Monday, August 08, 2005
We set out in two cars to Charleston Lake in southern Ontario.By the time we got to our campsite it was 9 pm.
We pitched our tents in the twilight.
We were all tired after a long week, and after a quick dinner we called it a night.
Not so our campsite neighbours. At first we thought they were from the middle-east, but their well enunciated punjabi clearly sailed through the thin night air and kept us awake for a long time.
There were three or four adults who carried on a monotonous dialogue only to be interrupted by an animated interlude featuring their four kids.
In order to add more variety and color to the cacophony our neighbours to the other side had brought along their baby.
So we were awake and very aware throughout our first night at the campsite. 
Charleston Lake (August 6, 2005) - We were up bright and early, after being woken up by the dueling kids.
After a breakfast cooked on propane stoves we decided to tackle the Sandstone hike. It is a 3.3 km hike that winds around a 3-400 million year old rock plateau.
On the way we saw wildflowers, trees felled down by beavers and a swamp with tree stumps sticking out from a greenish brown soup.
There were also Indian fire pits, and spectacular view of the lake with its many islands.
It ended near a dock in a cove.
After the hike the sight of the beach off Shady Ridge was a welcome sight. The water was warm with a lot of kids playing in the water.
Some of the stronger swimmers amongst us even made it to the private island about 100 m. off the beach.
We rented a canoe and went around the islands. One of the islands had a white tailed deer on it, while our friends in the other canoe saw a beaver in the water.
We had a dinner of garbanzo bean curry and some pasta. That night we slept well after a fire-side exchange of gory lateral thinking puzzles.
Charleston Lake (August 6, 2005) - Next day the others went for an early morning canoe ride and saw a large bird which looked like a vulture nesting on a tree on the island.
We got up late and went for a canoe ride after brunch. This time we went to the islands further east of the campsite.
The water was clear and it would have been great to snorkell the depths. Charleston lake is 90% rock, and the rock formations underwater would have been interesting.
Many of the islands are privately owned, and have beautiful houses with their own little dock.
Of course some rocks are owned by sea-gulls.
We came ashore on a 50 m. long uninhabited island.
The adjacent island had a tall tree with a nest. The chirping and singing babies were being fed by two large birds that looked like falcon - with large grey and white feathers, and heads with hooked beaks.
They were not too happy to see us so close to their domicile, and remonstrated with shrill shrieks. After circling around for a couple of minutes they lost interest.
We spent some time exploring the small island and floating in the green water. The water was much colder here.
We made our way back to the beach zig-zagging through islands and other boats. There were water skiiers, kids jumping off rocks and into the waters, people fishing from canoes, and others on water-scooters.
Back at the beach, we went for a final swim and a short canoe ride. It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies, we were all sun-burnt, and it was time to head back to Ottawa.
