Heron Point (July 23)
Leaving Owen Sound, we headed up the Bruce Peninsula, which separates Lake Huron from Georgian Bay. The peninsula is an extension of the Niagara Escarpment, which was an old coral reef. Like other such reefs, it rises in abrupt limestone cliffs (creating Niagara Falls, among other landscape features.) After its tip at Tobermory, the escarpment continues as a line of islands.
The first thing we learned about it, is that the Bruce Peninsula is now a very popular holiday destination. Reserving well in advance is wise – but of course we had not done that. We gave up on trying to get a campsite in Tobermory and headed to Lions Head instead. Unfortunately, Google maps led us astray – the campground at which we made a reservation was not on the tiny dirt road to which we were taken, and a campground with a similar name is in Wiarton, which is too far south.
We decided to try a campground on Heron Point near Lion’s Head but on Lake Huron, rather than on Georgian Bay.
After winding along
some very small roads, we arrived a a beautiful little bay, full of herons, ospreys, cormorants, gulls, geese and mallards. (See top of tree – right.) Fortunately, they had a site available for the night, right on the bay.We had a beautiful view all evening.
We might be camping, but Game of Thrones still reigns in our household! Thanks to Chuck’s foresight in setting up our viewing options, we were able to view episode 2 with the rest of the world while watching the sun set through our RV window.
It was a rainy night and a windy and rainy morning. When I hopped out of the door with the door with the dog, about 50 Canada geese plopped into the water. By the time we returned, they had dispersed to other parts of the bay.
With the bad weather (temperatures in the mid 50’s, wind, rain), I thought there was a chance of a cancellation which would enable us to stay in the campground. But campers are a hardy lot – even the tenters continued to come in. However, we had some very nice chats with our hosts about the wonderful time we had in their hometown of Owen Sound, and in the end they moved some equipment that was blocking a small but usable campsite, and let us stay there until the end of our visit. To get the great view, we just need to walk a few yards to the picnic pavilion.
We decided to take a trip to Lion’s Head on the other side of the peninsula in the hope of getting away from the wind and the rain. Lion’s Head also lies on a small bay. It was amazing – the winds were much, much stronger.
As a result, the waves in the bay were huge. The bay itself is ringed by the high cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. After watching the waves on hit the breakwater and lighthouse, we took a brief walk on the Bruce Trail to view the lake and cliffs.
The Bruce Trail (http://brucetrail.org/) is a hiking trail from Tobermory, at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, to Niagara, a distance of some 600 miles. There are also about 300 miles of side-trails, such as the one we took in Owen Sound to reach Inglis Falls. The trail covers both public and private ground – establishing it needed some political goodwill – but the route has been continuous since about 1965. On the Bruce Peninsula, the trail provides some spectacular views. For the particular portion of the trail through Lion’s Head, the best views were on private parts of the trail and I am grateful to the owners who allowed right-of-way.
Unfortunately, Chuck slipped going down some wet steps, and we decided to turn back before the bruising made it painful to walk. We ended up having ice cream and a hot drink at a cafe in town before returning to the campsite.
The campground had no power when we got back – undoubtedly the strong winds on the other side of the peninsula caused problems, because at Heron Point it was chilly but fairly calm. As well, the pumping system for the campsite is run on electricity, and so there was no “city” water. In the RV, we are isolated from many problems because our lights can run off the “house battery” which is charged by our engine along with the engine battery, our appliances can run on propane and we have a pump that can feed water from our tank to our taps.
We had a beautiful sunset over the bay, as the clouds began to break. As darkness fell, electricity was restored and the lights went on in the cabins and RVs. Despite that, the campground is quite dark.
The Bruce Peninsula is a “dark night” site, one of the few places in North America where the night sky is dark enough so that the Milky Way can be seen. It was a perfect night – no clouds and no moon. And I have never seen the Milky Way more clearly. I think I also did not realize how thoroughly the ambient night light erased it from the sky in State College.
The next day was cool but absolutely perfectly clear. It was a working day for both of us. Chuck worked in the RV, but I sat by the bay and worked there. It was mesmerizing – blue sky, zillions of shore birds, the occasional kayaker or rowboat with fisherfolk.
Although I usually prefer to be on the go, the day was so lovely that I suggested we just sit by the bay and read until late afternoon. I took a walk around the end of the bay and just vegged out. When the shadows lengthened we launched the kayaks and spent about 2 hours paddling throughout the bay and the Stokes River.
The day ended with a beautiful sunset.
Unfortunately, I was so mesmerized by the lovely setting, I forgot that I was supposed to Skype with my student. However, since Chuck also needed to get some additional work done the next day, I partially made up for it by calling him and his co-advisor the next morning.
Norma, the owner of Heron Point Campgrounds, is a quilter. One of the features of the campground is the quilting group, which meets in the activities building. The members bring their own sewing machines and materials. Recently Norma has brought someone in to do quilting workshops.
It was a rather rainy day, and undoubtedly this is one of the reasons that I fell asleep after my phone calls and while Chuck was still working. As a result, we got a rather late start on our sightseeing for the day.
We decided to go to Tobermory. It had been raining off and on all morning, but of course when we got to Tobermory the rain began in earnest. We decided to see the town, which is small and very touristy.
It has two small harbors – one which houses the large car ferry which goes to Manitoulin Island and the other which houses all the other boats and which is bordered by tourist shops and restaurants.
When it looked like the rain might let up, I left Chuck in the bookstore and took Rumple to the Bruce Peninsula National Park Office, which is on a branch of the Bruce Trail. When the rain finally slowed, we took a walk on the trail. Since it is crushed gravel it was like walking on a sidewalk and seemed pretty safe despite the rain. A short walk takes you to a look-out over part of Georgian Bay. As well, there is a tall look-out tower. Since the weather forecast was for thunderstorms later in the day, I put Rumple back in the car and went up for a look. You end up high above the trees with a good view over the bay.
The Visitor Center has a very nice museum. I picked up Chuck from town and we went back to the lookout tower and to the museum together. The museum explains the natural history of the peninsula, as well as the establishment of Fathom Five National Underwater Preserve, which includes 21 (or is it 26?) shipwrecks. Due to the introduction of invasive zebra and quagga mussels, which are efficient filter feeders, there is little plankton in the water and the wrecks can be clearly viewed from glass-bottom boats or scuba diving. Interestingly enough, only 2 sailors died in all these wrecks, but several divers have died exploring the remains. We also climbed back up the tower for a look over the lake.
We decided to eat in town and went to the Tobermory Princess Hotel, which was pleasant, and not as fancy as it looked.
Thursday was another lovely day. We were delighted at the weather, as we wanted to visit Flowerpot Island. This island, which is about 5 miles offshore, has interesting erosion features which resemble giant flowerpots. It is a popular tourist destination. Fortunately, the ferries allow dogs, and so Rumple was able to come with us.
Besides the flowerpots, the main attraction of the island is its beautiful beaches made up of slabs of limestone. We are not really beach people, but I regretted not bringing a bathing suit. We waded a bit in the refreshing water.
When we returned to Tobermory, we decided to have dinner at the Craigie Restaurant, which has been open since 1932. We figured that they must do something right! This is a very modest dockside restaurant with no atmosphere. We had its signature meal – fried whitefish and fries – which was excellent. So we felt well-rewarded for our venture.
Our visit to the Bruce Peninsula ended with yet another beautiful sunset over Stokes Bay, with a flock of geese tranquilly paddling by and herons flying through. This picture was NOT photoshopped.
Heron Point is a lovely spot, very accessible from State College and I am sure we will want to come back. (We will have to do a “best of 2017” tour.)
While we were on the Bruce Peninsula, our RV developed a new problems. Now our toilet is not flushing properly. We can live with the problem for a while, but we have had to book yet another service appointment – this time on the Canadian side of the 1000 Islands.