The thick fog of heat and humidity (not actual fog, that’s just a metaphor) had not left us today, but luckily we were deep in lake country, with an impressive selection of places to cool off should the need arise. The need did, and we enjoyed a lovely dip in Bunny Lake, one of the many offshoots of Lake of the Woods. By Sioux Narrows, however, we had gotten quite thirsty, but unfortunately, none of the water we could find was potable (what’s that famous Coleridge quote?). We ducked into Gill’s Trading Post to purchase some liquid refreshment (Arizona Iced Tea and Fruit Punch – quite a bargain at 99cents for 691ml) and stood outside in the shade to drink it. While we were standing there, something remarkable happened. Allow me to relay the events to you:
- Two cyclists stand outside Gill’s Trading post in Sioux Narrows, Ontario, sipping Arizona Iced Tea and Fruit Punch
- A young boy sitting in a nearby truck engage the cyclists in conversation.
- After speaking with the boy for several minutes (impressed with the maturity and candor with which he spoke), the cyclists turn their attention back to their refreshments
- Suddenly, the cyclists are approached by a woman, who asks them, both directly and plainly, if they would fancy a bit of a break from their ride and accompany her and her family (two daughters stood beside her) back to their private island for an overnight sojourn to enjoy the lake in all its summertime splendor.
- The boy in the truck (who turns out to be the woman’s son) pipes up that indeed the cyclists should take his mother up on her offer, that there is great swimming there, and great fishing too.
- The cyclists, overwhelmed by the proposition, the spontaneity of it, the generosity, shake their heads in wonder and mumble a thanks-but-no-thanks-really-it-sounds-wonderful-but-we-just-couldn’t sort of response and smile politely (and genuinely)
- The woman, attuned to the fact that her offer was indeed both spontaneous and (preposterously) generous, offers the cyclists a few minutes to think it over more deeply while she and her daughters pick up a few groceries in the Trading Post.
- The cyclists think it over.
- The boy in the truck shouts some more encouragement
- The cyclists decide to accept
And so, we followed Cara, her daughters Nacoya and Ciara and son Kelton, down to the nearby marina, where we left our bikes, hopped onto the family’s motorboat, and sped off through a maze of land and water to their private island on Lake of the Woods. There, we swam, fished, relaxed, ate, and were generally entertained by these delightful people for a 24 hour window of bliss in the heart of Northwestern Ontario’s vacation country. It was, to be quite frank, awesome. Thank you so much Ted, Cara, Kelton, Nacoya and Ciara for showing us an incredible time!
Stats:
Av. Spd.: 16.2km/h
Mx. Spd.: unknown (we forgot to write down some of the stats in all the commotion)
Important stat that we did remember: 3000km on the odometer!! Woo!
Biggest stereotype explosion: By far the greatest hospitality we've been shown by strangers in Canada came from an American family (Ted, Cara, and the gang are from Montana)
Number of leech attacks: 1
Love this story!
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