Wild Space Weblog

Canadian Vacations - Great Deals

2008-10-17T10:47:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone,
Most of you have probably noticed the falling oil prices, but many of you may not have been watching the Canadian Dollar go down as well. The Canadian dollar is very strongly tied to oil prices. This means travel to Canada has become a great deal both because most world currencies have gained significantly more value against the Canadian Dollar lately, and travel by car or plane here is now a lot less expensive as fuel prices are down. The US Dollar is now 15%-20% higher than the Canadian Dollar, The Euro is now worth $1.60 Canadian, and the UK Pound is now worth $2.00 Canadian. We have updated our approximate exchange rates on our website at:
www.WildernessIsland.com/rates/.
Any payments or deposits paid now on next summers vacations will enjoy the current high exchange rate. If any of you would like to pay the balance of your next years vacation now in case the exchange rate goes back down, we would be happy to hear from you.
We are hoping the exchange rate and oil prices stay low for next summer to help all of you enjoy great Canadain Vacations here at our wilderness island vacation and fishing resort.
Hope you are having a very enjoyable Autumn season wherever you are
Al & Doris Errington

End of the Season

2008-09-22T17:32:00.010-04:00

Hello everyone,
Well this is the sad day. Our last guests of the season left today and we are now busily closing up the resort for the winter.
We already have all the boats up in front of the lodge and are starting to work on them for next year.

Business was slower this year, and a lot of rain in the early summer and spring, but fishing was great and we really enjoyed all your visits to our resort. It was another great year here.

For those of you who have not yet reserved your vacation for next year, remember our early reservation rate for reservations made before the end of September.

Hope you are all doing well.

Al, Doris and all the gang at Wabatongushi Lake,

Photographers Dream

2008-09-08T12:53:00.004-04:00

Greetings from Wilderness Island Resort Ontario Canada

I have taken some amazing pictures at the resort so I thought I would put up a few of them. Please don't steal them.

The first picture was a 'American Robin' that had fell out of the nest. Morgan, Devin and I, all pitched in an raised this little guy named "Bubba" until she/he fledged and eventually left the nest and wandered around on the island. Guests would buy worms just to feed this neverending stomach. This was a picture taken in front of the lodge on the deck. "Bubba" would fly on peoples heads and make him/herself at home.

The second picture is Yellow Warbler eggs. As with all the nest that I find or stumble upon, I usually have some scale involved so you can see how big or small the eggs are. This nest, the birds had already fledged but this was one egg that was left and didn't hatch. You can see how extremely small this egg is, and if you remember Joey our cook, he had some mice get into his mattress, so the fluff that was left over he just put outside. And the Yellow Warblers used this material to build their nests. Smart little birds.

The third picture on the left are Common Loon eggs, I took this picture with a Canon EOS 300 SLR, due to the fact that she was off the nest when I took this picture I had to be quick, I only took 3 picture, but this was the best one.

The picture on the right are Herring Gull eggs. This was taken right in from of Big Sandy Beach, she was again off the nest, but since I was there she was not particulary happy with me and starting divebombing me.

These are some of the magnificent pictures I have taken at the resort, and only hope in the future will take more...

Fishing in Canada

2008-08-31T20:46:00.002-04:00

Hello from Wilderness Island Resort Ontario Canada

Here is a video of Devin and Morgan catching a Northern Pike while fishing up at the end of Long-Time-No-See-Um Bay.

They also caught some nice Walleyes that we ate as a evening snack when they came back. This was a fun video to watch though. As you can see Devin and Morgan really like fishing.

Have a Good Day!
Al Errington

Bear Watching

2008-08-29T15:43:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone

Here are a couple of the bears hanging out at Bear Point across the lake from our resort.

Have a Good Day
Al Errington

Perseid Meteor Shower Tonight

2008-08-11T18:09:00.006-04:00

We look forward to this celestial event every year. The Persied meteor shower occurs approximately the second week of August every year. It is a great night to grab a blanket, lay back on the grass and just let your eyes and soul drink in the night sky with the abundance of meteors streaking through it. We may get an extra bonus this year because there is fairly strong solar activity as well, so we may get strong Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, at the same time.

The moon will be a bit bright early in the evening when the meteor shower starts, so it may wash out some of the less bright meteors, but this is when you can get some really major streaks as well, as the "Earth Grazers" skim across the top of our atmosphere like my kids skip stones across the water.

Later tonight, after the moon sets about 2:00 am, the sky should get really busy with about 60 meteors per hour. The show will be great right up til the dark hours just before dawn if you are an early riser.

The Perseid meteor shower seems to streak our of the constellation Perseus in the north-east sky, hence it's name. The actual source of the Perseid meteor shower is the comet Swift-Tuttle. This comet is currently located out near Uranus but every August we pass through it's tail. The meteors that hit our atmosphere are actually very small, most not really any bigger than a speck of dust, but they are hitting our atmosphere at 132,000 mph/212,000 km/hr, so they have a lot of energy and even these tiny specks can make quite a show as they burn up and disintegrate in our upper atmosphere.

For those of you not here I hope you find your own space to set out your blanket and enjoy the celestial party with us tonight.

Have a Great Night!
Al Errington
Errington's Wilderness Island Resort
Ontario Canada
www.WildernessIsland.com

2008-07-25T10:47:00.002-04:00

Greetings from Wilderness Island Resort Ontario Canada This was a really gorgeous week. Sunny days, mid to high 70's for temperature and just creeping into the low 80's one day. Some really great fishing too. Here is a picture of the 37 in Northern Pike Scott Blackall caught and released, and the 26 inch Walleye Don Sutto caught and released.
Have a Good Day! Al Errington Errington's Wilderness Island Resort www.WildernessIsland.com

Thermacell Bug Repellent

2008-07-19T22:30:00.001-04:00

Greetings from Wilderness Island Resort Ontario Canada
Thermacell is a new type of bug repellent that keeps bugs out of a small area. I had seen them for sale but had not really researched them until there was an article in an Astronomy magazine. Astronomers and amateur star gazers usually don't like to use bug repellent lotions because they can damage their telescopes during handling. So a bug repellent that you just turn on and it just sit there keeping bugs away is very appealing to them. They tested a number of bug repellent devices and highly recommended the Thermacell.
I decided to get a couple Thermacells and try them, they work very well. I had a very good opportunity the last couple of days to give them a really good test. We have been doing a renovation on cabin #2 including a bunch of plumbing work under the cabin, a perfect mosquito haven. I was under the cabin for about 15 minutes swatting mosquitos when I remembered the Thermacells. I went and got one, turned it on, put under the cabin and in about 15 minutes the mosquitos were gone. It was almost enjoyable underneath the cabin.
The Thermacells work by warming a small fibre pad with repellent on it. One patch last about 4 hours and give you about a 15 foot diameter area with virtually no bugs. Because the repellent is airborn Thermacells are not affective in a wind or, unfortunately, if you are hiking or moving around. They are great however if you are sitting on a deck or out in a boat on a still evening. You can get Thermacells in most outdoor stores, Amazon sells them online, and we have them for sale here now too.

Happy Bug Free Vacations
Al Errington

Interpretive Trail

2008-07-18T09:49:00.004-04:00

Greetings from Wilderness Island Resort Ontario Canada

Hello this is Bobbi again, last time I wrote I didn't have time to talk about the interpretive trail that I did at the resort last year.

So, here goes...

When they eventually get put up, there are going to be interpretive signs on the main island and around the trails by the cabins. These interpretive signs tell what tree species we have on the lake, and useful tidbits about the individual tree. These can become very informative to people and gets people to know what the 'Boreal Forest' is like and the main tree species that we have on the lake. Useful tips such as identifying them, with leaves, bark and their silouette from afar.

The main species we have on the lake is Black Spruce, be we also have White Spruce, Jack Pine, White Birch, Trembling Aspen., just to name a few. A lot of people see these trees everyday and don't take the time to get to know them. So these interpretive signs will help and aid people and give them some knowledge of what tree species we have. So, I'm hoping people will learn a thing or two.

I hope these help tourists like yourself, and eventually when Abby and Doris have time, I mentioned if they could go on Timberwolf Island and get some 'tree cookies' ( a cross section of the tree) and send them to me and I can analyze them here in the lab, with the Dendrochronometer. This can tell me, signs of insect damage, thinning, fire, frost rings and the age of the tree. I hoping I can get a Black Spruce, White Spruce, Trembling Aspen, White Birch and Jack Pine. Basically, I just want to see what the tree growth is in that region. So, I'll keep you posted, and go out and enjoy those interpretive trails.

Bobbi
Forest Researcher
Canadian Wood Fibre Centre
Sault Ste. Marie

New dog Nikita

2008-07-14T14:54:00.020-04:00

Greetings from Wilderness Island Resort Ontario Canada
Hi, my name is Morgan Errington (Al and Doris's daughter). I have a great time up here; swimming, fishing, and watching the beauty of wildlife. I even like how my dogs interact with the wildlife. Especially our new puppy, Nikita, she is a German Shepherd/husky mix. We adopted her from the pound 5 months after sadly, we had to put Tasha down(our 17 year old German Shepherd mix). Sable, our Siberian Husky seamed very gloomy the first couple of months, after seeing him like that, we decided that we needed to get him a little play mate. So we kept a eye on the pound and were watching if any puppies would show up, that were very young. There were a couple of nice puppies there, but just really didn't fit in so well. Then a litter of about 10 pups came in, they were so adorable and were only 6 weeks old. So on the way into Sault Saint Marie, we stopped off at the Humane Society and were just melted by those little puppy faces. But their were three that we wanted the most, a big fluffy black and white fat one, one that looked like Nikita(shepherd looking), but was the runt, and Nikita. I picked up all the dogs and scratched out the runt because Nikita was really cute. Then as I held Nikita and my mom help the black and white one and as Nikita's little face was buried in my shoulder and the black and white one just laying there, then as Nikita started licking my face, I knew Nikita was the one. When we took her home to Sable, we didn't let them interact for the first day, just so that Nikita could get some rest. That night, I was in tears because Nikita was throwing up worms and blood everywhere and I thought she was going to die. It turned out that Nikita was passed on round worms through her mother as all her other litter mates got them to, so we went to the vet's office and got her some pills. I was releaved that she didn't have some type of disease that would kill her. So the next day we let Nikita and Sable interact a little bit and they were doing ok that day, and for a couple more days until Nikita got this thing where she wanted to bite ALL OF THE TIME, she would just keep on annoying Sable, it was funny how Sable reacted, but he would never ever try to kill her, but sometimes they rough play a little to much right now, but no dog gets hurt.

Nikita is now a healthy, nice and a very cute dog, she likes to tug and annoy sometimes, but she is a joy to have in the family.

Trophy Pike Fly Fishing

2008-07-13T08:44:00.005-04:00

Here is the 38 inch Northern Pike that Darryl Young caught and released June 30. Darryl caught this Pike on a 9 inch Pike Fly. This is a beautiful Pike and I think the largest I remember being caught on a fly rod on our Lake.
Congratulations and Thank You Darryl.

Al & Doris Errington

Trophy Walleye by Tom Holden

2008-07-05T18:21:00.011-04:00

Our Walleye Catch & Release contest got serious today when Tom Holden caught this beautiful 31-1/2" Walleye. From what we heard there was a lot of cheering for a few minutes as he and his brother Dan were landing and measuring her. They took a quick picture and returned her to the lake to continue contributing to quality fishing in Lake Wabatongushi.
This is a really beautiful Walleye that is probably about 30 years old and basically there is no chance that she is anything but a very large healthy female at the peak of her reproductive abilities. She has laid millions of eggs over the years and given her size and health, will probably lay close to a half million eggs next spring and hopefully for a number of years into the future. Congratulations Tom and thank you for releasing such a great fish so she can continue to contribute to Lake Wabatongushi's great fishing. You can click on Tom's picture to see a larger picture. For more information on size and age of Walleye and Northern Pike in our lake and area of Ontario Canada please go to our website at www.WildernessIsland.com/fishing/fish_age-size.html.

Have a Good Day!
Al & Doris Errington

Trophy Pike Fly Fishing

2008-07-02T13:53:00.011-04:00

The largest Northern Pike caught and release this year is now up to 38 inches and it was caught fly fishing. Daryl Young is a very avid fly fisherman and his favorite is fly fishing for Northern Pike. He ties his own flies. The fly he used to catch the 38 inch Northern Pike is about 9 inches long, dark with red highlights and a diving head.

We will post a picture of Daryl's Northern Pike as soon as he sends it to us.

A 38 inch Northern Pike is about 18 years old in our area and it is a 92% chance that it is a large female in her prime as a spawner. Thank you Daryl for releasing her so she can continue to contribute to high quality Northern Pike fishing in Lake Wabatongushi.

Have a Good Day!
Al & Doris Errington

Canada Border - Passports

2008-07-01T09:57:00.009-04:00

US citizens entering Canada. It is still pretty straightforward going into Canada through the land border crossings, however going back to the United States is becoming increasingly complicated. This year you still do not need a passport to go back to the US by land. You can still use a drivers license for identification and either a birth certificate of landed immigrant certificate if you need to show citizenship.

US Homeland Security's plan is to implement the passport requirement to enter the United States by land next June. If you do have a passport and are planning a trip to Canada, please use it. The customs and immigration people on both sides like passports and there is a definite tendency to allow people with passports to go through the border very quickly.

Some States and Provinces are beginning to issue enhanced drivers licenses that are secure documents that provide both identification and citizenship information. These should be just as useful and acceptable for Border officials as passports, and a lot more convenient to carry than passports since the huge downside of passports is they do not fit into a wallet.

You do need a passport to fly into Canada or the US. US citizens can still travel by land to Canada this year without a passport, but if you are planning a vacation to Canada after June of next year, you should start your US passport application now.

If you are going back to the United States by land next year, although adults will need a passport, children under 16 will not need a passport. Children not traveling with their parents will still require documentation and letters of permission. This requirement has been imposed at the Canada-US border for a very long time since both Canadian and US Border officials are a major force in the effort to find and help missing and exploited children.

The one significant complication in traveling to Canada over the past number of years are DUI's (Driving under the Influence). Over 10 years ago Drinking and Driving was changed to a serious federal offence in Canada. At first everyone with DUI's was being stopped at the border along with other people with minor and major criminal records. Over the last number of years it has become a lot more practical.

Under certain circumstances, persons with criminal records can enter Canada.

Deemed Rehabilitation - For all but the most serious offences, a person with a single conviction, who has completed their sentence more than 10 years ago, is deemed rehabilitated. There is no formal process for deemed rehabilitation, you simply go to the border, disclose your previous conviction, and the Canadian border official has the discretionary authority to admit you based on deemed rehabilitation.
Granted Rehabilitation - This is for people with more serious offences, more than one offence, or offences less than 10 years old. Canada has a formal process for granted rehabilitation where certain criteria is met. Generally 5 years must have passed from the completion of the most recent sentence, and evidence of rehabilitation may be required such as court documents, probation reports, and letters of reference. A personal interview may also be required. There is a fee, which is usually $200 but fees may be $1000 or more for very serious or complicated cases. The usual procedure to apply for granted rehabilitation is to apply through the nearest Canadian Consulate in your home country. This process can be lengthy and waits of 12 to 18 months for a determination are common in the more complicated cases. Granted Rehabilitation will remain in place for crossing the border into Canada as long as no new offences are incurred. New offences invalidate you Granted rehabilitation and the process must be started all over again.
Temporary Residence Permit - If you come to the border and have a DUI or other minor criminal convictions that are less than 10 years old, the Canadian Border officials can issue a temporary residence permit if they feel you would probably qualify for the Granted Rehabilitation above. This permit costs $200 and can be used to cross into Canada only once on the day it is issued. If you are issued a Temporary Residence Permit, you should apply for Granted Rehabilitation when you return home.

You should not try to deceive or mislead Canadian and US Border officials since they have access to most criminal records for almost every country in the world because of international cooperation among law enforcement agencies. If you have your documents in order and honestly provide the information the US and Canadian border officials request you should pass through the border in a couple of minutes. Although passports are not required to cross the US-Canada Border, if you have your passport with you it makes crossing the border very fast and pleasant because passports makes the border officials job very easy.

NOTO, Nature & Outdoor Tourism Ontario, the outdoor tourism organization for Ontario Canada, has been working with the Canadian and US Government as well as other organizations on Border issues. NOTO has a very informative bulletin board on Border Issues on their website at www.noto.net/bulletins/thread.cfm?threadid=4039. You can also email questions to the NOTO office at info@NOTO.net or phone Doug, Todd or Laurie at 705-472-5552.

Bobbi - Wilderness Experiences

2008-06-29T12:57:00.005-04:00

Hello, my name is Bobbi. (a.k.a Melissa J. Bob)

I first got hired at Erringtons Wilderness Islands in 2001, and I've been here ever since. When I first came to the lodge, I was in awe of the beauty and the seclusion. I came here as a new hired worker and was completely unexpected of what I was getting myself into.
Not only does the weather change at the drop of a dime, but with the new surroundings and new people, it almost felt like I was in the series "Survivor"
Since that first year I was hired I've seen many changes with the staff, but whats' more important, is that the Erringtons became a family to me, and the staff were also part of that extended family.
I grew up in more ways that I can describe at Erringtons. Not only as a mature young woman, but spiritually also. Being here made me pursue my love of Nature and the outdoors, and I enrolled in the Fish and Wildlife course. Now, I'm able to identify birds by flight, sound, and wing. I can now look at something and know exactly what it is. And from this I became the person to go to, when a guest saw something, or try to mimic a bird sound. This then led into the nature tours at the lodge. People like going for a walk around the island, and pointing out this and that, and me explaining what it is, and how to identify what it is.
After I graduated Fish and Wildlife, I entered the Forestry Technician course. Now, I'm a Forest Research Technician at the Forestry Research Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
Not only had Erringtons taught me a lot about myself, but I've also learned a lot from them. To AL (Abby), Doris, Morgan and Devin, and staff (Crystal, Adam, Franky, Lori, Larry, Vern, Joe, Ivan, Heather, Tasha, Sable and Nikita) Thanks for the wonderful memories!!

Bobbi

Bobbi Bob - Naturalist Introduction

2008-06-29T11:49:00.006-04:00

I have invited Melissa "Bobbi" Bob to be a contibutor to our Wild Space Weblog. Most of our guests will remember Bobbi as the tall first nations girl who knows everything about birds and plants. Bobbi has been our staff naturalist for a number of yearsbut has now moved on to a job with the federal government as a Forestry technician. We will miss Bobbi here at the resort but are happy with where she is going with her life. We are also happy that she is willing to occasionally contribute to our Weblog.

Have a Good Day!
Al & Doris Errington

Spring Walleye Fishing Canada

2008-06-27T10:40:00.005-04:00

Walleye fishing has been incredible this year. As most of you know it has been a cooler, and wetter, than normal spring, although today is really gorgeous. The cooler water and the stimulation of precipitation has really kept the Walleye exceptionally aggressive this year. In other words they are really fat and sassy. We have had lots of fish for shore lunches and our Catch and Release log is filling up rapidly. The feedback is that the average Walleyes are running around 17" and there are a lot of comments on how thick (fat) they are. They are not really fat but they do have a lot of meat on them and they definitely taste great.
The largest Walleye release so far is a 25" Walleye caught and released by Brian Mack. The largest Northern Pike released so far is a 37" Northern Pike Caught and Released by Tim Howson. This far north i25" Walleye and 37" Northern Pike would both be about 17 years old and it is approximately a 90% chance that these fish are large healthy female fish in that are prime spawners. For more information on fish size, age, and maturity for our area you can go to our website at www.WildernessIsland.com/fishing/fish_age-size.html.
We thank Tim Howson , Brian Mack and all of our guests who contribute to ongoing fishing quality in Lake Wabatongushi by releasing the large fish that are the high quality female spawning size fish that our fishing needs to stay great.
Thank You Everyone!
Al Errington

Welcome to Wilderness Island Resort Weblog

2008-06-24T14:59:00.005-04:00

Welcome to Wild Space, our Blog for Errington's Wilderness Island Resort. We hope you find our Blog interesting and come back often.

Have a Good Day!
Al, Doris, Devin and Morgan Errington
and all of our staff at
Errington's Wilderness Island Resort
www.WildernessIsland.com