SUMMER '06: Day 1: Off to the Bruce Peninsula! (Part 2)

It was around 3pm when we decided to continue on from Bruce Peninsula National Park, and up to the Town of Tobermory in order to get settled for the evening.

Our plan for the remainder of the day would be to visit the Bruce Peninsula/Fathom Five Visitors Centre, which just recently opened in June 2006.
The centre is located just on the outskirts of town, and features lovely displays of the local wildlife as well as local geology of the two local National Parks-Bruce Peninsula and Fathom Five Marine.

We were browsing some of the displays in the centre, when a gentleman came up to us to excuse himself as he needed to get into the spot we happened to be standing as they were about to install a new display with a Blue Heron in it. I immediately recognized the man, and upon walking away, I had mentioned to April that I had thought that it was Ethan Meleg, who is a famous nature photographer from the area. I mentioned to April that I had emailed Ethan a couple of years back for his advice on the type of equipment I should be using. Funny thing was, we were reading a couple of more displays just after this, and the man had come back to us to show us the Blue Heron that he was about to place up in a new display.
Turns out, he WAS Ethan Meleg! We ended up chatting for a bit, and I am proud to say that he actually remembered my email from years back, as well as he knew about my website. You can view his site by clicking on my links section www.wellerphotography.com/links.html or by simply going to www.ethanmeleg.com Here I was meeting my photography mentor..the photographer who has given me so much inspiration over the last 5 years. What a chance meeting!
And so, after an exciting visit to the inside of the centre, on the outside, we were treated to a 20-metre high tower that overlooks Tobermory and the Fathom Five Islands and Marine Park. Fortunately, the Chi-CheeMaun ferry was arriving as well--this all gave us an excellent view and excellent photo opportunities from a new feature on the Bruce Peninsula. What an excellent start to our vacation! This would be the ferry to take us over to Manitoulin Island the very next morning.

For more details on the new Bruce Peninsula/Fathom Five Visitor's Centre, go to:
http://www.thebrucepeninsula.com/park_centre.html


After conquering a few fears of heights on the tower, we drove back along Highway 6 to "Singing Sands Beach", located on Dorcas Bay Rd, and is part of Bruce Peninsula National Park. We stopped for just over an hour for a relaxing splash or two at pretty beach located on Lake Huron. The water is very shallow here and allowed us to walk quite far out into the water without it going too far above our knees. You will notice from the photograph, that in order to get out to the water, there is a bit of a lengthy walk along the beach. Bring a comfy chair or something else to sit on, the walk is well worth it!

After Singing Sands, we returned to Tobermory, and had a delightful meal of Fish and Chips at "The Fish & Chip" restaurant. I'm still working on finding a contact and website for this amazing restaurant. We then walked around the harbourfront of the little town, stopping in to a few boutique stores to have a look at the peninsula items that were for sale.

A loud horn sounded..this was the notification from the Chi-Cheemaun that it was departing for Manitoulin Island. 8pm is the last sailing, and it would return for midnight to sleep for the evening, in order to make it's first sailing at 7am the next morning. We had been informed by staff at the Ferry Terminal that we could speak to the "Dock Attendant" to see if we could check in after 8pm and park our car on the "docks" for the evening. The "docks" are actually a big parking lot with lanes, in which allow for the boarding and seperation of different types of vehicles that are carried across Lake Huron to Manitoulin on the Chi-Cheemaun ferry.
Sure enough, the attendant gave us our tickets for the next morning, and allowed us to park overnight on the "docks". This is a much easier way of guaranteeing an easy spot on the boat--despite the reservations we had made..it is also a more fun and adventurous way of vacationing. A motel would have been far more expensive..and most likely harder to get into.

And so there we were, parked in Lane 1, and we were Car #1. There wasn't much to do after this. Once we were parked, we couldn't drive anywhere..and so we decided to take another stroll around Tobermory for the evening. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the tip of the Bruce..

where the waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron meet. We then enjoyed an evening treat from "The Sweet Shop" http://www.sweetshop.ca/links.php

And this was Day One on our Roadtrip across Northern Ontario. The rest of our evening was spent relaxing in our car. We knew our sleep patterns would not be the greatest that evening, however the excitement of the day had worn us out a bit and we retired to our "beds"..or carseats for that matter..at an early hour. We actually missed the Chi-Cheemaun arriving at midnight--surprisingly we were fast asleep--awaiting our 7am sailing the next morning.

*Next!: Day Two-Crossing to Manitoulin Island, swimming at the Falls, evening on the boardwalks at Providence Bay

SUMMER '06: Day 1: Off to the Bruce Peninsula! (Part 1)

We were on the road by 4am on August 11, 2006.
Our Day One Destination: Bruce Peninsula National Park, then the docks at Tobermory where we would be spending the evening awaiting our ride on the Chi-CheeMaun the next morning.
We were off on our vacation, and what a journey it would be!

We were driving past the Hamlet of Ferndale at around 730am..and since we had made such good time, we decided to make a quick stop at the Ferndale Wind Turbine. We weren't able to get too close to this amazing wind turbine, due to local construction blocking off the road, however the morning skies were perfect, set as a wonderful backdrop to the awesome electrical achievement.
This 78m turbine has 40m blade, with each blade weighing 6 tonnes. The turbine produces 5,000,000 KWh/year. Due to it's location, Ferndale is the ideal spot for this turbine due to the high winds off of the nearby Lake Huron. For more information pertaining to the turbine you can go to:
www.skygeneration.ca or better yet, to view photos of the construction of the Ferndale Wind Turbine, you can go to: http://www.amtelecom.net/~tboyle/wind/feature19.htm which is also located at www.brucepeninsula.org

We continued on past the turbines and arrived at Bruce Peninsula National Park, just past 8am. Perfect timing as the park had just opened up for the day. The sun was shining bright, and hardly a cloud was in the sky. Perfect day to explore the trails and sights of the park.
The park is chock full of hiking trails, rugged Georgian Bay coastline, caves and crevices to explore, and great spots for camping-both in a campground setting, or backcountry camping if that is what you prefer. For this stop, we hadn't planned on camping, as our plan for this day was to hike to the landmarks along the coastline. We stopped for our required daypass at the front office, and continued in to the "Head of Trails"
where an interpretive display was set up for visitors to the park.
We had been before, so we continued on along the "Georgian Bay Trail", as it winded its way past Cyprus Lake and Horse Lake, and through the tamaracks and spruces of the peninsula. Lovely boardwalks and steps leading down through the rock faces were a welcomed sight. At last we met up with the Bruce Trail and the shoreline of Georgian Bay. Despite the warm sun and perfect skies, the wind was a bit strong. This gave us great opportunities to watch the waves crash up against the weather beaten shoreline. The limestone cliffs again were taking a thrashing from the cool waters of Georgian Bay. The deep blue water looked welcoming however, upon touch to the toes, and another look at the impeding waves, we decided not to venture further into the water than just the tips of our toes! The Bruce Trail however provided vey warm and beautiful views of the peninsula shoreline as we continued along the trail to the "Grotto Cave". This is the largest of the shoreline caves in the park, and is well visited throughout the year, and especially in warmer months when swimmers and divers can explore the underwater features that the cave provides. An underwater entrance to Georgian Bay is visibly seen from the inside of the cave. The fun part was climbing down and into the cave. I have found over the years of visiting the park, is that there are two ways down into the cave. For the more brave, there is the "wall", where you must find your hand holds down the side of the limestone cliff edge and then down and into the cavern, or you can take a small hole, or subcavern rather, that is located just a few steps away from the set of stairs along the Bruce Trail, just a few feet from the cliff edge.
Please watch your step as you climb through
this fun, but somewhat tricky entrance to the Grotto.
And it might be a bit easier in hiking boots, however I always found it more comfy to do in my trusty sandals! Well worth the climb in, whichever way you decide to venture.
And so, after a visit inside the cave, we climbed back out through the hole, and back up to the Bruce Trail above.

We continued along the trail and were treated to far distance views of the amazing and beautiful rocky shorelines of Georgian Bay.

A couple of neat "Points of Interest" were the distant islands of Flowerpot and Bears Rump, and of course the local wildlife along with the view!

The park as I stated before, has many hiking trails, some of which will take you through the forest bordering Georgian Bay, along boardwalks, and past marshes, however others will take you to high cliffs that overlook far distances along the northern and southern parts of the Bruce Peninsula. Some trails such as the one in this photograph, take you to little remote spots below the escarpment and the Bruce Trail above, and allow you to walk along the rocky coast. Please be careful and wary of where you walk in this area, as your footing may be unsteady and the water levels (or cliffs for that matter) may be higher than you think.

A word of caution, as I nearly stepped on this as I walked along this area of the peninsula.. luckily it wasn't a Massasauga Rattlesnake which are quite relative to the area. This snake calmly sat in between the rocks along the shoreline, and behind some of the weeds, basking a bit in the sun, and keeping a bit cool in the shade at the same time. Regardless of it not being a rattlesnake, I decided not to bother it from it's nap, as it looked just about as comfy as I felt at my distance.

After following the Bruce Trail along a limestone-boulder beach, we came across the signpost that marks the end of the Horse Lake Trail and where it meets up with the Bruce Trail. This was our turning-in point for the afternoon, as we had decided that we would like to continue on to Tobermory for the remainder of the afternoon.

For more detailed information on this amazing park, there are many great sites when you search on yahoo, google, or any search engine that you prefer.

For the main site for the park, go to:

http://www.canadianparks.com/ontario/brucenp/index.htm

*up Next: Singing Sands Beach, Tobermory Visitor's Centre, Tobermory Sleepover!

SUMMER '06: A Superior Trip

And that it was...a very "Superior" Trip.

We have just returned back from the North Shore of Lake Superior. We left St.Catharines on August 11, and arrived back from northern Ontario on August 26. We were 15 days on the road, and visited 12 provincial parks, scattered about the northern parts of Lake Superior.

The farthest "north" so to speak that we ended up going, was Quetico Provincial Park, located just 45km east of the little town of Atikoken. Geographically speaking, we were approximately 6 hours from the border of Manitoba. The temptation to drive to the border was high throughout the time spent up there, however locals and experienced travellers had told us that the border was no different than what we were already seeing in this part of Ontario. Just a sign. And although we had gathered some really cool signs through the parts that we travelled, we had decided not to make the extra day trip over to the next province over.

Each park that we stayed at, throughout the 12 provincial parks that we experienced, had it's own unique and memorable experience. Each park we can list off the pros and cons to, and each park gave us a story to tell. Now that we have returned from this amazing two week venture, we are going to do as such.

You will experience stories from climbing a 120-ft observation tower, to surviving a Lake Superior overnight windstorm, to selling beaver pelts at Fort William in Thunder Bay, to canoeing a meandering river through Quetico, to climbing up waterfalls, to mining our own Amethyst, to observing hours of beautiful northern lights, to exploring an old northern ghost town, and to crossing suspension bridges that shake in the wind.

Those highlights and many more will be upcoming in the Blog here, as well as back on the photo site under "Provincial Parks". An excellent trip video was also made (in parts of course), so that too will be upcoming for your viewing pleasure. Expect updates over the few weeks, however I will warn you now, the trip was so beautiful and so amazing all in the same breath, and due to so many breathtaking adventures, the photos are plentiful and are taking some time to sort through.

Much more to come, and please feel free to leave your comments along the way as they are always welcome.

Glad to be back to share this experience with you! :)

~Tom

The Storms

And so after a crazy Wednesday evening of thunder & lightning storms in this area,
newsflashes of Tornado warnings where my
parents are now staying in Haliburton area of Ontario, and of not being able to get through
due to power outages in that area..
I woke up this morning with a terrible stomach ache and a massive headache.
Low density perhaps?

And so after a good day's sleep into the afternoon, and a relaxing medicated bath,

I decided to go through some of my pictures from
last night's thunderstorm. Out of the 100 photos that I took, from a propped up camera in my livingroom window, I managed to grab 10 really great shots of the lightning storm.
I have added a three samples for your enjoyment. The series will be posted in a special gallery to be named later on this site.
The lightning bolts last night showed well in the photos, with bright white and blue streaks across the skies, branching out of the main bolt like roots from a tree in the ground. An amazing show of light dancing in the sky, and apparently onto the ground as well. Firetrucks were on the way down Oakdale Avenue, commanding the wind and rain swept streets for their storm-struck destinaton. It is possible that they were on a different mission, however with the amount of lightning there was last evening, the likelihood of lightning demise was more likely.
I can definitely say that capturing lightning is by chance and luck, however, there is a certain timing and skill involved as well. I was using 100 ASA for starters, which is a slower film processing speed, which would allow for the capture of light moving across the skies. And then I played...
I started off with f5.6 at 25 seconds, which brought out alot of the orange-hue evening skies..that gave a neat effect with the lightning and the skies giving off that "firey-destruction-like" feel to the photos. I then bracketed up to f9 at 15 seconds. This brought out a lot of the darkness in the forground, and helped to silhouette the background, buildings, and trees against hazy-white clouds reflecting the very bright and blue-streaked lightning bolts.

A truly exciting experience this was to capture the lightning in such a brilliant display
..and now to share with all of you!

If any readers of this post out there would like to share in this blog entry your own experiences with capturing lightning, or even any cool storm experiences you have had, please feel free to do as such. Storms are fascinating, exciting, and thrill seeking to others, even to some..scary and traumatic....how do you like storms?

~Tom