The Other Side -- Georgian Bay

Carved in stone... that pretty much describes the coastline of Georgian Bay.

I was over to a friend's place on the weekend. Her cottage faces across the bay to Franklin Island. The road in is twisty and narrow, frequently crossed by turtles and the occasional rattlesnake. The shoreline is either wide, shallow and sandy, or grooved granite, solid Canadian Shield.

I'm always fascinated by how the topography changes so rapidly in such short distances. Here at Bondi, the rocks of the Shield are never far from the surface -- but over at Trish's, the rocks ARE the surface. That and the almost endless stretch of water that is Georgian Bay.

When this part of the world was being settled by Europeans, the British commissioned warships to be built to operate on the Great Lakes. Unable to conceive of any body of water that large that was not a salt ocean, all the ships were fitted at the boatworks with desalination equipment. None of which was ever used. All the same, standing on the wide shores, looking out to the west, it's easy to imagine this water goes forever.

Not far from here you'll find Kilbear Park, one of the jewels of Ontario's Park system. The park contains a wide variety of geographic formations from the bold granite rocks of the Canadian Shield to the sandy beaches of Kilcoursie Bay. The park contains a diverse ecological system of forests and wetlands.

The Georgian Bay coastline is worth exploring. From Parry Sound, you can catch the Island Queen for a cruise through the Thirty Thousand Islands. There's more... so don't try to count them, just enjoy the cruise.

A little to the north is Killarney, definitely a treasure, with its quartz cliffs and turquoise waters.

To the south is one of Brian's favourite flight destinations with his float plane -- the Giant's Tomb, part of Awenda Park.

We are blessed to have Georgian Bay rubbing shoulders with us in Muskoka. It is definitely one of the most beautiful and unique spots in all of Canada, and possibly all of North America. It is about 320 kilometres long and 80 kilometres wide, on the northeastern side of Lake Huron. More importantly, the Bay itself is almost as large as Lake Ontario, one of the smaller of the Great Lake. Canada’s own Group of Seven made the Bay and the islands famous throughout the art world. So unique is the region that it has been named an UNESCO HERITAGE SITE.

It's close enough to be easily reached in a few hours drive from here. And it's worth the trip, even if just to say "howdy neighbour."

And by the way, Trish, you owe me a dinner...

http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/killb.html