Meteors over Canada’s shipwreck capital

Wrapping up our rattlesnake tour of Canadian stargazing destinations, we stopped by Bruce Peninsula National Park/Fathom Five National Marine Reserve and Dark Sky Preserve.

(WEB RESOURCES AT BOTTOM OF POST)

Though it has fewer venomous snakes than Grasslands dark sky preserve, the ones here near the harbour town of Tobermory are a protected species (you can actually get in trouble with authorities for harming them.) Thankfully, no snakes emerged and our 20-lb mascot Winston was snuggled up in the motel far from any dangerous tall grass.

Meanwhile, local astronomy guru Rod Steinacher was kind enough to spend the night showing me around the local stargazing haunts and he did NOT disappoint!

From the harbour (photo above) near the ferry docks to the Grotto to a Parks Canada lookout tower that lifted us 80 feet above the sometimes pesky treeline, the evening was an embarrassment of riches.

Here (left) is a photo of me weeing away the chance to see a brilliant meteor that the timer on the camera caught but I didn’t, as I got ready to browse the sky via the Star Map augmented reality app on my iPad.

For a review of the blow-you-away breakie we encountered the next morning, check out the last entry in my CAA blog on the subject (breakie, not astronomy or Tobermory ; )

For more on the best stargazing spots in the area, stay tuned (will update on our Facebook, this site, and directly in this post) to my regular dark sky column in Sky News magazine...

More on dark sky initiatives in the Bruce…

WEB RESOURCES (links from Sky News magazine “Wilderness Astronomer” column)

Bruce Peninsula National Park maps

Fathom Five National Marine Reserve maps

Restaurants:

The Fish & Chip Place

The Lighthouse (CAA post on The Lighthouse by Peter)

Craigie’s Harbourview Restaurant 

Shopping:

Little Tub Harbour: Shopping by the bay in Tobermory

Where to stay:

Tobermory accommodations and camping locations

Gordon’s Park Dark Sky Preserve

Events:

Gordon’s Park on Manitoulin Island event schedule

Bruce Peninsula/Bluewater Astronomy club event info

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