May 22, 2024 - Wednesday

Terrace Bay, Ontario

We did have heavy rain and wind gusts last night, but the storm wasn't too bad.  I would love to know how much rain we got -- guess we need to carry a rain gauge.  It was cold all day today, I don't think it got out of the 40s.  We finally drug ourselves out of bed, loaded up the laundry and got that chore done this morning.  Oh -- here's an interesting tidbit.  At Tim Horton's Donut Shop, they are unable to make "crisp bacon,"  I have run into this twice already, once they did take it back but it didn't come back much crisper.  Today, the gal behind the counter said they were unable to do it, she had asked before but did go ask again.  Apparently, all the bacon is cooked in a vat in the morning, and that's it!  I really don't know how they fix their breakfast sandwiches -- surely they have a grill or a microwave.  But, there you have it.

After we got the laundry dealt with, we decided to make a drive ahead in the Jeep to Terrace Bay, about 60 miles north.  There are a couple of waterfalls there, and we didn't want to stop tomorrow.  When we got close to Lake Superior, it got very foggy.  It kind of came and went as we drove along.  

Our first stop was Neys Provincial Park.  It's about 20 miles up the road.  Parts of the forest here had really been cleaned out but we still didn't see any animals.

We never get tired of looking at Lake Superior.  The beach here was sandy, with big rocks.  

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Joe made a new friend here.  They had a beautiful golden retriever named Sonny.  They are traveling from Ottowa to White Horse, and were having trouble getting their canoe tied down.  Joe and I had lunch here and then headed on to Terrace Bay.  We saw this couple parked at a pull-out but didn't stop.  But then we ran into them again on the boardwalk to Aguasabon  Falls in Terrace Bay.  Very nice people.

We got to Terrace Bay and drove on through town to the Falls.  

There was a really nice set of stairs and boardwalk down to the falls and the Gorge.  Even we were able to handle this.

The 100-foot falls were not very wide but there was a lot of force.  You can see the deep gorge going out from it.  There was a hydro electric plant upstream.

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The big island on the right is Slate Islands Provincial Park which you can reach by sea kayak or charter boat.  Wildlife viewing includes woodland caribou.

Back in town and down to the beach is another, much smaller waterfall

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This pool at the end of the falls looks like it would be a great place to play on a hot day -- which was NOT today.

We passed the golf course on the way to this beach.  Joe called this a "convertible Gator," which was not as cool as Mike Carter's Gator which has heat and air conditioning -- a must in Indiana.

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We drove to the other end of this beach, which was beautiful.  Our mascot, Theo, wanted to see the beach here.  

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Joe said Theo got scared here, though, so he rescued him.

We took a side road here and Joe made another friend, with another Golden Retriever, this one named Mazie!!  By the time we left him here, he had told Joe his name (Jim Jeffers) and invited us to stop by his house, which was nearby. He worked construction and worked on building the structure at the gold mine back in Marathon.  He educated us about moose -- right now they should be along rivers eating anything they can find.  In the summer, when the bugs get bad, they are out in the middle of the roads.  He told us a story about coming upon a pair of moose in the road, one in each lane, and too close for him to get between.  He got his truck shut down just before hitting them.  

Jim started walking back to his truck before we left, but we came upon him again.  This time, he gave us these "fiddle heads," that he had just picked and which he says are delicious.  Steam in butter, which a little salt and pepper.  They are actually ferns before they open up.  He said you can buy them in the grocery store but have been frozen so are not as good.  They are now in my refrigerator.

We got back to town in Terrace Bay and decided to have an early dinner there at the "Drifter" restaurant.  This lighthouse is right across the street.  This is a very cute town, has a strip of businesses on a street forming a half circle behind the lighthouse.

Somewhere along the line today, we saw this train, right on the shoreline of Lake Superior, on a very curvy track.  A unique sight.

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We headed back to Marathon and our RV about 5:00, paying even more attention to river banks looking for wildlife.  Still with no success  We are moving on tomorrow.  We had a hard time finding an RV spot  -- places are just not open yet.  We wanted to go to Nipigon, but could not get any campground to answer the phone, so we have reservations at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park in Rossport, about 80 miles ahead.  And as I sign off of this at 11:00 p.m., it's raining again.

 May 21, 2024

Tuesday

Marathon -Day 2

Marathon is a very small town, smaller than Wawa. We spent the first hour or so this morning trying to find a place for me to get a haircut.  We had tried to scope this out yesterday but I only found one shop.  I called them and they were booked for the week.  We finally found a second one that was supposed to be unisex, but it is only a barbershop now -- he lost his help -- and he tried to send me across the street to the one I had already called.  He told me of another one, didn't know the name or address, just that it was next to Mr. Sub.  We looked all over for Mr. Sub, finally found a beauty shop next to Subway.  The hairdresser said the Subway used to be a Mr. Sub, but she had been there 4 years and it had been Subway all that time.  Anyhow, she could take me in a couple hours, so we went on our next mission, to locate the laundromat.  This town is small but hard to get around in for some reason.  But we finally found it, so we know where to go tomorrow.  Then we started our touring.  Our first stop was to Pebble Beach Park, which I was quite excited about.  But the trail down to the water was more than I thought I could handle, let alone come back up with rocks, so we did not go down to it.

The trail down.  Another couple came up the trail while we were there and she said her husband had to give her a hand.  She had already had knee surgery.  But she added that it was like walking on marbles, so that didn't sound too good.

The pebbles really looked promising, and I'm not sure I can leave here without giving it a try, but my knees are saying NO.

Our next drive was out to Cordon Cove, which looked like a great place for swimming and picnicking.  

The beach here was more accessible. But no rocks.

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We drove down a couple gravel roads, then it was time for my haircut.  Next, we went to the grocery store, went home, had a rest, and went for another drive about 6:00 p.m.  My hairdresser told me she had seen 2 moose yesterday on the highway we drove the day before.  One was in the burnout area that I mentioned.  She also said that fire had just been last year. 

This drive was to the Pukaskwa Provincial Park, back just a few miles.  We had considered staying here and wanted to see what their provincial parks look like.  It was a nice campground, very woodsy.  And a surprising number of campers there.

It had a nice little cove at the back with a couple 

guys practicing their canoeing skills.  And they needed some practice.  Mostly they went around in circles.

But it was really pretty back here.  Lots of hiking trails.

Pic River, the river and the town, were on this road so we explored them.  Joe took a side road, which deteriorated as most of them do.  But we did see some wildlife -- 2 rabbits.  We think the first one was a Flemish Giant Rabbit.  And the second one had white feet so we think it was a Snowshoe Hare.  No pictures.  We made our way back out to the highway and headed back east to another provincial park, but we decided it was too far and too late, so we turned around and headed back to the campground.

We are supposed to have some weather tonight -- high winds, thunderstorms, heavy rain starting about midnight and continuing until noon tomorrow, then followed by wind.  I'm hoping it isn't as bad as predicted.  Bad storms in a motorhome is just not something I want to endure.

 May 20, 2024

Marathon, Ontario, Canada

Today is Victoria Day in Canada, the Canadian holiday on which British sovereign's birthday is celebrated.  Most businesses are closed today, and Marathon does not have many businesses to start with.

There has not been much traffic on Highway 17, but it was especially light today.  We traveled 115 miles, took us 2 hours.  The highway speed limit is 90 km which translates to 56 mph.  Slow moving.  Before we left Wawa, we fueled at the General Store and I took a picture of the moose on the porch, since we are beginning to think we are never going to see one.  Joe is ready to sue the province of Ontario for false advertising, since the highway is regularly marked for moose crossing.  

Also on this parking lot was a cairn which is supposed to resemble a human form.  I didn't recognize it as such until I read the plaque.

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As we drove this highway, full of lakes and curves, it was pretty to see the different greens on the slopes.  The leaves on the birch (we think) are beginning to open up and contrast nicely with the evergreen trees.

As we neared Marathon, we passed this huge operation, with a big pile of tailings behind it.  It had a sign, Barrick, which is a gold mine.  "Barrick Hemlo has produced more than 21 million ounces of gold, and has been operating continuously for more than 30 years.  Located just north of Lake Superior on the Trnas-Canada Highway, about 35 kilometers east of Marathon, Ontario, it's currently an underground operation."

We will have to see if there are tours available.  We continued on to our campground at Penn Lake Park, a very quiet spot on the edge of town.  Penn Lake is walking distance from our site, and we did walk down to check it out. 

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It had pebbles at the edge, not many but some were colorful, 

so I gathered a handful.  There is a "pebbly beach" here that we will check out tomorrow, although I think it says they want you to leave the rocks there for others to enjoy.  We will see about that.  

We had an easy day and an early evening.  The weather was nice, a little cloudy, but no wind.  Temperatures probably in the 60s, but it's supposed to have a low of 43 tonight, high of 66 tomorrow, and rain on Wednesday.  Joe is checking out things to do on his phone, so we hope to have some things to explore tomorrow.  However, it is time to do laundry again, so that will take a chunk of the morning (since our mornings don't start very early).  We are enjoying the manner in which we are traveling, taking our time to explore the area every 100 miles or so, driving the side roads, spending 3 nights at each campground, and looking for wildlife.  We usually have more of a deadline and agenda, but this suits us this year since neither of us is walking very well.  I think I finally kicked the virus I had in Ft. Wayne -- it pretty well went through everyone there.  But I am back to my normal chronic cough now, so that is good.  I have put all the medicine away, hopefully to never have to get it out again.

Sunday, May 19, 2024

White River, Ontario, Canada

I forgot to mention on our drive around Wawa Lake, we came upon 3 small ponds named Mom Lake, Dad Lake, and Baby Lake.  There are so many lakes and ponds up here, most of them don't have names. 

Today we drove ahead in the Jeep on Highway 17 to the town of White River, population 1000.  We will travel this same 60 miles tomorrow as we move on in the RV to Marathon, but White River has its own claim to fame -- it is the hometown of Winnie the Pooh.  As you come into town, there are signs about Winnie, and there is a statue and small park in his honor.  The story is that Winnie was originally purchased by a soldier during WWI from a trapper who had found the orphan bear.  Lieutenant Colebourn named the bear Winnie after his hometown, Winnepeg and she became the official mascot of The Fort Garry Horse, a Militia calvary regiment .  In 1914 when the Lieutenant learned he would be shipped to France, he settled Winnie in the London Zoo.  She eventually became the favorite attraction at the zoo.  It is said that visitors would knock on her door and she would come out to greet them.  She even let children ride on her back and eat out of their hands.  Because of her popularity, he decided he could not take her back to Canada.  Winnie was officially donated to the London Zoo on December 1, 1918.  Christopher Robin Milne and his father, a writer, visited Winnie often.  Christopher was the one who added Pooh to her name.  His father started writing children's books based on Winnie.  In 1961, Walt Disney purchased the copyright to the Winnie-the-Pooh book.  White River celebrates Winnie each year with a festival in the bear's honor.  

We drove around town, which didn't take long and there wasn't much to see -- 4 murals, an old train station, the train car that Winnie arrived in, and a heritage museum which was closed.  The Visitor Center was also closed.  So we drove out some of the dirt roads -- of course.  We chased down some of the named beaches.  This one actually had a few rocks, and I got a handful but the water is COLD.  Not sure how I'm going to do any rockhounding this early in the season.

There are lakes everywhere we look.  This area apparently had a fire in the last few years.  Burn-out on both sides of the road for several miles.  I can't imagine how they ever get one extinguished, there are so many forests up here.

Another lake mentioned in the literature has a small waterfall.  It took several dirt roads before we found this one -- the directions were to turn at an unmarked road just before the water treatment plant.  We missed it the first pass but finally found it on the road to a fly-in fishing lodge, which was not mentioned.  We had to ford another stream, which had a pretty large hole as we crossed.  Water got a little deep but we made it both ways.  The water was so clear we could see where the rocks were and weren't so he moved over a little on the return.  

This is the fishing lodge, White River Air.  We could see 3 planes.  There must have been 30 vehicles parked there so business must be good.

We had lunch at an A&W Root Beer restaurant, no ice.  It was attached to a convenience store/gas station so we checked it out.  They did have some Winnie souvenirs but they were pricey.  And gas was a little higher here.  Joe would have driven down more roads, but I persuaded him to head home.  Two days in the Jeep makes my back hurt, so we got home early enough to get a little rest.  We are moving on tomorrow to Marathon, about 110 miles up the road.

Today was sunny, but cool and very windy.  It stayed in the low 60s.  We booked 3 nights in Marathon, leaving on Thursday.  The forecast there for Thursday is a high of 48.  We are heading north, then northwest for the next week or so, but I am sure ready for some warmer temperatures. 

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