Final stop - Kincardine

We were glad to make it down early evening to Kincardine. I use to go there with my parents as a child and it brought back a lot of good memories. The town was just as pretty as I remembered it. The funny thing was we ended up not being able to find the lighthouse so we asked directions.

We ended up at the same park where I use to play as a child right by the beach and the docks near the lighthouse and pier. I took pictures of my kids playing and when we returned home I showed them the picture of me at the same place. That was over 30 years ago.

The park and beach was very dog friendly and we met other dogs and the kids played and enjoyed the beach as well. The waters were very warm in the evening. It showered a bit but then we got a beautiful rainbow afterwards .... wow. I love the architecture of many of the houses in this area. It was getting late so we headed out and we reached Lucknow and headed in a south easterly direction towards home.

The back roads were pretty dark but we made it to the main highway just in time for the most rain we had seen in a week. What a downpour that lasted a good 30-40 minutes. We arrived late around 10:30 p.m. Everyone including the dogs were exhausted but it was great. It was a lot to see and a lot of driving but it gave us the opportunity to see what places we would like to return to and explore further.

Janey-Mac and Uly are tired the next day they bumped into all their dog friends at the park. Uly is in need of a good brushing because he's full of mats from the water. Janey-Mac fell asleep on an ant hill and had some nasty bites on her leg which I had to put calamine lotion on but other than that they are catching up on their rest. I think they are a little sad that the trip is over. Until next time (LOL).

Next stop Sauble Beach

Just a little further south we reached Sauble Beach, Lake Huron. It was a zoo of tourists. It reminded us of that movie with John Candy, Summer Rental where there was no room on the beach whatsoever. To park it would cost either $10 or $20 to park your car. Dogs were not allowed on the beach. That wasn't going to work for us but a friend told us to drive further south to the Chippewas entrance Sauble Beach South.

Much nicer and the beach didn't have as many people.

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take the dogs there either but the guys were helpful and told us to drive further south on Second Avenue until we hit the General Store - Trading Post and that we would probably be allowed to park and let the dogs out. We were allowed to park right by the hotel - campground right on the beach. We didn't have to pay so we were able to use our money to buy lunch and ice cream and the dogs had a great time enjoying the cool breezes and the many people that stopped to meet them. We spent a few hours there and then continued south through South Hampton, Port Elgin, Tiverton to our last destination, Kincardine.

The long way home - first stop Sauble Falls

Well it was time to pack up and head home. We checked out around noon and headed south and across to travel down the Lake Huron coast.

Our first stop was at Sauble Falls. It was quite hot and sunny so wading into the cool water was refreshing. Uly and Janey walked around the shallow ledges. There were lots of people and of course the dogs were as much an attraction as the Falls.

Day Trip to Devil's Monument and Halfway Log Dump

For the record this day trip was quite the adventure. It was a beautiful day, sunny but cool with a breeze. We decided to check out Cape Chin North and the Flower Pot Formations at Devil's Monument. We took the country back roads and parked our car. Then it was a hike through the Bruce Trail Forest (well-marked) down to the observation point to see the outcrop of rocks. No problem except the trail continued down a metal staircase that ended on the top part of boulders that were part of the cliff and a carved out escarpment of the flowerpot formation. The children saw that others were climbing down and that the views were spectacular including waterfalls and the carved out rocks etc.

George and the dogs were too big and it was a treacherous descent. There was no way that the dogs could have made it down. The kids saw that a family with small children were climbing back up and that the view was to die for.

Off went the kids so I left George behind as I took my chances and slowly made the descent down through the escarpment.

We made it down to the Bay and the views were amazing. Well worth the scary climb down. Going up was a lot easier and we made short work of it.

The second part of our day was to drive out to the Halfway Log Dump along Highway 6 south of Tobermory. It was along Emmett Lake Road and again we had to hike through quite a forest along the Bruce Trail that made the kids a bit uneasy. I can honestly admit that having the dogs with us made us feel better. Our oldest daughter found it a bit scary and decided she was going to walk Uly back through the forest. I think he knew she was scared and he was so good and walked nicely beside her just smiling. We got a bit lost and ended up on the wrong trail but a very nice lady and her son that were hiking with a young Shiloh Shepherd pointed us in the right direction and we found the pathway down to the stone grottoes and beach.

This was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The waters were turquoise and warm. Shallow rock shelves that both Uly and the kids enjoyed for a few hours.

Janey wasn't too sure about these rock ledges. She was going to stay close to us. Uly and Teagan tried to convince her that the water was shallow and warm but she stayed rooted to her rock. It was hard getting the kids to leave from this oasis but it was a loooong hike back through a late afternoon forest and no one wanted to be there because the mosquitoes were coming out in full force and it was almost dusk.

Phew we made it back to the cottage in time for a bbq and a marshmallow roast. The dogs were exhausted from those hikes and slept from about 8:30 p.m. until the next morning.

Day Trip to Dorcas Bay and Singing Sands

On this trip we headed over to the Lake Huron side just south of Tobermory to check out Singing Sands Provincial Park. It had started to rain but it quickly cleared up.

Singing Sands was similar to Black Creek Provincial Park in that the waters were warm and shallow and lots of sand. While we were there the tides came in and everything was under a few inches of water and then they went back out again and the kids and dogs spent the whole day enjoying the warm breezes.

I loved watching the dog's expressions as the tides started to come in. There were more people there and quite a few dogs.

A few little dogs were running around loose but after the friendly foot squash by Janey-Mac kept them away. She was just trying to say hello.

I loved the paw prints the dogs left behind.

On the left is Uly's paw prints and on the right are Janey's. Janey was sitting so you can see all four prints.

On the way back we took a scenic country road through the Crane Forest. Too spooky! The trees were so close to the car that the kids rolled up their windows.

George saw a lanky young bear crossing one of the smaller side roads.