A Picture Really Does Tell a Thousand Words

Relive the best of 2013 in Northwest Ontario through a summary of our photo posts on Facebook.

Sunset Country enjoyed some wild weather, lot's of great fishing action and overall experienced a great year. Here is a round up of the photos that made it to the Ontario's Sunset Country Facebook page. Whether they were our own or photos that we shared, I'm sure you'll enjoy remembering the year through the following photos:

January 

The weather in January was a mixture of cold and mild days. Locals and visitors alike headed out on the ice to do a little ice fishing. By most accounts, the fishing was good. Rick caught this 30" walleye at Harris Hill Resort on Lake of the Woods. 

February

There were many winter carnivals in February and March such as the Dryden Winter Festival, Vermilion Bay Winter Carnival, the Kenora Winter Carnival and Nestor Falls Winter Carnival. Winter's here for several months, so you might as well have fun right? The Thomas the Tank Engine Shack took first place in Dryden's "Pimp Your Ice Shack" competition at the Dryden Winter Carnival. For more photos of the Dryden Winter Festival visit their Facebook Page.

March

2012 saw a really early Spring and record ice outs. Fast forward to 2013 and what a difference! Winter held on and it seemed to jump right into summer. The ice was barely out on walleye opening weekend (third Saturday in May) and some of the remote outposts still had ice on the opening weekend. 

April

Winter continued into April as is evidenced in the above photo of one of the April storms in Thunder Bay sent into Magic 99.9. Usually, April rains clean up the streets and help to start turning things green. I'm pretty sure it didn't rain this year. Thunder Bay was especially hard hit with many huge dumps of snowfall. Canadians normally talk a lot about the weather, but everyone could be heard talking about the winter that would never end.

May

Many of the lodge owners work hard the last couple of weeks in April and the first three weeks in May in order to open for their summer season which usually coincides with the walleye season opener. Much of this work had to be delayed because of the snow and ice still hanging around. Indianhead Lodge on Lake of the Woods in Sioux Narrows shown above had most of their ice gone by mid-May. Everyone was counting down the days to the opener and many bets were placed as to what day the ice would go out on their lakes. One of the most asked questions to Ontario's Sunset Country was "Will the ice be out by the time I get up there?". Thankfully most of the guests were able to fish, even though some may have dodged some ice patches. 

June

After spawning late, the walleye fishing action began to heat up in June. With the cold weather, anglers had to change their fishing tactics, but patience started to pay off. Katie Kalk sent in this photo above of a 28" walleye caught on Rainy Lake at Camp Narrows Lodge. The weather finally started to feel like summer.

July

July started with a bang as many communities celebrated Canada Day with festivities including fireworks. Most of the towns and cities in Northwest Ontario are fortunate to have fireworks over the water. The reflections on the lakes add so much to the fireworks display. In Kenora, many people head out onto Lake of the Woods to watch them from their boats. 

On a perfectly clear day, thousands of fans headed out to the Kenora Airport to watch the Kenora Air Show. Fans weren't disappointed with appearances from Canada's Snowbirds, Bill Carter Aerobatics, Kent Pietsch Airshows, Super Dave Shows and the CF-18 Hornet Demo Team. Visit our Facebook page for more photos of the Kenora Air Show.

Weights and Wheels, formerly the Strongman Competition, is held as part of Moosefest in Dryden. Weights and Wheels combine the Strongman events with a Show and Shine of antique and specialty cars. Moosefest is held at the end of June and the beginning of July each summer.

The Onigaming Pow Wow is just one of the many Pow Wows held throughout the summer in Northwest Ontario. Everyone should enjoy at least one Pow Wow in their lifetime. This traditional Pow Wow is held at the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation just outside of Nestor Falls. Ihor Kor photographs Pow Wows throughout North America. Visit www.facebook.com/powwowphotos to see more of the beautiful Pow Wow photos. 

For the second year in a row, the Stanley Cup came to Lake of the Woods. Last year Mike Richards of the LA Kings brought home the Cup to Kenora and took the Cup paddleboarding on Lake of the Woods. Jonathon Toews is from Winnipeg, but has a cottage on Lake of the Woods and spent some time on the lake with the Cup. The Keeper of the Cup must get to have a ton of fun while the players get their day with the cup. 

August

This beautiful carving was carved into a tree downtown Fort Frances. The tree is in front of the Living Art Emporium where some of Joe's pieces are available for sale. Like the Downtown Fort Frances Facebook page for more photos and events of Fort. 

 September

September saw great weather giving outdoor enthusiasts the chance to head outside. The Dryden Kayak and Canoe Club get together once a week to paddle the lakes and rivers surrounding Dryden. The photo above depicts the beauty they get to experience from the water. To find out more about paddling in Sunset Country visit our paddling page.

October

Erin McCuaig's entry into the annual cover photo contest for the Kenora phonebook

Every year KMTS holds a photo contest for the cover of the Kenora phone book. Erin McCuaig sent in the above scenic photo.

November

Winter can be so beautiful! November saw quite a bit of snow, making the snowmobilers and skiers happy.

The Candle Festival of Lights at the Lake of the Woods Cemetary
 

The snowy conditions continued into December. Every December 24th volunteers light thousands of ice candles and place them throughout the Lake of the Woods Cemetary in Kenora. People come to visit loved ones' graves or just to wander the cemetery and look at all the beautiful candles. There are thousands of ice candles that light up the area. Many people have made it a Christmas tradition to visit the cemetery on Christmas Eve.

So that sums up our year in Ontario's Sunset Country. Although it really just scratches the surface of everything that happened in Northwest Ontario this year. If you'd like to keep up with what's happening in Northwest Ontario, like us on one of our Facebook pages: www.facebook.com/SunsetCountry or www.facebook.com/SunsetCountryEvents. You can also check out the Sunset Country Events calendar for pow-wows, festivals, fishing tournaments, and more.

Since it's the end of 2013, I have written a few articles summarizing our year in Northwest Ontario. Check out:

• Sunset Country's Best Sunsets of 2013
• Sunset Country's Best fish photos of 2013; no fish tales here!
• Sunset Country's Most Popular posts in 2013

Cheers! Have a great 2014.

Order your free Sunset Country Travel Guide & Map for more vacation ideas.

Find Your True North

Sign up now to get stories, news, and travel tips

First name

Email address

Subscribe

We will never spam you and will never share your e-mail. Please see our privacy policy.

Thank you for subscribing!

Showing 'Edited Body' is no longer supported.