| Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons in Ontario | | | | entire Kawartha area boasts thousands of cottages, |
| when forests light up in hues of yellow, orange and red. | | | | camps and resorts, from simple house-keeping |
| It's the perfect time for drives in the countryside, to visit | | | | cottages to luxury resorts and conference centres.Of |
| small villages, check out farmer's markets, attend | | | | course fall is harvest time as well, Halloween is |
| country fairs. We've had a long hot summer this year, | | | | approaching too, and one of the big autumn pastimes |
| even as I write this we are expecting temperatures 10 | | | | in cottage country seems to be the creation of all |
| degrees Celsius above average. As a result the fall | | | | forms of scarecrows. They were all over the place, in |
| colour season is a little delayed, but that did not change | | | | front of private homes, bed & breakfasts, schools, |
| the fact that it was time for a country driving | | | | community centres, churches, even on bridges, and I |
| tour.During the Servas conference in Vancouver I | | | | started snapping away with my camera to document |
| made a great connection, I met a fellow Ontarian, a | | | | this rural creativity. My favourite scarecrow encounters |
| lady in her 50s by the name of Julie who lives north of | | | | included a wedding scene, "breakfast in bed" in front of |
| Peterborough in Ontario's Lake Country. And as is the | | | | a B&B, and some "scarecrow hoodlums" climbing the |
| Servas tradition, she generously offered her hospitality | | | | fence of a baseball diamond.After saying goodbye to |
| and invited me to come up and visit her on Buckhorn | | | | Julie and thanking her for her great hospitality, I decided |
| Lake. I left on Saturday at around 4 pm and although I | | | | to do a little loop around Buckhorn Lake and I checked |
| got lost a couple of times, barely two hours later I | | | | out the village of Burleigh Falls. I got out of the car and |
| arrived at her beautiful house on Buckhorn Lake.We | | | | walked down on the flat rocks beside the river which |
| spent a fabulous evening chatting and cooking a meal | | | | descends in cascades into Stoney Lake. Burleigh Falls |
| together that was so delicious that I packed in two big | | | | is a cute little hamlet located at the confluence of |
| servings. We talked about many topics and touched | | | | Lovesick Lake and Stoney Lake, and has a few |
| on the transitions of life, who we really are when you | | | | restaurants and variety of other accommotions.One |
| strip away job titles, material possessions, our | | | | thing I did not realize is that Stoney Lake is a local |
| affiliations with our marriage partners - what is really | | | | scuba diving spot. As I walked past the cascades and |
| left at the end of the day. It was a really interesting | | | | arrived at a little clearing, I saw a scuba diver in full |
| discussion, I always enjoy conversing with people who | | | | gear coming out of the water. He explained to me that |
| have more life experience than I do.Not surprisingly, | | | | there were problably about 20 or so divers in the lake, |
| Julie is a very interesting individual, she is a "diversity | | | | and that they explore the rocky lake bottom which |
| expert" and teaches organizations how to deal | | | | apparently also includes a deep trench.From Burleigh |
| effectively with a multi-cultural workforce. She also | | | | Falls I continue my path south and stopped at Youngs |
| participates in a variety of volunteer organizations | | | | Point, which houses one of the locks of the |
| (including Servas), plays tennis and volleyball, goes for | | | | Trent-Severn Waterway System. This little town |
| long hikes, canoes, plays the piano, sings in a choir, to | | | | marks the start of the Canadian Shield and was |
| name just a few of her activities. I asked her if she | | | | settled in 1825. The original lock here was built in the |
| ever gets lonely in the tranquility of Lake Country, after | | | | early 1870's. I stopped at the Lockside Trading |
| having lived most of her life in the metropolitan hub of | | | | Company, which offers cottage country apparel, home |
| Toronto. The answer was a definitive no, and once I | | | | furnishings, a variety of souvenirs and home decorating |
| heard of all her activities I realized that with such an | | | | items, as well as some of the famous Kawartha Dairy |
| active social calendar it would be very difficult to feel | | | | icecream, which of course I had to taste.Youngs Point |
| lonely or get bored.What's always great about a | | | | was my last stop on my way home, although I drove |
| personal visit is connecting with a local expert, who | | | | through a series of cute villages including Lakefield, |
| really knows the area. Julie took me on a little driving | | | | Bridgenorth and Port Perry. I thoroughly enjoyed the |
| tour of her neck of the woods (literally) and showed | | | | drive through the rolling hills of this agricultural land |
| me some of her favourite spots, which include | | | | northeast of Toronto. The feeling was apparently |
| Fothergill Island, the Gannon Narrows Conservation | | | | shared by a myriad of other travellers, some pulling |
| Area and the country drive to the village of | | | | boats on trailers, others riding on their motorcycles. All |
| Buckhorn.The Kawartha area is full of lakes, many of | | | | in all, it was a perfect early fall day and an ideal |
| which are connected and form part of the | | | | occasion to check out Toronto's backcountry.Susanne |
| Trent-Severn Waterway System that connects Lake | | | | Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and |
| Ontario with Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron, over a | | | | Transitions( Travel and Transitions deals with |
| distance of 387 km through a serious of lift locks. The | | | | unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, |
| Kawarthas are one of the three main popular | | | | real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers |
| getaway areas for Ontario which include Muskoka, the | | | | and travel experts, insights and reflections, |
| Haliburton Highlands, and the Kawarthas. During our | | | | cross-cultural issues, contests and many other |
| drive Julie pointed out one of the landlocked lakes that | | | | features. You will also find stories about life and the |
| is not connected to the lock system, Sandy Lake, | | | | transitions that we face as we go through our own |
| which has a bottom of sand and clay, resulting in an | | | | personal life-long journeys.Submit your own travel |
| often turqouise appearance, somewhat reminiscent of | | | | stories in our first travel story contest( and have a |
| famous Lake Louise in Western Canada. Sandy Lake | | | | chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the |
| is a very popular spot for vacation homes and the | | | | Amazon River. |