As I've lived in Gatineau for most of my life, right beside Ottawa, I never thought of Ontario as a particularly exciting province photography-wise. But when I first met Jade, she told me there were plenty of places in Ontario she wanted to visit. After a quick Google search, to my surprise, there were indeed plenty of stunning landscapes in Ontario. It wasn't long before we packed the car and headed off.
Jade finished working late, at around 2 am. Her next shift was 5 days later, giving us just enough time for a wild road trip. At 3 am, we were in the car and we left.
At 7 am, we arrived at Bon Echo Provincial park. Unfortunately, the lighting was rather flat, so we only stayed there for two hours.
After a bit more driving, we arrived in Toronto, where we spent the rest of the day exploring Casa Loma, visiting the Royal Ontario museum, eating at a fine restaurant and going up the CN tower.
The next day, we reached Bruce peninsula and enjoyed the sunset in the - very - cold waters of the Grotto.
The morning after, we hopped on a ferry that took us from Tobermory to South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island.
From there, we drove along the coast of Lake Superior. I've already driven A LOT in my life, but never had I ever found myself in such remote places. We would often see signs warning us that there would be no gas stations for the next 300 kilometers. 12 hours into the drive, at 10 pm, we stopped to refuel at Terrace Bay, a small town of around 1500 people. When I tried to turn on the car again, nothing. The engine starter had died. There were no mechanics anywhere close, and the nearest Canadian Tire was not only over 100 kilometers away, it was also the smallest in all of Canada. Luckily, my car has a manual transmission. So the next day, with the help of a couple of guys, we were able to bump start it.
At this point, we were 16 hours away from home, truly in the middle of nowhere, with a car that had to be pushed by three men to be started... So we kept going, driving 3 more hours to Sibley Peninsula, where we embarked on a 32-kilometer, 10-hour hike, to reach the top of the Sleeping Giant. We photographed the sunset, then headed back to the car in complete darkness.
After a good night of sleep, I again found a couple of guys to help me push the car to start it. Then we drove all the way home, in one continuous 21-hour drive, never turning off the car. What a ride. I guess Ontario is alright after all.
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Charlevoix, QC, Canada - 2023