North To Superior Trip

July 30 - August 13, 2011

Day 1 – Saturday July 30, 2011

Up at 6am; departure at 6:50; saw our first accident at 7:10 at the base of the Skyway Bridge. The police had closed all Niagara-bound lanes and were diverting traffic onto the service road. The backup extended into Burlington. Fortunately, our direction was unaffected and we motored past onto the 407 and eventually the 400. There was some congestion on the 400 until we got past the Holland Marsh but otherwise clear sailing up through Barrie and along Hwy 69.

Just before Parry Sound we let the GPS (Sheila) take us on a short side trip for gas.  We got back on 69 then hopped off the highway again for brunch at Tim Hortons. A woman on her cell phone, in line behind us, said this Timmy’s wasn’t as busy as the one in Parry Sound. Good to know.

We had just passed Lively, a town about 45 minutes from our destination at Chutes Provincial Park, when we needed to fill the tank again. Although the GPS showed a gas station ahead, it ended up taking us back to Lively. There, we pulled into an Esso that was really busy and had extremely slow pumps. We sat on one side of the lot, waiting for a space large enough for Jeep and trailer to pull in to, but every time a pump would open up a car would zip in front of us.

We had Sheila locate another station. She directed us onto the local Indian reservation then immediately started to panic and insist we do a U-turn, but there was a gas station and the prices were better than in town - so what if the attendant had a monitoring bracelet on his ankle.  

Bill and Diane’s son, Craig, his fiancée Heather and their kids/ grandkids; Nick, Logan, Chelsea, and Evan were also there. The young’uns were sleeping in tents, all of which leaked during a thunderstorm in the night. They lost a bit of sleep but that didn’t dampen their spirits any.  

Day 2 – Sunday July 31, 2011

It was a glorious morning so I cycled around the park to familiarize myself with the swimming area, waterfalls, comfort station and trails. Breakfast would be pancakes and bacon.

The afternoon was spent at the beach below the falls, floating on noodles and playing frisbee. After supper, the kids talked Craig and I into a soccer game.

Day 3 – Monday August 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . Gail's relatives had to leave the park today. While they packed Nick gave Gail and I a bicycle tour of the park. After that, we showed him some sunspots using the new solar filter I had made for the Starblast. We were sad to see them go but Bill and Diane came over to our site for supper before they left.  Day 4 – Tuesday August 2, 2011

We sat around the fire until the stars came out. The Milky Way was quite visible. Gail and I showed Craig and Evan how to find the Andromeda Galaxy in binoculars. We also observed the Hercules cluster, Albireo, and Antares with our travelscope. There were also a number of meteors and several satellites.

Chutes Provincial Park has a nice hiking trail that follows the Aux Sable River and its impressive waterfalls and rapids. I bought some dew worms at a nearby convenience store because the locals say bass, pike, and pickerel can be caught in the nearby area – just not in spots that I tried. No worries, after hiking we went back to the beach for a swim then spent the evening reading and logging these entries while it rained.

.. 

Day 5 – Wednesday August 3, 2011

We packed up in the rain and hit the road about 9:15am. Drizzle on and off until we hit Iron Bridge, where we topped up the gas tank, then mostly cloudy skies with the odd shower for the remainder of the drive. Hwy 129 varied in road surface from really good to not so good. In fact, we lost our outdoor temperature sensor on one of the bumps. However, along this particular road we saw a wild turkey, a couple of snow geese in summer plumage, and a black bear, none of which stuck around for a photo op.

..

We went into Chapleau to get gas, a strange little town at one end of Hwy 101. From there it was a 40 minute drive to The Shoals Provincial Park. Here, you find your own spot, fill out a registration form and leave your money in a box. There is no hydro but our site (39) was a waterfront site. It had a narrow dock that was the perfect place to sit after supper and catch the evening sun. Across the bay, we saw a group of young ducks hydroplaning and, later, heard the loons call – something they would do quite loudly throughout the night.

Our site (7) at Neys, was one row back from the lakefront sites. It was sheltered from the onshore breeze and we could still see the water through the trees. Although it was a spacious site, only a small part of it was level so we had to be a little creative with boards and blocks to set up the trailer. After supper we rode our bikes around the park then took our chairs to the beach to catch the sunset. I was fascinated by the fog coming off the land.

Here the fog serves as backdrop to an island - what do you think it looks like?

Day 8 – Saturday August 6, 2011

Woke up to the sound of distant thunder at 5:30am and decided to put up the awning before the storm hit. I got back in the trailer just as the first heavy drops came down – then it poured for a good hour. It hadn’t been the most peaceful night, anyway, as there is a well-used train track running through the park. We drove into Marathon and paid only $8 for an indoor/outdoor weather station at the local “Bargain Shop”. We also bought a folding rake at Canadian Tire and some Polysporin drops for Gail, who had some redness in her left eye. One of the store clerks told us that a woman in a nearby park had been attacked by a bear, earlier in the day. Good to know.

Back at the camp, we took advantage of the laundry facilities, then while Gail tidied the trailer I set up the weather station, raked the site, and did some preliminary packing for our departure on Sunday. Afterwards we hiked a short trail, keeping an eye out for bears.

Day 9 – Sunday August 7, 2011

We left Neys about 10:30am and drove South on Hwy 17 all the way to Pancake Bay Provincial Park. This was best drive of the trip so far; good road, no construction, great scenery and a sunny day to enjoy it all.

We made a stop in White River which is the birthplace of Winnie The Pooh – not the actual story but the bear that Winnie is based on. We pulled into Pancake Bay at 4pm. We had been warned the campground was close to the highway but didn’t expect it to be practically on the shoulder. To make matters worse, our site (105) was near the entrance to the park. Nonetheless, we set up and then took advantage of a fish fry put on by the local fire department.

I decided to cycle off my supper while Gail opted to digest hers in a more leisurely fashion. I came across the Hilltop section of the park which was more secluded, much quieter, and appeared to have unreserved sites. I went back to the registration desk and within the hour we moved from city camping to country camping and were much happier for it.  

Day 10 – Monday August 8, 2011

Slept in until 9:45am but by the time we’d had breakfast and were ready to do things it was noon. I still had some worms left from the Chutes so taking the advice of a local fireman we went to fish under the bridge at Botchawana River. Apparently there are bass, pike, pickerel, and whitefish to be caught. In hindsight I think there was something wrong with those worms.

Just down the road from the park is a large trading post with lots of native handi-craft stuff for sale. We bought a few carved items then went to the beach. The lake was cool though not too cold for swimming.

Day 11 – Tuesday August 9, 2011 Woke at 8am to the distant sound of thunder. I had to dump the blue tote before we could break camp and I just managed to finish that job as the first heavy drops started. Then it poured for half an hour while we had breakfast. The rain eased up until we were leaving Pancake Bay but came down in torrents at intervals for most of the drive into Michigan. We crossed the Mackinaw River over the world’s longest suspension bridge – at least that’s what the info channel said. It was certainly a nice bridge.

Tawas Point State Park was a bit of a surprise. If we thought camping was chock-a-block at Pancake Bay, it was nothing compared to TPSP. As we slowly made our way to our site (36) lyrics of a song by Steelers Wheel came to mind: Clowns to left of me; Jokers to the right; Here I am; Stuck in the middle with you. Not that there was anything wrong with our neighbours (or their neighbours) – just saying… especially after we’d had to pay an additional $8 park-use fee on top of our $35 site fee – just saying.

..

Tawas City is an upscale touristy beach town with private yacht clubs and boutiques. We had supper at G’s Pizzeria then wandered around a bit. Back at the camp we found that our site backed onto a beach, which was kind of nice – we were just too tired to really take advantage of it.

Day 12 – Wednesday August 10, 2011

It was a nice change to have seagulls instead of crows wake us up. We’d decided to have breakfast at Tim Hortons in Tawas so were on the road by 8am. A sunny/cloudy mix for the drive through Michigan with intermittent construction on the highway. We breezed through customs and got to our campsite at the Pinery by 1:30pm – about half an hour too soon for the people that were still on it.  They were actually waiting for some other folks to get off the site they were moving to, but by 2pm everyone was were they should be.

Site 430 is spacious and quite private by Pinery standards. We set up then went into Grand Bend for groceries, after which we had a nap, supper, and beers by candlelight under the canopy before calling it a day.

Day 13 – Thursday August 11, 2011

A great day for the beach. The thunder storms that had crossed the lake previously had pushed rolling waves into shore. The water felt cool at first but was quite comfortable to stay in. Gail did some body-surfing in the breakers and ended up with seaweed in every part of her swimsuit. The firewood from the camp store was hard and dry and burned well. It was also $7.50 a bag but they probably need the revenue for the new paving on the roads.

Day 14 – Friday August 12, 2011

Today we went into Grand Bend to check out the shops. Anticipating cooler weather on our next trip, we both bought sweatshirts. Back at camp, we thought we’d better take advantage of the beach one more time before the forecast clouds and rain rolled in. The waves were smaller, and the air not so warm as yesterday so we only stayed in about 10 minutes then returned to the trailer for showers. Probably a good thing because, just afterwards, the beach got closed for swimming due to high bacteria levels.

Day 15 – Saturday August 13, 2011

Since the beach was closed for swimming, and the forecast was mixed, we made the decision to head home a day early. We got a refund for the unused portion of our stay and were back in our own driveway by 4pm. We’d made a round trip of 2500km, stayed in 6 different parks, spent some time with Gail's relatives and had a brief glimpse of a bear. Overall, it was a lot of driving but the weather had been near to perfect and the scenery magnificent. It was another great trip!

< PREVIOUS - INDEX - NEXT >