| After visiting friends in London (Ontario) we travelled north to Goderich and stayed overnight
at the Point Farms Provincial Park. Then we set off north east along the
banks of Lake Huron. This area was originally populated with settlers from
Scotland as the many place names remind you. This was Kincardine and was but
one of many. This is flat farming country. |  |
 | Hence there are
grain silos in profusion. Not all as large as this one at Port Elgin. The
grain mainly comes in by trucks and will be shipped out by lake freighter. |
| We had a choice of roads at one point and chose the wrong one. We
ended up with 23 km of road works like this which slowed us down
considerably. There were occasional diversions but mostly work has to
progress around you. Sometimes you wait for a convoy. Organised but slow. |  |
 | We camped overnight
in another Provincial Park at Six Mile Lake near Port Severn. We were
virtually the only campers present. Then onward to Parry Sound where we
paused to catch this piece of parking. Parry Sound is a bit of a gateway for
the wilderness areas to the north-east which are a mecca for the fishermen.
This is virtually the only way in or out.. |
| Lake Huron is known for its 30,000 islands and this area is a
popular departure point for cruises around them. This is small boat heaven
and almost all activity is related to tourism and boating. |  |
 | I suspect it is also
a retirement location for folk escaping from Toronto. The name of this
'retired' tug just appealed. |
| Northward to Sudbury. It is a pleasant road with constant views
of lakes and trees. This is more of a deciduous tree area and the autumn
colours were beginning to appear making it very attractive. Less attractive
is the mining town of Sudbury. The tall chimney is an attempt to reduce the
sulphur pollution from the nickel smelting process. |  |
 | This is the home of
the Big Nickel, a nine foot high replica of the 5 cent coin, called a nickel
because this is the metal it was originally made from. Sudbury is on the
edge of one of the richest nickel deposits in the world. It is very
cosmopolitan with French being the commonest language but also a substantial
Italian community. |
| But the smelting process produces mountains of slag which is
tipped to create new and unattractive mountains. This may be an economic
powerhouse but it has little else to recommend it. |  |
 | We travelled
onwards, spending nights at Whitefish and just before Sault Ste Marie
(locally known as "the Soo"). Each time we had a lakeside spot which seemed
peaceful except for the trucks passing on the trans-Canada highway, even
during the night. Still there was really very little traffic overall. |
| It certainly didn't disturb the heron which spent a couple of
hours happily fishing. The lake had plenty of fish so he did not go hungry.
These sites and lakes will be full in the summer with fishermen but at this
time of year there are just the empty campers. |  |
 | The sunsets can be
quite special.though. Even if you do have to take many shots to get the ones
which work.. |
| This was a particularly good night and we just sat and watched
until it became too cold. There is a definite chill in the air. There does
seem to be quite a marked delineation between the seasons. There is Summer
and Winter! And winter is getting a bit too near for our liking. |  |
|