Lodge 2011 - Killarney Lodge

Killarney
Lodge 2011
Welcome!
Peter Watson is a frequent guest and good friend to Killarney
Lodge. When the time came to find a new home for his mother’s collection of almost 100 books on birds and nature, he
thought of the Lodge.
Both his parents had been avid birders during their long
marriage and extensive travels. “They grew up with strong
attachments to the outdoors, as both their families had cottages dating back to the late 1800s,” says Peter.
“They developed an interest in birds independently and
it became one of their shared passions. As they travelled the
world they went bird watching, kept birding lists and acquired
books.”
His mother, Joan, a trained artist, had a special attachment to Algonquin Park. As a girl she had attended Camp
Tanamakoon on Cache Lake. Many years later, on her last
visit to the Park, we had the pleasure of having her
stay at the Lodge.
We’re honoured that she entrusted us
with her avian books and
invite you to browse
through this remarkable collection, now in
our guest lounge.
Ex
Libris
All quiet on the G8 front
Last June world attention was focused on the G20 summit in
Toronto. But for us, the big event was the G8 leaders arriving
in Huntsville a day earlier. We’d been warned that barricades,
tanks and armored personnel carriers would cut through our
peaceful neck of the woods, and that a section of Highway 60
would be blocked. We imagined traffic jams and pat-downs –
and a moose placidly munching a water lily while watching tanks roll past.
But while leaders and soldiers came, activists
mostly stayed away. We remained unaffected, except on
a single afternoon before the summit when 20 reporters – from Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil,
Chef William Wallace with culinary talent.
Argentina, Chile, USA, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain,
Russia, Japan and China – came for lunch and a paddle.
Not just any paddle. At the request of the provincial
Ministry of Natural Resources, Algonquin Outfitters had
dropped off 20 paddles, 20 life preservers and three 25-foot
war canoes.
The plan was to head into the lake from the dock, but a
strong wind persuaded Park guides to start from our bay.
(Otherwise this might’ve been a different story.)
So they showed the journalists how to carry the
boats to the beach, and coached them out
onto the lake.
We know our visitors enjoyed lunch.
But judging by the degree of multilingual
excitement, paddling a war canoe trumped
homemade soup. Imagine.
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Avian books feather our nest
How to make an entrance
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It’s time to relax. Kick back, stand back, get some
perspective, recharge, regroup, reconnect, take a break,
and above all – be yourself.
Everyone knows it’s important to take time off, so
why do we find it so hard? After all, when we finally do
get away, we say, “Why don’t we do this more often?!”
So come. Breathe easy. We’ll do our best to help,
but there’s nothing like a walk in the woods, sitting by
the lake or paddling up a quiet river to soothe a restless
mind.
And there’s time – just for you. Time to do what you
want, when you want. Read, snooze or explore. You’ll
think of something.
Killarney Lodge. No meals to prepare. No dishes to
wash. No clocks, radios or televisions. No email. Just you.
In beautiful Algonquin Park. With us.
What could be better?
A good renovation improves a structure; a great renovation looks as if it has always been there.
When guests return and see the new entranceway to the dining lodge and reception desk, they often
­wonder if and what has changed. Even when they
know the shelter is new, many can’t remember what
was there before.
Sometimes we hear “It’s beautiful,” and just as
often, “Holy cow” (to paraphrase), and “Look at those
posts!”
It was our idea to build the portico but – as is
often the case – the design was Luke’s. He said, “I have
the perfect posts for it,” and he did.
They were growing in his back yard: gnarly and
twisty trees awaiting a greater destiny. Now they help shelter
guests from sun and rain.
It’s hard to keep your hands off them. Go ahead ...
you know you want to.
Septuagenarian gets a lift
Eventually everyone, and everything, needs a little help
– and 75-year-old log cabins are no exception.
Logs closest to the ground tend to absorb
moisture, so sometimes they need to be
replaced. How do you replace logs that
support a wall? The answer is, of course,
“very carefully.”
More pragmatically, we rely on our
resourceful head of maintenance, Luke
Luckasavitch, and his never-say-never
team. A few years ago, they had the idea
to purchase four inflatable air-lifting bags,
the kind that firefighters use to save
people trapped under heavy vehicles or
Over the winter we invited consultant and
Resting on our posts and laurels.
debris.
certified chef de cuisine William Wallace
How do they do it? They slide the
to review our menus. He applauded our
bags under structural beams and gradually lift the cabin by
staff and praised our fusion of country cooking and culinary
inflating the bags with a compressor. The damaged logs are
finesse. We loved his attitude and his ideas – and we think
replaced and the cabin is carefully set down.
you will too!
Cabin 4 was the last and trickiest cabin to set right.
Some changes – such as anointing Alberta strip loin with
“There
was lots of head scratching, beard tugging and careful
caramelized onion Cabernet butter, maple-roasting salmon,
considering,” says Poppy. “But our guys did it.”
and sourcing local artisanal cheeses – are subtle but inspired.
Not only that, they also replaced the deck and the bathBut when William suggested apple-stuffed French toast,
room. With a little luck the cabin will be good for at least
Campagnarde salads, antipasto plates and smoked salmon
another 75 years.
with red onion, capers, lemon and dill, we knew we’d met a
kindred spirit.
Just the description of shitake, oyster and cremini mushroom cream with wild thyme oil and Grana Padano cheese
on penne made our vegetarian editor swoon. Following the
success of our all-vegetarian soups last year, we’ll have them
Updating our functional but
every day this year.
aesthetically challenged bathWe don’t have space to list all of
rooms is an on-going project.
William’s tweaks and additions, but
Last summer we revamped the
we will tell you there’s a new chilwashrooms in Cabins 22, 27
dren’s menu and a new salad named
and 28. This year, we plan to do the lavatories in Cabins 20,
for Poppy. For those who read the
29 and 12.
dessert menu first, we have a new
“It isn’t just a matter of replacing fixtures,” says Poppy.
banana cream tart, crème brulée and
“Usually we redo the floor and walls and replace the plumba gluten-free chocolate almond torte.
ing. Sometimes we enlarge the room.”
But we really have to go now
“Updating Cabin 20 is a challenge because it’s always
– we’re hungry! If you want to know more, just
in demand,” she adds. “So we’ll work on it* first in order to
look on our website.
make it available as soon as possible.”
William’s tart
and Poppy’s salad
International media warriors venture out
on the high seas of Lake of Two Rivers.
A loo by any
other name
* the water closet, that is.
– Gabrielle & Steven
I’ve been coming to Algonquin Park for 93 years.
Thanks to Killarney Lodge I still can.
– Phyllis, 97
You don’t want to be annoying
High on the list of modern peeves are cellphone calls in public places. Loud, one-sided conversations provoke eye-rolling
and glaring, irritation and tension, in those forced
to overhear. And a cellphone ringing in a
tranquil setting is even more jarring than
in the city.
“Killarney Lodge is all about relaxing,
and nothing sets people on edge faster than
someone’s cellphone going off,” says Poppy.
“Sound travels further over open
space,” adds Eric. “And when it’s quiet,
any sound, especially an unpleasant one, stands out.”
So we’re joining the ranks of polite society everywhere
and asking guests to turn cellphones off outside their cabin.
Better yet, leave the darned thing in your car – or even
at home.
Reservations on the web
Taking food to the bank
Not that long ago we had to send all our leftover food to the
dump. Seemed a shame, but we couldn’t keep it on-site and
risk attracting wild beasties. Then Algonquin Park started its
composting program, which at least put our vegetables to
good use.
Now we have an even better solution. Instead of feeding
the Earth (and Luke’s pigs – another story) we’ll feed people!
After every meal we freeze our leftovers – vegetables
and rolls, desserts and soups, chicken and fish – and twice a
week we deliver them to the Huntsville food bank.
The food bank is happy, their clients get to eat freshly
made food and we have the pleasure of helping our community. It would be hard to improve on that!
We thought we knew him
It’s official: we’ve joined the sandwich generation. This year
we installed a revolving door for the kids and helped both
our mothers downsize into new digs. Consequently Eric kept
closer to home than he usually does, but, to our surprise,
he didn’t mind.
He spent the winter shuttling between Toronto and the
Lodge, camping out in our unwinterized house and visiting
his 90-yearold mom in
Huntsville. He
mastered the
new online
booking system,
caught up on
paperwork, and
thoroughly enjoyed
Eric walks on water in the winter.
the solitude. One
night he slept outside – in a bivy sack, in minus-31-degree
cold – just because he could.
Eric did manage to get away a few times; even had a
close call while skiing in British Columbia with daughter
Samantha. When he fell into a tree well (a space as deep as
10 feet, close to the trunk where the snow has melted away),
he got tangled in branches and couldn’t reach his emergency
whistle. Luckily, Sam saw him go in and rallied their guides
to help him out.
Back in Toronto, Eric astounded Poppy by joining her in a
four-day sewing “boot camp.” He wanted to learn the basics
to fix camping equipment, but the class was constructing
skirts. Unabashed, he made one for Poppy – complete with
zipper – and promised Charlotte one for her 21st birthday.
Some might say that takes more courage than trekking across
a Patagonian ice cap!
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Many guests have politely and reasonably enquired
when they would be able to reserve a cabin online.
In other words, when in the good-golly name of
progress were we going to join the 21st century?!
We had some reservations of our own:
1) We like personal contact, talking to our
guests and getting to know their preferences.
2) Each of our cabins is unique and it’s not easy to
describe them without getting bogged down in detail.
But the time has arrived: reservation programs have
come a long way and we’ve run out of excuses – er, reasons.
After a good deal of study, Eric figured out how to present
our process in a simple and straightforward way.
In other words, as of this spring you can go online, enter
your dates and the number of guests in your party, and view
pictures and locations of various
cabins. Then you can determine
which cabin types are available and
reserve the one you like online.
You can still reserve by calling
our toll-free number, emailing or
even writing us a letter. We’d still
love to talk with you, but one
way or another, we’ll confirm your booking within 24 hours.
Note: If you would like to book a specific cabin, multiple
cabins or bring a dog, please contact us directly.
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Without television, internet or telephones, we got to know our three teenaged daughters again at
Crowe Cottage ... and we liked them! Thank you.
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Mash notes we love to get
Jonathan, Al, Char and Sam in a rare moment together.
Reaching new benchmarks
Some of you have watched the kids grow from bright, energetic youngsters into smart, confident adults. It hasn’t always
been smooth, and they’re sometimes reluctant to see themselves in the newsletter – but they love the Lodge and
they put up with us. Here’s what we’re permitted to divulge
this year:
Samantha (Sam), 25, was beyond
ecstatic when she was accepted into
the prestigious Ontario Veterinary College
in Guelph. After pushing, prodding and poking large animals for the last several months,
she still glows with enthusiasm. As well as learning how to treat cows, horses, pigs and sheep, she
made great people-friends. She’s looking forward
to working in a Toronto emergency animal clinic this
summer, but she’s really excited about a two-week
marine veterinarian course – in the Cayman Islands.
Way to go, girl!
Alexandra (Al), 22, enjoyed her stint in Cape
Town last year so much that she spent the first half of winter
earning enough money to go back for the second half. After
coming home in April, she’s planning to work until she can
return to South Africa once again. She may continue her
education there, perhaps in hotel management. Travel and
hospitality ... hmmm, sound like good ideas to us!
Charlotte (Char), 21, has just finished four years and
an honours degree in art history at Queen’s University in
Kingston. Academically and socially, her undergraduate years
were an eye-opening and dramatic experience (she got into
theatre). Having saved money from a parttime job at Queen’s, she’ll spend the summer in Europe with her best friend, and
end up with Christina’s family in Greece.
A master’s degree may be in her future;
the question is, in what?
Jonathan, 20, was benched for most
of the winter because he had to wear a cast
after complicated wrist surgery. So instead
of hockey, Jonathan practised patience and
pain management. He was not happy. On
the other hand (sic), he brought his
grade average into the 80s and was
thrilled to be accepted into university.
And he devised a way to hold a pole
so he could go skiing with Eric for a
few days – clever lad.
We’re not allowed to disclose
more, but we can report that adults
are easier to live with than teenagers. Not only do they solve their own
problems, sometimes they help us
with ours. Life is good!
See you soon,
Killarney Lodge
Box 10005, Algonquin Park,
Ontario P1H 2G9
Telephone:
May to October (705) 633-5551
Winter (416) 482-5254
Toll-free 1-866 473-5551
Web site:
www.killarneylodge.com