Manitoulin Island - Day 2

Rain warning. Yes. We were warned. And still it was shocking just how much rain fell. Wow. 

We were fine, mostly. A few drips from the supporting cords, leaving my Thermarest T-shirt cover wet, and settling under Marc's kit bag. But we were prepared with waterproof bags and we aren't made of sugar 😋

Our neighboring campsite however, was flooded! 

The ducks were very happy this morning. And as our neighbor said, "when you get to your campsite and there are ducks, you should beware that you may end up with a pond". 🤣

Breakfast under a roof and warming ourselves by the dryer vents helped to start the day warm and dry. 

Today we cycled south. Mostly along Hwy 6 which was once again not too busy, and wonderfully smooth with a wide clean shoulder. A big climb to start which paid off with a beautiful view. 

First stop Ten Mile Trading Post. 

We sailed down the highway, a with a great tail wind and we were losing elevation so we were FAST.  Safe smooth rolling hills and tail wind. We figure the cycling Gods were apologizing for last night's weather. 

At one point we saw five Sandhill cranes take flight from a field to our left, and they can soar, rarely having to move their broad wings. Two more appeared on the side of the road beside us, in the wildflowers. They didn't seem fussed by us riding by and all four of us came within 6 feet of them. Beautiful red heads, and light brown and white feathers. 

Lunch in Manitowaning.  We pulled off Hwy 6 for a little break and found a cute little town. An old port that had converted the warehouse to a theatre. 

 And a pretty lighthouse and United Church. 

We found the local coffee shop that was serving lunch, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so, worth the stop, and a grocery store for snacks. Jackpot really. 

After lunch we turned off the highway and took "Lake Shore Road".  Enjoying the quiet road, we saw no cars for many kilometers. Very pretty wild flowers on the roadside, and thick forest.

Being on an island we are never far from water with nice views and quiet fishermen enjoying nature. 

Most of the road was hard packed gravel, but it changed to looser gravel and became a bit of a challenge. Slow going for sure. We turned a corner and had to climb a small hill of very loose gravel. We gave each other safety room, and slowed for a tough climb. And that's when a car came behind us "Car Back!". The car slowed and was patient. Perfect. 

And then as we were all on the hill, climbing, we looked up and saw....

This is an Overland Expedition Truck (RV). This photo is from Google, but this is the same as the vehicle we encountered 😳

Oh my goodness. I truly thought it was some sort of army machine or construction vehicle.  The brand name across the front read MAN. It took the whole road, or so it seemed to me.  Speechless. Well actually, I did yell out one word, not fit for the blog. 

It all worked out. The vehicles waited for us all to grind our way up the hill and get to the safety of the shoulder. But I still might dream of this tonight. It was more like a nightmare. But it was fine. 

The final bit of road had some wet spots. Like really wet. Puddles. Unavoidable ones. And we all got a bit dirty...

We arrived to find a warm welcome at South Bay Resort.  We had our pick of campsites as they are mostly seasonal here, we are the exception.

And Blaine and Anne Marie have their site, tent up and dried out too. 

Dinner at the Pierside, across from the Chichi ma Ferry terminal, enjoying local fish and (too many) chips. 

The sun is setting, and the wind is easing and the clouds are giving way to clear skies. 

Strava stats for today. 

Thanks for reading and commenting. Always fun to have company on our adventures.