St Lawrence to Superior

  As much as we have dreampt and spoke of the west for years, and many fellow Canadians do, of its bounty and beauty, its rocky to rolling mountains and clear blue waters, I now hold Quebec and Ontario to almost equal esteem (due to the fact we have not yet seen all of the west we hope to).  We had always thought of our home province as slightly landlocked, farm-ridden, and anglo dominated.  How diverse it actually is when one moves past the tried routes, the worn highways.  What of the rolling arctic-looking mountains of the St. Lawrence, to the stunted arctic shrubbery of Northern Ontario!  The vast stretches of farmland to the dense, sweet smelling forests and glassy lakes; the unique pockets of diverse cultures that span these two huge provinces!  What of the amazing micro-climate of Manitoulin and harsh cool shores of lake Superior, the ever growing aboriginal populations and centuries old Ojibwa pictographs of Agawa?  It is surely a case of the grass is always greener, and what better way to spend Canada day than driving through these endless areas spanning a third of the massive country.

Christmas castle in Riviere du Loup

A Malice in Wonderland inspired whale straight out of an acid trip...

The lovely St Laurence

The long Trans-Canada through Quebec requires a nap

Climbing steadily North on the windy roads of Ontario

Gitchigami

Agawa pictographs

North Superior, coldest swim yet

always appropriate to hike in a dress

The last attempt of Ontario's endless forests