Return To South Bay... Or What I Did On My Summer Vacation

     A few years ago, I renewed my interest in photography with the purchase of a little Kodak digital camera from our local Canadian Tire store. I was going on vacation and wanted to take a camera just for family snapshots. At the time, I owned (and still do) a couple of film cameras that probably would have done the job. But film was getting harder to come by (come buy?) and the processing time is much longer than it used to be. Our local photo lab here in Paris now waits until they have a batch of them to make it worth their while putting fresh chemicals into their processor. What made me make the switch to digital was the fun I was having playing around with the camera on a cell phone that I had recently acquired at that time. So in  August of 2010, armed with my newly purchased Kodak C190, my son and I set off for the wilds of Northern Ontario to ride the Algoma Central Railway to the Agawa Canyon.

  Ok. That was 2010. What does it have to do with this year? Just this. In 2010, on our way to the Algoma Central Railway, we stopped at a little campground on South Bay on Manitoulin Island. Although kind of wide open, it was a nice spot. The stars that night were amazing. You know that you're in a good star gazing spot when the visible stars are packed so tightly together that you begin to understand why our galaxy is called the Milky Way. 

  The next morning I was treated to a beautiful sunrise. With the coffee pot gently burbling on the camp stove, I wandered down to the lake and managed to capture this memorable photograph.

      It was a stroke of luck really. While framing the sunrise with my little Kodak, the seagull dipped down and just touched the still waters at the edge of the bay. Anyone who knows me will recognise this image. It is the cover photo on my facebook page and also is the background image on my photographic business cards.

     This year, I decided that part of the itinerary of our summer adventure would include a return to South Bay on Manitoulin. I guess I just wanted to see if lightning could strike twice. 
     
     Just like 2010, we travelled up the Bruce Peninsula and camped overnight at Cypress Lake near Tobermory. The next day we poked about Tobermory for a bit before sailing over to Manitoulin Island aboard the Chi Cheemaun. It wasn't hard to find the campground. It is very near to where the ferry docks at South Baymouth. The campground looked pretty much the same but it was under new management. The older gentleman who was operating it on our last visit had sold it to a young couple. It wasn't quite as quiet as I remembered it. Perhaps it was the influence of the newer, younger owners but a few campsites down from ours, there seemed to be a fairly loud party going on with music blaring and loud conversation going on late into the night. By midnight their party had settled a bit and I managed to get some sleep. The stars weren't as spectacular as I remembered them either. Although it was a clear night, a very bright moon lightened the night sky enough to drastically reduce the effect of the starlight. Nice, but not as nice. "Oh well,"  I thought as I turned in for the night. " Maybe the old saying is true. The only constant is change."
     Or is it? The next morning I was up before the dawn. As I stumbled through the flap of our too small tent,  I was treated to this sight.  I couldn't believe it! A sunrise almost as beautiful as the last time we were here!

I quickly snapped a couple of images before firing up the camp stove and putting the morning coffee on. Equipped with much better camera gear (Although it doesn't seem to make much difference!)  and, later, a fresh cup of coffee,  I manged to capture the images seen below. 

 Lightning almost strikes twice! Although he didn't quite touch the water this time.

     Needless to say, I'm completely in love with Manitoulin Island. The sunrises alone are worth the price of admission! I've got a few more pictures of our summer travels but I'm still doing some editing. Stay tuned!

                                                           ...more later