Elvie's Solo Trip

Elvie was the only camper in Bruce Peninsula National Park.  We had 242 campsites to choose from!  As you know we like to get away from it all and once again we succeeded in doing so.   We had no electricity at our site so it was truly a learning experience of living off the grid in cool weather.  The first night I wore long underwear and a ski toque to bed as we were concerned about running down our battery to run the propane furnace fan; however  the next night we decided that if we were to keep warm we needed to use the furnace more.  We enjoyed ourselves despite being a little chilly at times.  We wanted to learn just how much boon docking we could do and all things being considered we did quite well. 

The campground is at Cypress Lake which we hiked around the first morning.

From the campground we walked out to the coast line of Georgian Bay where the Bruce Trail passes through the park.  It was great to hike some of the trail and as you can see from the picture the rock formations are spectacular along the escarpment.  The Bruce Trail begins or ends in Tobermory and is approximately 800 kms in length and wends its way all the way to the Niagara region. 

The views and the water were quite beautiful even on a cloudy day.

This area of the coast is called the grotto.  Back in the 1970s Rob scuba dived here.  Now there is not a drop of water inside the grotto. 

This area has been given the appropriate name of boulder beach.

We spent one afternoon in and around Tobermory.  We have seen the lighthouse many times from the water; however this time we had an opportunity to visit by land.

At this end of the Bruce Trail there is a wonderful park office.  Unfortunately the office was closed but the tower was open for climbing.  The view was great and we could pick out all kinds of favourite sailing areas.
After our afternoon in Tobermory we stayed in Happy Heart's Campground just outside of the village.  Our propane was getting low and we decided that plugging into the grid was a nice luxury for Elvie's last night out.  The campground was actually closed; however the owner decided that if all we needed was an electrical connection he would let us stay the night.

On the way home we took Hwy 1 which follows along Colpoy's Bay from Wiarton and ends up in Owen Sound.  It was a lovely drive and there were still leaves on the trees to admire.  Once back to the cottage it was time to winterize Elvie and get him into storage for the winter.   He didn't have a long run this year but we foresee many happy trips ahead of us in Elvie.  We hope to journey to Newfoundland next June as neither Rob nor I have been. 
 

Summiting The Crack

During our stay in Killarney Provincial Park we hiked each day on a different trail.  Our most challenging hike was called The Crack and it is part of the La Cloche Silhouette Trail that is 78 kms long and takes on average 7-9 days to hike. The trail is dedicated to the memory of Franklin Carmichel , one of the founding members of the now famous Group of Seven.  The trail is named after his painting "La Cloche Silhouette" which was completed in 1939.   The area around The Crack is some of the trickiest part of the trail as one has to negotiate through huge boulders that have fallen through the crack.   At the top there are spectacular views of Killarney lake, O.S.A. Lake, and Baie Fine as well as Georgian Bay and Manitoulin Island.

Some of the large boulders looked like they could tumble down the side of the cliff at any moment.

How many millions of years did it take for this crack to develop?

We were ready to sit down for lunch once we made it to the top.

This is Killarney Lake and O.S.A.(Ontario Society of Artists) Lake in the distance.  What a spectacular day we had for our climb.

The sign says it all.... a difficult trail but well worth the effort.

Elvie's Land Adventure in Killarney Provincial Park

The campsite at Killarney Provincial Park was very private.   One neighbour that we could see and they were tenting 50 metres away from us.  The first evening we heard a deer coming through the bush and followed it down to the bog near our site.

Just like the fish in the protected park in The Bahamas, the  wildlife in the park seem to know that humans will do them no harm.

The park campsites are situated near Lake George. 

Notice the pink granite in the foreground and the white quartzite in the distance.

Everywhere we hiked the scenes were beautiful.

The rock faces were amazing in places.  This picture was taken on one of our hikes and this is A.Y. Jackson Lake, named after one of the famous group of seven painters who loved to visit and paint in the park.

Each day we would do a different hike.  It was interesting to see all the beaver houses in this one marshy area.

We called this beaver dam Heaver Dam, named similarly to the famous Hoover Dam in Nevada.

Notice me on top of the cliff.

After a long day of hiking it was back to home sweet van.

One evening we had a small raccoon walk through our camp; however on most evenings it was Chippie, the chipmunk and Bossy, the red squirrel who were vying for favours.   Of course it didn't help that we were eating peanuts in the shell and the park doesn't want campers to feed the wildlife.   

 

Sailboats are Magic

A still morning in Beaverstone Bay.

Free Spirit at anchor in Bear Bay.

Cyrano in the late day sunlight of Bear Bay.

Beaverstone Bay

Mill Lake

Cyrano under sail

One of the magicians

and the magic machine

After two weeks of incredible weather, beautiful anchorages and great fun with our friends Doug and Jane it was time to become dirt dwellers once again.  Free Spirit was hoisted back onto her trailer and it was time for Elvie's land adventure in Killarney Provincial Park.

 

 

Northern Georgian Bay...A Treasure to Explore

The morning reflection in Beaverstone Bay.

The granite is sculpted by water over thousands and thousands of years.  We thought the picture at the left looked like dinosaur feet?  Notice how smooth the rock is and the different layers.

Most of the lily pads were finished flowering; however this one was still open.  The roots of the lily pads are a favourite nutrient rich food for deer and moose. 



 

The later afternoon sun is stunning on the granite rocks.

 

Miles and miles of pink granite provide shelter for adventurous sailboats.  Notice Cyrano tucked way back in in West Desjardins Bay.

We saw evidence of Bucky Beaver in many areas that we paddled.  This lodge is occupied because you can see fresh sticks piled on the side.

We think that this was an otter lodge.  It looked like the otters had built up sticks over a rocky cave area.  We did see an otter family but as with most nature photography it was difficult to catch them playing at the surface of the water.

 

In our anchorage along Collin's Inlet we spotted a tree that a busy beaver had decided was good for his lodge.  Notice the teeth marks on one of the limbs.  I paddled over to get a picture and unknowingly snagged one of the limbs on the kayak.  Rob asked me how I liked paddling the double kayak on my own and I responded by saying it was a bit sluggish.  I couldn't figure out why Rob was laughing at me.  We decided that I needed to make amends to Bucky and  we returned his limb to his stash.

I don't think that there was a day that went by that we didn't hear the haunting call of the loon.  They are marvels at diving and sometimes will swim a hundred metres underwater.

 

We were also lucky to spot a few water snakes in our travels.  They are harmless and just want to get away from people. 

 

The end of another beautiful day but also a time to get below decks as the mosquitos were still around in late August.    Notice Cyrano tucked in close to the island.