Camping at Bonnechere Provincial Park, Exploring the Caves, and our first Pow Wow

We went to relax and explore Refrew County in the Ottawa valley this summer. From the first Anishinabe settlers to European immigrants, visitors are attracted to the charms of the rushing water, peaceful lakes, rolling hills, and trails in this county.

During our visit here, we decided to camp at Bonnechere Provincial park located in the same area as the birthplace of Beavertails. The campgrounds were clean and spacious and had a beautiful sandy beach area with lots of picnic tables and a children's park. We really enjoyed the shallow, clear, calm waters of Round lake that overlooks a beautiful scenery. 

There is a boat launch area where we can rent kayaks and canoes. We checked out the Davenport cultural resource centre close to the beach, which had information about different park animals, and other interesting facts. They conduct different interpretive programs that we are welcome to join.

There is a fit trail, we hiked half way and turned back because of mosquitos. We wish the trails were marked to mention how many kilometres it was at different points, as it could have been motivating to go through the entire trail. 

In the beginning of the trail, there were stick museums which contained some facts that we enjoyed checking out. 

There were two cabins, one of which used to be a ranger cabin however it was locked and we couldn't see inside of it. As we went through the trail we saw ponds, marsh areas, and boardwalks.

While here, we visited Bonnechere caves, which is a natural underground wonder in Canada. The caves have been open to visitors from 1955 since it was found by Tom Woodward. Bonnechere caves located east of Eganville sits in a deep limestone valley carved at fifth chute of the Bonnechere river. 

Their informative guided tours run every 15 minutes, and they take a maximum of 25 people at a time. The tour helped us understand more about underground caves and how Tom Woodward found the caves.

The wooden boardwalk made it easy to walk on the surface, since there is some water on the ground, wearing shoes would make it more comfortable. We loved getting a chance to see how dark it gets inside the caves without any lights when the guide turned off the lights for us to experience. We learned about geology and got a chance to see some fossils in the beginning of the tour before we headed to the caves. The underground caves felt cooler than outside, and we were quite excited to see the narrow openings and different shapes of the caves that form naturally because of the acidic water. They leave the caves closed for the public when the weather gets cooler because they open up for the river water to flow into the caves and do its wonders. 

Rainwater becomes acidic when it takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the groundwater picks up acids from the soil; this acidic water dissolves calcium carbonate minerals in the limestone and causes cracks in the rock to widen into passages. Over time, the flowing water and falling rocks form larger passages and caverns. This mineral enriched water exposed to air in these caverns evaporates and the calcium carbonate left behind on the rock surfaces form solid mineral structures such as flowstone, stalactites hanging from the top, and stalagmites rising from the floor. It was a cool experience for us to feel and see stalactites. Walking through narrow passages in the caves was thrilling! These types of caves and underground passages are found across the world wherever the landscape is made of limestone.  

This family friendly natural underground museum is owned and run by Chris and Val Hinsperger. The caves are open rain or shine from May to October, check their website for the times and special events such as dining and concerts that they host inside the caves. They have a gift shop where we can purchase gems, minerals, science kits, and more. 

We went in time for the Pikwakanagan Algonquin Pow Wow by Golden lake, which happens every third weekend of August from 12 to 7 p.m. It was quite busy with vendors. We enjoyed watching the different ceremonies, tribal dances, and drumming that happened in celebration of Anishinabe culture. The colourful regalia was interesting to see, as it had materials made from animal fur, feather, shell, and bones, they also had noise makers made out of tins. We had an opportunity to join in for a dance, as the audience were invited. The Algonquin Way cultural centre Omamiwinini Pimadjwowin is a community museum that teaches about the history of the people, which is open Monday to Friday from 10 to 4 and from June to the end of summer.

We enjoyed driving to these exciting places in Ontario in the comfortable and beautiful eternal blue mica 2018 Mazda CX-5. While there aren't any distinguishable features in the exterior design compared to the 2017 CX-5 model we really began to appreciate the value of this vehicle during long summer drives.

If you are familiar with the safety and drive assistance features available in the premium models, you will be happy that these are available as standard or optional features on all models and trims.

Mazda's i-ACTIVESENSE technology includes features such as Smart Brake Support (SBS), Smart City Brake Support (SCBS), Mazda Radar Cruise Control with Stop and GO Function, Distance Recognition Support System, Forward Obstruction Warning, Lane Departure Warning System to mention a few. All these features are available in all trim levels of the 2018 CX 5, which is great to keep everyone safe. The CX-5 is capable of pedestrian detection when Smart Brake Support (SBS) is equipped. Pedestrians can be detected at a speed of approximately 10km/h or greater.

This stylish five passenger vehicle's city fuel economy rating is 9.8L/100km and for the highway it is 7.9L/100km. To further improve fuel economy, the CX-5 has a new cylinder de-activation system that shuts down 2 cylinders automatically in light driving situation such as cruising at constant speeds. Driving the CX-5 felt very controlled, smooth, and silent. We felt we were always in control even at higher speed across various terrains. The interior felt spacious even for taller passengers. The 7-inch colour touchscreen display and our favourite infotainment system can also be controlled with the multifunction Commander control buttons. This makes it very useful and less distracting while on the road. All knobs and controls have been placed strategically with a beautiful cockpit design that really feels and looks high-end.

Cargo space in the 2018 CX-5 model remains the same as the previous year. The rear seats can be folded to reveal a flat cargo floor if there are no passengers in the back. The cargo space might be limited but should be efficient for most trips.

The beautiful compact design, latest technologies, smooth, safe, comfortable drives makes the 2018 Mazda CX-5 a great choice for a first family SUV.

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