another 200 km on the remaining gas, but I was sceptical. Seemed a bit overconfident to me. Just as I was getting more anxious, I pulled into a station at Drydon and all was well!
Once that was taken care of, I found a nearby Canadian Tire to try my luck at getting a replacement for my defective CB radio. The Dryden store did not disappoint!
The young lady in charge of customer service had such a great attitude. She was very friendly and helpful and gave me store credit, no questions asked! I told her the story of the Hearst Canadian Tire branch experience and how I'd written to Susan Obrien (Chief Brand and Customer Officer of Canadian Tire), and that now I could end the saga on the blog with a happy ending thanks to her. So shout out to Canadian Tire's Dryden branch for offering a resolution and with a SMILE!
Hanslips Road
Another hidden trail was up ahead. This time our hidden trail, Hanslips Road, ended in a row of all private homes. There was no way to get to the shore to see the lake just on the other side of them. I walked up to one of the most beautiful homes and asked the owner there if she'd allow me to enter her backyard to take a quick photo of the view.
She told me her name was Natalie and was super friendly, allowing me through to the back of her home to enjoy her incredible view. Have a look at this paradise! It was such a pretty view, right from their backyard!
Bee lake
After Natalie's beautiful house, I pulled off at a rest area called Bee Lake.
It was very nice. Yes, I know I say that about every hidden trail, but it WAS very very nice. There was the thickest, healthiest, green grass growing up until the shore. And the clouds from this morning had all but parted to give way to a sunny day.
Kenora
I arrived at my final driving destination around lunchtime. I was meeting Marlene in the city of Kenora, though that wouldn't be my final stop for the night. Marlene was my bestie from when I lived in Winnipeg as a child from 1967 until 1975. She was super awesome then, and she is super awesome now. I was very excited to get to spend some time with her while I was here!
We met at her house in the city, where I decanted what I needed for the night into a small bag. Just bringing with me my laptop, toothbrush and a change of clothes! Traveling light! Why? because this is not our final destination. Marlene and Marc also have an island cabin nearby and that's where we will be spending the night.
We locked up my car safe and sound in her garage and off we went to the docks. We boarded her very cool boat, and went out for lunch at a restaurant called "BoatHouse". It was very cool just pulling up the boat right up to the restaurant and parking there.
We had an amazing lunch of vegetable wraps and had a nice catch-up. Then we were off again in the boat to do some quick shopping. Marlene needed to buy some veggies, and I had just realized I'd left my charging cable in the car so needed to buy one.
How cool, that once again you can just drive your boat to the supermarket and park right there! We pulled into Safeway's covered boat marketing and I picked up some bread, pastrami, cheese, avocado, and 2 peppers all for sandwiches for the drive to Winnipeg tomorrow.
Errands all done, we were off to Marlene's island where her and Marc spend most of their time!
Hidden Trail of the Day
The best hidden trail of the day award goes to Marlene and Marc's STUNNING Island cottage! Talk about secluded and peaceful. Their cottage is on Thompson Island which is about a 15-minute boat ride from the main city of Kenora.
It is not very easy to get here, and you have to have a boat, so it is truly a hidden gem. The photos speak for themselves here. I couldn't even begin to describe how picturesque and unique this location is. Marlene and Marc have their own little boat dock and a magnificent deck where they can watch the lake from their private space.
We arrived in good time because not much later a strong wind picked up and it seemed like a storm was coming in. We could hear thunder in the distance and I was stoked! I love a good storm (especially when I'm not in a boat in the middle of the lake).
As we watched the storm we talked about how in the winter here the lake freezes over completely. Once it does, the city will mark roads onto the ice so that you can drive your vehicle onto the lake to get to your lake homes on the islands in the winter. Isn't that wild!! Just Imagine. Driving on a frozen lake...
Note: This cabin is incredible! And can you believe that Marc built it on his own from start to finish?? It's magnificent, both inside and out!
I got settled in for the night and Marlene made a delicious King Salmon with roasted veggies for dinner. I felt like I was at a gourmet restaurant. Look at that presentation!
The last warm dinner I had was with Tammy and Victoria back in North Bay. So I was happy camper. It was also great having some dinner company and enjoying some great conversations over such a tasty meal.
Staying on this island in this cosy cabin for the night was a dream! I can see why Marlene and Marc love it so much. Though they spend lots of time here, in the winter months they migrate to warmer climates. So in Decemebr or January, you might even find them in our friendly state of Texas, by Big Bend Park.
Marlene and Marc, thanks for letting me stay in your incredible home. This is an open invitation for you both. Next time you are driving down to South Texas, stop by the Friman House for some good ol' Texas Hospitality, and a few smoked Tomahawk steaks!
I'm getting all tucked into bed now. Look at that view of the moon over the water as night falls. I'm going to sleep well tonight.
Goodnight and see you all tomorrow!
-Shlomo
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