This last weekend we were out of town again celebrating our friend Alysha's birthday up in cottage country. While there we took a little trip to some nearby caves.
Luke entering the caves.
On Friday evening we hitched a ride out of the city, making our way away from the high rises and lights of the city. A couple of hours later we arrived at Alysha's family cottage and settled into a relaxing weekend on the lake, and hanging out with a couple of fine canines: Opie and Petey.
Dog bros.
After a great sleep and slow start on Saturday, during which Luke decided he needed a quick (<1 min) dip in the chilly lake, we all jumped in a car to go for a bit of exploring at the nearby Warsaw Caves. These limestone caves are the result of glacial melting at the end of the last ice age. Unlike many of the caves we've visited before, they are not all that welcoming to visitors: we had to pick our way across some slippery rocks, and descend carefully into down into some pretty tight spaces to enter the caves. They apparently continue for quite far underground, but we didn't dare to squeeze our way in any further. Instead, we set off along a nearby trail.
Hunting for caves.
The caves are located within the larger Warsaw Caves Conservation Area, so the surrounding scenery was lush and beautiful. We decide to explore some of the trails that took us through the woods towards a great lookout over the nearby river (as well as another lookout...onto a road...featuring a dead porcupine). We also followed come signs towards "The Kettles" - we had no idea what they were, and after the walk, we're still not entirely sure. Maybe this very circular hole in the ground?
The lookout.
On our way back to the cottage we stopped by Warsaw itself. In particular, we hit up The Butter Tart Factory. It didn't disappoint, and we enjoyed our fill of butter tarts over the next two days. Luke was particularly fond of the maple bacon tart. Genius.
We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying a fire by the lake, playing with dogs (or watching them play with each other), a couple of drinking games and lots of good food. All in all it was a great weekend hanging out with friends, making our first experience of Ontario's cottage country a good one.
We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying a fire by the lake, playing with dogs (or watching them play with each other), a couple of drinking games and lots of good food. All in all it was a great weekend hanging out with friends, making our first experience of Ontario's cottage country a good one.
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