The weather on the Bruce Peninsula can change on a dime.  The next day there was a break in the weather and it allowed us to hike the trails in the area.

There are different trails and trail combinations to take in the Bruce Peninsula National Park.  We chose to hike from the campground through  Mare Lake and not directly to the Grotto.  It’s a rocky trail, so it may be challenging to some.

We hung a left at the beach to hike to the overhang

and then tracked back

along this beautiful rocky beach

There were a few hikers on the trails, but not too many.  In the summer the place is packed and you have to buy a 4 hour parking pass ahead of time.  If you are going in the summertime, make sure that you have reservations as the place is packed!

and made our way towards the Grotto

We didn’t climb down to the Grotto since the rocks were wet and slippery.  Perhaps we should come back another time and kayak into the grotto.

 

 

alas, our photos do not do this place justice.

A bit of an illusion of an arch.  Or maybe a glimpse into the underworld.

but there was a real arch too.

We can’t get enough of the colour of the water.

we continued towards Lion’s Head Cove

and returned to the campground via Horse Lake Trail.  The loop was about 5km.

This place can’t be less than beautiful during any time of the year and under any type of weather, but look at the drama here.

You’ve seen the rocky shoreline.  Did you have an urge to jump from one of the overhangs? If you did, here is an explanation why you shouldn’t.

Who does that!

Tony started wearing an analog wrist watch recently.  It’s much easier when kayaking or canoeing if you need to know what time it is and your phone is stored in the dry bag.  As you may know, it is also useful as a compass.  Hold the watch horizontally with the hour hand toward the sun – the point that is halfway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock is south.  Just in case you are lost. Don’t forget to take the time change into account.

The afternoon called for intermittent rain and we drove to the Tobermory lighthouse for a quick peek

You may remember that we posted from the Bruce Trail terminus point in Niagara on the Lake a few months ago.  We are now at the other end of the the escarpment and the trail.  Bruce Trail trail is more than 890 km in length without taking into account all of the side trails.  We cheated and drove most of it, but still, we find it very cool and are so happy that we were able to hike at least some of the trails.

The sun was setting at the Singing Sands Beach; our next stop.

we strolled along the beautiful boardwalk trail

Got soaked again, but got a double rainbow as a reward

There is a neat interactive sky watch installation at Whispering Sands.

The peninsula is a fantastic place to stargaze and residents take their dark skies very seriously.

Our Manitoulin dream was fading away as the rain kept on coming down.  The forecast for the next few days in Manitoulin was not good, so we took one last look at  Chi-Cheemaun, the ferry to Manitoulin Island, and decided to track back the same way we came.  Next time.

Tracking back, we stopped in Cape Chin to visit Pam (from Roadtrek Canada) who was on her way to an amazing trip to New Zealand.  We are a bit jealous, but wishing Pat a safe and wonderful journey.

A stop at Wiarton waterfront

and a visit with Wiarton Willie, our Canadian spring whisperer.

This is Willie’s humble abode.  Apparently there is more than one Willie, just in case.  The little fellow croaked a few years ago just before the big day.  Spring never came that year…

Although we were disappointed that we had to change our Manitoulin plans, we would have missed a couple of gems if we had gone as planned.  We drove to Rural Rootz, a Harvest Host location which we wrote about in a recent post.  What a beautiful place and wonderful hosts!

We stopped again in Owen Sound and walked around the downtown core.  We are starting to warm up to this town.  The Artist Co-Op ashould not be missed if you are in the area!  What a pleasantly surprised to find so many talented artists and artisans under one roof.  If you are looking for Christmas gifts (or any gifts for that matter), check them out!

Irish Mountain Lookout

and spotted some Barn Quilts.  Remember those?

We also drove into the Meaford army base.  Unlike our last accidental, but unsuccessful attempt into an army base in Arizona, this accidental attempt was successful and we drove around the base.  We left when the shooting started.  It may have been the local shooting range, but we left just in case that they were looking for intruders.  More specifically, the ones in the sandy campervan.

We headed towards the bay and towards Meaford Harbour where we found the delightful  scarecrow invasion 

It was time to leave the peninsula and head towards home where we wait for winter to arrive.  In our next post we will share how we learn to love winter.  For real.

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