Great Lakes Trip Part Deux - By the Numbers

Within 2 hours of our arrival home it started to rain, and rained for the next 36 hours.  That seems a fitting end to a trip where it rained for almost half of the days.  Nonetheless we had a fabulous trip and saw many beautiful and exciting places.  The highlight of the trip has to be Leslie and Natalie's wedding and the glorious time spent with all of our extended family and dear friends.

So here are the numbers for this trip!

2,117 -  miles traveled
     27 - nights on the road
     15 - places stayed (7 public campgrounds - 1 we returned to for a second stay, 6 private campgrounds, 1 friends house - which we returned to for a second stay [Thanks B&G!], 1 wedding hotel)
      2 - countries visited (eh)
      5 - states/provinces visited
      3 - canals (1 in US, 2 in Canada)
      9 - lighthouses
      5 - kayak paddles (2 at sunset)
    20 - blog posts
    13 - days with rain
    39/3c - low temperature (Tobermory ON)
    75/24c - high temperature (Lockport NY)

Lighthouses and Navigational Lights

I see the light across the bay,
I see the light not far away;
And I hear the music all around,
I'm gettin' closer to Portland Town.
So, Mother, won't you make my bed,
I see the light off Portland Head;
I see the light, I'm comin' 'round,
I'm comin' home to Portland Town.

Schooner Fare, Portland Town

Lighthouses and other navigational aides have been important to mariners across the millennia, and never more so than in the Great Lakes where treacherous rocks and narrow channels are the norm.  On our trip we found quite a variety of beautiful lights.  We thought they were pretty enough to warrant their own blog entry.

Old Fort Niagara Lighthouse, Youngstown NY [Lake Ontario]

Fort Niagara was a location of great military strategic and economic importance because it guarded the entrance to the Niagara River just across from Canada. The lighthouse marks the entrance to the river.

30 Mile Point Lighthouse, Golden Hill State Park NY [Lake Ontario]

We stopped for lunch at this state park hoping to have a view of the lake while we ate.  We were pleasantly surprised to find we had a lighthouse as well!

Oswego West Pierhead Lighthouse, Oswego NY [Lake Ontario]

It seems we found many of the lighthouses over lunch, and this one is no exception.  The lighthouse sits well off from shore along a breakwater that protects the entrance to the Oswego River. This is also the location of Fort Ontario.

Tibbets Point Lighthouse, Cape Vincent NY [Lake Ontario]

Our friends Bill and Gail had recommended that we visit this scenic lighthouse.  It sits on a long skinny point of land and marks the channel to the St. Lawrence River.  The day we visited it was very windy and raining sideways.  You can see the water droplets on the camera lens.

Channel Light, Wellington, ON [Lake Ontario]

We stopped at this lovely beach for lunch as we traveled across Prince Edward County.  This navigational light sits at the end of a breakwater and marks the entrance to the channel to the town harbor.

Presqu'ile Point Lighthouse, Presqu'ile Provincial Park ON [Lake Ontario]

The Presqu'ile lighthouse marks the entrance to a protected bay behind a long skinny peninsula that has been made into a lovely provincial park, where we stayed for one night.  Somewhere in history the lighthouse lost it top, and now only has a light sitting where a beautiful lantern room had once been. 

Tobermory (Big Tub) Lighthouse, Tobermory ON [Bruce Peninsula, Georgian Bay]

This lovely lighthouse sits on exposed limestone on the Niagara Escarpment lighting the channel at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula that is the entrance from Lake Huron to the Georgian Bay.  We stayed several days in Tobermory and a total of 4 nights on the Bruce Peninsula.

 

Lions Head Harbour Lighthouse, Lions Head ON [Bruce Peninsula, Georgian Bay]

Another lunch lighthouse, this one marks the entrance to the scenic Lions Head harbor at the base of the dramatic Lions Head Bay. 

Saugeen River Range Front Light House, Southampton, ON [Bruce Peninsula, Lake Huron]

We headed to Southampton in order to visit the last of the large towns on the Bruce Peninsula.  Imagine our delight to find this charming lighthouse marking the entrance to the river that flows through the town.  There was another lighthouse on an island off the coast as well, but the rain clouds and distance kept us from getting a good photo of it.

 

The Welland Ship Canal, St. Catharines, Ontario [Welland Ship Canal] (October 19, 2014)

The Place

The Welland Ship Canal runs from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario across the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada.   It is a serious, working canal that traverses 27 miles through 8 locks, and allows freighters to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment.  It can take freighters up to 740 feet long.  The locks are 80 feet wide. 

 

The canal provides a direct route between the two Great Lakes.  The first Welland Canal was built starting in 1824, and the canals were rebuilt, widened and (in some cases) rerouted in 1839 and 1887. Work on the current version of the canal was started in 1913 and completed in 1932.   

The Adventure

We went to Lock 3, that also has the museum about the canal.  The history of the canal was very interesting.  Fortuitously, while we were there, a freighter came through the lock.  The huge freighter crept down the canal toward the lock.  What was so amazing was that the canal channel seemed to be just inches wider than the huge ship.

I read somewhere that during the 8-10 hour trip down the Welland, the captain is required to be at the helm of the ship.  He can rest or take a break when the ship is in a lock.  After seeing how exact the piloting needs to be to enter the locks, I can understand why this requirement is in place. 

 

After seeing the locks (and in some cases the boats or ships) at Sault Ste. Marie, the Erie Canal, and the Rideau Canal it was still exciting to see the freighter go through the lock at the Welland.

Niagara Falls - Natural Wonder [Niagara River] (October 18, 2014)

The Place

The Niagara River flows 36 miles between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.  At the Niagara Escarpment, it drops about 170+ feet in 3 falls - the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls.  About 6 million cubic feet of water flow over the falls every minute.  The fastest water flow recorded over the falls is 68 mph.

The Adventure

All the Falls and a Piece of the Niagara Escarpment

We traveled to the Falls using public transportation.  The Canadian city of Niagara Falls has limited parking near the falls, but has provided buses from all the campgrounds and hotels to the falls area.  When you get off the bus, the view is stunning.  The noise of the water flowing over the falls is constant.  We walked along the boardwalk overlooking the two sets of falls.  We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the falls.  Then we went down into the tunnels behind the Horseshoe Falls and down onto a terrace at the base of the falls.

The Niagara Falls defy description.  Stupendous, momentous, awe-inspiring, incredible...  They live in movies and legend, yet the stories do not convey how amazing they truly are.  They are very photogenic (even on a cloudy day), so here are LOTS of photos.  Enjoy!

American and Bridal Veil Falls

The View from Lunch

Inside the tunnel behind the falls

Beside the falls

The Niagara Escarpment - Canadian Side

The Beautiful Bruce Closes Up as We Head South [Lake Huron & Georgian Bay] (October 16, 2014)

The Place

Off the coast of Tobermory is the Fathom Five National Marine Park.  It encompasses 22 of the islands and many shipwrecks in the channel between Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay.  They refer to the islands as stepping stones across the wide channel that native people, early explorers, animals and birds have used to cross the wide expanse of water.

 Little known fact:  With crystal clear water, shipwrecks, islands and interesting rock formations, Tobermory bills itself as the SCUBA capital of Ontario and has a bunch of dive shops to support the claim.

The Adventure

Watta View!

Our last morning in Tobermory we climbed the observation tower at the Visitor Center for the Bruce Peninsula National Park and the Fathom Five National Marine Park.  After days of rain, the skies cleared to give us beautiful views of the islands, the waters and the peninsula in full Autumn colors.  As we descended the stairs, the clouds returned accompanied by winds that stayed with us the rest of the day along with intermittent spitting rain.

We zigzagged our way south down the peninsula.  The first stop was Stokes Bay on Lake Huron.  We never actually found the town of Stokes Bay, but we traveled along a coastal gravel road lined with cottages overlooking lovely views of the little bay and islands in the bay.  The docks here seemed to be laid on top of wooden structures filled with loose stones.

After crossing the 45^th parallel, we traveled into Lion’s Head on the Georgian Bay side.  Lion’s Head is a small, intimate feeling town on a lovely, round bay guarded by the limestone cliffs that we have come to expect on the Georgian Bay side of the peninsula.  Everything is in walking distance in the town, from the shops to the town beach and marina and municipal campground.  When we were in Tobermory we heard that “Crane Day” would be next week, where huge cranes come to town and lift all the boats (except for the Coast Guard vessel and the largest glass bottom tour boat) out of the water and onto stands to be stored for the winter.  It appeared that crane day had already happened at

Stokes Bay ON

Lion’s Head.  We saw many pleasure sailboats with their enormous keels sitting on their stands in what must be the parking lot for the marina during the summer.  The docks in the marina were empty except for a few smaller power boats that could be winched up on trailers.

Back across and further south we reached Sauble Beach on Lake Huron.  Sauble Beach is a small town strung along a very long, wide sandy beach.  The town was closed for the winter.  A resident we spoke with told us that until May they would have only 1 grocery store, 1 hardware store, 1 restaurant and the liquor store open.  The town population shrinks from 10,000 residents (not counting visitors) in the summer to 1,500 in the off-season.  We walked along the windy beach and Tiki got a chance to swim in the waves, and frolic and roll in the plentiful sand.

We returned to Sauble Falls Provincial Park for the night, we had stayed here on our way up 3 days before.  The park closes for the season in 9 days.  The Bruce Peninsula is battening down for winter.  The forecast for tomorrow night here is 1C or 34 degrees. I guess it is time for us to head southward.

Post "Crane Day" Lions Head ON

Lions Head ON

Lions Head ON

Lions Head ON

Sauble Beach ON

Sauble Beach ON