Canada

Turbulent waters at Burleigh Falls

| Christie

Turbulent waters in Ontario as well, as a stay-at-home order is in effect as of this morning. The Ontario government is requiring everyone to remain at home with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for essential work. So, no more travelling for at least 28 days☹ but we believe for the best!

We’ve been blessed with a sunny day last Saturday, and decided to take a country road and see what it brings. This time some waterfalls.

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CA, Ontario: Fun at The Beach – Providence Bay

| Christie

Considered by the locals The Beach, Providence Bay is famous for an obvious reason.

About 6 hours north from Toronto, located on a picturesque, southern side of Manitoulin Island, Providence Bay is the perfect place for a getaway. Looking upon Huron Lake, one of the Great Lakes of North America, the bay offers one of the longest sandy beaches I’ve ever seen in Ontario. Early natives, Ojibwe people called the place Bebikodawangog, which translates as ‘where the sands curve around the bay’.

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CA, Ontario: Manitoulin Island, In search of lost lighthouses

| Christie

First time we visited Manitoulin Island was back in 2017, when we did a road trip around Huron Lake, one of the five Great Lakes of North America. This time we decided to take more time and do a road trip around Manitoulin Island itself, searching for the island lighthouses.

Manitoulin Island is the world’s largest freshwater island, and it is considered by natives The Heart and Spirit of the Great Lakes of Canada. Home to three distinct cultures – First Nations, Francophone and Anglophone – this region has a diverse culture and a rich history. The island itself is considered sacred by the Native Anishinaabe people, who identify themselves as the People of the Three Fires. 

With fond memories of our first visit to Manitoulin Island still fresh in our mind, we were not so lucky this time to book a reservation with MS Chi-Cheemaun Ferry Service, as due to Covid-19 restrictions, the passenger capacity could not exceed 50% of the vessel’s certified capacity hence we could not find spots available for our August trip.

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CA, Ontario: The 10 most common birds from our backyard

| Christie

The summer is long gone now, but the sweet memories of my little visitors are still vivid in my mind. The delight of having a garden is that you are never getting alone. Beside the gardening itself, you can always enjoy the little visitors, especially the birds. All you need is to plant certain flowers, and hang a couple of birdfeeders. Very easy!

The pictures don’t do justice to the exuberance and the joyfulness of the little ones, so I decided to make a little video. You can see what were the most successful flowers from my backyard this summer. Hope you’ll enjoy it!

p.s. Safe distance was observed, birds were not disturbed😊

Happy Birdwatching!

French River Provincial Park – Recollet Falls

| Christie

Trying to outsmart the rain, we left Sudbury, where we’ve had our base for four nights, quite late in the morning. Getting to French River park was an easy one-hour drive South from Sudbury (or 3.5 hrs North from Toronto).

French River from the snowmobile bridge

The Visitor centre is near the highway and was closed due to covid situation, but the bridge we’ve seen from Hwy was right there, a two-minute walk, never mind the light drizzle that has just started. The lonely bridge was waiting for us: it is the best outlook point where one can admire the canyon that French river forms here.

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Oh Canada, where tall and shining maples grow!

| Christie

The past month was especially remarkable, as the Mother Earth put up her royal clothes, and spoiled us with thousands of colours, shades, and feelings.

The whole nature basically metamorphosed, every day acquiring a new appearance as the fall foliage has reached its glory.

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Killarney Provincial Park – Best hiking trails of the year: 2020

| Christie

The Crack

As soon as we got on the trail, I knew it. All the street noise has suddenly ceased, the only family we passed by got quiet, the silent forest enveloped us in its magic touch, and then I knew I’m going to love the place. Was it the park itself, or just my desire to get out after so much social distancing, time will say.

Killarney park - The Crack trail

After a torrid month we’ve had some rain in the forecast, which made us decide to start with the most difficult day hike of the park: The Crack.

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