A Trip to the 'Sharp Island'

The Ridge

On Friday, Aug. 22nd we were up at 6 and began our day. We had showers and a bite to eat and packed Ptooties. Her trunk was full!

Good morning!
A lovely day for a drive.

We pulled out of the lane at 8 and messaged Duncan that we were on our way. It was a planned 4 hour drive to the Indian reserve of Dokis, Ontario. 

The sky was clear blue
and traffic relatively light
for a Friday.

However, as many plans do, that changed, extending our drive time to more like 4 1/2 hours. Our new gps took us through Wasaga Beach and we believed it. Lol.

Nice roads with scenic views
along the way.
The speed limit at 110 km/h always
surprises me.
Seems the need for speed is
bred in us all.

Gibbs still panted for a lot of the way
and never slept, even with Gravol.

There were indications as we neared
the 1/2 to 3/4 point, that
we were approaching the Reserves.

Try as I might, I couldn't pronounce any
of the Native words on the top sign.
Bottom left, we turned onto a gravel road for
28 miles, following a truck with 2 canoes
and a boat. We knew we were headed in the
right direction for a marina.

Duncan met us at the marina of the Riverview cottages where they had docked their boat. We loaded and hopped aboard. 

I'm not one who has been on a boat often.
At all, not in my childhood, youth or young adult.
This was fun and the views were just beautiful.

It was also a perfect day for a boat ride.

On the return trip to their island, Sharp Island?, they took us on a nice tour through parts they were familiar with in the French River. 

For those who don't know, (like I didn't), the river stretches about 80 miles flowing from Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay with a myriad of islands.

Kennedy Island

The narrowest channel we had to go
through had Duncan slowing down considerably.

Some are owned and named, while others are unnamed. Patty and Duncan's island (I like to say Sharp Island) is about an acre in diameter, very rocky but with 3 suitable size Bunkies and an outhouse, situated perfectly. 

Patty pointed out the groupings of
Inukshuks along the way.
These are on unnamed and uninhabited islands
as well. People stop for a few hours,
build them and move on.

Surrounded by water, the island has a variety of evergreens and shrubs, and yet still allows the sun to shine through from the east, south and east directions. We didn't know what to expect but are quite impressed with their find in 2009/10.

Patty and Gibbs as we
approach 'Sharp Island'.
The flag pole is not crooked as my
picture shows, it was just my angle
when we approached that makes it 
look that way. 😏

It was a nice ride and Gibbs, decked out in his life jacket, loved the fresh air too.

                           This was the narrow channel

                                   and you can tell Duncan is

                                         going easy through it.

Once settled in our Bunky,
we all enjoyed the afternoon on
their deck at the dock.

We arrived around 2:30 and moved our bags into our sleep Bunky and cooler of food into the kitchen Bunky. What a quaint little spot they have!

Homemade pizza and 'ice cream-like'
cookies for dessert.
Chef Duncan and his unique way of cutting
the pizzas. They were good and
Gibbs sat perfectly at our feet as we ate.

We relaxed for the remainder of the day on the deck at the water. Patty and Duncan provided supper of pizzas and cookies for dessert. 

The sun would set further west
than this and be behind the row of trees
on the next island.
This is my best but still very pretty.

We were in bed early, probably 9:30, and read our books briefly. Being on solar and battery power only, we were more off grid than we are in the Ridge. My phone was dying so writing a blog last night was out of the question. 

Needless to say, we were all
feeling tired out which meant an 
early bedtime. 
Good night!

A great day! This is Day 1, with the rest to follow tomorrow. I'll get caught up, don't worry. 

Thank you for the visit!