Aug 5th: Parry Sound

We arrived at Parry Sound Friday after a very enjoyable 20 mile cruise from our anchorage. Just before going into Parry Sound, Peter and Cheryl had to wait for a bridge to open. Deja Vu is too tall to fit under. We were able to drop our canvas and slip under the bridge which only opens on the hour. We were kind of worn out by the time we arrived and happy to be in the dock after spending 4 nights at anchor. Peter and Cheryl arrived about an hour later.

Parry Sound has a nice marina and the town is very tourist friendly. We were once again able to go to a Chinese restaurant we visit every time we are in Parry Sound. It has been very good for years. It was already past lunchtime but I decided the fifteen minute walk up hill to the restaurant was worth a take out lunch. It was great and we returned the next day with Peter and Cheryl.

I visited the Parry Sound Museum. It shows the history of the city going back to the original Native American inhabitants. Ice was a thriving business at one time as it was in Orillia. Fishing and logging were also thriving businesses for the early European settlers.

I particularly appreciated the Ojibway Art. The narrative gave me a better appreciation of what the artist was painting. The colors and detail are very striking so I included several pictures

Turtle Island is an Ojibway name for North America. I found the historical background very interesting. This is just one of several sites that tells the story. Ojiway story of Turtle Island (North America)

The Ojibway Creation Theory of Turtle Island

Ojibway Baskets

As I was exiting the museum I walked past this fun little photo opportunity. I was going to skip the opportunity but then decided "Why Not"! A nice young man took the picture for me.

There is an observation tower on top of the large hill where the museum is located. It provides a 360 degree of the area. I walked up when I visited the museum but it is well worth seeing again. The next day Peter and I decided to walk over to it and up. It is very sturdy with 130 steps to the top. The climb is worth the view.

On our way to the tower we walked past the river that goes through the valley. I looked closely and spotted an alligator! Hmmm! Doesn't seem quite right. As we got closer we noticed there was a little water display where the local brewery had a balcony above the water. Good for a few laughs.

View from the observation tower. Our Marina is top left corner.

Peter said he had a different route to the tower Than I took. I said, "Fine". We seemed to be walking a long way and not in the direction of the tower. We finally arrived at the tower, thanks to directions from a nice ten year old boy. Looking down from the top is a thrill. The size of the people gives a good perspective.

Parry Sound Railroad trestle from the bottom

Railroad trestle from the observation tower

A railroad trestle spans the valley of Parry Sound. Built in 1914, the trestle was the longest bridge East of the Rockies. It is very impressive from the bottom looking up. You can see from the picture on the right that we are looking down from a considerable height above the valley.

Tom Thompson's sketch of the Parry Sound Railroad Trestle

The display panel talks about the trestle and Tom Thompson, one of Canada's most acknowledged painters. After reading the display I thought of the many old barn siding paintings we see in Ohio. Actually there is a lot of old barn siding at the Loudonville Farm! Just a thought .

Tall ships and seaplane

We also were able to see two tall ships that were in port along with one of several seaplanes that fly people around. Some of the thousands of cottages are only accessible by water or seaplane.







 On the grounds we saw a very old, massive horse drawn scraper blade machine. There was no date on it but I am certain it was quite old.


The grounds were planted with native plants and flowers. Someone is taking very good care of them.







Peter decided he wanted to get into my blog's "Name that wildflower". He said he would hide in the wildflowers and see if anyone could identify him. The picture says more about Peter than I can explain. Of course Peter provides a lot of entertainment for all of us.





 While we were in Parry Sound Cheryl made us some Keto Biscuits. They're made from almond flour and some other ingredients. We were excited because they have almost no carbs nor saturated fat and were delicious. Cheryl gave me the recipe and There is a health food store that had all of the ingredients. I have made several batches already. To borrow one of our daughter Rebecca's phrases, Linda said, "These are Life Changing!" Linda loves bread. Here is the recipe in case you are interested. Make  certain you get almond flour and not almond meal like I did mistakenly the first time.

We were in Parry Sound for 4 days so we had rented a car to do some resupplying. There is a Canadian Tire, a Walmart Super Center, Sobey's (a very good grocery store) and a well stocked hardware store. We made several trips and left Parry Sound well supplied for the next several days of anchoring out.


Last Blog's wildflower: I confess that I did not try to find the name of this wildflower before I put it on the blog. If you know what it is let me know. I will try to find some more so I can investigate further. When/if I figure it out I'll put it in another blog.

 I decided I'd better identify the wildflower before I put it in the blog. I am not counting Peter in the picture above so here is this blog's wildflower, which I have identified. :)

Learn more about Parry Sound