Bruce and Kirsten moved from Nanaimo, BC last year to a new life in Elliot Lake, touted as Ontario's most affordable retirement community. Situated halfway between Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury in an unspoiled wilderness area surrounded by pristine crown land and thousands of lakes and rivers that beckon you to canoe, fish and hike it is the ideal place for Bruce's love of fishing and exploring. We had never been there before and were looking forward to experiencing a new town and all it had to offer. Bruce had promised to take us fishing so we were both eager to put the line in the water again after many years. As usual Bruce and Kirsten welcomed us into their new home and we had a delightful BBQ dinner that night complete with corn on the cob, done right on the grill. We met Cory, one of Kirsten's three taller than average sons (see below) who was staying with them. We walked down to Spine Beach on Elliot Lake afterwards, just five or so minutes through the woods and, except for the usual big dogs, enjoyed the peace and quiet so close by. Bruce, after his last heart surgery, took it fairly easy while we were there but was still eager to show us around the area during our stay.
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| Kirsten's son Cody |
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| at the Fire Tower Lookout, Elliot Lake |
We drove the next day up to the Fire Tower lookout where we had a wonderful view of the Northern Channel of Lake Huron and Manitoulin Island. Afterwards we headed out to Flack Lake to see the beautiful Laurentian Lodge where, following a drive of forty minutes along a very deserted road past Mississagi Provincial Park, we scrambled over rocks by a nearby waterfall and along a path that took us out to the lake. It was all very northern Ontarioish, rocky, wind-swept, scrubby trees and fairly flat terrain. We also took in the local flower show while we were in Elliot Lake, visited an antique shop in the small town of Spanish and on Sunday enjoyed the popular Brunch Buffet at one of Bruce's favorite Greek restaurants, 'Georges'.
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| Laurentian Lodge |
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| one of the many almost tame red foxes along the highway |
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| Elliot Lake flower show |
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| Uranium atom monument, Elliot Lake |
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| the Stuart tartan, modeled by the very lovely Marie |
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| Bruce, Georges Restaurant |
Before we left Elliot Lake we finally got the opportunity to fish in one of their special spots, Depot Lake, along the 108 highway south out of town. Bruce built a small trophy for the winner (largest catch), payment of $2 to participate, the first fish caught wins the money ($8). After tying on the lures we all found a place on shore to fish and for the next three hours tried to catch the elusive monster. Bruce caught the first, 5 inches or so and I got the largest, a 16-inch small mouthed bass. Poor Marie had a few nibbles but is still waiting for her first. We all left the next morning, Bruce leading the way in their Honda and made our way east to Espanola where we stopped for a bite of lunch before saying farewell then continuing down highway 6 to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. We had reservations on the ferry to Tobermory, the
Chi-Cheemaun.
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| and the winner is....Gary! |
The weather turned rainy and gloomy while we meandered south through the farm fields of Manitoulin Island (Mnidoo Mnising in the Anishnaabeg language), the world's largest fresh water island. At one point we drove through a dangerous squall that suddenly blew in with high winds from Lake Huron, the sky blackening over and invisibility in the driving rain down to zero. We arrived safely at the ferry terminal to find the storm had taken out power to the island and had to wait for it to be restored before we could check in. I went for a walk and took some photos of the area while Marie waited with the camper. Then after over an hour and a half wait the
Chi-Cheemaun appeared coming slowly up the gap in South Bay. We boarded shortly after, ending up at the bow, to be the first vehicle off in Tobermory. We had supper on board - meatloaf, veggies and fries which I found quite tasty for ship's fare- as we would tie up late on the other side. We spent the night at Harmony Acres campground, a few miles from the terminal, before continuing the next morning to Cambridge. The rain had passed and the sun showed promise of another beautiful day.
🅶🆆🆂
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| waiting for the ferry, South Baymouth |
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| martin, ferry terminal |
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| Chi-Cheemaun |
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| yeah we get to go first! |
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| Harmony Acres campground, Tobermory, Ontario |
