Algonquin Provincial Park ... and More Bad Luck

As we left Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday the skies magically cleared, and the temperatures rose into the pleasant 70s, or above 22 degrees for those of you that speak in Celsius.  The terrain also changed and it became more pastoral and less rocky and mountainous.

Hay fields and pastures east of Sault Ste. Marie

I have previously mentioned the Group of Seven.  The Group of Seven, also sometimes known as the Algonquin School, was a group of Canadian landscape painters active from 1920 to 1933. Believing that a distinct Canadian art could be developed through direct contact with nature, the Group of Seven is best known for its paintings inspired by the Canadian landscape, and initiated the first major Canadian national art movement.  Throughout most of our route on the Superior north shore we have been on the so-called "Group of Seven Route".

The Group of Seven

I'm not really a connoisseur of fine art, but I am fascinated by the art of this school of artists.  Following is a sampling of the work of the Group of Seven.

This was a leisurely day and the weather was great. We stopped at most rest areas.  Each was along the bank of a pretty river. Canada has nice waysides.

Rest stop #1

Rest stop #2 and lunch

Rest stop #3. Matilda says "Where did everyone go?"

After a drive of 332 miles we stopped for the night at the Walmart Supercentre in Huntsville ON.  There we pumped 101 gallons of diesel at $3.18/gal USD, by far the cheapest diesel we have seen in Canada. This fill-up will get us well into the US where we hope to find much lower diesel prices.

Camp Walmart Huntsville ON 

These were boats from the Canada Outward Bound School

Shortly after departing Huntsville we entered Algonquin Provincial Park.

Algonquin is a canoe Mecca, much like the Boundary Waters in Minnesota.

We were a little anxious about getting a camp site in Algonquin.  Many campgrounds in the park had closed for the season. When we reviewed the on-line reservation system, it was not clear if or how many sites were available without reservations.  At the West Gate entrance station the ranger said no problem and recommended we stop at Mew Lake, however, when we arrived at Mew Lake CG, there were no sites suitable for our rig. DANG!  That ranger called to Lake of Two Rivers CG, just a few miles down the road and reported they had plenty of sites. Right.  We've heard that before.  However, it turns out they did have plenty of sites at Lake of Two Rivers. We took a ride through the loops and chose site 105 with 30/15 amp "hydro" (Canada-speak for electrical service).

Site 105 at Lake of Two Rivers

Lake of Two Rivers is a really nice campground.  The sites are HUGE!  Their web site showed many sites to be 30 meters wide and 40 meters long.  We are used to sites being characterized by the length of the driveway, usually something on the order of 30-50 feet, not the dimensions of the whole site.  However, on these sites there was no driveway per se.  You could park anywhere on the site you wished, the one restriction being not to park on a picnic table or any of the numerous 3' wide jack pine trees on the site.  All the sites were very open and covered by a nice carpet of pine needle duff.  Three years ago we visited Algonquin and stayed at Canisbay Lake CG, but I believe Lake of Two Rivers is much nicer.

Ferns behind our campsite

Faithful readers will remember that we have had a series of misadventures on this trip, and I am sorry to report that our bad luck is not over yet  When we arrived at our camp site I found that the tailpipe had separated from the muffler on the coach. OUCH!  I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but we didn't notice it when we left Huntsville 47 miles back.  Thankfully, between the clamp on the pipe and the flared end on the tip of the exhaust pipe, the tailpipe was not lost. As breakdowns go, this may not be the worst thing that could happen. The engine still runs, and we could move if necessary, but I would be concerned about the hot exhaust gasses scorching the paint on the side of the coach.  I'm not really sure what to do.  Can a truck repair shop weld it back together, or do I need a new muffler?  If I need a new muffler, I'm sure it's a special order item, and we are many miles from a qualified service shop and many days from receiving the part.  I did locate D&H Heavy Equipment Repair about 25 miles away, just outside the park. I called, but the guy was not encouraging. He said he would be away from his shop for the next 3 days, but that he would be driving through the park that evening and would stop by our camp and take a look.  COOL!  However, when I called him back later in the afternoon he said he was running behind and may not make it after all.  In the end he never showed.  DANG!

Tail pipe says goodbye to muffler

So here we are not sure what step to take next. So we'll sleep on it and figure something out. We always do.  In the meantime we will explore the park and try not to let this new problem ruin our stay.

We visited the Algonquin Outfitters store which has a Swift Canoe and Kayak factory store.  In Algonquin Swift Canoes are everywhere. We once owned a Swift Yukon, a 17 1/2 foot Royalex behemoth that we used for river camping trips.  Swift Canoes are not common in the South, and there are no dealers anywhere near home.  In 2001 I called the factory and spoke with Bill Swift Jr. directly, and he shipped the Yukon to my home in Winston Salem.

A tribute to Bill Swift Sr 

I want a USB port on my next Swiss army knife

A gaggle of Swifts

The Swift Keewaydin 16 Carbon Fusion Innegra is the most high tech canoe I have ever seen

In addition to a carbon fiber hull, it has a carbon fiber portage yoke

And carbon fiber seats

The boat weighs 33 pounds and costs $5500.  We liked it so much we each bought one.

Following is a photo of our Swift Yukon while camping on the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas in 2004.

A blast from the past: Dorcas and Izaak by our old Yukon

Some boats have seen better days. This one looks a lot like our old Yukon

I don't know who makes this trailer, but it was way cool. It had a highly polished aluminum exterior and the entry door was on the front over the hitch.  Very unusual.

An alternate mode of transport

On Tuesday we paddled on the Lake of Two Rivers and its tributaries

Uh oh. Beaver dam ahead

Where there is a beaver dam, there is likely a beaver lodge

After sleeping on the tail pipe problem, or rather not sleeping and fretting all night, I decided to make the best temporary repair that I could with whatever materials I had on board.  I cut down a steel soup can and made a cradle for the tail pipe. I pop riveted the can to the muffler to support the inboard end of the pipe.  Then I took two wire coat hangers (the only 2 we had on board, thanks to a recent shopping spree at Goodwill; Dorcas likes fancy hangers) and wrapped the hangers around the pipe and a frame member just above the pipe to support the assembly.  The hangers were very difficult to work with. They were hard to bend, and were brittle and tended to break when I tried to twist the ends together.

Let this not be a judgment on my engineering skills

Then I several used 3" pieces of 1" x 1/4" wood furring strips around the body opening on the coach to stabilize the outer part of the pipe.  Don't ask me why I am carrying lumber all over the country in the motor home; I frankly could not explain it. However, they fit just right; it was a miracle.

It looks silly, but it seems to be stable 

This is far from an ideal solution.  There is not a complete seal between the muffler and the tailpipe, but it should pass most of the exhaust.   The wire hangers are brittle and may break.  The wood strips may scorch or even catch on fire. I tried to find out the temperature of diesel exhaust gasses. I learned that at the exhaust manifold it ranges from 800-1000 degrees F, but could find no data on the typical temperature at the exhaust tip.  The muffler and the tailpipe should get good airflow when the coach is underway, so I'll hope for the best and stop often to make sure we aren't scorching the coach paint or the Honda. At the first hardware store we come to I will buy some 16 gauge steel wire to replace the hangers.  Our goal is to limp home and make permanent repairs there.  Between the upcoming rally in Boston that starts in 3 days and the plethora of doctors appointments I have the following week when we get home, we really can't afford to stop for any length of time to make repairs. This is a developing story; more to follow.

Fall foliage

Today we leave Algonquin headed east. At Ottawa we will turn right and hopefully cross the border back into the US this afternoon.  We have our fingers crossed and are holding our breath.

The saga continues ....