Going with the flow: Chutes Provincial Park, Canada 9/24/2009

Another blue sky day, but a bit cooler when we woke up this morning, about 40 degrees. I noticed the difference riding my bike back from the shower – a bit brisk. Before we headed out we took an early morning tour of the lower falls. There are five falls, but much smaller and not nearly as majestic as the Upper Fall. We decided to take a back road to Sault Ste. Marie and what a good choice it was. We drove through the woods, hugging Lake Superior and seeing all these rustic cabins on the great lake. It was very quaint, but I wonder how these people survive in the winter. We stopped at Point Iroquois Light House and spent some time visiting the keeper’s home, museum and grounds. Ned braved it and took the 72 steps to the tower. I wasn’t worried about the climb, but there was no way I was going to walk up open grate steps – too scary! Ned was rewarded with some amazing views, which he captured on camera. The highlight of the day was definitely the Soo Locks. We arrived at the locks just in time to see an iron ore ship pass through. (See today’s pic) It was really, really amazing! The ship was 735 feet long, 75 feet wide and we watched as this mammoth ship was raised 21 feet to pass from Lake Huron to Lake Superior. The whole thing took about 20 minutes. Pretty amazing considering it is all done with water seeking its own level. Today’s picture is of the Quebecois passing through MacArthur Locke. (I’ll post on my facebook page a photo sequence of the ship passing through when I get a better connection). Enjoying another sunny and pleasantly warm day, about 70 deg, we decided to picnic in front of the Soo Locks visitors center. (Day three of smoked whitefish and I can say I am officially over it. Looking forward to entering Canada and finding some other food fetish to keep me amused. Ned has been sticking to peanut butter and apples, wise man.) We entered Canada and of course lied about not carrying any alcohol. Do they really expect a California girl to travel out of the country without California wine?! We really enjoyed the several hour drive on highway 17, traveling next to Lake Huron, and passing occasional lakes and scenic rivers. We stopped at a small Canadian grocery store to stock up on food for the next couple of days. Observations: aged cheddar is called “old cheddar” or “very old cheddar”, large meat case of sausages is about twice the amount of beef and chicken, nice selection of real yogurt, lettuce is shipped here from the Salinas Valley in California(!), and yes they do sell jiffy-pop. Our camping destination tonight is Chutes Provincial Park, near Massey. We didn’t know what to expect since this is our first time camping in Canada. The park is great. Lots of wooded campsites, nice bathrooms, hot showers and it has a laundry facility. We arrived around 6ish, started the laundry and took a spin around the park in search of the Chutes Falls, the park’s namesake. Our expectations were low, especially since there has been no signage advertising the place, We were amazed at the beauty of the raging waterfalls that empty into a swimming hole. Sorry, a little too nippy for me to take a dip, but gorgeous nonetheless - especially with all the fall colors around. We are going to ride back in the morning and try to take some pictures in the early light. Okay, I have popcorn to eat and wine to drink – au revoir.