Almonte, ON
Source (an article from when the sign was stolen!)
Mill of Kintail Conservation Area Rita and I began our day with some hiking at Mill of Kintail Conservation Area. It started to snow as we were driving there, so we experienced a white, wintery walk! We parked at the main entrance, where I paid the admission fee at a pay station. From here, we walked up to the footbridge over the Indian River where the main trails begin. Next to the footbridge is the Mill of Kintail itself, which houses a museum commemorating national historic figures R. Tait McKenzie and James Naismith (more on him later!). It was not open, being off-season, but there seems to be uncertainty in the future of the museum due to funding cuts. We then took the Forest Hike trail and the Secret Snowshoe Loop. Both looked extremely magical in the snow and were easy to navigate due to frequently marked trees corresponding to the colour code of each trail.
This is how we look on our road-trips
Almonte Town Next we visited Almonte, which has served as the filming location for multiple Hallmark Christmas movies. I was so thankful it had snowed to really bring this to life! First we visited a Christmas Craft fair in the Almonte Square shopping plaza off Ottawa Street, a bit outside the centre of town. Rita was allowed in as there was a Pet Valu in the shopping plaza, and by association was allowed in the plaza! Lucky for her, there were a couple of doggy stalls. She particularly loved her new bandana from Chic Companion. I was more pleased with my purchase of body butter from Naturelle, and the stall owner here really loved Rita too!
In the town centre, we took in the quaint sights of the Town Hall and the Old Post Office. Rita also posed by a statue of James Naismith , the inventor of basketball, from Almonte. Shops here tended to be dog-friendly. We particularly loved Cheerfully Made and Tin Barn Market. Each of them had something for Rita too! We also visited Chew-That pet shop, where Rita must have understood the name, and helped herself to a dehydrated meat chew, forcing me to buy it!
On our way back to the car, we wandered along the Riverwalk, alongside the Mississippi. The Barley Mow restaurant, which sits along the trail, boosts a two-storey dog-friendly patio overlooking the river but unfortunately for us, the patio was closed for the season. It looked like a nice spot!
Rita with James
Rita: A Christmas Adventure. Coming to a theatre near you.
Saunders Farm Country Christmas Light Drive-through On our way back to our AirBnB in Smiths Falls, we stopped at Saunders Farm. Unfortunately they are not dog-friendly :( but Rita was still able to appreciate their Country Christmas from the car. This was a drive-through light show and we tuned into their radio station playing accompanying Christmas music. It really was amazing and a lot of effort had gone into making it an experience to remember! Afterwards, I let Rita chill in the car while I popped into the farm shop. Here I bought some Christmas decorations and a Country Christmas logo sticker to remember our very own Hallmark day!
