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So, while I am still coming to grips with not being able to say that I am in my 30's anymore, I thought I would post up my trip report from my 40th birthday trip up to the shores of Lake Superior. The last time I was up in this part of Ontario I was a teenager and was on the way home from a high school trip to the states where we came back via the north shore of Lake Superior. We stayed in Agawa Bay and I fell in love with the area and vowed to get back. Being about a 10 hour drive I decided if there was anytime to go, that time was now, my 40th. I booked 2 days off of work to get 6 days off and headed up on Mon May 30 and came home on June 3 the day before my birthday. When my kid got wind of my trip (he's 4, 5 in Sept) he started asking questions about the area and what I was going to do. My son takes after me already with a love of rocks and minerals and has already started his own little collection so after doing a little bit of research I found out that you can go to some Amethyst mines about 30km east of Thunder Bay. He asked for a piece of Amethyst with Hematite inclusions in it. After finishing work on Sunday at midnight I headed home to shower and load the rest of my gear in to the wagon along with my pooch and got on the road about 1 a.m. Without any traffic and the darkness, the kilometres seemed to fly by and before I knew it the sun was slowly coming up and I was past Sudbury. Deciding I was still doing ok I carried on and made stops as I drove when I saw interesting spots along the side of the road, like Chippewa Falls. As I reached the limits of Lake Superior Provincial Park I rounded a bend and a cow Moose was grazing at the side of the road. But by the time I pulled over a truck had rumbled by and she had taken off in to the forest. In Wawa I stopped to grab some food for the road and all my groceries before getting back on the Trans-Canada Highway to head even further west. Arriving at the Amethyst mines around 5:30 p.m. I was amazed to find one open. However, after a short visit with some very unfriendly guys I decided to leave and try a different mine on day 2. On the way out I met two gentlemen who ran a different mine and they invited me back, took me in to the actual mine and let me sort through and pick some very nice pieces all for $30. Def a repeat trip next time I am up that way. After a great experience I decided to cancel my overnight at Sleeping Giant in favour of driving back to Lake Superior. Now, I can drive, I love to drive and as I headed out at 8:00 p.m. I was a little tired. As the kilometres back to Wawa rolled on I could tell I was getting very tired and that I needed to stop soon for the night. With high beams blazing away, I rounded a bend doing about 105km/h in a 90 zone. Standing smack dab in the middle of the road was another Moose, almost impossible to see in the dark, but I was able to stop in time to see it look at me and walk off. Arriving in Wawa I stopped at the local tourist info spot and grabbed a few hours of much needed sleep. Awaking surprisingly still comfy in the drivers seat I got out to stretch, fed and walked the pooch and got on the road to Agawa Bay. Upon arrival I found the prime beach spot, checked in, got some wood and set up camp. The weather was half decent so after a quick meal of hot dogs over the fire I headed of to check out the visitor centre and the park. Lake Superior is a beautiful park. Set along the rugged coast of Lake Superior, it is filled with amazing landscapes, rivers, waterfalls, beaches and wildlife. The Agawa Bay area where I was based gets a lot of fog and rain in May as the land warms up faster than the lake. I didn't get any star shots as planned because of the weather, but did get the awesome experience of watching a storm come in across the lake and slept through it as it hit. I spent a lot of time hiking and seeing as much as I could so I will just throw in a bunch of pics here and add a link to the album over on Flickr at the end. All in all an amazing trip, I highly recommend the park and the Amethyst mines, in particular, the Blue Point Amethyst mine, if you get up that way. Cheers, Zen Chippewa Falls Chippewa by Zen, on Flickr High Falls High Falls by Zen, on Flickr Along the coast Alone on the coast by Zen, on Flickr Sand River Sand River by Zen, on Flickr Old Woman Bay Old Woman Bay by Zen, on Flickr Amethyst Amethyst by Zen, on Flickr Hematite inclusions Amethyst by Zen, on Flickr Toronto to Thunder Bay to Wawa It's a long drive by Zen, on Flickr Waking up to the Goose Wawa by Zen, on Flickr Stay tuned for part two of the pics. Zen.
Zen and the art of infiltration... http://www.flikr.com/photos/zenslens Zen is an uber explorer, a demi god of craning and purveyor of the finer things in life. | |
wow, sweet trip
Create don`t destroy. http://www.flickr....tos/104842213@N04/ | |
Thanks!! Round 2 of shots I had one good weather day Here lies beauty by Zen, on Flickr Old Woman Bay in the sun OWB by Zen, on Flickr The end of the Sand River just before it flows in to Lake Superior Making swirls by Zen, on Flickr One of the falls on the 6km hike upstream Sand River falls by Zen, on Flickr Steak dinner, fire cooked Steaks on by Zen, on Flickr Breakfast Peameal by Zen, on Flickr Cooking on a fire by Zen, on Flickr Brekky by Zen, on Flickr More fog of course Beach duty by Zen, on Flickr Keeping dry Paddles away by Zen, on Flickr Tarp by Zen, on Flickr White pine, needles come in groups of 5 Needles by Zen, on Flickr The only good sunset The setting sun by Zen, on Flickr Coastal trail Rugged shores by Zen, on Flickr Rocky road by Zen, on Flickr Get the hang of it by Zen, on Flickr All the shots can be found here @ https://www.flickr.../72157669060491172 Cheers, Zen
Zen and the art of infiltration... http://www.flikr.com/photos/zenslens Zen is an uber explorer, a demi god of craning and purveyor of the finer things in life. | |
Awesome photos! The fog made for some great shots.
“We are not going to have the kind of cooperation we need if everyone insists on their own narrow version of reality. … the great divide in the world today … is between people who have the courage to listen and those who are convinced that they already know it all.” -Madeline Albright | |
Posted by splumer Awesome photos! The fog made for some great shots.
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Thanks Splumer! The fog was awesome, I really did't do it justice sadly. The best part of all the rain, mist and fog? Kept the fucking Black Flies (mostly) away.
Zen and the art of infiltration... http://www.flikr.com/photos/zenslens Zen is an uber explorer, a demi god of craning and purveyor of the finer things in life. |
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