Northern Ontario

August 22, 2010
On to Kenora and Lake of the Woods area. Sure is different landscape from the prairies. Very scenic with rock and trees, and several lakes and rivers along the route. Still windy and rainy however. A quick stop at Kenora for lunch and then back on the road again. It is a long drive around Lake Superior. Stopped the first night at Ignace. There is a tavern there with a special on wings on Wednesdays , After talking to the owner, who is also the town’s mayor, we were told we could park right in the lot of the tavern. Suited us just fine and the requisite railroad was right across the street. Next morning up and on the way again to Thunder Bay.After searching for a Rogers Centre (my cell phone carrier) and Flying J, which no one had heard of we stopped for lunch at Walmart and got info on my phone at Future Shop. Then we hit the road again and made another stop at Nipigon. Noticed a sign at the tourist info centre, advertising a pickerel fish fry. It was getting close to supper time so we decided to stop. (I noticed later that a fellow dressed up as a moose, and a very pretty young girl were on the highway waving, could be that had something to do with the sudden turn of the wheel?)
Later we talked to these two characters( turned out they worked at the info centre) and were told we were welcome to park the motor home for the night and use the centre’s wi-fi as well.
There are several rest areas along this route, but very difficult to see if there is room for a large rig to turn around. One we stopped at, Rainbow Falls, was very clearly posted “no overnight parking” beautiful spot would have been a nice overnight place. (See pic)
Next stop was Sault Ste Marie where we pulled into a Walmart, but were told that there was no overnight parking allowed. A town ordinance resulted in some RV’s being ticketed and fined $50. Next door was Home Depot, who said “Come on over”. The Sault is a very interesting place, being the last locks on the St Lawrence Seaway. We walked down to the lock on the Canadian side, and could see the American locks as well. There is also a long bridge connecting the two countries at this point. The whole waterfront is accessible via a boardwalk, which we walked and then on to the Bushplane Museum. By this time my feet were pretty tired and we started watching for city busses to help us back to the rig. Stopped for lunch on Queen Street and watched the rain start again. Back onto the street and the long hike back (no bus came along) (I have a few extra blisters, and a good excuse to use the tracker for the next couple of days.)
Around 4 pm we decided to drive on in the rain and headed for Sudbury. Now that is an interesting city to get around in. We had decided both GPS units must be on the fritz, by the time we circled 2/3 of the city before arriving at Wal Mart. (Perhaps Garmin has shares in the Nickel Smelters?) The following morning we realized that either every street sign was removed during the night, or the town ran out of budget when it came time to make them. Garmin and Magellan prevailed however and we did get back on the road again. Next stop was Owen Sound, where live two of the cutest guys in the world. Nathan and Jacob are two of my great grandchildren that I got to visit for the first time.