Canada by train!

On a whim we decided to see Canada, by train!  On one side of the International Bridge is Sault Ste. Marie Michigan and on the other side is Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, Canada.

I found a brochure that was about an all day scenic train ride that went from Sault Ste. Marie Ontario Canada along the coast line up to Agawa Canyon and back again.  It sounded like a great way to see a part of Canada without having to drive it ourselves and... we love to take train trips, so, a win-win, we thought!

The only down-side, for us, anyway, was that it left at 8:00 a.m. which meant that we had to get up at 5:30 a.m.!  That's early for us! But...we made it!  Major yawn.  That just meant we ate breakfast on the train...which was quite good actually!

The trip was quite nice.  Smooth, since it wasn't a narrow gauge, thank goodness.  They gave us a booklet that showed us our route with the mile markers and notes on each one as well as videos popped on during the trip with little stories about the area, it's history & geography which made it even more interesting.  The seats were very comfortable and the windows were quite large and very clean so taking pictures for the most part was pretty easy.

 I was surprised at how many small lakes there were, as we seemed to go from one to another and then another as we chugged along.

Mongoose Lake

Trout Lake

Mekatina Lake

The nice surprise was the beautiful waterfalls at the stop at Agawa Canyon.  We had a much needed hour and a half stop there to take hikes, have lunch etc.  The weather was perfect as we took our time walking through the beautiful canyon floor heading up to Black Beaver Falls.  We really didn't expect much, so when we rounded the bend and saw these spectacular falls our mouth just dropped open in awe!  Most of the passengers had gone off to a much longer hike up to a high lookout and only a very few of us took this hike, I think we made the much better choice!  It was so lovely just to follow the small river for awhile afterward, enjoying the wildflowers, watching the butterflies and listening to the birds and feeling the warmth the sunshine.

Black Beaver Trail at Agawa Canyon Park

Black Beaver Falls at Agawa Canyon Park

Jack along side Agawa River at Agawa Canyon Park

Soon we were on the train heading back.  Interesting, even though it was the same route, things do look different going the opposite direction!

Back in Ontario we had to make one last stop to get Jack his peanuts (you see, Canada still packages and sells Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts in glass jars, where, in the US, they only package and sell them in plastic jars=less fresh.  Thus, every time we are in, or our friends from Canada are visiting us, we stock up on glass jars of peanuts!)

...on the road in the U P,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/