Saturday is a day of traditional rides. I had planned a ride for Heather and I to
Manitoulin Island. We didn't get rolling until later in the morning. We first rode west along Highway 17, portions of which were recently widened.
Before reaching the island we made a couple of stops in Espanola as well as Birch Island. Espanola is known as the paper town as it's home to
Domtar, the largest producer of freshsheet paper in North America. The ride south towards Manitoulin Island was full of beautiful scenery and twisty, for Ontario, roads.
Veterans memorial in Birch Island
As lunchtime approached, we stopped in Little Current which is the first town on the island, just past the bridge leading to the island. The bridge was actually up when we got there but it only took a couple of minutes before we were moving again.
The bridge to Manitoulin Island
Little Current is a very small town but also a very popular tourist destination. The streets and beaches of Little Current were full of people enjoying today's perfect weather.
We ate at the Anchor Inn Hotel and of course we both had some type of seafood. After lunch, I led Heather on a ride deeper into the island. The roads on the island were no longer twisty but scenery reminded me of any farming community I've seen before.
As usual, we getting very tired riding on a hot day so we decided to turn around in Kagawong. I took us there just for the purpose of getting a water tower photo but the destination reminded Heather of a school trip she'd done years ago.
It turns out that Kagawong is home to Bridal Veil Falls. We stopped there on the way out of town and descended a few flights of stairs to get a closer look at the falls.
Bridal Veil Falls in Kagawong, ON
On the way back to the campground, we stopped at a gas station in Espanola for some refreshments. We arrived back at the campground well after 5pm and just before supper. The ride may have been a little longer than planned but when an opportunity is there, it is tough to pass it up.
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