(Posting it after-the-fact because, again, no signal, and the internet at the motel isn’t free)
Rainbow over Wawa
Well, Holy Mackerel. What a day. We started the day with a light drizzle and a rainbow in Wawa and traveled to the sunny, warm Thunder Bay. We stopped at the Terry Fox memorial to stretch our legs and take a few pictures. You could see the Sleeping Giant rock formation. (I mean, sure, it kind of looks like a sleeping giant.) Before this we stopped at Terrace Bay, and found a really impressive gorge and waterfall, called Aguasabon Falls.
The end of Aguasabon river into Lake Superior
Agusabon Falls, Terrace Bay, ON
Terry Fox Memorial
Sleeping Giant. (I don’t know, do you think it looks like a sleeping giant?)
We decided to drive on Hwy 11 rather than Hwy 17, because it was a road my dad had never been on, and it wasn’t that much longer. The southern route follows the Ontario/ US border and was supposed to be more scenic than the northern route. On that route was the Arctic/Atlantic Watershed boarder which separates the flow of rives from one ocean to the other.
Arctic/ Atlantic watershed divide
I definitely recommend taking that route over 17. It is filled with hills and cliffs and lakes. What was surprising here was the corner of Ontario. Fort Frances looked so much like home. It had hay fields rather than the Shield. It was flat and warm, and completely out of character for Northern Ontario. Hwy 11 swings north to meet up with the TransCanada and that stretch of road was stunning. We followed the major lake, Lake of the Woods, from the boarder to Kenora.
Let’s be real, my dad did most of the driving today. Not only is he more suited (and more experienced) to driving, but after we saw the second moose while I was driving, he told me I needed to sit in the passenger seat to take the pictures.
MOOSE! (in Lake Superior Provincial Park)
We finally reached the Manitoba border around 5pm CT, under an ominous sky. Soon, the land started to flatten and going 120km/h was completely normal. The skies opened up and let everything out. It was like driving under Niagara Falls. I missed the first gas station of Manitoba, not realizing the next one was at least 100km away. Well, I pulled into the next gas station, running on fumes. Honestly, I thought we would run out of gas and be stuck on the side of the road, with no phone signal (I thought that only happened in the movies), and in the pouring rain.
Made it to Manitoba before a massive torrential downpour
Flat and nothing in Manitoba, oh and lightning
(Side note: Speaking about gas, WHY IS GAS 150.9 IN NORTHERN ONTARIO? Is it really that hard to get that it is a quarter more per litre than Manitoba?)
We’ve stopped in our planned place of Portage-la-Prairie, MB and will continue on to Lloydminster, AB tomorrow.
