OttaBlog-part the first

It has been a busy few days on the highway. With only minor bathroom breaks, we made it all the way to the Manitoba boarder. We had a picnic lunch at the tourism center with a very large bull and a curious buzzing sound, which turned out to be a miniature motorcycle.

We drove most of the way to Winnipeg, staying at a very well maintained campground called Rivers. Due to the time change, the girls missed playing mini-golf, but we did have a terrific marshmallow roast before the mosquitoes chased us to our tent.

In the morning we drove speedy-quick into Winnipeg and checked out the Manitoba Museum. It was nice. The kids really enjoyed it, but in the end it was like any other museum of man and nature, only with a prairie slant. The one exception to this was the Nonsuch. Describing it would be a sham, but fortunately, I have pictures.

Vin must see. We ate another great cooler lunch and made for Lake Superior. We reached Thunder Bay late in the day (11:30 pm local) and stayed with Wendy’s Aunt Linda and Uncle Allan.

I awoke in the morning to fresh coffee (it was flavoured coffee, but coffee none-the-less), and warm raspberry muffins. Hard to complain about the service. I got rid of my campfire smell and we all went to a nearby farm with a playground and some historical fur-trade paraphernalia. It was fast, fun and free, though nothing like Old Fort William (‘cept the fun part) which we have seen on many previous occasions. We had supper at Aunty J’s with the whole T-bay crew, Huey even showed up late in the day after a great car show a few hours out of town.

We slept at Linda’s again and left early on Sunday morning. What can you say about the North shore of Lake Superior, but “wow!” It is stunning. Expansive water vistaing everywhere and craggy islands lolling about in the water waiting to jut their stuff for the RV masses. [Picture courtesy of Skara Brae Bed and Breakfast in Grand Marais, MN] Sunday we played mini-golf at a place that sold amazing potato wedges, though the mini-golf was substandard. It rained off and on all day long and we were conflicted about whether to stay dry in a hotel in Sudbury or risk a wet departure after camping. In the end we camped at a place called Pancake Bay.

It was a huge oval loop with 480 (or so) campsites! Yikes. (for the obsessive or those interested in the campground, you can click on the image map to find our site with description. I think we were in 462) Despite the numbers, it was quite private. Fortune smiled upon us and it did not rain, nor did mosquitoes seem to inhabit this mysterious bay.