We rolled into the place we’re staying near Atikokan mid-afternoon. They are providing a place to sleep overnight and breakfast in the morning as well as a 17’ canoe for our week in the bush. It’s a little hazy here from the various fires in Quetico and west of here in Atikokan, it is even hazier.
Hazy in Atikokan
Not much doing in town on a Sunday afternoon. We settled for subs from a donut shop on the outskirts of town for dinner, and they were pretty good. The temps have cooled down and there is a good breeze. Tomorrow morning, after a good night’s sleep, we start our canoe trip.
With Quetico out of action due to the forest fire situation, we’re looking at a couple possible canoe routes in Turtle River Provincial Park. East Texas Red has got us some topo maps and we’ve narrowed it down to a couple routes. One is more or less a there and back route with 2 small loops for variety. The other, which requires a shuttle, is a full loop. Both are very interesting routes with plenty of variety – river, including rapids and falls, small lakes and big lakes. As well, on either route, we can stop to see White Otter Castle.
White Otter Castle is a structure built by a guy named Jimmy McOuat on White Otter Lake. Back in the early 1900s, this character built a 3-story log castle. It seems Jimmy lived the hermit life but planned to get married and built the structure so his bride would have a great place to live. Sadly, she didn’t show and he had it to himself. An organization called Friends of White Otter Castle restored the building some and visitors can stop by there in the middle of nowhere to visit Jimmy’s building.
We plan to be in Atikokan Sunday evening and we’ll be on the water after breakfast Monday morning.
I’ve been planning a canoe trip into Quetico for about a year with my buddy East Texas Red. We planned to leave Toronto this coming Saturday morning. This afternoon, he got a call from the park office. The whole of the Quetico backcountry is closed to travel and camping due to increased fire risk, effective today. I’m sure there are some people in there now who will have to make their way out right away.
We’re looking at an alternative in the same area that seems to be free of fires, and that’s the Turtle River/White Otter Lake area. This is located north of Quetico, on the other side of the highway. It’s a non-operating park, which means there are no camping fees. A trip into this area will mean a trip with fewer portages. We’re looking into routes now. East Texas Red is getting some maps and we’re checking with the outfitter (who is renting us a canoe) for recommendations. As well, with a new route we may need to organize a shuttle, and since our plan was to be on the water by Monday, we’re going to have to scramble a little to get organized.
I’m disappointed we can’t get into Quetico at this time, but I’m confident we’ll find an equally interesting route in the area, maybe even a better one. The last thing I expected was a full park closure, but we’re looking forward to getting away so we’re prepared to be flexible. Fortunately we have lots of north country. Our biggest obstacle right now is time.
The new episode of The Agency Podcast is up. Listen here, or find it at all the good places.
Much movie talk this week! Stillwater and it’s similarities, or not, to The Amanda Knox story. The delicious VAL documentary: the original “selfie artist” Val Kilmer. And we have a contest to win a cd!
Please email us about anything. Thanks for listening.
Our garden has been so generous this year. Unlike in much of the country, we’ve had plenty of regular rainfall in Southern Ontario this season and I think that has helped a lot. Each morning I go out and pick what is ripe. At this time tomatoes have been ripening faster than we can eat them, and with 1 or 2 zucchini each day, so are they. One of our 2 zucchini plants has died off but the other one is in great shape and producing well. It seems the zucchinis do better growing in the ground than in containers. Good to know for next year.
After the Saskatoon berries finished, the blackberries started and I’ve been picking them daily. The past few days we’ve shared berries with friends as there are so many more than we can eat. We’ve been sharing tomatoes and zucchini too.
Lettuce is pretty much done. Maybe I’ll grow some fall lettuce. There is still kale and chard, but not so much we aren’t on top of it. Herbs have been great but some want to go to seed now. I’ve clipped any buds off the basil to keep it going a while longer. There are plenty of hot chilies this year of various varieties plus we’ve had some nice poblanos.
Most years the Sungold tomatoes, which are wonderful cherries, are our most prolific tomatoes. This year they have been just so-so, but the other varieties have stepped up and I’ll go so far as to say this is the best year we’ve had for tomatoes since we started growing them in containers up front.
This week on The Agency, we spend a whole episode with singer-songwriter Michael Phillips aka Mighty Lopez, an old friend and great storyteller. Lopez even sings some songs for us and you can find them at 53 minutes in. Mighty Lopez is the real deal. His album TALES FROM THE WOOD is available by mail. Listen right here or find it at all the good podcast places.
We hope enjoy the conversation and you buy his excellent album by emailing him.
What are you listening to these days? Aside from a very large amount of fiddle music, I’m listening to The Barrence Whitfield Soul Savage Arkestra: Songs from the Sun Ra Cosmos. There is more from this collection available on the YouTube machine, but if can do it, please support Mr. Whitfield by buying the music!
Barrence Whitfield is not his birth name. His birth name was Barry White, but that name was, you know, already taken. Not that there can’t be multiple Barry Whites. I’m sure there are. But – if you want to be a musician, it’s difficult to have the same name as a monstrously popular musician with a track record.
My first exposure to Mr. Whitfield was on a quirky but quite good album he did with Tom Russell called Cowboy Mambo. It’s one of two collaborations with Tom Russell, the other being Hillbilly Voodoo. Also check out his work with his band, The Savages. You can find some samples on YouTube, all fab.
There are some excellent titles right now in the 27th Street Book Box. It’s located – you guessed it – on Twenty Seventh Street, in the Toronto community of Long Branch, right in front our our place, the house with the grizzly bear, giant owl and the canoe garden, half a block up from Lake Promenade. You’re invited to take books or add books. You can read and return or read and pass the books on or it you find something you want to keep in your library at home, that’s fine too. If you have some books at home you think others in the community would enjoy, please feel free to add them to the box. If the box is full, you can leave your books in a bag on our porch and we’ll add them as space becomes available.
BOOK BOX ETIQUETTE
If you have books you just want to get rid of but don’t think people will enjoy, please don’t put them in the book box. Share the ones you love instead.
Please make an effort to shut the door fully so the books don’t get wet when it rains.
This box is for books, not CDs, DVDs, religious pamphlets, political or campaign material, food and so on.
Please don’t leave books or other materials on the ground around the book box.
The books are free to the community. Nobody makes any money from the book box. All we ask is to be respectful of this community project.
The 27th Street Book Box isn’t one of those fancy little free libraries with glass doors and a nice peaked roof. I cobbled it together from an old ammunition box I found at a junk store, with a hat make from a roaster to keep the rain and snow off, and a very small ladder for a base. It doesn’t have a fancy latch either, just a hair elastic, which I replace from time to time when it breaks. What it does feature is a good turnover of quality books. Most of the time, you can be sure to find something you might enjoy in there.
Yes, it’s time for a new episode of The Agency Podcast! Listen right here or find it at all the good podcast places.
Mushrooms, serial killers, isolation and more. This week we watch Fantastic Fungi, Fatima, and Jungle Cruise (with former wrestler THE ROCK). We also make plans to read two books. Please join us reading The Big Picture by Sean Carroll for September. Or Indians On Vacation by Thomas King for October.
We would love to hear what you think about the movie “Fantastic Fungi”. Or what you think about anything! We love getting emails.
27th Street 