On April 6, Localife Ottawa made a trek about an hour east of Ottawa to Bean Town Ranch to experience a real sugary treat.
Bean Town Ranch is one of several local sugar bushes around Ottawa. Localifers were treated to an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, a horse-drawn wagon ride around the sugar bush, and delicious maple taffy on snow. For some, it was be their first sugar bush experience.
It was a chilly morning at Bean Town. Luckily, there was a small outdoor campfire that we were able to huddle around while we waited for everyone to arrive.
We made our way into the hall to our reserved table and eagerly anticipated our feast. There were beets and pickles on the table to snack on while we waited for our all-you-can-eat breakfast to arrive. It started with some homemade pea soup and bread, coleslaw, and creton (country pate). That was quickly followed with what we had been waiting for: sausages, maple ham, country style potatoes, baked beans, souffleed omelettes, crispy pork rind, and homemade pancakes with maple syrup!
We ate and ate and ate… but were sure to save room for dessert which were an assortment of maple and sugar pies and pudding.
Full with delicious food we sat around the table and chatted for a bit before heading back outside for the horse-drawn wagon ride around the sugar bush grounds. The weather had warmed up considerably by now and it was a perfect day. We all piled onto the wagon and enjoyed the scenery as slowly made our way through the trees and trails.
That led us to a barn where we all hopped off. In the back was a scruffy man who was preparing the maple taffy. He poured out the lines sweet goodness on the snow and one by one we started to roll it up onto our popsicle sticks and taste the sweet, sweet sugar.
If we weren’t already on a sugar high, we definitely were now.
We walked along the trail and came across a bridge so naturally, we crossed it. It lead to a small island in the middle of an icy pond. Since the ice was too thin to cross the pond, we made our way back over the bridge to the trail that led us to the front entrance where we explored the gift shop.
With the event winding down and the inevitable sugar crash looming, we all parted ways, back to our cars, and the scenic drive back to town.
