News & Photos - June 2008

Last Big City for a While
Current Location: Site D5, Bell's Point Beach, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Dates: June 3-5, 2008
Services: E/W; Cost: $30.00; Nights: 2

The high gasoline prices are hurting campground owners; there are only two of us “transient” campers (as opposed to seasonal campers) here, and the owner said that she has only 12 reservations for the entire summer. This campground is fairly nice, with huge pine trees providing shade. Since I had the choice of almost any site in the park, I've got a site on the St. Mary's River, with a clear view to the south-west for the satellite Internet dish. Finding the campground was a bit difficult, as Highway 17 now completely bypasses Sault Ste. Marie; my map still showed the old route through town.

Sault Ste. Marie is a larger town than I thought; it was a good place to stop for gasoline and groceries before the long highway to Thunder Bay. While in town, I went through the Bushplane Museum, which has a large hanger filled with old planes used in the north, plus vintage radios, railway handcars and bush fire-fighting equipment.

Frustrated
Current Location: Site 105, Pancake Bay Prov. Park, Pancake Bay, Ontario
Dates: June 5-6, 2008
Services: E; Cost: $34.90; Nights: 1

I'm getting very frustrated with Ontario Parks; every year, they keep raising their camping fees. I'm currently paying $34.90 per night for an electric-only campsite; for comparison, last night's commercial campground cost $30 for electric and water hookups, and the municipal campground at Elliot Lake cost $25 for electric, water and sewer hookups. Although camping among the trees is nice (most commercial campgrounds tend to be grassy fields), this is getting ridiculous, especially when the campground is right next to the highway.

Scenery and Storms
Current Location: Site 104, Agawa Bay Campground, Lake Superior Prov. Park, Ontario
Dates: June 6-10, 2008
Services: E; Cost: $34.40; Nights: 4

This is the second time that I've visited the east shore of the “great in-land sea”, Lake Superior. This area is known for beautiful rugged scenery and fierce storms. The numerous trails in the park make it worth stopping here for a while, despite the price. Surprisingly, there are very few other campers here; perhaps a dozen of the approximately 150 campsites are occupied. Perhaps once school season is over, they will fill up.

Both Friday and Saturday evening had thunderstorms, and my weather radio sounded a warning for this region. However, both times the storm wasn't very severe, but resulted in a beautiful sunset over the lake.

Scenic Wawa
Current Location: Site 65, Wawa RV Resort & Campground, Wawa, Ontario
Dates: June 10-11, 2008
Services: E/W/WiFi; Cost: $28.62 (Club discount: 10%); Nights: 1

Wawa, meaning “Wild Goose” in Ojibway, is a small town (population 3,700) that serves as a base camp for people going on ATV or snowmobile trails, or fly-in fishing and hunting (look closely at the photo of the goose, and you'll see a helicopter landing). It has also been the site of gold and iron mining in the past. I traveled through here in 2005, and the town has changed a little since then. Most noticeably is that at least 5 motels have gone out of business; their windows are boarded up and covered with “For Sale” signs. Also, the rough gravel road around the east side of Lake Wawa is now closed to the public; it lead to many blueberry bushes and ATV trails, and may have been on a mining company's property. The road to the dam is still open; the reservoir above the dam is a popular fishing spot.

Quite A Deal
Current Location: Site 7, Neys Lunch & Campground, Neys, Ontario
Dates: June 11-13, 2008
Services: E/W/WiFi($); Cost: $20.00; Nights: 2

Although the campground seems to be an after-thought for this gas station/grocery store/beer store/restaurant, I felt that I had to stop when I heard of their prices. I haven't paid as little as $20 per night at a serviced commercial campground for quite a few years! The campground itself isn't very impressive, with rather small sites into which it was tricky to back the trailer. As usual for places along the highway, other campers stayed only one night, and left early in the morning.

I had hoped to hike in Neys Provincial Park (which is located right across the road), but downpours and heavy fog prevented that. However, I did manage to see a waterfalls that the owners told me about. Only the locals know of this place, as there is no signage at all. 1 km east of the Coldwell Road is a gravel pit parking area; across the road from it is a short trail which leads into the falls.

Wild and Scenic
Current Location: Site 6, Aguasabon Falls Campground, Terrace Bay, Ontario
Dates: June 13-14, 2008
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $22.50 (Club discount: 10%); Nights: 1

Once again, I find that a commercial campground is less expensive and better serviced than a Provincial Park! I drove less than an hour through very heavy fog to the small community of Terrace Bay (population 2,200). This is a smaller campground on the road to the Augasabon Gorge and Falls. The hiking trails in that area are connected to both the Trans-Canada Trail and the 52 km Terrace Bay-to-Rossport trail. Fortunately, by mid-afternoon, the weather had completely cleared and I could spend some time hiking along the river.

Just up the road is Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, with several short but rugged hiking trails. I hiked the Rainbow Falls Trail, which visits the rapids where Whitesand Lake empties towards Lake Superior. The trail then climbs up a steep hill to a lookout.

Lots To Do, Despite the Weather
Current Location: Site 10, Wolf River Park, Dorion, Ontario
Dates: June 14-17, 2008
Services: E; Cost: $22.00; Nights: 3

This quiet campground is surrounded on three sides by the fast-flowing Wolf River. Most of the campsites are occupied by seasonal campers who leave their trailers here all summer, and drive up each weekend. There is so much to do in the area that I needed to stay for three nights. During this time, the weather alternated between rain showers and sunny skies, sometimes 5 times per day!

Just up the highway is a long and steep road into Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, where a short trail leads to two platforms overlooking a 100 metre deep canyon.

Also nearby (although on a different canyon) is Eagle Canyon Adventures, where two suspension bridges cross a similar canyon. The longer bridge is the longest suspension bridge in Canada. There is also a hiking trail along the canyon floor.

Amethyst is common in the Thunder Bay area, and I went to an open-pit mine nearby. There, I met the prospector who had staked a claim to the area, and spends his summers living in a converted school bus (likely without electricity) while mining the area by hand. During the winter, as well as several times during the summer, he returns to Minnesota with a load of amethyst to sell. Borrowing his chisel and hammer, I broke off a few colourful specimens that I bought.

An hour's drive away is Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, named after the silhouette of a large hill. There are several hiking trails in the park, including ones that climb the “giant” rock formation.

In addition to seeing many deer in the park, this is the first time during this trip that I've seen bears. One was beside the road leading into Ouimet Canyon; the second was on a small sideroad. Unfortunately, both times by the time that I stopped my truck and picked up my camera, the bear had scurried off into the woods.

Ouimet Canyon Prov. Park
Eagle Canyon
Open-Pit Amethyst Mine		“Sea Lion”, Sleeping Giant Prov. Park

Water and Wood
Current Location: Site H1, Chippewa Park, Thunder Bay, Ontario
Dates: June 17-19, 2008
Services: E; Cost: $25.14; Nights: 2

This is a very old campground, but it will do for a night or two while I see the local tourist attractions. Since I had neither a Thunder Bay map, nor directions to the park (their office wasn't answering the phones), I had to rely on my north-west Ontario overview map, plus the occasional directional sign in town. They led to a very narrow bridge which had a “no trucks” sign. As I didn't know any other route, I slowly drove over the bridge that had extremely little clearance on either side of my tires. I made it across okay, and eventually found a store that sold maps, enabling me to find a better route out of town.

South of Thunder Bay (right at the Minnesota border) is Pigeon River Provincial Park, with its spectacular “High Falls”. This park has a corresponding State Park on the American side, also with trails along the river. The “sister park” to Pigeon River is Kakabeka Falls Prov. Park, which has a similar-size falls.

Right in the town of Thunder Bay is Mount McKay Lookout; a rough road leads to a lookout area that is most of the way to the peak. Thunder Bay is also home to the Terry Fox monument; it was here in 1981 that he had to abandon his cross-Canada “Marathon of Hope” for cancer research.

Thunder Bay itself is a very industrial town, criss-crossed with many railroads and power lines. It is dominated by several large pulp-and-paper plants, and logging trucks are a frequent sight on the highways.

Very narrow bridge	High Falls on Pigeon River	Middle Falls
Kakabeka Falls	View from Mt. McKay Lookout	Mt. McKay
Terry Fox momument	Mission Island Conservation Area	Industrial part of town

The Lonely Road
Current Location: Site 76, Sandbar Lake Prov. Park, Ignace, Ontario
Dates: June 19-20, 2008
Services: E; Cost: $30.20; Nights: 1

After three hours of driving, the steep hills and cliffs of the Thunder Bay region have now become very gently rolling. Very few people actually seem to live here; it's just truckers and RVers passing through. Once I was an hour west of Thunder Bay, I found no stations on the FM radio, and also no Weatheradio coverage here. This area also marked the boundary between Eastern and Central timezones.

Just A Stop Along the Way
Current Location: Unnumbered site, Birchland Trailer Park, Dryden, Ontario
Dates: June 20-21, 2008
Services: E/W; Cost: $24.00; Nights: 1

Dryden was just a quick stop along my way... there's not much to see here. It was a good opportunity to get gasoline and groceries, as well as visit 3 different veterinarians to get Mouse's medication refilled.

CPR Stop
Current Location: Site RV-11, Anicinabe Park, Kenora, Ontario
Dates: June 21-22, 2008
Services: E/W; Cost: $27.56; Nights: 1

Kenora is home to the Lake of the Woods Railroad Museum, a fascinating building staffed by retired railroad employees. The upstairs houses railroad artifacts, including signals, a velocipede, pot belly stoves, uniforms, spike hammers, telegraph keys, etc. The downstairs houses a very large model railway set, with realistic depictions of various railway stations, bridges, tunnels and scenery from locations across Canada. They didn't have any “Pyke” maintenance equipment, but apparently Pyke models can be bought. An old engine and caboose are located outside, at the front of the museum.

Kenora also has a statue of “Huskie the Muskie”, and a powerful fountain which is supposed to run every hour, but wasn't running at all. Nearby are several kilometers of hiking at the Vernon Nature Area, with lead to Bulman Bay on the Lake of the Woods.

Made It To Manitoba
Current Location: Site G11, West Hawk Lake Campground, Whiteshell Prov. Park, Manitoba
Dates: June 22-25, 2008
Services: E; Cost: $15.75; Nights: 3

I've made it to Manitoba! So far, I'm quite impressed... the road signage has been good, the parking lot at the Tourist Information Center was huge (lots of room to park the trailer), and the people at the park office were very helpful. Prices are quite good here, too; a campsite is only $15.75 plus a $7 vehicle permit which is valid for 3 days. That's far more reasonable than Ontario Park's rates of $35.50 at Algonquin, for example. Even gasoline is 5¢/litre cheaper here! The only disadvantage is that I can't get cellular Internet access here, so I have to set up the satellite dish at each stop.

Wandering Towards Winnipeg
Current Location: Site 11, Otter Falls Campground, Whiteshell Prov. Park, Manitoba
Dates: June 25-27, 2008
Services: E; Cost: $15.75; Nights: 2

Although it is almost a two hours drive away down a bumpy road, Otter Falls is still part of Whiteshell Prov. Park. This is a very nice campsite, backing right on the Winnipeg River. While out for my evening walk, I saw a beaver about 10 feet from shore, quietly munching on some branches. He didn't mind me at all, and we happily spent 10 minutes watching each other before he swam off. Further downstream is the small community of Seven Sisters Falls, with a large power dam across the Winnipeg River.

Found the Farmland
Current Location: Site 1A, Great Woods Park, Beausejour, Manitoba
Dates: June 27-29, 2008
Services: E/W; Cost: $22.05; Nights: 2

After travelling through the eastern part of Manitoba, which is filled with rocks and trees like northern Ontario, I've finally reached the prairies. The land here is much flatter, with many farms. There's not much to see here, other than about 5 km of hiking trails at the back of the campground property, following the Brokenhead River.

Since this is the Canada Day long weekend, the campground is mostly filled with tents and pop-up trailers, kids who are off school, and people who have consumed too much alcohol.

Warm in Winnipeg
Current Location: Site 103, Traveller's RV Resort, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Dates: June 29-July 2, 2008
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $25.99 (Club discount: 10%); Nights: 3

It's a rather toasty 30°C here; thankfully this campground has 30-amp electrical connections so I can run the air conditioner. Located just inside the lightly-travelled “Perimeter Highway” that circles Winnipeg, this place can serve as my base for exploring the town. There's a zoo, sculpture garden and Canada Day fireworks.

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