Saturday, May 18, 2024

Wawa Lake

Joe was determined to make that drive around Wawa Lake today, so after our donuts at Tim Hortons, we headed out.  We tried to get more information on this drive but the Visitor Center was still closed for the season.  We don't know when the "season" starts but apparently not yet.  He asked a guy at the donut shop, and another one at the gas station, but they didn't really give him much information, so off we went.  It started out ok, just another dirt road, but eventually we took a wrong turn and the road deteriorated.  

We veered away from Wawa Lake, but there were lakes and ponds everywhere we looked.We thought for sure we would see some wildlife, but all we saw were 2 chipmunks and 6 ducks.

We did see several beaver huts and a beaver dam, but no beavers.

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We came to a crossroads and apparently chose the wrong fork.  We lost the road on the GPS which should have been a clue, but the road straight ahead said closed, so we took the right fork.  Further on there were some campers off to the left but then the road really got bad -- rough and narrow. It was really a two-track.   I'm sure we have a bad case of Wawa pinstripes on both sides of the Jeep. I think this is Joe's reenactment of our trip through New York City.  Here's the first low underpass, which we fit under.

The second low underpass almost took the roof off.  Well, maybe we had a few inches to spare but it was certainly low.

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We went on and on, the potholes shaking us to death and the road continuing to deteriorate.  Finally, we actually came to the end of the road -- right in front of a house.  The road would have taken us right into a lake.  So we turned around, and a guy came out of the house.  I'm pretty sure he was living off the grid and wanted to be alone.  Joe said, "Hi.  We found you even though we weren't trying to."  He didn't laugh.  So Joe explained that we were trying to find the road to Steephill Dam and Highway 17.  He said there was no way to get there and we had to go back to the "sawdust pile" and take a right, which would take us back the way we came in.  So we headed out, on that terrible road again, making more scratches on the Jeep.  Interestingly, we met a pick-up truck on this road.  And then a quad.  Would like to have asked them where they came in from but they didn't stop.  We finally got back to the crossroads where we had taken the wrong turn. We forded this one deep mud puddle both ways.  I wasn't sure it wasn't deep enough to sink us, but Joe plowed right on through both times.  

 I knew Joe wasn't going to take the road back, like the guy had said. Joe was bound and determined to finish this drive around Wawa Lake so he took the road that said "closed."  It was bumpy but not as bad as the one we had been on for 6 1/2 miles.  But, alas, we finally came upon the dam.  You can see the river winding down from it.  

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We found out at the donut shop that today is opening season for pickerel, a fish in the pike family.  We saw one boat on one of the many lakes on this drive, but the back side of the dam was quite busy with boats launching. 

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We finally reached highway 17 and headed back to Wawa.  It was about a 3-hour drive, but probably not more than 40 miles.  And there wasn't much to see except brush and lakes.  But we got it done.  It was a beautiful day, although it sprinkled when we got back to town.  And the bugs are plentiful, especially on this drive.  The road had not followed Wawa Lake very closely except at the very beginning but we saw plenty of other lakes.  I was glad to get back to the RV!

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 Frida, May 17, 2024

Wawa, Ontario, Canada

Good news!  My cough is better.  We talked to a pharmacist at a Walgreens in Sault Ste. Marie, and he apparently put me on the right path.  There is significant improvement.

Today we left the U.S. and entered Ontario, Canada, to complete our Circle Tour of Lake Superior, our goal for this trip.  

We almost had an "incident" this morning.  Joe wanted to fuel before we crossed the border and we had scoped out the most convenient gas station the night before.  When we pulled in, there was a pick-up at the first pump in the lane he wanted, but it was a double-pump lane and he thought he could get close enough to use the second pump.  Well, it turned out that he wasn't quite close enough to the pump, so when the pick-up left,  he pecked on the window and told me to pull it up just a little..  I shifted into gear and  put my foot on the gas to pull forward a few inches, but when I wanted to stop, my shoe came off and I couldn't find the brake pedal with my foot.  I just kept coasting forward.  Finally, I found it and got stopped,several feet past the second pump.  He had a questioning look on his face, but all  he said was,  "I guess I will use the first pump then."  Another no harm, no foul.

 We have explored the south shore of Lake Superior twice, but this is our first time to do the Canadian side. We went through the border crossing without incident, 

Here is a picture of the locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan from the bridge.

  Apparently, the country borders are mid-river because there were flags from both countries right in the middle of the bridge.

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As we drove through Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, we checked out the price of fuel.  The pole blocks the last number, 9, and it has to be converted from liters to gallons.  My calculations are $6.45 per gallon.  We haven't had to buy any yet, so we will see what it converts to when the time comes.

Here is our first glimpse of Lake Superior.  We are traveling on Highway 17 of the Canadian Highway. 

This morning, we came to our first WOW of this trip, Chippewa Falls.  We actually saw this as we passed and made a u-turn to come back and stop.  There happened to be a pull-out right before it, so that worked out.

We watched a fisherman almost catch a fish -- he lost it just as he got it to the rocks.  We were hoping to see what he was catching.

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We woke up to fog on St. Mary's River this morning and it rained off and on all night.  Apparently the fog is on Lake Superior too.  We ran into patches of it but it really enveloped the lake from time to time.

We passed another WOW waterfall, at Sand River, but there were no pull-offs.  We will probably drive the Jeep back to it tomorrow.  I'm guessing it was about 35 miles back, but I think it also had access to Lake Superior and we haven't gone down to the beach yet so we could do both there.  We arrived at our destination, the town of Wawa in Ontario, at about 1:40.  We only traveled 150 miles today, but it took just over 3 hours.  It was a pretty drive but the road is very curvy, and the speed limits here are less than we are used to.  The town of Wawa is famous for the Wawa Goose, "one of the most photographed landmarks in North America.  It has been a local icon for over 63 years."  It commemorates the completion  of the TransCanada Highway to connect Wawa to the rest of the country, but the highway did not pass through the town.  Instead, the highway bypassed the town by a mile.  It was decided  by business owners that something was needed to redirect highway traffic into the community, and thus, the Goose was born.  

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We found 2 other geese in town.  In fact, the first one we saw wasn't the official one.  Initially it was, but was replaced so it was mounted further in town.

This is the official one, at the Visitor Center.  

And here's the third one we found in town.

We had dinner at an (expensive) restaurant recommended by our camp host, we won't be going back there.  But just down the road was another WOW.  The beautiful High Falls.  There was a lower viewing deck, and a higher one.  We hiked up to the higher one, which was just a short hike, but coming down the trail was a bit steep -- hard on old knees. 

Joe thought I kinda matched the totem pole here so he took a picture of me. I'm the short one.

 We asked at the restaurant  about wildlife -- we were seated at a table overlooking the river.  No moose for a long time, but sometimes black bear.  They eat the wild blueberries in the fields by the road to the High Falls.  The blueberries were not growing yet, but it would be neat to see some bears out there.  Won't happen this trip.

We drove back into town, and part way around the beautiful Lake Wawa.  Joe wants to drive around the lake tomorrow and was scoping out the road -- which says it is closed to the public.  Not sure about this. 

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Wawa has a population of about 3,000 but it has a Canadian Tire, and much to our surprise, a Tim Horton donut shop -- one of our favorites.  So now we have a plan for tomorrow!

One of the oddest things about this town is that the highway that goes through town just ends.  There is a split highway in town, Highway 101, but .the highway straight through town goes out of town for a couple miles, then just ends in a residential area.  A guard rail stops traffic, and you have to turn around.  Seems really strange.

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It was cloudy, sometimes foggy, most of the day, and a chilly 57 when we arrived at our campground, a nice little place right off the highway but nestled in the trees.  Wawa RV Resort and Campground, about a mile from town.  Although we looked hard, all we saw today was a woodchuck (groundhog),  But there are moose crossing signs posted on the highway frequently, so we will keep our eyes peeled.

So, tomorrow -- donuts and a drive around the lake.  Down that road that I don't think we are supposed to be on.  If you never hear from us again, check the town of Wawa and see if we have been arrested.

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

I am still struggling with my cough and had another sleepless night, but we have a new plan and hopefully I will see a difference in the next day or so. More medicine, more frequent dosing.  We have explored Sault Ste. Marie pretty thoroughly and took a last drive today.  An added bonus was that we drove along the shoreline of Lake Huron on the southeast end of this strip.  We stopped at the Cedarville Harbor and walked out on the dock.  There was a EZ Launch at the end of the dock for launching jet skis, canoes and kayaks.  We had never seen anything like this before, but it makes sense, especially if you don't want to get wet in cold Lake Huron.

We followed this road around Lake Huron for several miles.  I did not see the kind of rocky beaches I need, although there was plenty of rocks.  All of the Great Lakes are absolutely beautiful, our "inland oceans."  

We stopped at a pull-out and Joe stood beside one of the buoys to show how large the underwater part is.  Sort of like an iceberg -- what's underneath is much larger than the part above water.  We have seen a few of these as yard art in this area.

Here's the anchor our son, John, needs for his ocean-boating in Florida.  

As we continued on past the ferry to Drummond Island, where we had gone with Collins and Marilyn a few years ago, we caught a glimpse of another freighter, this one taking on a load from the quarry.  We did not see it once it was full, unfortunately.

  

 I finally spotted some wildlife, a big old turkey.  Joe slammed on the brakes, turned around,  turned around again, and the turkey was still there.  But he must have been camera shy because he started running when we stopped to take his picture Geese are everywhere..I don't know if this place is part of their migration or they live here year-round, but they are in about any open area, especially near the water.

  

We had plans to eat at the Cozy Corner, which we did.    Joe had their daily special, chicken wings, and I had ham and potato soup, and we shared a piece of really delicious strawberry lace cheesecake.  It was better than anything else we had eaten in Sault Ste. Marie.

We saw some sandhill cranes, and actually had a collision with one large bird, we don't know what kind.  Again, Joe slammed on the brakes, but it hit our side mirror -- the mirror survived, the bird did not.  Right after we got back to the campground, we had a little rain shower.  It was in the high 50s all day, cloudy and cool.  

We made reservations in Canada for the weekend in Wawa, and we will be pullling out tomorrow.  Marilyn informed me that this is a holiday weekend in Canada, so we felt fortunate to be able to get in where we think we want to be.  We booked 3 nights but may extend if there is a lot to see (and drive) in the area.  

 Wednesday, May 15, 2024

So this post is real time.  I hope to keep up with the blog from now on, but have no idea how good the internet service will be in Canada.  So we will see.  

We took it easy today, hoping my cough would improve with a day of rest.  I watched Xavier's ballgame on my phone, and when they won, I watched  most of the second game.  Joe took a nap but was ready to do something so we went to get some lunch, then took a drive.  At some point, I lost service on my phone so missed part of the game, but got it back just in time to watch them lose.  Too bad.

After lunch, we stopped at the Visitor Center and picked up some brochures on the Canadian part of our trip.  Our drive took us south and east, several miles from the city, but only a few miles from the river.  We eventually took a road to the river, and found the Cozy Corner restaurant in Barbeau that had been recommended by the clerk at the Visitors Center.  We will probably drive back down to it for dinner tomorrow.  We drove past the restaurant out on a spit of land to the water, then turned around and continued on our way.  To the next dirt road.  Here, I got out of the jeep to check out the rocks.  Looks like someone beat me to this one.

Here's the jeep, with the river in front, and a ship on the river.

Looking behind the jeep, here's the dirt road we came in on.  Joe's happy place, a dirt road to drive.

While we were there, a big ship went by.  Then down a few hundred feet, it passed another ship, one going each way.  

Continuing on to another dirt road, we spotted a deer just as we turned onto it.  It headed into the bushes before I got a good picture, but here's the back end of it.  We also saw a turkey on this road, which I also missed with the camera.  I need to work on my photography skills.  Seems like I got a little rusty.

We made our way back to town, and went to Walgreens for more meds for my cough.  If I don't die of an overdose, maybe I will conquer this thing.  I still have my knee problems, but currently, the cough is about to do me in.  And Joe as well.