Mon. July 27, 2020, Ontario Cottage Country
Our route through the cottage country of Parry Sound kept us remarking on the beauty and surprises of the region around every corner.
The landscapes that began from Peterborough continued, but with increasing intensity. The pockets of good farming soil declined and the granite and limestone of the Canadian Shield reminded us that we were travelling across some of the oldest mountains in the world–well-carved by glaciers, water, and wind into engaging countryside. The occasional bogs and lakes made clear that the process continues as soil creation is still under way.
We saluted Sequin on our departure as we had done for Jackie on our way by MacTier. Seguin was the NRE town that taught us the value of integrating seasonal residents into the planning and policy-making part of community governance (http://nre.concordia.ca).
Our stop for lunch was enhanced by the chicken wraps that Kathy had passed on to us from the previous day.
We continued our way west as the fancy summer cottages of Parry Sound grew less frequent and the small houses and little villages of more remote regions took over. We were particularly impressed by the stories implied by the rock cuts since they exposed the many types of rock, the layers of their formation, their many colours, and the majesty of the outcrops.
They contrasted sharply with the organic richness of the many bogs, small lakes, and occasional streams that lay nestled wherever a depression occurred.
As we passed the smokestacks of Sudbury, we were reminded that the landscapes also reflected the impacts of human activities. The vegetation scattered over the hills was sparse and the richness of the bogs diminished. On our first trips through this region many years ago this land was largely dead since the years of pollution from the mining operations had transformed the region into a moonscape. Since the imposition of pollution control, the land has shows evidence of new life, but the results are limited and the process is slow. (photo 0744).
By the time we were in the region of Espanola, we saw the road signs warning of horse and buggies often found in the Waterloo area. Small farms appeared along with their related activities.
We pulled into another KOA RV site near Sault Ste Marie for the night and thanks to the impressive design of our vehicle were able to eat, clean up, and get to bed even in our exhaustion.