28 July, Sheguiandah, Manitoulin Island

Posted byweegtravelPosted in2025, Ontario

The back end of our van faces due east over the water. It was hot last night and I left the back doors open and the privacy canvas slightly open at the top for air circulation. The sun broke the horizon at around 6:15  this morning. I got a quick glimpse and then went back to sleep.

We are not moving camp today. We had intended today as an exploration day but we didn’t get as far as originally planned.

First we toured the Sheguiandah Centennial Museum which is right next door. It is a cultural / heritage museum of old original homes of the European, mainly British Isles immigrants, lured here in the 1800s on the promise of farmable land. What they found was trees and rocks. They co-mingled well with the indigenous peoples here.

The term Centennial refers to the many projects the Canadian government sponsored / supported to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation in 1867.

This young fox crossed our path and then sat for a photo op.

One of several quilts in the collection
This barn quilt block is called the Grist Mill Block.
Artifacts inside showed how maple syrup was made although the building was originally a small barn and doesn’t have a hole in the roof for a chimney ie never was used as a sugar shack.
Original joining technique on the corners.
Artifacts collected from various church communities in the area.

History of Sheguiandah.

In addition to the heritage buildings, it is also an important archeological site, having been discovered by Thomas Lee in 1951 with findings of some of the earliest artifacts in Canada and dating back much earlier than expected, 11,000 years.

Name Origin: Thought to come from an Anishinaabe word, possibly meaning “home of the canoe” or “passage.”

We started a driving tour of the island but again it was hot. Our original intent was a 2 1/2 mile hike at the Cup and Saucer nature reserve to the top of the escarpment. The heat, our lack of appropriate footwear and general lack of enthusiasm changed our minds once we got to the trailhead. We went food shopping instead and headed back to the van for a late lunch.

Rather than eating out today, we are cleaning up the leftovers in the refrigerator, lunch and dinner.

I thought I would spend the afternoon reading but decided to do some hand quilting instead. I have been working on a quilt for several months and was only 2 hours away from finishing the hand quilting on the body of the quilt. With the van wide open, the small fan blowing on me, and my favorite quilting YouTubers in the background for inspiration, I finished it, trimmed it and ironed it. Now I just need to bind it!

My own quilt being ironed in the van.

We are both now enjoying a glass of wine in full view of the water before dinner. This is truly a beautiful place.

Tomorrow we leave Manitoulin Island by the swing bridge in Little Current and continue our tour around Georgian Bay.