Day: 4Start: Thunder Bay, Ont
Finish: Winnipeg, Man
Time: 9 hours
Distance: 710 km
Remaining: 1,341 km
Harry Potter Discs: 6-9
After some Hawaiian pizza and a bit of a movie, I dropped off to sleep without finishing my posting. I blame the time change. It seemed like it was still early, but I felt tired by an extra hour. Anyways, yesterday was a much more relaxing day than the day before.
Despite the air of seediness that surrounded our hotel in Thunder Bay, the view was magnificent -- 5th floor facing out on the harbour. Scott woke us up just in time for a beautiful sunrise.
This is the "Sleeping Giant" -- a rock formation jutting out into Lake Superior that has figured into Native American folklore for centuries. We took in the wonderful view, but we didn't see much else in Thunder Bay because we had to get on the road.
We made one stop just 30 minutes outside Thunder Bay to see Kakabeka Falls, often called "Niagara of the North". From what I've read, some of the falls' glory has been diverted for hydroelectric power generation, but it is still quite a beautiful site -- and it's literally steps from the highway (you can see the highway bridge in the background).
Since we're talking about Native American folklore, there's a famous legend about an Ojibwe girl (named Greenmantle) who was captured by the Sioux tribe and forced to guide them on a surprise attack against her own people. Bringing them down the river in canoes, she led them right over the falls. The Sioux warriors who were not killed by the falls were routed by the waiting Ojibwe.
Now you can safely observe the falls from a wooden catwalk for the low, low price of $3 per car. There are also washrooms and vending machines available.
I tried to get a decent picture of Scott and R in front of the falls, but he was too interested in all the noise and movement to look at the camera. Finally, when we got further away from the actual falls he was willing to look up.
Since this has been his home for the last 4 days, I thought it fitting that we get a shot of Scott and the truck. This is in the Kakabeka Provincial Park Parking Lot -- not far from the washrooms and vending machine.
Driving through Ontario has been an endless scene of rolling hills, dense forest and hidden lakes. Most of the time, we have driven on a simple highway, with one lane in each direction, with the occasional passing lane. It is remarkable what an abrupt change you see when you cross the border into Manitoba. The highway breaks into a double lanes, divided by a median, leading in an impossibly straight line through the quickly fading forest. We looked at each other in surprise when we were suddenly faced with open skies and rolling fields in every direction.
Welcome to Manitoba.
10 comments:
Hey guys!
I just got back last week from a 5 week long road trip to Spain and Portugal and discovered that you were already gone! I was hoping you could make it over to our place for lunch and for some reason I had August 15th stuck in my head as your departure date. Before catching up with your blog I tried to email you a number of times unsuccesfully (the letters were "delayed" in the system). What a shame that I missed you! Ariadna is actually still in Europe with my parents until the end of August. Scott is absolutely adorable, so much so that he reminds me of a rosy peach that I'd love to just munch up! I hope you're having an exciting trip, although by the looks of it the prairies seem to be rather monotomous (just don't fall into a trance while driving!!) Rachelle - when you get to Calgary and settle into your new place and new routine, I'd love to hear from you! My email is cmazur@ncf.ca Cheers! Chantal
OK OK - I meant"monotonous"!
Looks like you're having an okay trip. Looking at the video of Scott, he reminds me of one picture of Ross. You'll have to see what you think when you see the picture. Greg's had fun seeing Scott vicariously and we're both looking forward to giving him a big hug (along with you guys) when he arrives. Helen
So glad to hear from you. You left us on the edge of our chairs with seedy talk and then you disappeared. It is kind of like the serials they used to have at the movies when I was young. Each week left you with a cliffhanger and you could hardly wait to get back to see what else happened. Enjoy the prairies.
Dude, you must be so happy to be clear of Ontario! Phew, no more shady drunk guys, dodgy highways, or PST (well, in a few more days anyway). I was just saying to my lady friend last night that I imagined a bluer (real word?) sky and more pristine roads upon leaving Ontario, and it sounds like I was right on the money.
We had an appointment with Dr. Huard today and he said he "didn't give a crap" if B went into labour today. That was his way of saying we're at the point in the pregnancy where we'd still have a healthy baby if she went into labour right now. That guy is the man!
Good luck staying awake while driving through the prairies. It's a very straight and boring drive with not much to see but fields and the odd cow.
How are you enjoying HP so far? It looks like you still have a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go. yikes. Baby is breathtaking...I want to smell his peach fuzz
The Harry Potter discs have saved our lives on this trip. The hours just melt away when you're listening to the book. We've only got 4 discs left (about 5 hours), so we'll have to work hard to get it all finished before we arrive in Calgary.
Maybe we'll have to park in the driveway to finish the last disc. It's been that good.
Wow I thought all that higa-jiga about Albertans being Ontario haters was all tongue and cheek. Careful e. roonford, there are less fortunate Ontarians reading this too. (although it wasn't that hateful and somewhat true).
D.... mix in a couple of cold sales calls and a paycheck and you've got my life for the last 8 years. Ha ha!
Actually, E. Roonford lives in Ontario, so he mostly speaks from his own experience, and he hates taxes much more than he hates Ontario itself, I believe.
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