June 13th, 2025: Day Nine
Distance Travelled: Unknown
Days in Hotel/Motel VS Campgrounds: 4/4
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
My Garmin watch lies to me again and says I had a poor sleep when I felt pretty darn good.
Deciding to spend a second day in Sault Ste. Marie was a solid plan. One of the things about staying two nights in a hotel is hour by hour you get a better deal, as you also get the check-out/in time between 11am and 3pm. Four hours is four hours.
First thing I did was head over to Shopper’s Drug Mart and bought some stamps and mailed the second set of postcards…now that I am writing this, I may have forgotten the postal code on my Nanni’s card. Here’s hoping it still gets there.
On the way back I hit Jiffy Lube and asked for an oil check. They confirmed everything was good and added a little air to one of the back tires which they said was down a couple of pounds.
Back at the hotel I looked through the local guide and decided to check out what is called The Soo Locks. It’s a canal that brings boats though and raises/lowers the water as necessary. There is also a simple hiking trail on Whitefish Island.
There was a huge variety of flowers, and I had a great time casually strolling through. The chipmunks were obviously well fed as they come right up to you. I got lots of great videos of them coming up to me on my RayBan Meta’s. One even crawled across my shoe.
The hike lasted 1 hour and 16 minutes including watching a boat go through the lock. 2.8KM and 71 meters ascent.
June 14th, 2025: Day Ten
Distance Travelled: 412 KM
Days in Hotel/Motel VS Campgrounds: 5/4
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario –
The Kicking Mule Guest Ranch (Manitoulin Island, Ontario)
Easily my most expensive day yet. Had to buy groceries, a ticket (for the next day) on the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry, and could not pass up the opportunity to sleep in a teepee.
Writing this on my Kindle Scribe as the internet is so bad here in Manitoulin Island, not even my One Note will sync.
I am staying at The Kicking Mule Guest Ranch and the accommodations are amazing. Jeff, the owner, is a character too.
In other news I had my first close call with a deer. Hit the brakes pretty hard. When there are seven deer crossing signs in two kilometers you tend to pay attention. None the less the bugger came flying out of the bushes with a death wish.
There are Amish on the island. One of my bucket list items is to see one of their villages. Maybe on the way back?
POST TRIP NOTES: I didn’t get to see one but maybe I’ll make a dedicated trip one day.
I also went over the double solid line for the first time today. Someone was doing sixty in a ninety when most do a hundred and there was a string of cars behind. It’s dangerous and I leaned on the horn as I (and someone else) whizzed by.
The teepee has an outlet, but no heat so I am expecting a cold night. Possibly colder than the car as I won’t be in an enclosed space. With “shiternet” I’ll be spending more time tonight reading. I’ve been working on Where the Falcon Flies by Adam Shoalts. It’s about his journey from his home in Southern Ontario up to the Arctic on foot and canoe. 3400KM. Crazy. A great read for inspiration on my own pilgrimage. I estimate to arrive in Toronto by Tuesday.
Over time the feathers on my hat have split and frayed. I looked up a feather restoration tutorial last night and it was as simple as using steam.
With no kettle I turned the bathroom sink on as hot as it would go. Sure enough it did the trick.
My camping neighbor was a videographer and self-proclaimed social media guru. We exchanged words and business cards. We talked about the current state of the internet, my time as a You Tuber and my eventual burnout.
June 15th, 2025: Day Eleven
Travel Distance: 90KM + 47KM nautical
Days in Hotel/Motel VS Campgrounds: 5/5
The Kicking Mule Guest Ranch (Manitoulin Island, Ontario) –
Bruce Peninsula National Park, Ontario
Today was a series of highs and lows.
After waking from an amazing sleep in the teepee, I had the plan of taking a hike before catching the ferry. I had time to kill.
Saying my goodbyes to the owner and giving myself a “sport wipe shower” I drove the five minutes to the hiking spot.
I was immediately attacked by a massive bug swarm unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I was back in the car almost instantly and on the highway, windows down, trying to boot my new stowaways. I would have a paper towel at the ready for the next several hours as the bounced off the inside of my windshield.
To kill time I visited gift shops, mailed the latest set of postcards, had a sensible lunch which consisted of the house salad and soup of the day. All this took place in South Baymouth near the departure point.
At around three I asked one of the staff which direction it comes from, and another of the staff asked what my feathers (in my hat) were. I told him a crow and a magpie, from Montana and my front step.
I drove in and lined up early, but I was not the first.
With my car in place, I wandered some more until it was time. Purchased a couple random items at the information center which was having a community book sale. Everything was like .25 cents a piece and I walked away with a cloth bookmark and a cassette tape on walking for your heath made by Sears, still sealed.
Driving on the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry was such a cool and unique experience for me. I even bought a pin of the boat and fixed it to my camera bag, which was bursting with my 70-200mm f2.8 that I knew I’d need.
I easily got lost on board but eventually found the gift shop I’d buy a sticker to add to the car. I also took a photo of a nice ladies cat, a Siamese like thing with that short curly black fur you see sometimes. It was in a harness and seemed unbothered by the dog nearby barking at it.
Now, I knew there would be a lighthouse to shoot along the way and while outside I spotted it. The wind was intense and if it weren’t for the neck strap on my hat, it would have been lost at sea. That being said, it was during this shoot that my precious Montana crow feather, which I just had steamed, and received praise on, flew off my hat and overboard into the water. A total lack of surprise washed over me.
POST TRIP NOTES: My other feather, also snapped off at the top and would be discarded later.
But, I am pretty sure I got some great shots.
When I arrived, I headed straight for Bruce Peninsula National Park. I was not prepared for how big and loud it was. My space was 190.
Once I was in, I took to the idea of getting in a hike first, then a shower, then convert the car for sleep.
It was recommended by my single-serving-neighbor that I check out the grotto. About forty minutes away on foot.
About ten minutes into my walk I felt foolish as I was passing people in shorts, while I was in a jean jacket, so I walked back and switched to a tank top. Wouldn’t you know it, now I was passing jacketed groups.
It was at about this time I realized my brand-new pin had fallen off. The one I got just hours before in South Baymouth.
It remains to be seen if it’s Somewhere in the car.
POST TRIPS NOTES: It was not in the car.
After crossing paths with what seemed like a hundred people, six to eight at a time, I reached the view of the grotto and so had a few dozen others. Rowdy. Young. In my shot. I didn’t even bother to pull out my Nikon, I just snapped a single image with my phone and headed back.
POST TRIP NOTES: Lightroom would release an update with the ability to remove people with AI, and now I wish I had made the effort.
Shower time and eager to try the soap I bought in South Baymouth. What I failed to read was the shower was on a timer and it stopped when I had an ass crack full of soap.
I dried off, dressed and went to another shower stall to finish.
Today takes the cake on the weird shito-meter.
I’m headed to my Aunt & Uncles tomorrow. While I am not burnt out, I am looking forward to a layover.
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