"North Bay Life Summer 2006" North Bay by tonyleetv

I have lived everywhere across Canada....born in Nova Scotia and have lived way up in Fort McMurray, Alberta! But when I was younger I lived in Callander for about a year then moved to North Bay for 6 months. I loved it so much that last year when looking for somewhere to live with my young family I showed my husband the area. He fell in love with it and we moved. Since we work from home we can live anywhere and had made the mistake of moving way up to the Thunder Bay area for 2 years. So we didn't want to make the same mistake twice.....we did some research. North Bay has gymnastics, swimming, skiing, biking, fishing, hunting, boating, dancing, hiking, walking, site seeing, museums (Dionne Quints and waterfront) camping and yet has all the amenities that a town would have, banks, malls, transit service, water, hydro, garbage, and RECYCLING!!!!

It is perfect cottage country all year round! I can have bonfires in my back yard and have had up to 16 deer in my backyard yet I have all the services of city living. It doesn't get better than this. I looked up gymnastics in Ontario (when we were deciding were to live) and the only other place I would consider living now in my life would be Barrie. I have lived in Windsor, London, Hamilton, Kitchener, and other places that have gymnastics but didn't want to move back to these places! Northern Bay is perfect because we are relatively close to major cities yet far enough away to keep from getting caught up in the hustle and bustle!

All I can say is WOW! What a hike. It was gorgeous. At first we drove by it. As you are leaving North Bay towards Sudbury (Highway 17 I think it is). You will see a sign Duchesnay Creek. Surprisingly it is really close to the City but looks like nothing until you turn around and come back then you see the falls. The forest covers the view from the Highway a bit. The falls are cascading but you park your car on the shoulder and you can walk to the bottom and hike up to the top where you can cross a bridge and go back down the other side of the falls! They are a lot larger than I initially thought. It looks like some construction has been started to make it more of a tourist point. Some walking paths have been started and cleared and it looks like they may even put in a parking lot! Pictures to follow! If you are in the area it is a must see!

There is more to the downtown water front than just water and beach. There is a dock where they have the Chief Commanda Cruises, they have a wonderful playground and area for children, they have a nice walking path, ampitheater, gazebo, parking, lifeguard, 2 merry-go-rounds and a little train ride. The rides are a buck a piece or 6 for $5.00. Inexpensive for the whole family! It costs that much to go on the little rides at the mall!!!

• Pros:Too much to list! Check my First Chapter
• Cons:Shad Flys for 2 weeks, spiders and no TACO BELL! But the pros far outway the cons!!!
• In a nutshell:Peaceful!