a peek inside the fishbowl

26 Jul, 2007

Family fun: Explore Lusk Caves

Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Ottawa for kids|Easy ways to make kids happy|Photography

[Edited below] 

Here is a wee photographic clue:

DSC_3181.JPG 

DSC_3182.JPG

I’ll spill the beans after I get a few good guesses. :)

The dramatically fearful expressions, the bathing suits, the woodsy background … Anne, you were closest to guessing. We went on a mini-adventure to explore Lusk Cave in Gatineau Park.

The last time I’d been to Lusk Cave was with Mark, oh, about 12 years ago. I couldn’t remember much about it, other than (a) the beach nearby (b) walking through the cave, shoulder-deep in water with my backpack on my head and (c) that it was fun.

The reason I wanted to renew my relationship with Lusk Cave was because I had mentioned it in a recent article I wrote for Where magazine about top places to go with kids. If I was going to talk the talk, I had to walk the walk.

And WALK we did. It’s a 5km hike in, and 5 km hike out.   

Anyway, I hesitate to write anything more about it right now, because this is material is also going to be published elsewhere and I want to save it. :)

But in the meantime, if you’re looking for something a little different to do … this is it. The kids were a little nervous going in, but they loved it. We’re already talking about a return trip next summer.

Thinking about going? Check out some of my pics on flickr. You’ll get a better idea of what our little adventure was all about.

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11 Responses to "Family fun: Explore Lusk Caves"

2 | Anne

July 24th, 2007 at 8:46 pm

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the cavernes lafleche?!

3 | nancy

July 24th, 2007 at 9:35 pm

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Gatineau Park?

4 | Jen

July 25th, 2007 at 7:00 am

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Wow! Those pictures look like the fall is already here!! :(

5 | Jen_nifer

July 25th, 2007 at 7:54 am

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Gatineau Park is my guess as well.

6 | Pamela

July 25th, 2007 at 12:19 pm

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I think the Mill of Kintail…

7 | BeachMama

July 25th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

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Ooh ooh did you go to Camp Fortune to climb the trees and carabene through the woods??

8 | BeachMama

July 26th, 2007 at 11:21 am

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I have to honestly say that I have never been. How did you kids wade through water that was shoulder deep for you? And how did you keep your camera dry?

9 | andrea

July 27th, 2007 at 8:40 am

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BeachMama – I was pretty paranoid about dropping my camera. We only went partway through the cave system. The water level depends on the season. If it’s been wet and rainy the water in the caves is higher than if it’d been dry.

It’s been wet and rainy. :)

It was exciting even though we didn’t go all the way through. Best of all, it was amazing to see what this experience did for Emma and Sarah’s confidence. They were nervous going in, but felt like supergirlcaveexplorers on the way out.

We’re definitely coming back next summer and trying it again.

10 | a peek inside the fish bowl

June 1st, 2008 at 8:20 pm

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[…] cake in the Easy Bake Oven, feeding the chickadees, planting a seed, making up songs, exploring caves, or making your own Christmas […]

11 | We braved the cave (again) at a peek inside the fishbowl

August 26th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

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[…] first ventured into the dank darkness that is known as the Lusk Caves around this time last year. The water level was pretty high, we were all rather freaked out (okay, maybe that was just me), […]

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My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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