We've got kayaks!

A couple of weeks ago, a big truck pulled up in front of the Oxtongue Lake store. Inside were 94 shiny new kayaks and canoes from our friends at Confluence Watersports, the distributor for Dagger, Perception and Mad River Canoe (to mention a few).

Empty truck = big pile of boats!

We are really excited about the new models, as they feature improved seats, lighter weight hulls (which I noticed right away unloading the truck!) and a few changes to the line-up.

While we do have all these new kayaks, there are still a few 2006 models left over at some great prices. A kayak will fit under a Christmas tree! Last year a customer bought his wife a kayak for Christmas and even wrapped it! If you'd like to find out more about what's available, call Randy at our Huntsville store: 1-705-787-0262, ext. 36.

Ice in Algonquin Park

Ice forming on Oxtongue Lake, Nov. 24, 2006

The photo above highlights two things we haven't seen for a while: blue sky and a frozen lake. Recent cold evening temperatures and daytime highs just above freezing have made for good ice-forming weather. The bay in front of our Oxtongue Lake store has been frozen over for two days, despite the sun. While there have been a few flurries, no snow has stayed on the ground for very long yet.

After a very dreary, wet and cloudy fall, it is a real morale boost to have a few days of sunny weather!

Map crisis over!

See what happens when you go on holiday...

From mapsforcanadians.ca:

Update from Minister Gary Lunn, our Minister of Natural Resources, October 12, 2006: Federal Government Stays in the Paper Map Business...

Your Letters and Emails did make a difference

On the morning of October 11, 2006 the Map Uses Advisory Committee was contacted by Kathleen Olson, Acting Director of Communications to the Minister of Natural Resources. Ms. Olson wanted to make key stakeholder groups aware of Minister Lunn’s recent decision to keep the Canada Map Office open. According to Ms. Olson, “as soon as this was brought to Minister Lunn’s attention he recognized the need to continue this service to stakeholders and Canadians.”

ACMLA is proud to have played a part in bringing this critical issue to the attention of interested Canadians and to the Government of Canada. We look forward to continuing to work with Minister Lunn and the Ministry of Natural Resources to ensure that Canadians have access to printed topographic maps.

Thank you to all who have supported this and to Minister Gary Lunn for listening.

Heather McAdam
Chair, Map Users Advisory Committee, Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (Carleton University Library, Ottawa, Ontario)