h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi,

I see you have Ontario on the list.

I live close to Owen Sound. That's 2 hours from Toronto. Owen Sound is on Georgian Bay, a body of water that is contiguous with Lake Huron, but has a name of its own. The Bruce Peninsula separates Huron from Georgian Bay. The same geological feature that created the Niagara Falls, runs all the way through Ontario to the Northern tip of the peninsula - lots of smaller water falls and spectacular cliffs.

I'm sure you would enjoy a day or two here. (I have a sail boat in Owne Sound.) Depending on where you are coming from, you could circle around Georgian Bay, or drive along the North shore of Superior.

Be nice to see some of you.
Awu.

Awsome!

GTB is doing the route planning. I am just there to look decorative and look after the drinks!

Seriously, we are planning to drive one stop one right around North America, seeing as many h2g2 people as we can on the way, so this all sounds great to me, bearing in mind I don't know the geography.

GTB'll be along later to tell me where to stick the pins in my map.

Ben
*You already know that h2g2 meets rock? Well now they roll as well!*

Hi Awu.

Owen Sound, eh? From your description, that'd be worth two or three detours!

Why don't I add you to the list, and we'll see how the planning goes? I know we'll be coming down from Montreal, and crossing into Michigan at Port Huron or Detroit - in between is as yet undefined. It looks like highway 10 north out of Toronto goes straight to Owen Sound, and then afterwards, I'll bet 21 along the coast is a lovely drive down to Sarnia/Port Huron.

Gosh it's fun when you start choosing specific roads, and things look that much more real...


GTB

Hi GTB,

If you're coming from Montreal / Ottawa, you could also drive through the Algonquin Park to Owen Sound. Or you can go around Georgian Bay (Muskoka, Bracebridge, etc.) to Sudbury (Science North!) and down Highway 6. You cross Manitoulin Island (largest freshwater island in the world) and take the ferry to Tobermory.


Hwy 21 doesn't always run close to the water, but there are some nice little towns along the way (Southampton, Port Elgin, etc.)

Awu

That northern route sounds amazing!

Leaving Montreal in the morning, would it be possible to get to the Ferry on Manitoulin Island in time to take it that day, do you think, or would we want to spend a night on the island? According to my road atlas, that's about 550 miles - a long drive - but I don't know what the roads are like, or the speed limits. I assume the ferry takes cars...


GTB

I've driven from here, through Montreal, to Quebec city in a day. But I took the 401 (motorway). The Northern route could include quite a section of the Trans Canada Highway, so I'm sure it is do-able.

The speed limit is 100 Km on Highways and 80 on regular roads. You can get way with 110-115 and 96 respectively. Some Western provinces allow 110 I think on highways.

The ferries take cars (and trucks, and campers). It runs from Victoria Day to Labour Day. Their Indian names mean "Big Canoe" and "Little Sister" (maybe only one of them is in service now).

There's a beautiful campsite just south of Tobermory (Cyprus Lake Provincial Park). We are 100K south of Tobermory, just off Hwy 6.

Awu

At the moment it looks as if we are planning Montreal to Owen Sound in a day and then, after a suitable amount of time in Owen Sound, going down into Michigan. Tobormory looks incredibly tempting, but I am not sure we have the time. It would be cool to visit it, and then to go Torbormory in Scotland. Oh well, another time.

But we really want to spend some time pottering around, and this area sounds such a good place to do that. So maybe Tobormory could count as 'pottering'?

B

So you would take the most "direct" route from Montreal to Owen Sound? Owen Sound is a bit of an excursion, north, from the main highway, 401, but worth the trip (I think).

You could make a day trip to Tobermory and back from the Owen Sound area.


There is (was) another h2g2 researcher near Ancaster / Boston. John the Gardener I think. That's between here and the US border.

http://www.greycounty.on.ca/

http://www.brucepeninsula.org/links.htm

Greetings Ausnahmsweise, wie üblich (Consistently inconsistent), we have spoken before about the joys of Wiarton and the continental shield. You may recall that I remember Owen Sound and the Bruce Peninsula from my earliest youth and a return stay in the early 70s to be a bar-tender at the first 'legal' liquor establishment that 'dry' town had seen since the Ontario Provincial Police closed down "the hell-hole of the great lakes" around 1900. It was the Indian reservation near Tobermory where my parents abandoned me one warm sunny Sunday afternoon when I was four... Oh maybe I didn't tell you about all that.

Anyway, folks (GTB & Ben) I do think the drive up the Bruce is worth an extra day. Unlike most peninsulas it is possible to come and go via different roads. The Lake Huron side is low sloping sandy beaches and the Georgian Bay side is hills and vistas showing the unigue geology of the peninsula and the deep blue waters of the Bay. The main road runs up the middle, mostly flat straight and rather dull for scenery but efficient.

Getting to Owen Sound from Montreal via Algonquin (National) Park is highly recommended. But then I'd also say spend a couple of days in Ottawa just for the museums and galleries. Our nation's capital more than rivals Washington DC in that regard and 'The Museum of Man' will invert all your previous concepts of what it is to be a human being.

Check your map to see a pleasant route from Montreal up the river to Ottawa then across Algonquin Park to Perry Sound and Owen Sound. Spend a day up and down the Bruce to Tobermory and take your leave via a leisurely drive down 21 to thru Port Elgin to the Windsor/Detroit border crossing.

Montreal straight to Windsor can be done in a day on the 401 (Trans Canada) but again I advise avoiding it. By circling up thru Algonquin you'll get the scenery, less traffic and a sense of what old Ontario was all about. Farmlands, hunting lodges, small towns. The 401 is a 500 mile industrial strip mall flashing past at 75mph passing thru all the heavily populated centres. You'll never be out of sight of a factory, a fast food outlet and an endless parade of traffic. You'll never see any wolves or bears and you'll not get to Owen Sound, but yes you can get from Montreal to Detroit in a day. Like a day from hell!

My advice: Take two (Owen Sound) three (Tobermory) four (Algonuin) five or six (Ottawa) days by taking the scenic route! Enjoy your trip for gossakes.

peace
jwf

Hi jwf,
Yes - I remember chatting with you some time ago.

GTB & Ben,

jwf, is of course right. But I realize you have a tight schedule. That was my first suggestion: to drive via Ottawa, through the Algonquin park (you'll see Moose for sure, if not bears). When you reach Georgian Bay, you could go either way. Circle around the north and take the ferry down the peninsula, or around the South (Barrie, Collingwood) to Owen Sound. It's a bit "against the grain" of major roads.

There's also some confusion about the Trans Canada Highway. I was refering to Hwy 17. The 401 through southern Ontario isn't the Trans Canada - but it is a very busy east-west highway. I think the 401 (or its Quebec continuation) merges with the Trans Canada further east.

Awu.

We have just decided to go to the Grand Prix with ~jwf~ and Burning Man with whoever we find there. This gives us a delightful amount of time!

GTB will be back with more details I am sure.

I must

B

>> The 401 through southern Ontario isn't the Trans Canada - <<

Good point! I keep forgetting that 'trans' means 'across' So yes the 'Trans Canada' does go west from Montreal thru Northern Ontario, round Lake Superior and on into the Prairies.

The 401 is the even busier main artery of central Canada, running 500 miles between Windsor/Detroit and Montreal. It pases thru all of the industrial blight of southern Ontario and the urban sprawl and overcrowding that lines the shores of Lake Ontario. Avoid it.

The idea of running up to Owen Sound and Tobermory via Algonquin has much appeal for me as well. For me, it would have to be after the races in Trois Rivieres - http://www.gptr.qc.ca/

Let me check out the racing schedule at Mosport in Ontario (it's on the way) and get back to you all.


~jwf~

So you are all racing fans?
I used to be (F1 in Europe), but I'm out of it now. Is there a Canadian Grand Prix this year? Montreal? The Molson Indy is in Toronto - July or August.

I still have the Morgan ( A563654 ) of course. But it doesn't get raced any more.

Awu

The Canadian Grand Prix (Formula 1) is at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, June 12,13,14 this year.

The 'Molson Indy' name is being given to 3 Indy Champ Car races in Canada this year.
Toronto - July 11 - 13
Vancouver - July 25 - 27
Montreal - Sept 5 - 7

All these events are best watched on television. These highest forms of professional motorsport have evolved to satisfy the tv audience, the coverage is so comprehensive. Being there is just a waste of time because you can't see anything except the one piece of track where your seat is, and you have to fight crowds in excess of 100,000 and submit to gestapo-like cooler searches.

I much prefer sports car club events and vintage races where the fans can wander and mingle. That's why Trois Rivieres has so much appeal. It has the freedom and flavour and spirit of the olden days. Superstar drivers are always amazed that such a place still exists. You have to walk thru the pits and around all the cars rubbing shoulders with the drivers. You can wander from corner to corner. Lots of seats, lots of room and there's an olympian sized swimming pool in the mid-field. And a vintage car display...

Would love to see your Morgan !

peace
jwf

Hi ~jwf~,

I used to do the rounds in Europe. Monza, Salzburgring, Nurburgring, Silverstone.

I saw Fangio in a cafe in Monza, and saw Lauda (and the little Italian who drove for Ferrari at the time (late 80s?) ) really close up in the pits. The old Nurburgring wasn't too bad for viewing. I remember in Monza, a lot of the Italians had TVs in their RVs and watched most of the race on them!

The "oldtimer" meet at Nurburgring was fun. There, you could wander around the pits and chat to the owners and drivers.

Awu.
P.S. I saw two or three Morgans in Ottawa when I was there.

Hi

Our Ontario dates look like being: Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd August, though if we pull ourselves away from ~jwf~ early we might make it a day sooner.

Is this ok with you? Can we persuade you to spend Sunday being a local-tour-guide?


Ben

Oh dear!
Aug 3 is my Mum's 80th birthday. She's flying over especially.
I'll keep you posted, but I might not even be here. We may celebrate with family in the US.
Awu

Drat!

Keep us posted - we have some flexibility - but only about a day or two eiter way.

As I said - let us know.

B

PS - And I hope your mother has a really great and very special birthday!

Hi,

nothing heard for a long time. I assume you are already on the road.
I *will* be here the weekend of 2-3 Aug., but busy with family stuff (Mum's 80th birthday and family visiting from NY state).

I suppose that's the bad news. But the good news is that we are not celebrating the b'day down in the states, so I will be around and available before and after that weekend.

I'm gone from August 9th for a week - "delivering" (the long slow route and making a vacation of it) a sail boat from the 30,000 Islands back to her home port of Owen Sound.

Awu.

We had to cancel the Rolling Meet! (We did announce it, but obviously not far enough and wide enough).

I cannot even bring myself to work out where we should have been by now...

B