Day 10: Vertigo
Sleeping Giant looks like its name. It is a mountainous peninsula entending into Lake Superior, visible from Thunder Bay. Yesterday morning we went there. After touring around an enchanting cottage community near the tip, called Silver Islet, we drove up a steep gravel road to Thunder Bay lookout. A small viewing platform extends from the edge of the cliff. Below lies a boulder beach and the waters of Lake Superior. I was unable to walk beyond the edge, but Danny took some pictures from the end of the platform. It was a glorious spring day and we were utterly alone.
paulintoronto had recommended Ouimet Canyon, so we drove there next. It was well worth the trip, but once again vertigo got the better of me. To get to the main lookout points we had to cross a bridge over a small side ravine. I managed that. The viewing pods extended over the brink of the canyon edge. The information panels helped. By reading aloud and focusing on those I was able to pull myself into the middle of the platform, over the 100-metre precipice, but I could not walk up to the railing. Again, Danny took pictures like this one of me.
It's a fascinating place. The deep, narrow canyon provides shelter from the sun, so the bottom provides rare habitat for sub-arctic fauna much further south than its usual range. Access there is not allowed.
Of course I dreamt of falling into the canyon, but only once that I remember. We were exhausted and fell easily asleep.