Day 6 – Awesome
Today I rode 833 km – it was a beautiful day except for the 1 C temperature in Thunder Bay when we woke up this morning. I had checked the weather for Tuesday and it said there would be rain everywhere except if I got south of the Soo – so that was my goal.
The day was perfect for riding once it warmed up enough. The sky was cloudless until I got south of Wawa and that cloud only lasted for about an hour. Then it clouded up again at the Soo and is threatening rain here in Blind River. I don’t know how long my internet connection will hold here – it has been difficult to find the signal and I guess as long as I keep holding my left leg pointing towards the big dipper and I hold my right ear I might be ok.
I took a number of pictures but will just post a couple because they are a lot of the same magnificent views of Lake Superior. The drive up and down this shore is well worth the effort.
I wore almost everything I brought today to stay warm. I had 2 pairs of pants and my rain pants on the bottoms and 5 layers on the top. I was pretty toasty once the temp got over 10C.
I had lunch in Marathon (A&W) and talked to a couple of guys from Michigan who are doing a circumnavigation of Lake Superior on Gold Wings with trailers. They are camping so they wanted to find a place they could buy air mattresses. The old backs just aren’t what they used to be.
The Wawa Goose
Lakeview Hotel - Wawa
I stopped in Wawa (home of the very badly carved goose) to see if it had changed much since I worked there 39 years ago. Yes it has but the Lakeview Motel is still there. This is where I had my first legal drink on my 21st birthday. I was doing lake surveys and had been handling fish all day. I flew back into town (all our lakes were fly-in lakes) and headed straight to the bar with my work-buddy. The waitress said – you guys been fishing – meaning we really stunk of fish. So we had one drink and slinked back to our hole. In those days, when the Ministry of Natural Resources needed forest fire fighters they would back a baddy wagon up to the back door of the hotel and then walk in the front door. A great recruitment technique.
Everything else seems different in town. The office where I worked has been torn down and replaced by a seniors home – hmmm seems fitting. The dock that we flew in and out of is gone but the waterfront has been cleaned up nicely.
We Take the Rock Cuts for "Granite".
The rest of my ride was just hour after hour of enjoying the scenery. Even the road with its big rock cuts and great vistas are a treat. I saw the same eagle I saw on the way up soring over the White Lake area.
Another Ho-Hummm View!
I will sign off now and research my travel options for tomorrow. I can either take the ferry from South Bay Mouth to Tobermorey like I did last time or ride around. It will depend on the time and weather.
I hope all are well. I hear the long weekend in southern Ontario sucked. You should have been in Thunder Bay.
TT4N
