Goodbye Georgian Bay, Hello North Channel

We have made it through the Georgian Bay and entered the North Channel. We are in the town of Little Current on Manitoulin Island right at the juncture of the Georgian Bay and the north Channel. This map will give you some idea of where that actually is. It also shows where the rest of this year's trip will take us because we will be leaving the boat in storage along the upper western shore of Michigan some time in September. [Thanks to our friends on Sojourner from whom I copied this map.]

Georgian Bay and North Channel

Our last blog was created in Parry Sound. Since then we have wandered through the small craft channel among some of the prettiest and most unforgiving cruising grounds we have ever been in. As you can see from the pictures, the route winds around low lying granite rocks. It takes two people to navigate this stuff, one to drive the boat and the other to search for the next marker and keep a close eye on the charts.

The upside of all these islands and rocks, for the Canadians, is an endless supply of places to build their "cottages." As we cruised through we took pictures of some of the more typical and/or interesting cottages we passed.

As you can tell, the styles range from actual cottages to "what was the architect thinking?" construction. I would like to have heard the construction manager's comments on that last house when he first saw the plans. Remember that all of these places are on islands. That means they probably bring the construction materials to the sites in the dead of winter, driving over the ice. Otherwise all of the materials would have to arrive by boat. The cottagers themselves arrive by boat, or in some cases airplane.

As we've gone further north the terrain has been changing. There are fewer low lying rocks; instead we have steeper hills and pine forests right down to the water line. Ron says it is like boating through the tops of the Rockies and I think he is right.

One night we found ourselves in Mill Lake, the most beautiful place we have anchored so far, and we had the anchorage entirely to ourselves. It was a rare and wonderful treat. It was also one of the places where we enjoyed one of many spectacular Canadian sunsets.

Down time in Mill Lake

On our trip from Mill Lake to Killarney we even saw a beaver lodge, no beaver just the lodge.

We have also been serenaded many nights by the calls of loons. Ron calls them "loonie tunes." I have tried unsuccessfully to snap a picture of these colorful birds, but to no avail. Every time one gets close enough to photograph, as soon as I get the camera out, they dive under the water. Jim says it is loons 37, Diane 0. He's right. So you'll have to settle for this image from the Internet. This is their summer plumage. They are not a colorful in the winter.

Tomorrow we are headed off to enjoy the islands of the North Channel. At the end of the North Channel is Drummond Island where we check back into the U.S. We probably won't have Internet access again until then (maybe two weeks from now). So look for the next posting then. This post is brought to you courtesy of the Town Docks in Little Current, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, the only marina we have been in in Canada that actually gets the Internet and understands how to run a WiFi network. I love these people!