Econo Lodge Inn And Suites Pembroke

A mere 400 or so miles later I pass into very familiar territory, the Ottawa Valley. Rolling farm fields, barn smells and small towns after you bypass Ottawa (which has a charming hostel - the old Ottawa Jail right in the downtown).
There's a fiddle festival going on over the Labor Day weekend. It's become a phenom now after several years. The riverside park fills with rvs and bodies. Nice location.

... never done anything like that before. Just go somewhere for the sole purpose of taking pictures. That was something new for me.

After a while, we went back to the Lion's Hall, checked out the radio station and then went to the party. There were a few people there, but not many. That was OK, because I was not in a partying mood really anyway. I had come here to paint! So, that's what I did.

I noticed a big white sheet of paper on the wall with highlighters ...

... Rupert River canoe trip. We left the next morning for a 14 hour bus ride up to the James Bay Highway Bridge, where we put in. The next five days involved a lot of flatwater canoeing with big waves and headwinds, some whitewater canoeing, cold cold camping, late nights round the fire and early mornings packing. We also did a lot of portaging through woodland trails which would usually tire me out without a canoe of a barrel filled with today's dinner, but I made it ...

... got back in quite quickly. I'm now sleeping in a hammock, which arrived just a few days ago. With a thermarest inside it is very cosy and rocks me gently to sleep. It's so much more comfortable than a tent with a hard floor. Looking forward to the SRT course tomorrow. We will have a full weekend of swimming in the whitewater, which should be fun but tiring.

Last night we had a search and rescue scenario. We picked a leader who picked five team leaders to manage smaller search teams. I was a team leader of a group of five. We were taken by bus to the Chutes Coulonge, which was the search area where an unknown number of people had gone missing. Just to set the scene a little, this is an area where there are a number of large waterfalls flowing through a ravine. There is a trail around the edge ...

I have made a rolling contract with Karine C. This means that whenever I want to practice my roll she has to go out on the river and help me but whenever she decides I should go out and practice I have to go. If we have time we are going to practice tomorrow afternoon after class. I'm not sure how much time there will be though, as we are doing a night search and rescue tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to that.

... and finding out who fits in what. I'm using a Jackson Star, which is the smallest in the range. We all got out onto the water and paddled around a bit to get used to the boats and then started practicing rolls straight away. The idea is that once we can roll we will be comfortable enough to practice everything else. Although I didn't roll today I feel that I have made a lot of progress and should hopefully get it within the next few days if I practice enough.

The WFR course started today. A whole day of CPR - oh no! It's like work, but on the decking in the sunshine. It's supposed to be Christmas today (when we get our kayaks and gear) but I've just been told that Christmas has been postponed until tomorrow. :( I was persuaded by Karine (she is very persuasive - she may even have me speaking French before too ...

... over The Ledge (with it's retentive hole at the bottom...). The next rafters got in and paddled out into the river with a wave goodbye. They crossed the diagonal, reached the first wave and continued. Phew. That made me feel better as we were next. At the next two waves they somehow managed to spill a few people who had to swim for it, but mostly they made it across. We were next. We passed the diagonal and piled into the ...

... others - that's what I'm most excited about at the moment. I think today will probably be the last quiet day in a very long time as we will be on the river tomorrow and Friday (hopefully). I'm enjoying it while it lasts! *We're still in Davidson, Quebec, but there is still no Davidson on the map.