WINDING DOWN - October 20 and 21

All good things come to an end, even short vacations. We bid a fond farewell to Manitoulin Island on Monday. After three days of rain while there, it was understandably gorgeous as we prepared to leave. I loved it at the Mountain View Resort even though there's no mountain and it's certainly not what I'd call a resort. I would definitely return. 

Because the weather was so much better stopped in Little Current on the way off the island to take a walk on the boardwalk. Even the rolling approach to the town was pretty. I guess those are the "mountains" they refer to on the island.

A rather old swing bridge that closes on the hour leads you off the island onto the highway to Espanola. I guess it really is time to leave.

We made a quick stop in Espanola to visit my book printer then headed east with no sure destination arranged. Passing Sudbury we dialed in the direction of Huntsville. Around 4PM we opted to stop for the night in Parry Sound settling on a hotel offering us a stunning sunset view of the local Walmart.

Yesterday the drive to Huntsville was pleasant but again the rain played a part, a bit drizzly so the fall colour was fading fast. A drive through Algonquin Park once again had us lamenting the questionable weather. Nevertheless a hike was imperative. I love how the people who rate the trails have obviously never set foot on them personally. I found it difficult to understand an easy rating on a trail that did not go ten feet without huge roots, rocks and slippery wet fallen leaves, all on hills.

We were lucky again. Just as we got back to the car about two hours later it started to rain. Perfect timing!

We spent last night, our final stop on this voyage, in Gravenhurst. It's a pretty little Muskoka town and we settled on a Howard Johnson by Wyndam. I thought all the HoJos were long gone. They used to be such a wonderful chain. I remember them well travelling with my parents 60 years ago. I loved them. The colour orange remains in my mind and an upgraded version of that exists today. 

Our drive home today will include a stop at friends in Victoria Harbour. Thank you all for joining us on this short escape from reality. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, stay well and keep smiling.

😎

MANITOULIN ISLAND - October 17, 18 and 19

Because checkout at our Tobermory motel was at 11am we got to the ferry dock (5 minutes away) about 2 hours before sailing. It’s a dull kinda crappy day so I don’t anticipate a very interesting ride. The Chi-Cheemaun is larger than I expected and is beautifully painted. Loading was quick and easy…of course we were first in line having arrived two hours early. 

We had no idea of the layout of the ship and the signage was not overly descriptive so we ended up in the gift shop. Once we found one of the lounges we sat down and stayed there for the duration. Dogs are allowed onboard and as passengers filtered in it was beginning to look like we were on the doggie deck. As I said in an email home “place is a bloody zoo”.

                             

My first impression of Manitoulin Island WIK was wonderful. It was very peaceful right from the start, despite a boat load of yahoos being release enmasse. The gentle winding roads made their way through somewhat typical northern Ontario landscapes displaying glorious fall colours! It figures, it's overcast and raining so the colour does not look particularly stunning but it certainly would be if the sun were out. 

The Mountain View Resort (I defy anyone to find anything resembling a mountain in any view on Earth) is wonderful. Our cabin was a welcome delight. Even though there are some restrictive rules here (only one roll of toilet paper per visit issued and fines if garbage and recyclables are mixed) it was a warm embrace the moment we stepped inside.

Yesterday the sunrise was respectable but I caught it too late. 

Our day of exploration left us with the realization that this is a beautiful spot so we must return sometime with hopes of better weather. You can bet that's not going to be in the summer. This whole island would be an asylum then. A drive up the hill outside Gore Bay was wonderful. Again, it really needed some sunshine. The fall colours were respectable and there were not many people around. I suppose had it been a nice day that would likely have been another scenario.

Providence Bay, on the south side of the island, is awesome. It's a beach resort town which normally makes me want to leave but they have put such care into making it enjoyable for all who pass through. We were indeed fortunate that the rain let up for the near hour we were there. The beach is gorgeous with a Cape Cod grass fringe, clean sand, lots of picnic facilities and swings and other park favourites for the kids but the highlight is most certainly the kilometre long boardwalk. Let that sink in for a moment. Thousands of wooden pilings, tens of thousands of wooden boards and hundreds of thousands of nails. All this translates to millions of dollars invested and countless man hours to build. My most sincere kudos to Providence Bay – you have made millions of people happy. 

To top things off there is a marvelous mural in town. 

A barbecue makes even a crappy weather day great...especially when it's steak, some veggies, rice and a glass of Australian red wine! Perfect!

Today is our final day on the island and it rained pretty much the whole day. It was a long, lonely road as we headed east and north to the top of the island, reminding me of northern Ontario yet again. There were rocks in some areas making me feel I was driving from Gravenhurst to Bracebridge in the fifties. Once again the fall colour left me wishing “if only it were a sunny day”.

High Falls is not that high and if the truth be known, not that much of a falls but the atmosphere was perfect and the bridge is what drew me off the highway in the first place. 

The town of Little Current is a perfect small town. Resting on the North Channel at the top of Manitoulin Island the rain gave it even more ambience though preventing us from walking along the waterfront as much as we would have liked. As mentioned earlier, we really need to return when we can be assured better weather.

It was still raining on and off when we got back to the cabin but we managed a quick walk along the cottage road nearby. A laid back lifestyle for all those who live there, even if it is seasonal for some.

The deer in the fields surrounding us have been here all along. They're very skittish and take off into the woods as soon as they hear a car pass by and even quicker when they hear it stop and shut off the engine. White tails up, flags high, run boys and girls. Managed a few shots of varying quality. This one's not bad. Nothing compared to Gayle's in Nova Scotia where they seem to come to her door and ask to be photographed but it was a fitting conclusion to our stay on Manitoulin Island.

We'll be leaving the island tomorrow morning, heading toward home, we're just not sure where we may land. Stay tuned; I'll wrap things up in a couple of days.

😎

TOBERMORY - October 14, 15 and 16, 2025

My purpose for this short trip was primarily just to get away, after all it's been all of four months since Nunavut. I also hoped but knew we were a little late, to see some fall colour. There is virtually none at home. A lot of leaves down.

The continued lack of colour on the drive was astounding. It got a little better as we stopped to eat our lunch in a church parking lot in Shallow Lake, a small village just west of Owen Sound. Some pretty orange but still nothing close to what I had expected.

From there we turned north through Wiarton. You absolutely have to stop for a photo op with Willie at the welcome sign. Only in Canada could a waving rodent prove so adorable and welcoming.

Karen and I have been to Tobermory once before...in 1976. Just a short while ago. We did our SCUBA diving certification open water dive there. Lots of wrecks and clear, freezing cold water in August. Perfect.

The 15th was our 48th anniversary. The weather forecast for the upcoming weekend is for rain, all three days, the three days we'll be on Manitoulin Island. Therefore, we decided we better get some hiking in while the weather is good. With that in mind we headed out to explore Tobermory. The Big Tub lighthouse was our destination involving about a 10 kilometre trek through cottage country and back roads. 

The lighthouse itself was off a short wooded path at the end of the road and stood right on the rocks at the opening of the harbour. It took a bit of maneuvering to get the whole thing in one photo from so close a vantage point.

I was determined to have fish and chips for dinner and there was quite a selection...if it had still been summer. The town is in its last week of activity so a lot of places were closed. Fortunately we still had a couple places to choose from.

All in all it was a great day. Well except for that inhaling the burning, acidic juices from a lemon but that's another story.

Today, the 16th, was a gorgeous day. Being in Tobermory the first thing that comes to mind when you think about hiking is the Bruce Trail. It all sounds so simple but is far from it. All the "good" trails, the ones you've heard of, the most interesting like The Grotto, Lion's Head and Overhanging Rock are in the proper Bruce Peninsula National Park. They are therefore governed by the Federal Government and as I have seen so many times in the past, carry an absolutely obscene entry fee. $33! and everything is still open so the rangers are very visible everywhere, no chance to skip by.

I will not pay that ransom to take a hike so we found a few smaller trails, known by no one. Having said that, all were fairly busy given the time of year. The Little Cove trail was a little shorter than we wanted but worthy nonetheless.

The reward was just as the cove was very pretty. The water looks so clear and inviting but I, for one, know that is not even close to a reality this time of year.

The Cape Hurd Reserves Nature Trail was difficult to find and had not much to offer when we did. The beautiful day and solitude made it well worthwhile.

The best part of the day was most certainly the drive in to the Halfway Log Dump (obviously whoever named this one failed Marketing epically) only to find it was another $33 attempted robbery. A 13 kilometre dirt road pothole it was a wonderful trip. Finally saw what autumn should look like!

Tomorrow we board the 2 hour Chi-Cheemaun cruise to Manitoulin Island. The forecast promises 3 days of rain so we can only hope for a break. Stay with us - we'll be in touch in a few days.

Stay well and keep smiling.

😎

Nunavut - finale

Another wonderful vacation comes to an end. Nunavut was a marvelous learning and enjoyable experience and we are so happy to be able to say we have visited and spent time in all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada. We're not done with this nation by any means...there is still an unlimited amount of territory to be explored.

The last three days were not without a few bumps, more blemishes and incompetence in our transit systems than anything. Our stay in Ottawa was short but sweet. The highlight was certainly the Aviation and Space Museum. Getting there was not easy and it certainly was expensive but well worth it. We had to take a cab because public transit does not go there...at least not from the hotel where we were staying.

The following morning we headed by Via Rail to Toronto. Riding facing backwards for five hours, what else can I say?

We arrived around 5PM and were totally bagged by the heat and the weight of our backpacks. We were quite happy with the zero degrees and perfect days we had in Iqaluit so this 25 plus stuff was killing us.

The subway trip from Union Station to St Clair West was our worst nightmare. A full assault by the peak rush hour hordes made my head spin. I could not and would not do this every day. There is something wrong with these people...and we get to do it again going back in the morning.

We spent the night at Gavin's, got to play with the kids and had a great visit all around. After a quick breakfast in the morning we saw the kids off to school with Adrienne then trekked back to the subway station to head to Union Station. This time we left our large, heavy backpacks at Gavin's. We'll get them in a few weeks time.

Here's where some of the incompetence built into the system arises. Our mission back at Union Station was to find the Go Train that went to Barrie South, the closest we could get to our house but still about 25 kilometres away. The signs are not overly clear or helpful and we discovered last night the website is absolutely useless. According to it we had to get to Barrie by way of Brampton and Mississauga. Anyway, that's another story. The piece de resistance was that the platform for the train was not posted until ten minutes prior to its departure. Trust me, there are plenty of people who would not be able to make that train in 10 minutes.

Once on board I had to laugh at the seating. The entire car (all three levels) was in groups of 4 seats, 2 and 2 facing one another. That may be great for families but 80% of people travelling do not want that. Thankfully it was not busy so was not a problem.

Getting from Barrie to our home is not easy in any way. There is an Uber-related service called Go Go Grandparent. The name alone begs failure. It's very inexpensive but, as it turns out, that doesn't matter. We called for a pick up, poked our way through automated hell and were told we were second in line for an operator. Half an hour later, after being asked to press three different numbers, we were still on unanswered hold. Go Go no go go. I can sell you eggs for 3 cents a dozen...but I don't have any eggs. We called a regular taxi and arrived home around 1PM. Travel is wonderful but as I have said many times, getting there (and back) is NOT always half the fun.

Keeping this experience in mind you can imagine my feeling as we sat on the Go Train and flew by this...could you just slow down and let us hop off. This is about one kilometre from our house.

Thank you again for joining us on our travels. 

We'll let you know when we're ready to hit the road again.

😎

Nunavut - Day 5

Our last day on any vacation is sad but it was exceptionally so today because Iqaluit has been such a special place to us. After decades of travelling we have finally visited and spent quality time in all ten provinces and all three territories. Because we travelled so much with the boys when they were younger we managed to see all 50 states in the US a long time ago – so long ago that it was a pleasure to journey through the incredible geography and history of that once great nation.

Our perseverance paid off with one last visit to St. Jude's Cathedral. As we tried the doors unsuccessfully once more a young lady from the volunteer society across a courtyard shouted, “Would you like to go inside?” Absolutely! She was newly arrived from the UK, here for a couple of months to help out. When Karen asked what brought her here she happily replied, “God!”

She had arrived two weeks ago in a blizzard and snow up to her knees. A couple of days ago she was wearing shorts and today took delight in claiming this was real ice cream weather. What am I missing here? It was another gorgeous day but the temperature was still below zero, albeit 1 degree below zero.

The igloo church is wonderful inside. Pristine in every way with no perception of the shape whatsoever.

The original church was built in 1972 but was destroyed by arson in 2005. The Igloo Cathedral was opened in 2012. It is primarily the product of Inuit craftsmanship including wall hangings and a cross made of narwhal tusks. It was so good of this woman to take time to show us around. I'm so glad we decided to give it one more try.

The Sculpture Garden is a public park/garden displaying an extensive range of mostly stone sculptures by artists of the Nunavut Arctic College. Although the thuggish-looking Sedna (sea goddess) with raised fist will likely grab your attention I was instantly drawn to the raven made of scrap metal. What a lovely Saturday stroll through the park.

The Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum had been recommended to us when we stopped in at the Visitor Centre a few days ago. Who are we to argue? Housed in an old Hudson's Bay Company warehouse, complete with red roof, the museum is a registered charity that cares for a collection of artwork, tools, archival documents, photographs and books centred on the local Iqaluit community.

As we entered it was evident the place was packed. You have to remove your shoes to protect the vintage cedar floors and the vestibule was a minefield of footwear. We were offered an option of wearing shoe covers so we chose that. We walked through the displays on two levels of the building then paused on the way out to hear a local girl singing and playing guitar.

The walk back to the hotel was pensive as we accepted the fact that it was the last time we were going to get to do this. Once again I think we're lucky to be here when we are. There's an awful lot of construction and I envisage in two years time a much more congested and even more expensive city.

As we walked we were a little surprised to see that in 5 short days the melt water from the surrounding ice-covered hills had built to a raging stream through most of the open areas.

 Our shadows on the walking path signified our farewell to Nunavut. 

Thanks again for being part of our journey. We leave tomorrow morning for Ottawa. We're staying there for a couple of days before heading back to Toronto by train on Tuesday.

I'll send a link in a couple of days to finish this whole thing off. 

Stay well everyone - and keep smiling. Until next time...

😎

ut - Day 4

It was another beautiful day, though this time the temperature was a little less so. Apex is a small community about 5 kilometres outside Iqaluit. That's where the road ends in this area of Nunavut; but it's not just a single road, it's an impossible tangle of gravel roads traversing hilly barren land. That made walking out of the question which worked out well because of the temperature. It was another gorgeous day but what the photos do not show is a cold wind blowing off the ice and snow of the frozen bay dropping the temperature to minus 6 or 8 degrees. It felt even colder than that when we were in the open.

Apex was the place most Inuit lived when Iqaluit was a military site and was off limits to anyone not working at the base. Officially Apex is part of the City of Iqaluit but many residents reject any affiliation with Frobisher Bay asking for territorial representation with the south Baffin Island community of Kimmirut.

The village got its start in 1949 when the Hudson's Bay Company moved its south Baffin Trading Post operations from Ward Inlet to Apex Beach to take advantage of the increased activity near the new US Air Force Base and landing strip.

Our visit to Apex Beach was well worth the somewhat uncomfortable weather. 

On the beach a red fibreglass lifeboat sits permanently grounded, abandoned and belonging to no one, alongside a series of equally abandoned Hudson's Bay Company buildings. Iqaluit folklore has it that two lifeboats were acquired from the MV Minna, a Norwegian-built vessel that had run aground in Brewer Bay at Resolution Island, NWT in 1974. An entrepreneur had the lifeboat shipped to Apex somewhere around the turn of the millennium.

The village beckoned as we arrived at the end of the beach. From there we walked into and all around the village. The housing was respectable, all of it on stilts. The high hill covered in snow and ice obviously becomes a threat as summer approaches. 

Karen wanted to see the cemetery and though we did not see it on our way in we did manage to find it on the way out. The Apex Cemetery is a uniquely beautiful, tranquil site. Overlooking Frobisher Bay, an enormous pair of bowhead whale rib bones serves as a gateway to the fields of white crosses adorned with green wreaths and colourful flowers.

Karen noticed there were an unusually high percentage of very young people at rest. From infants through teenage and into their 20s and early 30s. That seemed odd because if it were death from disease or natural disaster one would expect comparatively similar numbers of adults. Upon our return to the hotel I checked and discovered a comment from a local, "It is heartbreaking when a cemetery is filled with more people who took their own lives than those who died of natural causes."

Stay with us...tomorrow is our last day in Nunavut before our return to Ottawa Sunday morning.

😎

The Apex Cemetery