2022 Cross-continent tour Archives - Our View From The Road

July 21, 2022 – Recap and Statistics

Three weeks, yes it’s been that long since we arrived home after our 42 day cross-continent tour. A few friends have asked for some specifics about the trip and so we provide the following for your consideration.

The first question tends to be about where we stayed each night. Did we find suitable camping locations? So, here are the stats for that.

13 nights moochdocking (family laneways). Thank you all.
3 nights at Indianapolis Motor Speedway camping field (no services).
7 nights at Harvest Host locations
3 nights in Walmart parking lots
6 nights at KOA campgrounds (serviced).
3 nights at US state park (Fort Stevens)
2 nights at Canadian National Parks
4 nights at Ontario Provincial Parks

As you can see we mixed it up a bit and tried a variety of places. Favorites?

Harvest Host: Shiloh Winery & Vineyard, Kansas. Quiet solitude on the plains.
KOA: Central City, Colorado.
Parks Canada: Jasper, Whistlers Campground, Alberta.
Ontario Provincial Park: Macleod, Geraldton, Ontario.
Family laneway: Yeah, we’re not picking a favorite as we love you all.

The next obvious question is about where exactly did we go? Here’s a map that shows you the route West from Ontario, across the US Midwest, up to British Columbia and the back across the Canadian prairies.

Lastly, given the current price of fuel, folks have asked how much fuel we used and what it cost. So, here it is all laid out in a table for you to review.

So there you have it, a few statistics about the trip. Hoping you find them interesting.

Day 42: June 30 – Deep River, ON to Home

Slept in today as it will be a short drive home from Driftwood Provincial Park. Had time to cook eggs, bacon & hash-browns and enjoy them outside…. Yes, the weather has finally cooperated to allow us to do this.

Last breakfast on the road for this trip

This being the day before Canada Day traffic between the park and Ottawa was much heavier than we had seen in recent days. However, we enjoyed an uneventful drive and before long we found ourselves driving into our laneway. We are home.

We were greeted by Kyra and an overly exuberant Dublin (Kyra’s dog) both of whom had missed us these past 42 days.

The remainder of the day will be spent unloading the van and settling back into the house.

If you’ve followed our journey from the beginning, thank you. I hope that my writing and our travels have been engaging for you. I plan on posting one or two follow on posts in the next few days that provide some statistics and thoughts after the fact. So, stay tuned!

Day 41: June 29 – Timmins, ON to Deep River, ON

Today we shall complete our Hwy-11 journey and join Hwy-17 at North Bay for the journey down the Ottawa Valley.

We pass through Earlton and wave at ‘Earl’ the bison on the way past. We stop for lunch at a quiet rest area a little North of North Bay and find an amazingly tranquil lake.

North Bay seems overly congested after the past few days of driving. The return to civilization is a little jarring. We leave the Toronto-bound traffic and continue Eastward on Hwy-17 towards Mattawa.

At Mattawa we spot Big Joe Mufferaw and turn towards Ottawa. Our destination for the night is Driftwood Provincial Park near Deep River as it will leave a short drive for tomorrow, our last day.

We snag an amazing waterfront site and settle in for a relaxing afternoon in the sun. The view is incredible across the Ottawa River and the sun is warming but not hot.

Day 40: June 28 – Geraldton, ON to Timmins, ON

Although last nights weather forecast was only for light showers, we actually had an all out thunderstorm for about an hours or so around midnight followed by light rain the remainder of the night. By this morning the rain had ended. Yay.

We traveled East for a few hours through the Northern Ontario wilderness and then stopped for fuel in Hearst. A short drive further and we arrived in Kapuskasing where Barb got to satisfy her desire for chip truck poutine from Nicky’s Chipstand. It was delicious (Yes I had some too).

Leaving town we stopped at the Fromagerie Kapuskoise to buy some wonderful cheese products made with locally sourced milk (cow, sheep & goat).

Driving along Hwy-11 you see some unusual sights; however, the flying saucer in Moonbeam probably has all others beat. We had to stop to take a photo.

Our destination for the night is Kettle Lakes Provincial Park just East of Timmins, ON. A large park with lots of smaller lakes throughout, the campsites were roomy and separated from each other nicely. The mosquitoes are very abundant.

Day 39: June 27 – Dryden, ON to Geraldton, ON

Aaron Provincial Park was wonderful. Quiet and quite large sites. If you’re driving past it’s worth a stop for the night. We highly recommend.

Slow start to the day it seems as we didn’t get rolling until about 10:00am. Today we are targeting Geraldton, ON along Hwy-11 from Thunder Bay. We’ve never driven along the northern branch of the Trans Canada highway and thought this trip was a chance to do so.

Before we got to Thunder Bay we stopped at the marker for the crossing into the Eastern Timezone at 90degrees west. There is also a couple of plaques describing and memorializing Sir Sanford Fleming as he invented the concept of Standard Time.

Our next stop was the Terry Fox lookout just East of Thunder Bay along Hwy-11/17. Not only is this is a wonderful place to lookout across Lake Superior it is also a fabulous memorial to an amazing Canadian. Driving here? Do not pass without stopping.

At Nipigon we topped off our fuel, turned North onto Hwy-11 and headed toward Geraldton. The first hour is gorgeous with the road winding alongside lakes and traveling down valleys between rock outcroppings as tall as the Niagara escarpment. Eventually the road turned East again and we were now driving through the true Northlands of the province.

Eventually we arrived at our destination for the night, Macleod Provincial Park. Again no reservation but they had an unserviced site next to the lake for us. It took a few boards to level the van but the view is worth it.