Onward to Sault Ste. Marie ON

We departed Canisbay CG and Algonquin Park mid-morning on Sunday, headed to Sudbury ON, 180 miles north.  This is the point in this journal where I normally say we had a smooth and uneventful drive.   NOT!  While hitching up the Element and before leaving the camp ground, my tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) began squealing and announced that the pressure in the left rear tire was only 14.5 PSI.  My digital tire pressure gauge confirmed the diagnosis.  CRAP!  Further inspection revealed a screw head protruding from the tread.  The good news is that the tire had not gone totally flat overnight, suggesting it was a relatively slow leak.  There was both a Canadian Tire store and a Walmart Supercentre in Huntsville about 45 minutes away along our route.  The bad news is it was Sunday morning, and we wondered whether either would be open.  Since it seemed to be a slow leak I decided to inflate it to 40 PSI and hope we made it to Huntsville. During the drive we monitored the pressure in the tire, and it actually increased slightly as the temperature rose.  We would come to Canadian Tire before Walmart, and it was closer to our intended route.  Dorcas called and learned that the auto service center was closed on Sundays, but said they did have one mechanic standing by for simple emergency repairs, such as a punctured tire.  Parking was tight at the store, but since the auto service center was closed, we could park by the garage doors.  SWEET!  The mechanic was just finishing his lunch and had the tire repaired in about 20 minutes.  At the same stop we filled up the Element with gas, whose low fuel light had been on for about a day and a half and topped off the coach with diesel.  The prices for both fuels were cheaper than anywhere else along our route through Canada before we re-enter the US next week.  All in all not a bad morning.

Canadian Tire: an auto parts store, auto service center and general store rolled into one

Prime parking spot

From this point on, our trip was smooth and uneventful, although not particularly scenic.  Our GPS directed us down a secondary road PR 3, that we thought might be a little iffy, but we stuck it out and hit the major road after about 20 miles.

To see a short dashboard video of PR 3, click here.

You don't often see a turtle crossing sign (photo cut from dash cam)

Eventually we checked into Mine Mill 598/CAW Campground on the shore of Richard Lake.  The camp ground is apparently owned by the Canadian Auto Workers union, and union members receive discounted camping.  Still at $35 CAD/night (about $27 USD) it seemed to be a good deal ... except for one thing....

We should have taken this sign as a sign.  In these parts "hydro" means electrical service.

.... we should have known there might be a problem when we read this sign at the office.  I don't think I have ever been threatened before for using my A/C.  But the evening was cool enough that A/C was not necessary.  Also, 95% of the sites were occupied by seasonal locals who would be leaving soon, leaving most of the power grid to us. We were fine right?  WRONG!  We have an Energy Management System (EMS) that monitors various electrical parameters at the power pedestal, including high low voltage.  When it detects a condition that is out of spec, it will shut off power to the coach.  When the condition is resolved the EMS will restore power to the coach.  A/C units particularly abhor low voltage and can be damaged.  We were connected to 30 amp service, which means we should be able to run 2 major appliances, such as an A/C, microwave, etc. and still have power to run lesser draw devices, such as fridge, lights and TV.  In this case the voltage was dropping below 104 VAC, even when we had no major devices running.  Not good.

Our home at Mine Mill 598/CAW Campground

Finally after about 8:00 PM the power supply seemed to improve.  By that time most of the seasonal campers had departed from their weekend at the lake, and the remainders were no longer running their A/Cs, microwaves or hot plates.  I can't imagine what it would be like on a hot busy summer weekend.  Most folks don't have the monitoring equipment we have and probably wonder why their air conditioners burn out each year.

We took a stroll on the beach and finally checked out about noon.  Our next destination was Sault Ste. Marie, about 190 miles away.  The drive was very pleasant and scenic, and we had glimpses of Lake Huron to the south. We stopped at some very nice picnic areas with river overlooks, spending about an hour at each.

A very scenic construction zone

We had a long lunch at a picnic area on the river just past the bridge.

Fine dining in Bruce Mines ON

About 5:00 we came by Bobbers Restaurant in Bruce Mines.  We were hungry and there was good parking in the rear.  We both had the fish and chips and split a slice of home made blueberry pie a la mode.  Yum.

We don't eat out much, so when we do we like to share the joy

The pie looked so good we forgot to take a picture before digging in. 

We managed to turn a 3 1/2 hour drive into a 7 hour drive, but finally did arrive at Sault Ste. Marie about 7:00 PM.  We are parked at the OLG Casino for the next 3 nights.  We stayed here last year in September, and it is a sweet location.  We are parked in a far corner next to the Ontario Visitor Center and can get their fast, free WiFi in the coach.  It is also within walking distance to the St. Mary River Walk, the Walmart Super Centre, 3 Tim Horton's restaurants and the Algoma Train Station.  We could also probably walk across the International Bridge to Michigan, but it would be a bit of a hike.

Our home at OLG Casino Sault Ste. Marie

"Sault" (pronounced soo) is an old French word meaning falls or rapids.  Sault Ste. Marie therefore means "St. Mary river rapids".  The rapids drop about 23 feet.  On the American side there are 4 major  locks that allow freighters to bypass the rapids.  The Canadian Lock is much smaller and serves pleasure craft.  This is not our first trip to this area.  You can read about last year's trip here.

The casino mascot?

Canadians are all gaga over Tim Hortons

We walked to Tim Hortons for breakfast on Tuesday.  We had to find out what the fuss was all about.  This store happens to be in the food court at Station Mall, the second largest mall in Northern Ontario.  There is even a Walmart Supercentre as an anchor store in the mall.  This store is not the usual store due to its mall location.  The breakfast fares were good, grilled bacon, cheese and egg bagel for me, and a bacon, egg and cheese wrap for Dorcas.  With blueberry and multi-fruit muffins.  We plan to go to a stand alone store before we leave and will report on that experience later.

Coffee and muffins at Tim Hortons, served in bi-lingual wrappers

Looking up into the Canadian canal and the International Bridge

"Algoma" is a political district in Northeastern Ontario

On Wednesday we took a train ride  We boarded the Algoma Central Railway bound for Agawa Canyon 114 miles north.  This is a very popular tour and is already sold out for the fall.

Click here to watch the train pull into the station.

Dorcas enjoying the view

Click here for a short video clip of the ride.

The Agawa River

Bridal Veil Falls is the premier water fall in the park, but was rather anticlimactic on this day.  It's been dry here folks!

Bridal Veil Falls

North Black Beaver Falls was running a little better

A nurse stump

The trestle over the Montreal River

A beaver lodge

Was there a wildlife sighting from the train? Click here and see!

Our car was equipped with an "engine cam" so we could see ahead of the train

The International Bridge to the US from the train

Heavy braking power on our car

RVers will recognize this.  A high capacity model to serve 60 passengers on a 10-hour trip

On Wednesday night we walked to another Tim Hortons, a stand-alone store.  The menu was essentially the same as the one in the food court at the mall.  I guess they are best known for their pastries and coffee.  Frankly I don't understand what the fuss is all about. We did enjoy the muffins!

The customs lane for drivers arriving from the US, just a block from our camp

On Thursday morning we departed the Sault and headed north on PH 17.

Video of the Week

A few weeks ago we were in Ottawa and watched the ceremonial changing of the guard at Parliament.  After about an hour long ceremony: marching out the old guard, marching in the new guard, inspections of both guards and a lot of shouting and and fancy marching by the officers, the band departed the parade grounds.  I had a pretty good spot to watch the procession and took a video.

Click here to view video

Algonquin Provincial Park

We departed Ottawa on Monday morning and arrived at Canisbay CG in Algonquin Provincial Park in mid afternoon.  The only prior reservation I could get was for site 141, a non-electric site, for only 4 nights.   When we arrived we were able to switch to a non-reservable electric site.  We paid up for 6 nights on an electric (or hydro site as they say here) which included a clear view of the southern sky for DirecTV.  We enjoyed keeping up with all of Donald Trump's foot-in-mouth moments for the week.

Algonquin Provincial Park is a primer hiking and paddling destination.  Like the Boundary Waters, it is one of the last remaining bastions of the open canoe.  The back country paddling seems to be managed much like the Boundary Waters, although looking at the maps, it appears the portages are generally longer.  We didn't plan on any canoe camping, but hoped to do a few day trips.

We had no internet access in the campground, but when we left the campground and drove about 5 miles, we could acquire a decent 3G signal.  The signal was great at the cell tree (see below).

Our home

Canoes in the Cafe

View from the Visitor Centre

Lots of portaging going on around here

Mr. Canoe Hat is a common site in these parts

A walk in the woods

Canoes weren't the only boats on the pond

A view to the north at Canoe Lake

The Canadians recycle everything

Taking a precarious sip

Canoes galore at the Portage Store

At the trail head for the Whiskey Rapids Trail we noticed a small brown building with some obvious electronics and a generator.  It looked like the support hut for a cell tower, but there was no cell tower in site.  But wait!  About 15 feet away there was an odd looking pine tree, like no tree I had ever seen.  It was a camo cell tower!  Very cool!

Dorcas and Matilda under the cell tree

It was pretty tall

The cell tree is the pine on the right, standing above the canopy

The Oxtongue River above Whiskey Rapids

We attended a naturalist program on snapping turtles.  They are common in this area.

The snapping turtle guy

Remember these?  Or is it really an outhouse with a view?

We also attended the Algonquin Public Wolf Howl.  Wolf Howls are held on Thursdays in August and only when a pack has been located.  A Wolf Howl will only be held if wolves have responded to naturalist's howls for the 2 nights prior to the scheduled Howl.  The wolves will gather for a rendezvous near a meadow or bog in August, the month after the pups are born.  They will stay there for several days while adult pack members will hunt.  The first Howl was held in 1963.  There have been 117 Howls since then, but none in the past 2 years, due to lack of cooperation with the wolves.  The Wolf Howl is a big deal.  Generally 400-500 cars and over 1200 people attend.   There is an hour-long presentation about the Algonquin Wolf (generally a hybrid of the eastern wolf and the western coyote) prior to departing to the Howl site, which is kept secret until we depart for the Howl venue.  The logistics of moving that many cars from the amphitheater to the howl site are a nightmare.  Historically the success rate of hearing the wolves is 70%.  Our good luck for this trip must have run out.  The only howling we heard were the naturalists, who actually did a very good job.

Lots of folks out for the Howl

Wolves have not always been loved in Algonquin.  The Algonquin Park Act of 1893, which established the park, placed a bounty on "wolves, bears and other noxious or destructive animals ..."  The bounty also included loons because they ate the fish.

Many things in Algonquin are large, but the Post Office is rather minuscule.

We only paddled one day while in the park, that on Canoe Lake.  We found a memorial and totem dedicated to Tom Thomson.  Thomson was a prominent and influential artist who died on Canoe Lake in 1917, under suspicious circumstances.

Remember that milk in a bag we bought in Ottawa?  It has apparently been sold in Canada for over 30 years.  There is a small pitcher, sold in the milk cooler, designed to dispense the milk.  You simply set the bag in the pitcher, snip a corner off the bag and pour away.  We didn't buy the pitcher, but a blender carafe seemed to work just as well.  Dorcas didn't like my idea of running the blender to open the bottom of the bag.

Look Ma, no more spilt milk!

We finally found a wolf

Canada is legally bi-lingual. but the province of Ontario is legally uni-lingual.  While much of the signage in Ontario is bi-lingual, not all is.  Apparently Ontarions (?) either don't care if French Canadians bump their head, or think they are too short to be at risk.

We would love to spend more time in Algonquin.  We only got in one day of paddling, primarily due to unfavorable winds and chasing the internet (I do have an obligation to my faithful readers).  

Next we continue our way westward across the Canadian Shield north of the Great Lakes.  We need to cross back into the US and arrive at Ely MN on Monday August 15.

Photo of the Week

Sometimes you just have to go, shoes or no shoes.