Tuesday, July 5, 2011

June 8, 2011 - Port Elgin to Tobermory, Dangerous Mosquitos

We had a tree down right in front of the truck. Fortunately, we were able to move it by ourselves, and no hail damage was done to truck or pod. It’s a good thing they got started clearing trees as early as they had. If they had waited until daybreak I’m not sure we could have gotten out of the park that morning. There were piles of cut wood everwhere along the road, and they were still using a tractor to haul downed trees off the park roads as we left. The park entrance was closed to visitors when we left.

The power was out again, for the second time in three days. Even though, as stated earlier, there’s hundreds of windmills not too far from here, and one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants, Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, is just down the lakeshore a bit. But I guess it only takes the loss of one wire. The Ontario Provincial Police had the main road closed just beyond the park, so luckily we were going the opposite direction. A petrol station in town was running under generator power, so we were able to top off our tank. Shortly after getting back on the road, we passed a convoy of Canadian Hydro (power company) trucks headed back the way we’d come.

We checked in at Land’s End Campground just outside of Tobermory. This is a private park, and very beautiful. The folks there are constantly working on the landscaping and maintaining the grounds. Most of the sites are pretty small, but OK for our purposes. The standard sites are dirt and not that level, but have electrical service and fire pits. The deluxe sites have level gravel pads, power and water, fire pits, and grassy areas to sit. WiFi is available for free if you go to the picnic table just outside the office. If we had been just a tiny bit closer to the office we probably could have gotten online right at the campsite. There’s two shower buildings, a playground, pond, interpretive trail, and a beach across the road. The camp roads are winding and a bit confusing at first, and yes, we managed to get lost inside the park, stuck in one side loop for a while.  I imagined the people at one site saying to each other, “Look at that rPod. Never seen one before, and today I’ve seen four of them!” 


The park is pretty empty right now, but they tell me as soon as school wraps up for the summer, starting next week, they're booked solid all summer long until the schools get back in session.

Flowerpot Island
Tobermory looks very much like it did last time we were here by boat: Craigie’s Fish and Chips is still down by the boat launch, located in a converted White Rose petrol station, and still has succulent whitefish. The Chart Shop is still there by the docks, and most of the little shops are still there too. The Crow’s Nest Bar apparently burned down a while back, but is being rebuilt and is set to reopen in two weeks. Pity, I was looking forward to sitting on the outdoor rooftop patio, drinking a Black & Tan, and staring at the harbor while  the car ferry Chichimaun (Big Canoe) loads and unloads. The service dock and harbormaster’s office have been moved since our last trip there by boat. They used to be way down inside the harbor, causing lots of congestion due to the limited maneuvering room, but they’ve been moved out toward the mouth of the harbor, and things are much less chaotic now.  You can still take the glass bottom boat tour of the shipwrecks in nearby Big Tub Harbor, or a day trip on the giant inflatable Achilles to Flowerpot Island.  Oh well, been there, done that. Tomorrow we’ll see some new sights.

Today we still have time to walk the interpretive trail in the campground before dark, so off we went to get started. Beth had the pamphlet that explained what we were seeing at all the numbered stops along the way. At first, we paused thoughtfully at each station, read the pamphlet and carefully studied the flora and/or geology explained therein. However, as dusk approached, the chiquitos (cross between a mosquito and a chicken) came out and we had to pick up the pace. By the time we got to the end, Beth was in full gallop up ahead, and as she passed an interpretive spot, she would throw out her arm, point, and without breaking stride she’d holler over her shoulder “Wetland!” or “ Glacier Striations!” or “Sinkhole!” as appropriate. I’d holler back “Yep!” or “Okay!” or “Gotcha” and keep running. Once we got out of the woods and got a nice smoky campfire going we were no longer in danger of needing blood transfusions.

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