We really crammed a lot into a single day today, but still had time for relaxation. We moved early from the Lion's Head campground across the isthmus to a very pretty public beach on Lake Huron and made a breakfast camp there. I should have taken my opportunity for a swim there as that would have allowed me to swim in Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and an interior lake on the same day. Never mind, breakfast was good and we got on the road for the short drive north to Tobermory, a pretty little harbor town on the top of the Bruce peninsula. We had stopped quickly at the National Park visitor center and found out about the grotto hike and the boat tour around Flowerpot Island. As luck would have it we got to Tobermory just in time to catch the 10:40 boat ride around Flowerpot Island. Every one of the other passengers got off to hike the island, but our plans included hiking later in the National Park so we got just what we wanted – a very scenic boat ride.
We like going to a good restaurant for lunch. They typically serve the same menu for both lunch and dinner, but the prices are less at lunch. We tried to do that in Tobermory, but the restaurant we had selected was only open for dinner. No problem, we headed out to our campsite in Bruce Peninsula National Park and had sandwiches with the smoked turkey and basil meat we had bought 2 days ago. The dogs needed some time with us so we spent the hottest part of the afternoon sitting in the campsite with them. Melodee read her Western Horseman and I knitted. About 3:00 we headed off on the hike to the grotto. I have never seen so many people on a hike. It was a steady stream coming towards us and since this is Canada, it was truly a mixed bag. Before we had gone 100 m, we passed 4 women in burqas. We have hiked for 34 years in US parks and have never seen a women in a burqa. Its a mixed bag in all ways. You have blacks with asians, natives with whites, hetero couples, same sex couples, a variety of languages. We are really in the boonies and yet the only comparable place in the states would be New York City. Very refreshing and one more reason I love Canada.
Our hike's destination was Indian Head cove and its grotto. Once we got close, we could tell we would be sharing the experience with a lot of other folks and indeed there were about 200 people swimming and sunning at the stunning location. The predominant feature of the Bruce is the Niagara Escarpment and nowhere is it more evident that at the cove. The rock cliffs rise up 60m from Georgian Bay and fringe the aquamarine water. It looks like the pictures I've seen of the Greek Isles. The water is crystal clear to 50'. I had to swim here. Waters on the Georgian Bay side are colder than the Lake Huron side. Now bear in mind this is a fairly artificial division, Georgian Bay is the east side of the Bruce peninsula and Lake Huron the west, but having dipped my toes in both I can conclusively say Lake Huron is far warmer. I took the plunge and once in found that the sun warmed me so much that I spent almost 15 minutes in the water just playing around. I got out thoroughly refreshed, dried off and we climbed up to the entrance to the grotto. As you most likely know, a grotto is an underwater cave. The entrance to this grotto is thru a 2' hole in the rock . Scary stuff, but then it opens up and its just a scramble down to the water level. The grotto has an underwater opening in the rock to the sea and light comes thru, something we had never seen before. Several people tried to dive down and swim thru the opening with no luck. We just stood on the sidelines. The climb back up and thru the small opening was easier than coming down.
We decided to make a loop hike out of it and followed the Lake Mara trail or at least tried to. It turned quickly into a boulder field along the lake. We persisted and eventually got onto a more normal trail surface.
Got back to our camp and found the dogs happy and cool. We had our wine and cheese before feeding the dogs. We made the 1 minute walk to Lake Cypress. Did I mention this is a really great campground. This interior lake is warm with a sandy beach. I still had my swim trunks on so I picked Lena up and walked out quite a long way, but still the water was only up to my knees. I put Lena in for her first swim and she became the next Michael Phelps dog-paddling into the shore. We repeated this a few times and I realized Lena really didn't like swimming all that much. Sol never ventured closer than needed to get a good drink. We took a walk along the lake shore and headed back to camp. We put Lena in her pen, but that turned out to be a mistake since she was still wet and soon was muddy. Luckily there is a water faucet just across the road so with some shampoo and persistence, Lena is a clean happy dog and we are just about ready to cook dinner. Tonite its teriyaki chicken, fresh green beans and teriyaki noodles. We are passing on desert altho we did find time to stop at yet another fruit stand and are fully provisioned for tomorrow. May every day be as good as this.
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