Travelogue: Days 9-10

We're headed west!

Well...technically we have to go north first, but you know what I mean.

We drove to Tobermory, hopped on the Chi-Cheemaun ferry over to Manitoulin Island, and pulled into our first accommodations: a tipi at the Kicking Mule Guest Ranch. ( And before you admire our heary Canadian-ness for sleeping in a tipi, please understand that the Tipi had beds and electricity.)

The ranch was a wonderful place to spend the first night, run by friendly people, and complete with horses and bunnies and a peacock that the kids loved being around.

After dinner at The Garden's Gate, we visited the Manitoulin Eco Park: a dark sky preserve with telescopes and an ideal view of the night sky. The moon set early, so we were treated to a brilliant canvas of stars and satellites before heading back to our luxurious tipi to sleep.

Day 10's itinerary was to leave Manitoulin Island by way of the swing bridge at Little Current (amazing to me that the world's largest freshwater island has only two points of entry; a ferry that can be cancelled in bad weather, and a 113-year-old single-lane swing bridge).

Before leaving the island, we had to make a quick stop at Bridal Veil Falls - a beautiful waterfall that manages to be majestic and gentle at the same time. Falling from a shelf ten metres above your head, you can actually climb in behind the falls for an up-close look. It's like a miniature Niagara.

We had lunch on the roof of a restaurant in Little Curren with a great view of the aforementioned swing bridge, having heard that it swings open once every 20 minutes or so. It didn't budge during our lunch, but of course swung open just as we approached it to cross over to the mainland, so we waited in a line of traffic and imagined how cool it would look if we weren't behind a truck.

We didn't exactly NEED a reminder of how huge Ontario is, but the reminder came today: in my mind, Manitoulin and Sault Ste. Marie are in the same general area. And yet, to drive from one to the other covers well over 300km. Such a small portion of this enormous province!

We arrived in the Soo just in time to have some dinner and relax a bit...resting up for a different kind of travel tomorrow: by rail instead of by road!

Before you go...if you believe in the power of play (and if you're here you probably do) please consider donating to our cross-Canada road trip by clicking here. It would mean a lot!