Superior Sunsets

One of the things that I most looked forward to, after a day of exploring the bays and trails of the Lake Superior Provincial Park was returning to our campsite. Not because I relished cooking outdoors, or washing up, or sleeping in a tent, but because the view from our sites were incredible.

I say 'sites.' Plural. Because of the availability of sites and the rigorous booking system of the provincial parks—for five mornings, DW and I awoke at 6:45, made our way to our computers, and searched the parks' Web sites for a suitable campsite. We'd each select a site and at precisely 7:00, we'd click the Reserve button.

Most times, someone would beat us to the click but on the fifth morning, I lucked out. I was able to snag a prime site, but unfortunately it wasn't available for all seven days that we planned to be in Lake Superior Provincial Park.

I was able to secure only five days.

About a month or so later, we were able to try for any sites where reservations had been cancelled, and we were able to secure another site for two nights. It was only a short distance from our first choice, and though it was across the road from the beach, there was no site on the other side and we had an unobstructed view of Agawa Bay.

A small path, on the other side of the road, led to the beach. We'd walk down to the sands and spherical stones each evening to view the sunset.

And, of course, we'd have a camera with us.

Whether it was merely our smartphones or our mirrorless cameras, we'd be ready. And every day, the view didn't disappoint us.

On the first evening, the sun disappeared through distant cloud as it reached the horizon. That was fine because it still made for spectacular colours in the sky. And just off the point from the north end of Agawa Bay, we could see two small islands that would always be in the frame of the sunset, adding to the overall composition of a photo.

Here are a few of my favourite sunset photos from Agawa Bay:

On our last evening in the park, the folks at the visitor centre—who always had an evening activity—held an open-mic night. Campers and staff would sing songs and dance to music.

At one part of the evening, I sang a rendition of The Tragically Hip's "Boots or Hearts," for which I received kind applause. But before the evening gathering was finished, DW and I ducked out to head to the beach, to see our last sunset.

We weren't even sure that we'd have a sunset, as it had rained for a good part of the day and the sky had been overcast, with ominous clouds. But as soon as we stepped outside, just minutes before the sun went down, we found ourselves in for a treat.

It was the best sunset of the week. Red skies blended with dramatic clouds, and the wind was whipping up the waves, which crashed against the shore.

We only had our smartphones but it didn't matter. They did the job just nicely.

By the time we had finished shooting photos, the open-mic night was over. We had to wait until the next day, as we were heading out of the park for the last time, when we could stop in the visitor centre, find the organizers of the open mic, and thank them.

In the lead-up for our vacation, we were warned that the weather on Lake Superior could change on a dime. Storms could whip up and catch you unaware if you weren't tuned to the weather reports. But we were never told that the sunsets could take your breath away.

Happy Friday!