We are in the charming village of Little Current on Manitoulin Island (see aerial). It's rainy and about 55 degrees outside. We were socked in due to bad weather so we decided to "nest". We went grocery shopping & did laundry...I cut my hair, read a good book, made pot roast for dinner, baked banana bread, watched the Olympics...Chip reviewed the charts and kept an eye on the weather forecast...looks like we should be able to shove off tomorrow morning...just another week or so and we'll be back in U.S. waters.
The word Manitoulin in the Ojibwe language means "spirit island". This area is the northwestern-most part of the region known as the Niagara Escarpment...the rim of an ancient sea. The rocks are different here than they are even just across the channel...mainly comprised of limestone rather than the granite and quartz that we have seen all along the Georgian Bay and the north shore of the channel. This island is the 174th largest island in the world. --and Here's an interesting fact: Lake Manitou is the largest fresh water lake on a fresh water island in the world! There are 3 rivers on Manitoulin Island...one of which we will be visiting tomorrow: Kagawong, where we will see the magnificent Bridal Veil Falls. The water surrounding the island is so clear you feel like you could drink it. The lakes are bluer than topaz. The North Channel was part of the route used by the daring voyagers to reach Lake Superior. The first known European settler on Manitoulin Island was Father Joseph Poncet, a French Jesuit, in 1648. After that, most of this area was settled by fur traders, loggers and fishermen. There is an area on Manitoulin still inhabited by native peoples, called Wikwemikong.
Each year around the middle of August our earth experiences the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower, dubbed The Ol' Faithful of meteor showers. Manitoulin Island is part of the Dark Sky Association, also known as a dark sky reserve...We are hundreds of miles from the nearest city and the sky does not get much darker anywhere in the world than it does here...so the stars are brilliant and this prolific meteor shower will be viewed (08/12 is best) from the top of Ithaka...We hope that wherever you are, you, too will go outside after midnight and gaze up to the billions of sparkling lights in the summer sky and watch the stream of falling stars...
The word Manitoulin in the Ojibwe language means "spirit island". This area is the northwestern-most part of the region known as the Niagara Escarpment...the rim of an ancient sea. The rocks are different here than they are even just across the channel...mainly comprised of limestone rather than the granite and quartz that we have seen all along the Georgian Bay and the north shore of the channel. This island is the 174th largest island in the world. --and Here's an interesting fact: Lake Manitou is the largest fresh water lake on a fresh water island in the world! There are 3 rivers on Manitoulin Island...one of which we will be visiting tomorrow: Kagawong, where we will see the magnificent Bridal Veil Falls. The water surrounding the island is so clear you feel like you could drink it. The lakes are bluer than topaz. The North Channel was part of the route used by the daring voyagers to reach Lake Superior. The first known European settler on Manitoulin Island was Father Joseph Poncet, a French Jesuit, in 1648. After that, most of this area was settled by fur traders, loggers and fishermen. There is an area on Manitoulin still inhabited by native peoples, called Wikwemikong.
Each year around the middle of August our earth experiences the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower, dubbed The Ol' Faithful of meteor showers. Manitoulin Island is part of the Dark Sky Association, also known as a dark sky reserve...We are hundreds of miles from the nearest city and the sky does not get much darker anywhere in the world than it does here...so the stars are brilliant and this prolific meteor shower will be viewed (08/12 is best) from the top of Ithaka...We hope that wherever you are, you, too will go outside after midnight and gaze up to the billions of sparkling lights in the summer sky and watch the stream of falling stars...
-and don't forget to make a wish!
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