Tag: ON

Ontario

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.

Echo Bay, ON

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.

Dam in Espinola, ON
Whitefish River, ON
Little Current, ON
Little Current, ON

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.

Driving onto Chi-Cheemaun
Admiring the artwork
Departing South Baymouth
Rocky shoreline
Approaching Bruce peninsula

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.

First view of Tobermory, ON

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.

Wiarton, ON the home of ‘Wiarton Willy’
Owen Sound, ON

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!

View East towards Meaford, ON and Collingwood Bay beyond.

Day 42: …the big lake they call Gitche Gumee…

According to Wikipedia, Lake Superior is actually called Giche-gami in Ojibwe but I’ve used the Gordon Lightfoot spelling for the title of this post.

Ahhh, after our night in Winnipeg, last night was soooo quiet. We slept until 7:00am and could have probably slept longer if we didn’t need to keep moving it along. We showered last night (showers get 8/10) and so this morning was a simple breakfast and packing up of the van. Tanks dumped and water filled, we were on the road by 9:00am.

First priority of the day was fuel for the van and some 5G internet so that I could finish and upload yesterdays post. Barb located an Esso/Tim Horton’s in Thunder Bay which also had a really good 5G signal. Check.

Terry Fox memorial, Thunder Bay, ON

Back onto Hwy-17 East towards Nipigon, ON. Construction of new 4-lane sections slowed us a few times, but as the road was fairly quiet, we had no long waits thankfully. Passing the Nipigon River bridge and the Hwy-11 turnoff that we took two years ago, we continued on Hwy-17 towards White River and Wawa, ON.

Nipigon River bridge
Nipigon River bridge
Excavating entire hill for road construction material

The road is in really good condition and the weather was beautiful making the driving easy. We stopped at the Aguasabon Canyon viewpoint to look at the waterfall. We had the place to ourselves.

Aguasabon Canyon and falls, Terrace Bay, ON

At White River we stopped at the visitor center and Barb got to visit Winnie-the-Pooh as we had done with our children 21 years ago. We also enjoyed a picnic lunch in the van before returning to the road.

Story of Winnie-the-Pooh
Connection between White River and Winnie

The visitor center in Wawa is still closed for the Winter and so we don’t stop but Barb managed to get a picture of the Wawa goose.

Wawa goose, Wawa, ON

Some of the views out across the lake are stunning and you come upon them suddenly as the road twists and turns along the shoreline. We’ve included a few below.

We end our day in Pancake Bay Provincial Park just a few kilometers North of Sault-Ste-Marie, ON. The beach here is gorgeous and Barb even wades into the (very cold) lake.

Pancake Bay Provincial Park, ON

We settle in for the evening and prepare for our last long road day tomorrow which will include a special treat.

Day 41: Let’s go into the woods today

Sleeping at a truck stop next to a busy highway and intersection was probably not the best idea we’ve ever had, but we made it through the night albeit with less deep sleep than we probably needed.

We start by having an egg breakfast with coffee at the Denny’s on-site. This is a healthy (hmm?) dose of protein that will ensure we don’t feel hungry in an hour or so.

Barb drives us out of the Flying-J shortly before 8:00am and we take the bypass around Winnipeg, MB heading towards Ontario. Soon the trees return and we’re no longer on the prairie. We stop at Falcon Lake, MB for fuel which we get at 20 cents / liter cheaper than we pay later in the day in Ontario. I take over driving duty for the next hour or so.

After passing Kenora, ON we turn South onto Hwy-71 towards Fort Frances, ON where we stop to have a picnic lunch by the river looking across toward Minnesota, USA.

Continuing East from Fort Frances on Hwy-11/17 Barb drives for a couple of hours toward Thunder Bay, ON. I take over driving again and pass back into the Eastern time zone.

We stop for the night at Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park just North of Thunder Bay. We shower and have Buttered Chicken for dinner. A little TV and it’s time for bed.

Day 1: Head West Young Man

We’re off again. This time the plan is to get to California and then head North into the Sierra Nevada mountains before turning West to the Pacific coast and continuing North into Canada. The final leg will bring us back across the continent through the Northern states before again returning to Canada at Sault-Ste-Marie.

The van is packed and we’re on the road shortly after 10am. The weather forecast was for rain turning into snow later in the day, we are hoping to arrive in Southern Ontario before the temperature gets cold enough for snow to form.

The drive along Highway 401 started dry but before long the rain began and intensified significantly. By the time we arrived in Toronto, it was difficult to see more than a few vehicles ahead. Road spray did not help with visibility and driving slowed to a crawl.

We arrived at our destination by 5:00pm and settled in for the night. We are visiting family for the next few days and our plan is to cross into the US on Saturday, this will be our next post.

Looking forward to having everyone follow us again on our adventures via this blog.

Let the adventure begin!

Until next time, keep on smiling!