The biggest freshwater island in the world!

Melkie woke me up in the middle of the night wanting to go outside and then I couldn't get back to sleep for what seemed like hours. So for the second night in a row I have barely slept but the upside is this is the second night in a row that I have seen a billion stars! I can't believe how close we are to the falls! If I had known that last night I definitely would have gone exploring! I took the stairs down stopping several times to take pictures and then followed the trail along the water. It feels so good to be on a trail two days in a row! By the time I got back to the bus I had worked up a sweat (I ran up the stairs) and an appetite. I quickly had a bowl of cereal before we left to check out the town of Kagawong. I love the names here! The town has a really laid back feel to it. There was a farmers market going on but no one seemed in a rush. At the waterfront the old mill had been turned into a museum with an art gallery above. The old

Post office had been filled with household items from the early 1900's. It was really cool! We had originally parked up the road and brought the dogs with us but I sent Michael back to get the bus so that we could leave the dogs and explore inside. After Kagawong we headed to Gore Bay. Just before we got to the town saw a sign for a lookout point and followed the road up to an awesome little picnic area overlooking the bay. On the way up we saw a deer in someone's front yard and later while in town we saw two more deer right in town! While we were at the lookout, I made a big breakfast (it was probably already lunch time) and after driving through the town we headed to Providence Bay where we toured a small nature centre and walked the boardwalk along the beach. Somewhere along the way we spotted a whole bunch of vultures circling above a field and then noticed a huge bald eagle. It's unbelievable how big he was even compared to the vultures. We pulled over as quickly as we could and we did see him fly away but we couldn't get a picture. Next stop Michael's Bay. There was absolutely nothing there but Michael wanted to go (I wonder why). After the detour to Michaels Bay we continued on to South Baymouth where the Chicheemaun (a giant ferry what travels between here and Tobermory) was in port loading up. There was an vintage car show at the waterfront complete with a band playing music from the same era. Michael was happy! I stayed on the bus and made dinner while Michael toured the car show. Later we walked through the car show to get to the park and Lighthouse. We found a blue heron and I finally managed to get a good picture with the help of the dogs. We didn't leave town until almost dark and in retrospect we should have just spent the night. We ended up driving in the dark and just pulling into a tourist information place just outside of Manitowaning. Good night World!

Manitoulin

Last night there was an amazing lightning storm that lit up the bus! Unfortunately there was also an active railroad and a busy highway. I woke up several times during the night and once after the storm had cleared I looked out and saw a million stars! I haven't seen this many stars since I was hiking! I felt like waking Michael up but thought better of it. We had a very slow start this morning. It was raining off and on and we were both sleepy. Between rain storms Michael took the dogs for a walk and came back with a handful of blackberries for me! I thought about going out to collect more but it started to rain again. The place we had pulled into last night turned out to be really nice! We had parked right along the Spanish River. There were lots of picnic tables and benches and back closer to the road there were washrooms. It was probably lunch time by the time we pulled away and as we got closer to Manitoulin Island everything kept getting more picturesque. We were driving over rocky hills and could see lakes and tiny islands with pine trees on them on both sides of us. It was so beautiful! We wanted to stop several times to take pictures but the road wasn't wide enough to stop safely and we knew we would be taking this road back off the island later. We crossed a swinging bridge that I would love to see open and stopped at a tourist information centre in Little Currant just as it started to downpour. We sat in the bus and enjoyed a coffee and were thankful that we have such a perfect space inside the bus that we can enjoy watching the rain from the comforts of our home. When the rain stopped we went into the tourist centre and picked up a couple of maps before heading to the Cup and Saucer Trail. The trail was awesome! It led us up to the top of 70 metre cliffs and had many different lookout spots. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon! The trail was a bit muddy from the rain earlier but still completely enjoyable! I was tempted to spend the night at the trail head and possibly go back up in the morning but Michael had a better idea. We left in search of the perfect sunset spot. In the end we didn't find it but we did find Bridal Veil Falls! By the time we got there it was a little too late to explore but the quiet parking lot with restrooms was a place to call it a day. 

Fairbank Provincial Park

We had planned on sticking around Sudbury for a solar eclipse party at Science North this afternoon but changed our mind and decided to move on. After a resupply stop at a grocery store we aimed the bus for Fairbank Provincial Park. For the second time in a couple of days we forgot to get gas before leaving town and prayed we would make it to the next gas station. Thankfully we did and soon we were on a back road that had been patched up way too many times on our way to the park. We stopped at a one way bridge just before the solar eclipse was about to start and Michael took several pictures as it progressed. Since we were at a river he also tried to fish with no success while I made us a coffee and a bite to eat. Fairbank is a really small park with a smaller beach but we managed to find a nice spot by the water to let the dogs swim before moving to a hill overlooking the water where I set my a hammock and had a nap. My nap was interrupted numerous times by my dog who insisted at barking at every moving thing while I slept. Michael took out his dremmel and started carving a duck out of a piece of wood. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon and when we realized we were running out of daylight hours I made dinner and then we drove to find the showers and then the area to top up our water. The park has a gorgeous view but we were both left with the thought that this park has been neglected for a long time. The roads were deteriorating and a large gazebo with the perfect view of the lake had been cordoned off with caution tape as it appeared to be unsafe. Although we had a perfect day at Fairbank I probably wouldn't recommend it as there are several other parks in the area. We made it back to highway 17 just as it was getting dark and pulled over at a picnic area just outside of Espanola for the night. 

Another Day in Sudbury!

We woke up to a view of the waterfront and soon we were on the waterfront trail with the dogs heading toward Science North. The waterfront here is gorgeous! Actually Sudbury has really surprised me! I remember Sudbury as a desolate place with lots of bare rocks and craters. I remember thinking that this must be what Mars is like. Now Sudbury has lots of greenery, mature trees and an amazing waterfront park with several little beach areas, an amphitheatre, a gorgeous gazebo (perfect for a wedding) and a big playground. We walked up to Science North and Michael held the dogs while I went in to see when the latest IMAX showing was. It would have been nice to do the science centre but it was far too hot to leave the dogs for too long. Instead we went back to the bus to relax. We did one more walk along the water (to let the dogs swim) and then we headed to Dynamic Earth to see the big nickel. We have both been to Dynamic Earth in the past and have been down the mineshaft so we really just came to take a picture of the giant nickel but when we saw the parking fees we decided to turn around and go downtown to look for Imagination Theatre instead. We found the perfect shady place to park and then went to see the new Al Gore documentary. It was good, I was expecting more but I'm still happy I got to see it. It was one of those theatres with lazy boy chairs. It was super comfy! We headed back to Bell Park because someone had told us this morning that there is another free concert tonight. We parked and I made something to eat before we headed back to the waterfront. While I was cooking a lady from a nearby RV came over and asked us if we thought it was a safe place to park for the night. We got talking and it turns out she has been travelling around for the past three years! She ended up joining us when we were ready to go check out the band. This time it was locals who played jazz. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves but to be honest I was too busy talking with my new friend to notice. When we got back to the parking lot there were a few police cars there and I was a little worried we would have to move. It wouldn't have been a big deal but I had told my new friend that this was a safe place to park and really didn't want her to have to move this late at night. It's all good though the police have all pulled away and its way past bedtime! Good night World!

Sudbury

I barely slept last night! Although it looked like we were secluded and surrounded by forest, highway 69 was too close and it turns out so was an actively used railway. Several cars came into the parking lot during the night most of them filled with loud inhabitants and then finally in the morning when we really should have been getting up the workers for the Visitor Centre arrived. When we finally got up the parking lot had more cars in it than I expected and as we had our coffees it continued to fill. By the time we had something to eat and were ready to explore the parking lot was almost full and several motorcycles were here waiting to check in for a bike rally raising funds for a sick girl with a rare illness. First we explored the gift shop and museum where we learned about how important the French River was as a mode of transportation for the natives and later the French. We also learned about the local fish and abundant rattlesnakes in the area. Next we collected the dogs from the bus and headed down the trail. It was awesome trail! It kind of reminded me of hiking in Maine with all the rocks and roots. It lead us to Recollet Falls where we found a watersnake that I mistakenly thought was a rattlesnake. After a break and several pictures we headed back up the trail and to the overfilled parking lot. I noticed an old westy VW right away and asked Michael to gues who the van belonged to. My guess was a couple we met on the trail with their young daughter who was hoisted up on her dads shoulders when we met. While I made us a bite to eat a man approached and asked if he could take take pictures of the bus and then the owners of the VW returned and I was right! The happy people with keens owned it! Anyway, it was time for us to move on. I wanted to go to Killarney Provincial Park but as we took the exit off of highway 69 I noticed the gas tank was on empty and I knew we were about to take a road that might not have gas. We pulled over and sure enough we needed to get back on 69 for gas. After filling up we decided to just head to Sudbury and skip Killarney for now (we can always come back tomorrow). In Sudbury we found Bell's Park and parked in a big parking lot across the street with a perfect view of both the park and the waterfront! Hmmm, looks like the perfect place to spend the night! The first thing we saw when we entered the park was an empty amphitheatre with two guys onstage playing Bob Marley music. The theatre gates were locked so we took a seat on the grassy hill and listened for a few minutes. As we were there a worker came over and told us that there was a free concert tonight with five bands and the gates would open at 6pm. Awesome! We took the dogs for a walk in the park and then made a quick trip back to the bus for a snack and then headed back to the amphitheatre. Because we had the dogs with us we brought our chairs and just set up where we could see everything. Soon the place was packed and even as the first band started playing more people kept arriving. Stef Paquette kicked off with french folk music, then Jonathan Roy (who we had heard practicing came out with some Bob Marley. Mia Martina was late and played techno style (I didn't enjoy it and most of her stuff seemed lip synced) but then Coleman Hell came out and was awesome! And of course Serena Ryder sounded amazing! It was a fun free night!

A Few Days all in One!

I'm catching up a few days of journaling. After Cobakonk we headed back to the Midland area for a special two year old's birthday. We had an awesome day at the Penetanguishene waterfront park/splash pad and I had a surprise visit from a few friends! Next we caught up on a few mechanical chores. We needed to replace the transmission coolant line and also swap our spare tire (which was being used on the bus) for the tire that matches the rest of them (that was mounted on the back where the spare tire should be). After getting all of the chores done and a surprise visit from my daughter we skipped town once again. It was rainy and overcast but we still managed to get a hike in at Killbear Provincial Park between the rain showers. This park is absolutely gorgeous and it's really too bad that the weather wasn't a little nicer. There is a 6km trail here that I would have loved to check out. While we were hiking the Lighthouse Trail Michael had spotted a few deer in the distance and when we were almost back to the bus I spotted them again. I left Michael on the trail with his camera in hopes of getting better pictures and took the dogs for a ride over to the closest campground where I totally took advantage of the hot showers. By the time I was done it was raining again so I quickly went back to pick up Michael and we were off! We did stop at a nearby fish and chip stand to enjoy an awesome plateof fries but then we continued north. I was disappointed that it was raining as we passed the exit for Grundy Provincial Park. I would have loved to explore there but I guess we need to leave some places for future trips. We needed to find a place to spend the night and I really didn't want to miss out on French River Provincial Park. We ended up pulling into the Visitor Centre parking lot and calling it quits for the day.