We were invited to visit friends in July, 1997 at their cottage on the French River. Never having been that far north in Ontario (300 km north of Toronto) before, I went with a little bit of trepidation (because of all the rumors about black flies, deer flies and man-eating mosquites<g> - which fortunately turned out to be false!). It was a wonderful relaxing vacation, with this being the only energetic thing I did all week.
Their cottage is nestled into the woods on Four Mile Island in the middle of the French River - accessible only by boat, which is aptly named Catspaw II (they just happen to breed pedigreed cats as well).
I quickly decided this is God's Country up here - absolutely stunning scenery. This area is part of the beginning of the Canadian Shield area of the Laurentian Mountain range, and is mostly rocks and pine trees - with a view that is different at every turn in the river. I've included a few shots taken from the boat to show you what I mean.
These are two relatively small islands in the middle of the river, both exceptionally rocky and one has to be part mountain goat to get around on them. We visited the small one on the right, which has a most uniquely designed cottage on it - unique because of the rugged terrain on which it is built! They did, however, have a multitude of blueberry plants growing in every nook and cranny between the rocks.
The water is clear and clean, and the water level had dropped over 7 feet since the spring. The river itself is very deep in spots. The depth on the fish finder varied from a low of 8 feet to a depth of 181 feet!
The French River is very wide, and runs from Lake Nipissing into Georgian Bay. You can't however, travel the entire river from one end to the other by motor boat. You could by canoe, if you were prepared to make portages around the rapids at one end and the waterfall at the other.
There are many species of birds making their homes in the area of the river, such as this heron who never even flinched when we went past it with the boat. We also saw plenty of gulls, terns, loons, osprey, turkey vulchers - and, of course, hummingbirds outside the cottage.
This is an old sawmill located on one of the many inlets off the river. Beautiful little waterfall in this area.
Very picturesque!
