ON Archives - Our View From The Road

Days 10 & 11: Homeward Bound

Thursday saw us drive into Southern Ontario and over towards the Lake Huron coast. We stopped in Mildmay at Pickled and Baked Foods to pick-up a couple of baked pies and tarts for dinner. We then drove on to Bayfield where we stopped for lunch at the Woodland Drive-In before ending our day in South Huron with family where we stayed for dinner and camped overnight.

Friday was our last day. The day started early with a coffee and some toast before saying our goodbyes and heading back out onto the road one last time. Our visit had been brief but very enjoyable, we hope to be back again soon.

We headed East towards Oxford County where we had a package to be dropped off at my brother’s home. We topped off with fuel at a gas station near Hwy 401 before tackling Friday traffic into ‘the big smoke’ (Toronto, ON). Due to volume we decided to take the Hwy 7 ETR across the city and then rejoin Hwy 401 East of the worst traffic. Always a relaxing drive when compared to Hwy 401 albeit an expense that I despise.

Traffic heading East out of Toronto on this Friday was heavy but it moved steadily resulting in us arriving in Prescott, ON at 3:00pm where we dumped our waste tanks one last time. The Canadian Tire at Prescott offers this as a service; however, it is now $25 which will make me think twice about using it again.

We drive North on Hwy 416 to our destination where we stop to fill up with fuel one last time before heading home. We’d made it!

Our trip odometer showing the total of 10,527.2km over 124hrs 34min

The remainder of the day was spent unloading the van and returning to living in our home. I shall attempt to wash the van of all accumulated road detritus sometime in the next few days. For now, we’ve earned a rest I believe.

Thanks for following along with us on our journey. Check back again as we’re starting to plan the next one.

Day 09: Pancake Bay to Killbear Provincial Park

A slightly shorter but no more complex driving day today as we again simply followed the TCH most of the day.

It started shortly after 8:00am with us leaving the Pancake Bay Provincial Park after not finding garbage cans for our waste. We simply drove 3km down the TCH and then used an MTO (Ministry of Transport) provided trash receptacle. 45 min later we arrived in Sault Ste-Marie where we topped off with fuel and headed on our way. Eastward today, towards Sudbury. It was a nice drive and not too busy with traffic. We stopped at the Elliott Lake turnoff where there is a nice information center that suited as a place for our picnic lunch.

After lunch we continued East to Sudbury where we turned South on Hwy69 towards Parry Sound. We stopped again for fuel so that we’d have a full tank to start tomorrow and then stopped at the Norse Brewery for a burger and a beer before heading to Killbear Provincial Park where we will be staying tonight.

An uneventful and easy drive. Just as we like them. Tomorrow we head into Southern Ontario to visit family.

Day 08: Thunder Bay to Pancake Bay, ON

Well, what can I say about today? We got up early, showered and left. On the road before 8:00am heading to Tim Horton’s in Nipigon. We did take a couple of early morning photos of the sky which I share below.

Today’s route was a simple one, follow the TCH from Thunder Bay to Pancake Bay (80km North of Sault Ste-Marie). No turns, no decisions except where to buy fuel (White River) and where to stop for our picnic lunch (Just South of White River). We saw a few things and I’ve added pictures as proof.

We arrived at the Pancake Bay Provincial Park at 3:15pm. Camp setup, Starlink connected, Barb doing laundry. Dinner will be hot dogs. Sleep will come easily.

Tomorrow, Killbear Provincial Park near Parry Sound, ON. Our journey approaches it end, just 3 more days.

Day 07: Saint Claude,MB to Thunder Bay, ON

A damp start to the day. After the rain las evening everything was pretty wet outside. The van had lots of poplar leaves on it from the trees at the back of our campsite. We were driving off of the site at about 8:10am, an early start as today we are planning on driving to Thunder Bay, ON which we anticipate will take about 9hrs.

A short 1 hr drive and we’re on the Winnipeg bypass and then on the TCH heading toward Ontario. Traffic is fairly light and we make good headway. We stop in Kenora for fuel rather than push our luck and hope we had enough to get to Dryden. The Husky gas station in Kenora has amazing staff who pumped the gas and cleaned both the windshield and the rear windows of the van! Nicely done.

We swung into the Tim Hortons parking lot for a coffee and TimBits and found that the parking lot was not designed for 22’ vans. I managed to find a space long enough but backing out meant that someone waiting for the drive thru had to let me out. Luckily there are nice people in Kenora and we were back on the road in just a few minutes.

We stopped to eat a picnic lunch at a rest area on Dixie Lake next to the highway. A beautiful spot for a short rest. The remainder of the drive to Dryden and then onto Thunder Bay was uneventful and we filled with fuel once arriving in Thunder Bay so that we are ready for the morning.

We are staying at the Thunder Bay KOA Holiday tonight with many other travelers. Barb was hoping to do some laundry but was told that the laundry was closed as of our arrival (due to lack of overnight travel insurance???) and would reopen tomorrow morning at 9:00am. Not useful for us as we will likely be gone by that time. Hmmmm, not impressed.

Tomorrow we will round the ‘lakehead’ and drive almost to Sault Ste-Marie.

Days 10 & 11: McLaren campground

This campground is amazing. It is quiet and the sites are so far apart that it feels as if we’re camping in park by ourselves. A must try if you have not.

No pictures from these last two days, we just took it easy visiting with friends and doing a few odd jobs to the campers. We were spoiled rotten as our campmates had Starlink internet which they shared with us as the campground had almost no cellular service and no WiFi. It allowed us to stay in touch with family and watch the odd YouTube video.

As with other trips, I provide the following stats for this that might be interested.

– 1534 total km
– 14.552 l/100km average fuel economy
– 67 km/hr average speed
– total drive time of 23:00 (hh:mm)
– approximately 223 litres of fuel consumed

Home now and the van is parked in what will be its new home on our property. We had a gravel pad installed while we were away and we have moved the ShelterLogic structure onto this pad. This frees up space in front of our garage and allows for easier parking and backing-out of the van when we need to use it. As you can see below we are waiting for the replacement cover to be delivered.

All for now, check back again for another exciting adventure.

Day 09: Return to Ontario

A cool morning awaited as we prepared to leave for the day and head back toward Ontario.

It was cold walk to the showers which were passable at best as they were tiny and old. Lots of hot water but no room to disrobe or move about easily while washing. A quick breakfast and then the tanks are dumped and garbage disposed of and we were on our way shortly after 9:00am.

We stopped a few km down the road at the Chez Marie Boulangerie. Built in 1652, the house is now home to the fourth generation of the Mercier family. The bread oven is now over 160 years old. We picked up a fresh white loaf and a few cheese danishes for a naughty snack along the road.

Built in 1652 the home of Chez Marie boulangerie.

Across the road from Chez Marie is a small stone structure that had a plaque on it indicating that it had been built in 1649 as a root cellar dug into the hillside.

We returned to route 40 and headed towards Quebec City. This time we were traveling around the city and that led us through a large construction zone in which we almost took a wrong turn. Phew.

On the correct route, we head towards to the Pierre Laporte bridge that crosses the St. Lawrence to Levis, QC.

Joining route 20, we turn towards Drummondville and encounter yet more construction. Only slight delays as the traffic is narrowed into a single lane and we pass a few paving crews. After an hour or so we arrive in Drummondville where we exit to fill up with fuel and groceries for the weekend ahead.

Returning to route 20 we pass through another construction zone before rejoining the highway. Construction seems to be the topic of the day.

More construction zones await us as we head towards Montreal, again not long delays just annoyingly more frequent than we would have liked. We leave route 20 and head West around Montreal on route 30 towards Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. We cross the St. Lawrence River again and pay the toll ($5.80) before rejoining route 20 and turning West towards Ontario.

We cross back into Ontario and join Hwy401 towards Cornwall, ON. However, yet more construction slows us again just 10km before our exit into the village of Long-Sault.

We drive onto the Long-Sault parkway that takes us to our destination, McLaren campground one of the parks of the St. Lawrence where we are meeting friends and are staying for 3 nights.

We enjoy a hamburger for dinner and enjoy the sunset before a campfire and then settling down for the night.

Day 01: Heading to Quebec City

Today we start a new trip into Quebec. It will be a short trip this time with us planning only 11 nights being planned.

After completing the loading of our gear, we head out shortly after 9:00am heading toward Montreal. We are traveling with Mr & Mrs Milddogs.com for the first few days and so it is a small 2 vehicle convoy that travels South towards Hwy401 and then turns East towards the border with Quebec.

Each vehicle decides to take a different route to Tori’s-Rivières with one heading through Montreal on Autoroute 40 and the other skirting South of the city on Autoroute 30. We took the Southern route which would be slightly longer but we were hoping for much less traffic. After paying the $5.80 toll to cross the St. Lawrence River, we turned East across the southern edge of the city. The route was turning out to be as expected with light and fast moving traffic. As we approached Autoroute 20 the traffic increased and we were slowed for a few minutes with one or two cringy brake applying moments just before the exit from the 30. Autoroute 20 took us further East and the traffic again lightened and the driving was easy. The weather was perfect with clear skies and mild temperatures, we were enjoying the passing scenery as we trundled towards Drummondville wondering how our traveling companions were doing in Montreal.

We turn North from the 20 and head towards Tori’s-Rivières. Stopping briefly to stretch our legs we head once again over the St. Lawrence and join Autoroute 40 East towards Quebec. We stopped at a small Fromagerie where we met up with Mr & Mrs Milddogs.com. Their route had been a few minutes faster as the GPS had predicted and like us they had no major traffic issues crossing Montreal.

The Fromagerie des Grondines has a nice selection of cheeses and artisan jams, mustards, quiches, beers and wines. We got a little cheese, a quiche for breakfast and a couple of beers for later.

After returning to the highway, we stopped again briefly to fill up with fuel before heading into Quebec City where we plan on camping for the next couple of days.

Shortly after 3:00pm we arrived at our camping destination the Stationnement Bassin Louise VR – Port de Québec. Yep, we’re camping in a parking lot next to the Quebec marina located a short walk from Old Quebec City.

After setting up and paying our fee for the night, we head out for a walk and end up at the Chateau Frontenac. We enjoy a beer and charcuterie on a patio enjoying the afternoon sun and watching the tourists walk by whilst catching up on life events with our friends.

The beer consumed we head to the Dufferin terrace where we enjoy a wonderful view down and across the St. Lawrence River before heading to an ice cream shop. The walk back down to the van took us past the train station and onto the marina.

We spent the evening outside of our vans enjoying a beverage and watching the lights come on and illuminate the city. In all, it was a great start to the trip and I’m sure we’ll really enjoy the next week or so.

Day 45: Let’s get home, shall we?

This is it, our last day on the road as part of this adventure. There is a sense of sadness that it’s almost over yet we are looking forward to being home and enjoying Spring around our home.

After a quiet night we awake fairly early and begin to prepare the van for the drive home. We enjoy a light breakfast with Kath & Al and set off shortly before 10:00am after thanking them for the wonderful hospitality they’ve extended to us over the past couple of days.

We head through Meaford and proceed onto Collingwood before turning slightly South towards Barrie and then onto Orillia, ON. It’s Friday before the 3-day Victoria Day weekend and as such there’s more traffic on the roads as many have taken the day off work so that they can get to their weekend destinations ahead of the main thrust of traffic later in the day.

Leaving Orillia, we head towards the Kawartha Lakes region and then onto Peterborough where we pick-up Hwy-7 and head East towards Norwood, ON. We stop for fuel and then a quick picnic lunch that empties the fridge of the last of our groceries.

Back on the road we head towards Sharbot Lake Provincial Park where we pay a day-use fee to allow us access to the tank dumping facilities. A little while later we leave Hwy-7 and head through Perth and onto Hwy-43 towards our home.

We stop to pick-up Shawarma for dinner and then head home where we are greeted by Mr. Milddogs who captures our return in the following picture.

And with that our Spring 2024 adventure comes to a successful conclusion. It’s been a blast and we’ve seen some wonderful places and enjoyed visiting with friends and family. Until next time, thanks for following along.

P.S. There will be a summary post for the journey in the coming days once I’ve had a chance to catch my breath.

Day 44: …

<< This page left intentionally blank >>

Day 43: The day we took a shortcut

Up and at ‘em by 7:00am and on the road by 8:30am and soon pass the halfway-point along the Trans Canada Highway.

We head towards Sault-Ste-Marie and then turn East on Hwy-17. Our first stop is in Echo Bay, ON to see the giant ‘Loonie’. It’s here to recognize that the original Loon artwork used on the coin was by an artist from Echo Bay.

The drive eastward is steady and it takes about 3 hours to get to Espinola, ON. We stop for fuel and then head South on Hwy-6 to Little Current on Manitoulin Island where we stop for a picnic lunch.

After lunch we continue further South towards South Baymouth, ON and check-in for our ferry reservation. We are heading to Tobermory, ON by way of the MS Chi-Cheemaun.

The ferry departs at 3:50pm which gave us an hour or so to look about the ferry port. Loading was easy and the ship is carrying barely a quarter of its vehicle capacity.

MS Chi Cheemaun arriving at South Baymouth, ON

We depart right on-time and head out into Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. The crossing will take about 2hrs so we decide to have an early dinner on board and the spend time relaxing in the lounge.

We were asked to return to our vehicles in preparation for arrival 15min ahead of actually arriving. As such we did not see the town of Tobermory as we arrived, instead this is our first view.

We passed through Tobermory and headed South on Hwy-6. We were soon driving through the familiar agricultural landscape of Ontario toward Wiarton and Owen Sound.

We head East along Hwy-21 towards Meaford, ON where we will be visiting family and resting for a couple of nights. Catch you all in a couple of days!