Ontario

We entered Ontario by northern Lake Huron which we followed for about sixty miles and then headed due east through Ottawa and on to Hawkesbury where we crossed into Quebec.  At first the terrain was much like Minnesota and Michigan; flat, wooded with mixed forest and heavily sprinkled with lakes large and small.  As we neared Ottawa, we traveled over rocky hills.  I have missed hills and mountains and am enjoying seeing them again.

Lake Huron

In Western Ontario, you couldn't see beyond the trees at the edge of the road.

I love the names of lakes, rivers, towns and other points of interest which I assume were named by the native Algonquin people; Matinenda, Wakonassin, Nipissing, Wanapitei, Petawawa, Shawanaga, etc.  I would love to hear a native speaker.  The language must have a very musical rythum with all of the multi-syllabal words.

Like the rest of Canada, most traffic signs are in both English and French.  The farther east we traveled, the more we saw other signs in French as well.  When we neared the Quebec border, more and more signs were French only.  We noticed that houses in the many towns we passed through and also along the highway were built very close to the road, more so for older homes but true for the newer ones as well.  On one detour, we passed between two houses, both close to the road and I felt I could join a neighborly conversation from the truck.  Also the barns were located very close to the houses and many had enclosed passageways between the two.  I can only imagine how thankful the farmers must be when feeding the cows during a blizzard, that they do not have to go outside!

Kioshkokwi Lake in the Algonquin Provincial Park

When we approached Ottawa, we were suddenly in the middle of town on narrow streets pulling our huge trailer.  Oh, the looks we got on the narrow streets!  I think they do not see many fifth wheel trailers in town ( and I don't recommend following our example).  We had to resort to the GPS to get us out of town.  Ottawa is very clean and compact.  You go from skyscrapper apartments to country fields very quickly for a city of 700,000 people.  There are many greenbelts running through town, and many mansions along the Ottawa River.  The national parliment building and grounds are stunning and look very old. 

Parliment building

I thought this building looked interesting.

We stopped one afternoon at a small park on the Ottawa River for lunch.  I walked out onto a dock and Bernie, our dog, followed me out and kept walking right off the end of the dock.  While he doesn't see well, he usually can smell that water is near and is more cautious.  I fished him out of the river and he was fine but very wet!

Ottawa River

Dock where Bernie walked into the river.

Meeting at the Sani-dump!

As we prepared to leave our Michigan campground and drive into Ontario, we stopped at the sani-dump to do what we all do at sani-dumps; that is play with sewage. This was a two sided dump and there was a couple from Ontario dumping on the other side and I noticed a sign posted on the back window that read “Private sign, do not read”. I started laughing and told the woman that I loved her sign. Mike noticed the wooden canoe on the top of their truck and began talking to the man (and asking if he could play cribbage). Before we knew it, while we were getting acquainted, other trailers pulled up behind us waiting their turn to play with sewage. We all said that we wanted to talk further, and they invited us to their home in Sault (pronounced sue) St. Marie, Ontario. Right across the bridge. So, with no planning, we drove to their house and camped in their driveway for the night. Ron and Henrietta are close to our ages and very interesting, nice people. Ron used to be a bush pilot, and now builds wood and canvas canoes. It really isn’t accurate to call them just canoes, as they are finely crafted works of art. We were able to see his workshop and canoes in progress. What a treat! Henrietta is a retired court reporter with a keen, sharp wit, who doesn’t want to be on the “do not call” list because she wants to talk to the telemarketers. They graciously served us lunch and we spent the rest of the day talking, and playing cards. First, we played cribbage and Ron and Henrietta beat us unmercifully. Then they taught us how to play Bummer Rummy and we beat the pants off of them. Revenge was sweet! In the morning we went to a wonderful bush-plane museum full of old planes. One was outfitted so that you sat in the plane and watched movies that made you feel that you were flying in the plane. It was complete with vibrating seats to simulate rough parts of the flight. Before we left, Ron made Mike a cardholder, me a brush holder and gave us two wooden kitchen paddles. And we have wonderful new friends. You never know who you might meet at the sani-dump!

Henrietta and Ron with one of their canoes.

When we crossed the border, I was prepared with passports, dog vaccination records and vehicle insurance papers all in my lap, and was ready for any question, even the “do you have anything that can be used as a weapon” one I stumbled on before. The official asked where we were from and then passed us through. What about my explanations of how long we would be gone or what about my passport that I was ready to say I know expires October 26th? Why did they give my son problems when he was riding his bicycle across the border, and we had an entire trailer in which to hide contraband? Are we that tame looking? Oh the disappointments that come with aging!

After leaving Sault St. Marie, we drove along the shore of Lake Huron through many small towns. There are a few motels and cabins along the route, but no real big resorts as I would have expected. We are both very tired, so turned onto a road leading to Black Bear Camp. We didn’t have any idea what Black Bear Camp is, but it was time. When we got to the camp, we found a lake with several very rustic shelters and a few campers. We negotiated a price, and then the owner said to follow him to the site. We tried, but in his fatigue, Mike took a corner a little sharply and knocked over an outhouse. It seems that playing with sewage has become a theme for the week. Luckily, no one was in the outhouse and the owner just propped it back up. (And Mike changed the flat tire on the trailer.) The owner said that he would help us tomorrow if we needed anything, but that he has a black bear hunt going on tonight. I don’t want to know about it!

Lake Huron

Spanish Marina (On Spanish River)

Spanish River

Very loaded truck - look at all the wheels

Road to Bear Camp

We got up at 7:30 and left the camp about 8:30.  It was so wierd and quiet because no one else in this full camp was awake.  Do they hunt bear all night?  Do bears sleep before they hibernate?  We didn't see any bears dead or alive.  It was so tempting to make loud obnoxious noises, but we resisted temptation. 

Repositioned out house

Can-can line - why are there so many outhouses in a row?

Camp lake in the morning (I don't know the name of the lake)

Fishing shack line in camp

Bear camps are not luxurious