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married  a  local  woman,  Angele, whose  First  Na-
          tions people still live on Bear Island in Lake Temag-
          ami. The Temagami region covers approximately
          1.5 million acres and is home to the world’s largest
          old-growth red- and white-pine forests.

          Besides the red and white pines, there are spruce,
          birch, aspen, maple and oak trees, many turning
          the landscape red, orange and yellow in fall, which
          the Group of Seven frequently captured beautifully.

          About a 4-1/2-hour drive from Toronto, Smooth-
          water sits next to James Lake, a part of the ancient
          canoe trails that define Temagami, which means
         “deepwater” in the local Ojibway language.

          There are more than 1,500 miles of canoe trails in
          Temagami, where some portages date back 6,000
          years.

          We went canoeing one afternoon at Smoothwa-
          ter, whose name befits the placid waters we glided
          upon. But we had come mostly to paint.

         “You’ll get plugged into a really strong force here --
          nature,” Caryn told us during our first meeting in
          the lodge’s wonderful window-walled Gathering
          Hall overlooking James Lake. “I want you to feel
          the mystical draw of this place. Temagami is a pow-
          er spot in the world where the Earth’s magnetic
          field holds a lot of precious metals. I want you to
          take pleasure in the land as inspiration.”

          Caryn gave us lots of instruction in watercolor, but
          her greatest gift was simple encouragement.

         “Don’t be too reined in by the end result,” she ad-
          vised. “We just want to enjoy the creative experi-
          ence of it.”

          We took our painting supplies on some splendid
          field trips.

          One afternoon we barged across Lake Temagami
          to High Rock, an important site for First Nations
          people here, since it affords a 360-degree lookout
          and its 300-foot height brings them closer to the
          heavens.

          We hiked up a trail carved through roots and rocks,
          winding through jack pines and peeling birch trees,
          until we could see the enormous lake dotted with


          Opposite : Canoeing is a big pastime throughout Temagami, and
          Smoothwater is one of its best outfitters. Opposite bottom:
          Train service to the historic 1907 train station in Temagami was
          stopped in 2012, but it is still a local focal point. Travelers can
          take a bus here from Toronto now. Top: Caryn Colman, a gifted
          artist and cook, leads watercolor workshops at Smoothwater
          Temagami. Middle: An amateur artist, Patti Nickell sketches the
          scene from High Rock in Lake Temagami. Bottom: The front porch
          of Smoothwater’s ecolodge sits on the shores of James Lake.


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