Last weekend we went up to Thunder Bay. It was our first trip there in the summer time, and it's a much nicer city this time of year!

There were three provincial parks that we hit up in one day- Sleeping Giant, Ouimet (pronounced Wee-met) Canyon, and Kakabeka Falls.

Sleeping Giant is a huge peninsula (ok, maybe not huge, it's not like Florida, but it is about 30 miles long) sticking in Lake Superior. The Lonely Planet mentions fox and moose, but we didn't see either. The drive down is forested, with a couple of lakes along the way. There is a place called Karen's Kountry Kitchen, which was a great lunch stop- there is a deck overlooking a very quiet lake- one of the nicest spots I've ever eaten.

At the end of the peninsula, you come to a very small town called Silver Islet. The view is beautiful, there's some islands off the coast, including (I think!) Isle Royale. They have a cute little cafe there, the LP suggests there cinnamon buns which are pretty good, but I think next time I might try the pie. You can ask them there how to get to the "Sea Lion" - a small arch on the side of the lake.

Ouimet Canyon was our second stop. It's a good sized canyon, with a nice overlook from the top. It's an easy walk, be sure to check it out.

Kakabeka was probably my highlight- we'd seen it twice in the wintertime, when the waterfall was 3/4 frozen. Now, the water was gushing out! (Although LP suggests seeing it in spring or after a heavy rain.) While it's obviously smaller than Niagara Falls, it immediately calls that to mind. Those are the only two waterfalls I've ever seen that is both high and wide.

Other trip highlights- heading to the dump several times in hopes of seeing bears (we didn't, but it sounds like they stop by every day in later afternoon); wild flowers EVERYWHERE, especially daisies; the crazy coincidence that the family running the Thunder Bay International Hostel has been going to Borneo every five years or so (we plan to go to Borneo in Jan.). The family running the hostel were very nice, but there were several cats (and I am allergic), so I don' t think I will be staying there again.