Wednesday May 29th

Left Blind River in cool fog which rolled in and out from the lake. Took a side trip to Thessalon. They must have known I was coming. There was a bakery with great coffee right next to an excellent fabric/yarn  store. Very nice people. What beautiful surroundings.
Went to Home Hardware for equipment to battle the mosquitoes which get into the camper as I come and go. Decided against the baseball bat and settled for a fly swatter. I may regret it.

The sky had cleared of fog by the time I got to the turnoff for St. Joseph's Island. There is something about an island - a sense of a place apart - which remains until crossing the bridge again. I felt like I had already arrived at Saltspring! I was headed for Fort St. Joseph, a national historic site on the other side of the island. It's a surprisingly long drive, but what a place! The island is quite hilly and as you rise up you're surrounded by maple coming into full leaf, but still with the spring brightness. Underneath are trilliums - thousands of them. Occasionally there is a low area filled with marsh marigolds. It was simply enchanting. Where is the picture you ask? I suffer from the inability to stop and take a picture when I'm really moved by something - I'll work on it.

The Fort was closed unfortunately - opening June 1 - but I'm so glad I went, just to see the island itself. I took the opposite loop of the circular highway back, and this side of the island was quite different. Alder, poplar, tamarack, spruce - beautiful in its way, but lacking the bright magic of the mature maple forest.

I'm set up now at the KOA in Sault Ste. Marie and have detached the trailer in preparation for tomorrow's adventures - kayaking and walking the boardwalk in the Soo. I think there's a museum as well.  In the meantime I'm cooking my first proper meal and settling in to enjoy a sunny but cool evening with a good book.