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| Sauble Falls |
The Place
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| Owen Sound - Our First View of the Georgian Bay |
Occasionally we stumble upon an unknown (to us) natural treasure;
places we hadn’t heard about that take our breath away. The Bruce Peninsula is one of those magical
places. The Peninsula is a 60 miles long,
skinny finger of rock, separating Lake Huron from its enormous appendage the
Georgian Bay. It is part of the Niagara
Escarpment of limestone that extends from upstate New York, along the Bruce
Peninsula, across the Georgian Bay and eventually loops back into Wisconsin. In the southern part, the Peninsula is hilly,
the center is absolutely flat, and the northern part is rough and rugged with
many areas of exposed limestone. There
are narrow protected bays, and islands dotting the horizon. At the end of the Peninsula is the MacGregor Channel, the most
navigable channel between Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay.
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| Niagara Escarpment Limestone Cliffs Along the Road |
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| Sauble Falls |
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| Sauble Falls |
The Adventures
We approached the Peninsula from the east, driving along the
Georgian Bay side starting at Owen Sound.
We passed limestone cliffs on our left as we headed north, and scenic
narrow bays and open water vistas on our right.
Our first stop was Sauble Falls in the southern part of the
Peninsula just inland from Lake Huron.
The Sauble River stampedes down the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment here
through crescent shaped cascading falls.
In season, Chinook salmon jump up these tiered falls to spawn. While this was the end of the season for it, we
didn’t see any flying fish.
The next morning we headed north up the highway that runs
along the center of the Peninsula. We
passed flat grazing land, all with ditches dug on the perimeter to allow rain
water to run off. The thin layer of soil
sits on a limestone foundation, and there isn’t much opportunity for water to
be absorbed. Along the way, we crossed
the 45th parallel, although it wasn’t until we got to 45 degrees 8’
45.7” that we were actually half way between the Equator and the North Pole.
The tiny town of Tobermory sits at lands’ end at the end of the Peninsula, nestled around a
rectangular harbor called Little Tub Harbor. The town is equipped for visitors to this picturesque location with hotels,
restaurants, cottages, campgrounds and boat tours; though the literature about
the area alludes to full parking lots and crowding at the peak of summer. There are two Canadian national parks here, the Bruce
Peninsula National Park and the Fathom Five National Marine Park.
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| Beautiful Fall Colors - Sauble Falls Campsite |
The lighthouse at Tobermory is still in service. It sits on bare limestone at the edge of the (also)
rectangular shaped Big Tub Harbor. There
are quite a few shipwrecks here, and it is no wonder – everything is rock and
hard and dangerous for ships caught in the unpredictable weather of the Great
Lakes.
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| Tobermory Lighthouse Sits on Exposed Limestone - Big Tub Harbor |
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| MacGregor Channel |
We haven’t seen the sun since we got here, so these photos
have been taken in rain, mist and fog.
Just imagine how beautiful they would be on a sunny day!
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| Tobermory Lighthouse |
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| Little Tub Harbor, Tobermory ON |
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| Little Tub Harbor, Tobermory ON |
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| Little Tub Harbor, Tobermory ON |
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