Spectacular Lake Superior

Hello dear friends, 

Saturday was the last day of our mini vacation through Northern Ontario.  We took a leisurely drive from Sault Ste Marie north to the Lake Superior Provincial Park with some stops along the way.  We traveled on Highway 17 which is part of the Trans Canada Highway.

We stopped at a picnic area that has a plaque displaying some interesting facts about the Trans Canada Highway including that our stop was at the mid point of the highway!

We stopped at two provincial parks.  Pancake Bay Provincial Park and Lake Superior Provincial Park were less than one hour apart.  As this is already past the traditional summer camping season the parks were not busy.  It was very interesting to see the variety of mosses and mushrooms.  The types, sizes and colours were fascinating!  When we had previously stopped at a gift shop I noticed a book that could be used to identify mushrooms in Ontario.  After seeing the amazing assortment of mushrooms today I was sorry that I hadn't purchased it.

Lake Superior is one of the world's largest freshwater lakes with a surface of 31,700 square miles.  The lake is bounded by Ontario in Canada and Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota in the US.  The lake is an important shipping link in the Great Lakes Waterway allowing freighters to move iron ore and other products between the US and Canada as well as between the bordering US states.  Lake Superior is an unforgiving body of water with November marking the start of the stormy season.  I had read that there are over 350 shipwrecks including the famous wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald which is also the subject of a very famous ballad by Gordon Lightfoot.

This part of Ontario has a rugged beauty.  The rock outcroppings provide home to many varieties of plants and trees.

It is astonishing to see how these evergreens were able to gain a foothold in such an inhospitable area!

The views were simply stunning and it seemed that as we rounded each curve we saw another sight that took our breaths away.  Unfortunately there were very few areas of the highway that allowed us to pull over safely so many of the views (including one of an amazing rock cut) will be stored in our memories.  This was a trip that we would definitely want to repeat!

Later I have some other photos to share of our trip on the Chi Cheemaun Ferry which allowed us to travel from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island on our way north as well as some of the photos of our return trip.

Thank you for joining me on this little vacation!