When we first visited Killarney a few years ago we loved it so much that we knew we would have to go back. It’s a beautiful park, which of course means it’s also extremely popular and booking a site needs to be done well in advance. So when I happened to check last minute and saw an opening for three nights starting on a Saturday – clearly a cancellation – we jumped on it, despite the facts that we had tickets to a concert Friday night and that we would be getting back only two days before leaving for our vacation to British Columbia!
Saturday
Heading to Killarney means a long day of driving for us – especially after a late night at a Skyiggers/Paul Langois concert in the county (which was awesome!) – but we knew it would be worth it. We arrived pretty late so we quickly set up camp and cooked up some supper consisting of potatoes over the fire with some burgers. The evening brought with it some light rain, so we enjoyed playing a game of Catan in our screen shelter. Car camping certainly does have some benefits.
On the road 
Potatos and veggies cookin 
Camp views 
Ready 
Yummy! 
Happy boy being fed 
PS. I won.
After our game the sky decided to give us a break and we headed down to the beach to check out the sunset and dip our toes in the water. The lake was so warm that we wanted to jump right in, but we knew that over the next few days the water would be perfect for swimming.
It just so happened that this trip coincided with the 50th anniversary of landing on the moon so in the evening there was a park program at the amphitheater where we learned a little out the moon, the astronauts that landed on the moon, and watched the video of Neil Armstrong’s moon walk timed to the second of the actual landing event. After the program there was also supposed to be a star walk with a chance to look through the telescope in the park’s observatory, but the rain had started again. At this point it was getting close to midnight and we were ready for bed anyway, although we were disappointed not to get to check out the observatory.
Sunday morning
Our morning plans were something a little different than what we would have normally pursued, due to there being another special even happening at the park. After eating breakfast we headed to an area in the park known as Sunset Rock to participate in a session called Artist in Residence, where during the summer, Killarney has artists share their skills and knowledge and teach mini art lessons. Our session was hosted by Danielle Gardner who taught us all about the use of water colors and some basics of composition. Obviously we did not all become awesome artists immediate, but maybe some hidden talents surfaced a little. The session lasted around 2 hours and at the end the three of us came away with nice little paintings of the surrounding landscapes.
Yummy pancakes 
Morning smiles 
Teaching 
Myself and Danielle 
Boys hard at work 
Looking at all the wonderful art 
Our take away art pieces 
Sunday Afternoon
Since it was getting really hot and Hayden was just dying to go swimming, we headed to the rocky shores to enjoy the beautiful water. After spending some time jumping off the rocks, we went over to the beach and snorkeled around looking for creatures under the water.
Jumping from higher spots this year 
All done
Once we were dried off we headed to Killarney Outfitters, since I needed to purchase a new toothbrush to replace the one that I dropped on the floor in the comfort station (there was no way I would even attempt to use that again!) Then we proceeded into the town of Killarney as we needed more ice for our cooler. It also gave us the chance to walk around and get some fries from Herbert’s. We are not huge fish people so were happy to munch on a load of fries as they make a great afternoon snack.
So many things I want from here 
Yummy Herbert’s fries
Sunday evening
As we got closer to the days end, we took the canoe to George Lake for a lovely paddle. We circled a portion of the lake from the pink quartz to the white quartzite cliffs. We slowly paddled and checked out a few of the campsites on George (they were occupied), and even found some really neat features in the rock faces. Can you see the mans face in the rock picture below?
She is a beauty 
Amazing views from George Lake beach 
Looking up at the cliffs 
Can you see the face? 
Look at those lines! 
Found a beaver hauling some branches
Good night
With the long day behind us, we settle in by the campfire and watch the light fade on our day. On Monday we explored something new (and a little intimidating). Come back for Part 2 next week to find out all about it!
Ahhhhh 
The perfect s’more