Hello dear friends,
I have been away for a while but am back with a some exciting photos to share! A very dear friend and I decided that we should have a little vacation together. We last traveled together over 20 years ago and have been great friends for some 40 years. For those of you that read my blog you will know that we have a working farm so it is very hard for my husband and I to take time away. I have been thinking of taking a little trip to Northern Ontario and my dear friend graciously agreed to come along for the ride. I hope you will join us!
We started our mini-vacation on Wednesday and I will have other posts to share about how we started our trip together. Our destination was the northern town of Sault Ste Marie and it was from that point that we took the train to Agawa Canyon!
All Aboard!!
We started our day early by catching the train at the Algoma Central Railway Station in Sault Ste Marie. We took advantage of a special package and were able to easily walk from our hotel to the train station. This is a very popular attraction and we wanted to make sure that we had good seats and that we could sit together.
This is the peak season for fall colours in this part of Ontario. Even though I had booked our vacation a couple of months ago the Saturday trip was already sold out. There were 16 passenger cars in the train and each car had a name. Our car was named Ogidaki Lake.
A daily review of the weather forecast for the area had predicted steady rain for the day of our excursion. Unfortunately the weather forecast came to pass and we experienced a combination of wet, drizzly and rainy conditions. In sunlight the changing leaves would have produced a spectacular display of fall colours. We were a little disappointed but of course we know we cannot control the weather!
In spite of the overcast conditions our train ride allowed us to enjoy the rugged beauty of Northern Ontario. Large and small bodies of water, evergreens and vast amounts of rock make up this section of our beautiful province.
There are many inland lakes and islands. This area is popular for hunters and anglers and many of the lakes are stocked with trout from a hatchery in Sault Ste Marie.
We wondered how the inhabitants of some of the cottages we saw along the way were able to gain access as there as there seem to be very few roads in the region. The roads we did see seemed to be logging roads or perhaps for access for the train crews to work on the tracks. During the winter a snowmobile would be required for access.
There were many twists and turns on the journey. At times going to and from Agawa Canyon we could see the cars either ahead or behind us.
One of the rail tresles along the line. The train took us over the Montreal River with a view of a power generating station.
Canada's famous Group of Seven took much of their inspiration from the spectacular scenery of the Algoma region. It is easy to see how the harsh beauty of the region would inspire such creativity.
A view from our rail car.
The many bodies of water provide popular areas for fishing.
The rain and mist made it a little more difficult to see the incredible beauty of the changing colour of the leaves. Even in the mist though the area has an incredible beauty.
Passengers have approximately 90 minutes to explore the spectacular trails in the Agawa Canyon. By the time we arrived however we were met with a steady rain. Athough we started walking the trails we quickly became soaked, even with our new waterproof ponchos. After a quick and thorough soaking we sadly returned to the passenger car without having made it to view the waterfalls.
The train patiently waiting,
Many of our fellow passengers didnt bother exiting the train. Some bravely started the trails but then decided to return to the train while some of the other die-hard passengers completed the entire trail and were rewarded for their efforts with spectacular views.
So sad. Our rain ponchos provided scant protection and after a soaking we decided to leave the rest of the hike to passengers that were more hardy!
Even in the mist the area is beautiful.
The gloomy weather couldnt hide the beauty of the glorious fall leaves.
The train traveled 114 miles into the canyon and took almost 4 hours. We were sorry that the weather hadn't been more cooperative but I am happy to report that we spent a total of 5 days on this little adventure and I will have other photos to share!
Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you enjoyed this tiny tour of beautiful Northern Ontario.
