National Treasure

Me in the lobby.

The daughter and I recently treated ourselves to a weekend on the 4th floor of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. What a treat. Everyone should do this at least once in their life. Definitely bucket list material.
The staff are amazing and the food and ambiance lives up to the service.  There is so much history wrapped up in this beautiful hotel that it gives me goosebumps. Just wandering the halls is a memorable experience but my three top picks: 4th floor lounge and staff
, Zoe's, and the art deco pool. So if you are heading to Ottawa this is a "must visit."

Salmon Smoking Day

Ya gotta' love salmon smoking day! It makes me feel oh so Canadian.

How Lucky We Are

Fabulous Ontario winter weekend.  Our guests were busy doing all kinds of things. Cross country skiing, snowmobiling, dog sledding and touring. Our sledders report great trails from Mattawa to Huntsville. Cold nights and warmer days have made great grooming conditions. Our skiers spent a lovely day in Algonquin Park and are going to check out the new Opeongo Nordic Ski Club on their way home to Ottawa.  We are very excited about this new club with 10 km of groomed trails. You can check them out at www.opeongonordic.com. Thanks to all our great guests this weekend, old friends and new, for making this job a joy.

Great Weekend

Well it was a wonderful weekend for sledding. We had a lovely group of guests, all snowmobilers, all off in different directions. Everyone had a great time and declared the trails to be in great shape. Our guests who usually snowmobile on the "other" side of the park aka: Muskoka, were really impressed with the decreased volume of traffic.  We keep telling people it really is worth the drive to the Madawaka Valley! It's snowing like crazy this morning, getting ready for more riding next weekend.

Merry Merry!

I am the worst blogger in the world.  I figure who wants to hear me dither on about things.  But today was so beautiful I had to show you.  I went out to shovel just as the sun broke through.  We have had at least a foot of new lovely snow.  The groomers at the ski hill and on the trails will be working like mad to get everything ship shape for the holidays.  May everyone have a healthy and happy holiday.  Safe journey for all who are on the move.

Take a Deep Breath

This is my favourite time of year.  Everything is starting to shoot, the birds are returning, including the White Crowned Sparrow with it's amazing song, and the air is sooooo sweet.  I follow @The GirdTO on twitter to keep up with all things Toronto (and the daughter) and I often feel a bit wistful thinking of all the goings on that I miss, but then I step outside and take a deep breath and remember why I love the Madawaska Valley and now call it home.

Email Problems

Over the last few months we have been working on our new website.  We are having difficulties with the email and for this I must apologize to anyone who has had an email to us go unanswered.  Our correct address is info@madawaskavalleyinn.com and hopefully soon our web people will get this fixed.

 I hope you enjoy the new site once we get the kinks worked out and again my sincere apoplogies.

Nancy