To Nipigon, Ontario, Canada

This is the starting point for the journey taken by a toy canoe through the upper Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway in the fiction story Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling. I worked with a teacher who loved using the book to create curriculum about the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the locks that connect them and the forests and cities that surround them.

The Nipigon community has created a playground that commemorates several events from the story and brought back lots of memories about my first years as a school librarian.
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To Terrace Bay

We passed through Canada's boreal (taiga) forest. Beautiful scenery. Dense forest broken up by wetlands and numerous small lakes.






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To Marathon, Ontario, Canada

Decided not to ride at all today. Rained hard all day. This road With a disappearing shoulder isn't pleasant even in good weather. Not much to see
except entrance to a couple of mines.
I'm a tourist today.
We went by an forested area that had a huge fire in 1999. The area is still recovering. The forest here is so dense, I can't imagine that it is easy to walk through. We are staying in Marathon, named for the company that made it a 'company' town. Houses all built around same time and style. A paper mill(closed in 2009) and mining do not need the number of employees it once did, so population has dwindled. We passed the largest gold mine in North America but doesn't seem to employ many.
Met a man from here who said he wants to sell his house, but there is no one to buy it.
Waiting for dinner..highlight of the day.
Bad weather to continue. May not ride for next couple of days. This trip certainly won't make me more fit.
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To White River, Ontario, CA

57,3 mi
Wonderful weather, cool. Just perfect for riding a bicycle.



This sign says it all. But the hills made it more interesting. Cold at start but I have arm warmers, knee warmers, my buff, plastic bags for inside my shoes (keeps the toes warm), 3 jackets, to layer so I'm warm even when temp is in 40's in shade.
Passed by some lovely lakes with odd names like Fungus & Despondent. Could hear the loons if there happened to be a break between passing trucks.



White River is our stop and is the original home for the bear kept at the London Zoo that provided the inspiration for Christopher Robin to name his Stuffed bear Winnie.



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To Wawa

Named for wild geese that land in the bay here. Actually i've seen more Canadian geese at home than I've seen on this trip.
No shoulder, rain, no shoulder, huge trucks, no shoulder. Not the greatest riding conditions. I quit so I could ride another day. :).
We are riding Hwy 17, the transcanadian highway. Our ride took us through Lake Superior Provincial Park and the steepest climb in North America between the Appalachian and rocky mts. Wasn't such a big deal riding in the van.
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Batchawana Bay, Ontario CA

49.7mi
Our first of 8 nights in Canada.
Started with a trip over 3 mi long International bridge. Riding in a group with the SAG vehicle behind us made it very doable. I rode on the inside so I didn't look at the view. I saw the view from the boat yesterday.

When we finally got out of town, the terrain was rolling hills, a nice change from a primarily flat road we experienced on previous days.




We are staying across from our first nice beach on Lake Superior so many of us took a quick dip.

We hand wash clothes and dry outside when possible. Check in at the van and read any announcements.

then relax 'til dinner.
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Canada tomorrow

Rest day today . Boat ride through the locks that connects Lake Superuir to Lake Huram. 21 foot difference.






We will cross the border tomorrow and ride in some pretty remote areas on the north side of Lake Superior. I won't be using my phone and wi-fi in the hotels is "sketchy".

I'll do this blog whenever we have a connection.


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