Midland ON to Killarney ON

I have to create this from scratch because it crashed.  If you read it before this will be different as there's no backup...

Today we left Midland ON at 6am.  Six hours later (at 20mph) we arrived in a place that has been on my bucket list for 25+ years.  Killarney Mountain Lodge.  

Killarney is the southern start of the north channel and home to one of the most beautiful anchorages in the world..  


The day could not have started more beautiful.  120 miles of near flat great lake water.  


A few islands to pass...


And breathtaking scenery.  


A picture perfect day.  We could see the mountains here from 45 miles away today (because it was clear, cool and they were tall enough).  



Eventually we arrived at the lodge.   Filled up with fuel (ouch, it makes me cry how expensive) and grabbed a quick bite to eat so we could go see Covered Portage anchorage.  

This place does not suck.   If I was by myself I'd definitely anchor tonight but we are traveling with friends who wanted to stay in marinas...


And this marina is definitely not roughing it.  The slips are made to accommodate 130-200ft yachts.  

And planes.  


It is gorgeous. 


With views out over Georgian Bay. 


We went for a bike ride to town and out of town and met some nice locals.  

And bought ice cream....  Because that's what I do...

There are unique things in all of these small towns.  

Like a book exchange in a fridge.  

Or the world's largest paddle. (23000 lbs, 110ft long).   Made from Cedar....

For reference see Katie standing in front of it.... (Or my bike). It's huge.  

I'm feeling doubly blessed today... See the above picture and see if you can tell me why...  (Comment if you see what is wrong with this picture) 

Then back to the lodge for dinner. 

That didn't suck either....  At all.  

They do a great job here of embracing the nature and still making a place comfortable.  Care to make a pizza?

Or do some fine dining?

Not bad for a place that didn't even have a road until 1986.   It was always accessible only by boat.   

This is a place the magnificent seven used as subject matter for their paintings.  

Almost 120 miles today. 
We had good weather and now are in more protected waters.   We hope to do another 120 miles tomorrow up the north channel to Drummond Island.  



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Youngs Point ON to Fenelon Falls ON

Image
We left Youngs Point lock wall this morning about 8am with two hours of cruising to get to our first lock.   What a beautiful day.   We had two lakes to cross.  Clear Lake (which is clear)...   And Stoney Lake which is.... Granite.  The beaches are done and the navigation is critical.  It's a common thing to have solid granite just a few inches below the surface on both sides of the boat just 10-20 feet away.  As long as we are in the designated channel it's fine....   But prop repair and replacement is a big business here... Still... Driving past this kind of scenery all day would never get old... (Until it froze).  Eventually we journeyed through four locks today... And up to a fifth.    Lock 28, 30, 31, 32... And sitting just under lock 33.   Yes we are aware 29 is missing.  28 and 29 used to be a set of two (a flight lock) but in the 1960s they automated it (hydraulic controls rathe...
Read more

Hastings ON to Peterborough ON

Image
Well today was the same.... And really different.   We left Hastings and traveled up Rice Lake for miles and miles.   What a gorgeous area.  Reminds me of the North Channel.  After many miles of cruising up the lake we hit something new.  WEEDS.  So thick they convinced the depth finder we were in 2ft of water..    We were literally mowing them.   And they eventually covered the water so thick you couldn't see the water and birds were standing on it... But that passed.  We just took it slow and ground our way through.  Eventually it turned into river again with fast moving water and less weeds.   It really doesn't suck here.   Such a beautiful area.  Twisty river, beautiful homes and cottages.   After four hours we reached our first lock of the day.  That was a long stretch of moving water.   We would run 10-11mph on the boat and get 6.2 on the water/over t...
Read more

Adventure awaits.

Image
Dan and Katie will be leaving for the Great Loop the first week of October.  We'll be living on the boat from mid-September until at least the end of June 2024.    Our plans are to travel 6000+ miles down the river systems of the midwest, around florida, up the east coast to New York, up the Hudson River, across the Erie and Oswego Canals, Lake Ontario, the Trent Severn Waterway (across the province of Ontario), Georgian Bay, The North Channel, Lake Huron, and then back down Lake Michigan to Grand Haven.   Katie has officially "retired" from NorthPointe Christian Schools.   Dan is taking a semi-leave of absence so that we can take this journey.   We're sure we'll miss our family immensely while we are gone but we do intend to make visits home and take a couple of breaks during our trip to "catch up".   How are we going to accomplish this?    On our newest BOAT, of course.   The Motor Vessel Sea-Ya became our trav...
Read more