Otter Head and Michipicoten Island

Saturday morning, August 10th, we waved good-bye to our new Krogan friends, and set out for Otter Head anchorage on the mainland.  It was a 60 mile run with a mildly beam sea.  We left the Slates early, so we arrived at Otter Head early afternoon. Along the way we passed steep rock bluffs both on the mainland and island.  Interspersed between the bluffs are large, flat "streams" of gravel.  We theorized that these must be glacial paths. We are becoming quite the amateur geologists--at least in our own minds!

Glacial pathways?

Just before arriving, we passed the beautiful Cascade Waterfalls.  There is not a good anchorage at the falls and the distance from our planned anchorage was a bit too far and too rough to comfortably ride by dinghy,  so we just enjoyed the falls from a distance as we passed.

Cascade Waterfalls

We chose to anchor in Old Dave's Harbour (just for you, David) and were amazed that we once again had a beautiful spot to ourselves.

Private anchorage at Old Dave's.

View out to Superior

 The water was deep, and we actually dropped anchor in nearly 40 feet of water.  We let out lots of scope so it was good we did not have company.  After checking and rechecking our set, we dinked to shore by the abandoned assistant lightkeeper's house and followed a path to the lighthouse.

Assistant lightkeeper's house
now abandoned.

Such an interesting mushroom.   It has been a very
cool rainy summer and the fungus are thriving!

Steps along the trail leading to the lighthouse.

When we reached the lighthouse, which is now automated as almost all of them are, we were delighted to find the ground covered with RIPE blueberries.  Of course, we had to snack as we went along.

Finally, lots of ripe blueberries.

Otter Island Lighthouse

Tom stopping for a snack.  These
wild blueberries do not grow on bushes.

The shoal water that the lighthouse marks reminded us a bit of Big Sur.  The rock was distinctly two types--we think granite and rhyolite.  The rhyolite trenches were between the granite.  At least that's our theory!

Steep rocky drop-offs

Interesting rock trenches

Tom at end of Otter Island

Bonnie mentioned we might see caribou on the bluffs in the evening, but no such luck.  The sunset, however, put on a good show.

Sunday we decided to move on to Quebec Harbor on Michipicoten Island, about 40 miles south.

At one time many fishing families lived here.  Today it looks mostly abandoned.  Again we were the only boat anchored in this large, well-protected harbor.  Tom offered to take me to the bed and breakfast, but I decided to decline for some reason.  Several boats have sunk along the shoreline.  The skeletons of a few are above the surface.

Boat skeleton

              The old jailhouse that stood at Quebec Mines was moved here from the NE end of the island

My B and B option.