Yesterday, we left Niagara Falls and traveled to Sudbury, Ontario. Nothing much to say about that segment. Sudbury is a pleasant enough town, but for us it was merely a place where it made sense to stop for the night.
The noteworthy thing about yesterday was that, for the first time on the trip, we got a really significant rainfall. We've had one or two encounters with a gentle mist, but yesterday we got a good, proper, heavy rain. We were driving through it for the better part of the whole day.
Thankfully, only a gentle rain was falling when we arrived at the hotel, so we did not get soaked as we unloaded the car.
Miles yesterday (Tuesday) = 308. TO = 4645.
Today we spent the day on the Trans-Canadian Highway, following, as we said, the coastline of Lake Huron first, and then Lake Superior.
We had lunch in Sault Ste. Marie, which is on the St. Mary's River. That is the river that permits Lake Superior to drain into Lake Huron. Here's a photo from the restaurant.
The bridge that you see links Canada with USA (Michigan). It spans the river, and the locks that permit shipping traffic to move between the two lakes.
Contrary to our expectations (having consulted the map), we found that, as one follows the shore of Lake Huron, the road almost never gets close enough to the shoreline for one to actually see the lake. This picture was taken from a site that is maybe 2 kilometers shoreward from the main highway.
Conversely, once you get past Sault Ste. Marie and onto the road around Lake Superior, one sees magnificent views of the lake virtually around every turn. Here is a sample of a view directly from the main road.
That land mass that you see is NOT the opposite shore, but rather an island. The opposite shore is FAR to far away to see.
Tonight we are in White River, Ontario, population 1,000. This is the northernmost place where we will spend the night, though tomorrow's path takes us a bit farther north before we curve south. We are at latitude North 49 degrees. Compare with Sacramento at 38.5 degrees. So, even ignoring East/West, we are more than 700 miles north of home. As we post at a few minutes before 10:00 PM, the sun is just touching the horizon.
This town's claim to fame is that it is 'Where it all began', with the referenced 'it' being Winnie the Pooh.
There is a park across the street from our hotel memorializing this fact, with plaques and a statue. If you are ever passing through this town, it is definitely a 'Must-See'. In order to do it justice, allow a minimum of 3 1/2 minutes.
Speaking of our motel, this is really a motel in the most traditional sense of the word, i.e., Motor Hotel. The car is no more than 12 feet away from the bed.
And, when was the last time that you saw one of these?
Miles today = 391. TO = 5038.
Tomorrow, last full day in Canada. Then back to USA entering in the great state of Minnesota.
Oh, yeah sure, you betcha'!
Glad to hear Sudbury has recovered enough not to be noteworthy. Mid-20th century it was home to a nickel smelter whose emissions had rendered it a moonscape.
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