Day 313, "on the loop", 8/18/2023

This week is all about the North Channel (Lake Huron) before crossing back into the U.S.

Sunday & Monday (8/13 - 8/14) - The rain stopped and we made a run to Killarney (Ontario, Canada) from Bad River. The pictures below are some taken prior to departing Bad River.

See Pic 3: Look at this, boats can anchor right next to the rock wall. These were Gold Loopers, so they know the area pretty well.

Beautiful Sunset the evening before:

If you look at these pictures in reverse (right to left), shows progression of the sunset (as the sun set), isn't it beautiful!

Our ride to Killarney was uneventful and overall a nice day! We arrived on a very low-key day and given a primo slip for docking. We had access to showers and laundry, we never get this close, must be our lucky day!

Pictures of the skies during our ride from Bad River to Killarney marina.

Several boats left Killarney, making room for us to stay 2 nights. Was able to do the laundry and Joel did a few boat chores. Monday, we checked out the town while waiting for Arabella, Long Gone 2 and Port-a-Gee to catch up. Rode the rental bikes to the Post Office, shopped at the general store (that charged way too much for their stuff), a deli / ice-cream shop and a couple of restaurants.

We saw a huge cruise ship near the marina thinking Killarney was a popular place; but later found the area is mainly known for their hiking paths.

Plus, Viking Cruise lines made arrangements for the locals to host a "fish fry" for the cruise guest.

Dinner with these guys @ Herbert's Fisheries

Saying Good night, their boats were across the way, the staff make runs back and forth all day taking marina guest to / from their boats:

Loopers: Port-A-Gee, Arabella and Long Gone 2

Tuesday (8/15) - First off, Happy Birthday - Mom! Hope it was a great day. I called and she was having a good day, sounds like people were spoiling her.

Left Killarney and headed to The Pool (Baie Fine) for another great anchorage. We rafted off with 3 other boats: Arabella, Long Gone 2 and Port-A-Gee.

Before Sunset & After Sunset.... sunset picture: compliments of Two Harbors.

Like the rest of the anchorages in Canada, this one was just as lovely. It's called "the Pool," and just a short dinghy ride (from where we anchored), there is a 30 minute hike uphill with a spectacular view of Topaz Lake (the water is a beautiful clear blue). Side note: I didn't make the hike, I had a vertigo attack and didn't want to hold up the gang (hear I missed it); but, they took pictures for me!

At the top, Topaz Lake! A little smoggy from the Canada fires.

Yes! That is Joel making the leap into Topaz Lake.

Topaz Lake is known as a Fjords: A fjord is a deep, narrow and elongated sea or lake drain, with steep land on three sides. The opening toward the sea is called the mouth of the fjord, and is often shallow. The fjord's inner part is called the sea bottom. If the geological formation is wider than it is long, it is not a fjord. (check below for more information on this topic)

After the hike, almost everyone went in for a swim! Breakaway would be so proud of us crazy American's for getting in the water (it was 70 degrees). After a swim in the lake, Two Harbors (a couple from California) joined us for docktails (on back of Summer Place).

Chris didn't want to be in the guy photo - lol. Karen and Laurel had already come back in from their dip!

Docktails! LG2 brought their hometown chips (all the way from Ohio) to docktails. Everyone had to try them ;-)

SCENES AS WE PREPARED TO DEPART THE POOL:

In order to leave, had to pull up the stern lines. Joel and Dan went to shore to retrieve the lines.

Two Harbors took pictures of us leaving, I am in the orange shirt putting the lines away. See I do work!

Arabella gets the award for the day! They had a massive amount of weeds on their anchor which took time to clear. Side note: We refer to these weeds as "cousin IT", from the Adams Family.

Karen doing the happy dance.... anchor is clean, no more weeds!

Debbie from Two Harbors watched the above (show) and after doing so, they decided to cut the weeds by using their dinghy.

"Sometimes you watch the show & sometimes you ARE the show!"

I did post a video of Arabella cleaning the weeds on Facebook, if you would like to see some of the show :-) See Facebook: Tracy Carr Boisselle

Wednesday (8/16) - Departed The Pool (Baie Fine) and headed to Little Current Marina (Huron Lake). The ride was nice. There is a bridge right before the marina and the bridge master runs a tight ship! He opens the bridge on the hour and only opens it for 15 minutes (it takes 6 minutes to open and 6 minutes to close and only 3 minutes between). We needed to be close to the bridge to enter. When we arrived there were a few boats waiting which caused a back up with the marina on slip assignments.

The current is a little tricky here at Little Current Marina ;-) so we decided to dock, bow in. Typically we dock stern in (back into the slip) but with the current and wind, we didn't want to take any chances.

After getting settled, we met a new looper; Ramble On II (Kathie & Dave - Canadians), they are new to the loop. We handed off several of our old Skipper Bob books, that they should be able to use when they do the Florida and Chesapeake areas.

Several of us went to dinner at Brewgers (Manitoulin Brewing Company):

Two Harbors (Debbie & Tom), Rumble On II (Kathie & Dave), Arabella (Karen & Capel) and Summer Place (Us):

Pic 1: They stamp the shape of Manitoulin Island on your hamburger bun.

Pic 2: We caught a large wasp in the glass; but, Capel was playing w/ the wasp and by doing so, he broke the glass. Debbie hid the broken glass in one of our boxes and tossed it (I joked that is someone you wanna travel with, she will have your back!)

Thursday (8/17) - This day was full of rain and winds, so we're in for the day. Chris (from LG2) stopped by for a quick visit, Joel worked on the engines making sure we are all set for the rest of the trip. I cleaned the cabin of the boat (the full boat), dusted and wiped everything down. Since hurting my finger I have cleaned one room at a time over the course of the past few weeks, but today was able to clean the entire downstairs.

Side note: Thistle is a looper; however, we haven't met them, yet!

I FaceTimed with my great nephews, Mason & Carter. They are spending time with my sister Tammy (their Mimi). They are camping in New Jersey's until Saturday. My sister is in heaven getting to spend time with them.

Friday (8/18) - We had originally planned 2 days here at Little Current marina; however, due to weather reports we decided to stay an extra day. It is not a bad place to be held up. There are several other loopers here, a nice little town and a few eateries to enjoy too!

Well, our crappy, rainy day turned out to be super fun! While at Anchor Inn for lunch, we ran into Lucky Chicklette who told us about a 3 - 5pm happy hour. The happy hour is hosted by Roy from Cruisers.net and apparently it happens every Friday. For once, the crew of Summer Place was at the right place at the right time.

Cruisers.net is a weekday broadcast hosted by Roy on channel 71. He reports on weather and other topics related to the North Channel. Roy is like a celebrity in these parts, super nice and humble. We truly enjoyed meeting him!

Represented: Lucky Chicklett, LG2, Summer Place, Roy, Port-A-Gee, Ramble On II, Two Harbors & Arabella.

AND THEN.... I met Lynn from Tail Wind....

My finger injury is more common than you think. Her injury was 2 years ago. Her story is much better than mine. She was in one of the locks on the Trent-Severn, got distracted and got her finger caught up in the lines.

We met another person, Kelly (previous owner of Anchor Inn), who injured her finger too! Didn't get her in a pic. Her story was while walking a family members dog, her finger got caught in the dog leash.

Random Information & Miscellaneous Stuff

Lake Huron (/ˈhjʊərɒn,-ən/HURE-on, -⁠ən) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the 5-mile-wide, 20-fathom-deep (120 ft; 37 m) Straits of Mackinac. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the South and west by the U.S. State of Michigan.

The name of the lake is derived from early French explorers who named it for the Huron people inhabiting the region.

If you are interested in learning more, check it out here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Huron

Topaz Lake (we anchored near this lake):

Located deep in the forest of Killarney Provincial Park, Topaz Lake is one of the hidden gems that not many visitors have ventured to or even heard about. The 6 mile hike to get there may be tough, but the journey is so worth it. You may even spot a bear!

Manitoulin Island (/ˌmænəˈtuːlɪn/MAN-ə-TOO-lin) is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. If interested in learning more, check it out here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoulin_Island

Fjords: If interested to learn more about Fjords, check it out here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fjords_in_Canada#:~:text=Fjords%20in%20Canada%20are%20long,valley%20carved%20by%20glacial%20activity.

Raymond / Grampy Update:

Two appointments behind him (vascular and his primary care), both were good reports. He is on he mend. He will continue his physical therapy through the week of 9/1 and have another primary care appointment the first week of October (which will be the tell all). In the meantime, he will have paid help on Monday, Wednesday & Friday's (Her name is Sophia and should be the same person all 3 days). Thanks again for everyone that called, sent messages and /or stopped by for a visit. I know he really appreciated it AND WE DO TOO!

Our friend Patty Desroisier is going to pop in occasionally to ensure Raymond is staying on top of his PT and hopefully encourage him to do light house chores ;-).

Jonathan Update:

He recovered very well from his recent wisdom teeth extraction, thanks to Jane Ruby & Ron Morgan and Kellye too! We are beyond grateful for their help. Jonathan worked his last day at the legends on Thursday (8/10), had his annual eye appointment on Tuesday (8/15) and moved back to Arkansas on Wednesday (8/17). We are beyond proud of him doing so much on his own while we're are away. We enjoyed having him join us during our NY leg and look forward to seeing him in Arkansas in November.

He is in an apartment with 3 other guys. They each have their own room and bath with a community living space. Colton was the first to move in and his mom cleaned the apartment. Mrs. Gegg also took a few of Jonathan's items a couple of days before he arrived. Thanks, Katie!

Maps of the trip:

August 13

Bad River anchorage to Sportsman Resort & Marina (Killarney, Ontario, Canada)

August 15

Sportsman Resort & Marina (Killarney, Ontario, Canada) to The POOL anchorage (at Baie Fine)

August 16

The POOL anchorage (at Baie Fine) to Little Current Marina (Little Current, Ontario, Canada) - Yes, we are in the North Channel (Lake Huron)