We made it to Quebec!

 

Yesterday we visited the Diefenbunker in Carp, just west of Ottawa, brought back a lot of memories of all the talk of nuclear attack from decades ago. Then we went into Ottawa and Denis visited the Aviation Museum while I walked around downtown. I saw the changing of the guard at Rideau Hall and also walked around the beautiful grounds. Also went to Byward Market and Rideau Falls. I walked past 24 Sussex Drive but I guess the Harpers weren't accepting callers because the gates were tightly closed.

This morning we said good-bye to Ottawa, heading south and east through Kemptville, Chesterville and Cornwall. We stumbled across a Winery/Christmas tree farm, very unique and after a generous tasting, we came away with a few bottles. Travelling east from there we crossed into Quebec and stopped at the first tourist info stop and picked up some additional information. We crossed the St. Lawrence and are camped at St. Phillipe, south of Montreal. Now we are trying to figure out what we can fit in the next few days, I hear there are 37 km of underground shopping, guess what I'm doing if it rains?


Only 4 more provinces to go!

Happy Canada Day! from Ottawa

We partook of the famous McCandless hospitality in Perth and exercised our jaws as we enjoyed the AC.


We made it to Ottawa, looked across the river to Quebec

Our path into Ottawa was very straightforward and we found our campground and the park & ride very easily. We enjoyed more wonderful hospitality, Canada Day breakfast with Karen & Kim; also checked out their fantastic new home!

We hopped on the bus and were downtown by 2:30 with thousands of other patriotic, enthusiastic Canadians, you've never seen so much red. We toured the sites and had to restore our energy with some liquid refreshment, the water we brought was too warm to drink. We headed to Parliament Hill for the evening show saw Brett Kissel (Alberta boy); Daniel Lavoie (Denis knew from Dunrae); Whitehorse; Serena Ryder; Veronique Di Clare and others. The evening was capped off by a spectacular fireworks show and a cooling rain. When we left the hill every direction you looked the streets were full of people, but for the most part everyone was flowing in the same direction. It took and hour and a half to get on a bus and get back to the truck. It was worth doing once but I think we will celebrate Canada Day a little quieter next year.

Canada Day at Parliament Hill

And now we are off to check out the Diefenbunker........

Arrived in Perth via Westport

The Cliffs at Bon Echo Park

Yesterday was a short travel day, we stopped for coffee at Vennacher Junction and were tempted by a giant schnitzel on a bun that we shared for lunch. We were camped at Bon Echo Park by 1:00, it’s a huge campground (400 sites), they were pretty full and fully booked for the weekend. In the early 1900’s there was an inn where some of the Group of 7 stayed and painted. The lake is long and quite narrow, shallow around most of the edge but up to 100 feet deep in places. At the narrowest spot it’s only about 5,0’ across with 300 foot cliffs on the other side. This morning we took the Mugwump ferry (14 passenger pontoon boat) across and hiked the cliff trail.

Mazinaw Lake waiting for the Mugwump

 

The stairs we didn't take

We took a wrong turn, actually we didn’t turn as planned but we found some great miata roads, things in the trailer do get a little shaken up. We saw the villages of Erinville, Tamworth and Arden. In Arden a batik butterfly accosted me and I couldn’t get away without it. Tonight we are staying at McGowan’s Lake Campground just west of Perth.

Arrived in Perth for a visit with Jeanne & Ron McCandless before heading to Ottawa for Canada Day.

Getting close to the next province

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunny, Warm Day Bancroft Area

Here we are in Wasaga Beach, and again, it’s not a beach day; so we are moving on. Took the back roads to Orillia, didn’t stop to check out Stephen Leacock’s home. From there we travelled to Kirkfield and visited the lift lock which has been in operation for almost 100 years. There are two huge troughs of water that the boats travel into, one up and one down, when both are ready the water is used to raise one and lower the other. The boats are raised or lowered 14.9 m, quite remarkable today but truly amazing when it was originally built.

Kirkfield Lift Lock

We continued on paved backroads and had lunch in Minden. Stopped in Haliburton where Denis reminisced about a summer he and Al worked for the railroad in Wawanesa and lived in a caboose.

 

Denis' New Abode?

 We are staying in Bancroft at Riverbend Campground, our ’96 trailer is the new kid on the block here. Most of the units are here permanently and are 10 or more years older than ours plus a few cabins of the same vintage but it’s quiet, no one is here.

We woke up to sunshine today and went touring around the area, lots of little places tucked in the bush. Denis tried to sample the local 'brew', the name of the place is Bancroft Eatery & Brew Pub, but they are still working on the brewing part. He had to make do with plain old beer on the patio while I checked out the local shops. We'll be heading towards Denbigh in the morning.

Rainy, Foggy Day in South Bruce Peninsula

We wandered around the quaint, little touristy town of Tobermoray. There were not many people out on a Monday morning but I'm sure in the summer it would be hard to find a place to park your vehicle and yourself. We tried to have beavertails but they were closed. We did visit a lighthouse and an observation tower which was much higher than the trees, it swayed a bit in the wind. Then we went to Dyer's Bay and dropped off the trailer and went to Cabot Head Lighthouse & Museum. We took a short walk to Wingfield Basin, a very protected, almost circular basin where boats shelter when the lake is too stormy.

Enjoying the rock chair that someone else built

The rain started during the night and continued off and on all day. We stopped in Lion's Head, another lighthouse, and then headed to Wiarton. We got a glimpse of Willie but he's pretty shy. We also looked around the old train station, very beautiful building.

Denis chatting with Wiarton Willie

 

Antique Bench, Wiarton Train Station

We headed off to Sauble Beach, 11 km of wonderful, sandy beach, but it was so rainy and foggy we didn't stay very long. We did manage to enjoy a beavertail! We had a late lunch in Owen Sound and tonight we are in Wasaga Beach.



Wasaga Beach on Georgian Bay (Lake Huron)

Tobermory, Bruce Peninsila

Just a note or two on things we missed along the way: in Nipigon we visited the Paddle to the Sea Park, very creative playground chronicling the children’s book, Denis remembers it well and I remember slightly, it must have been a boy thing.

Paddling to the sea?

 

 Then in White River we read the origin of the Winnie the Pooh stories, a WWI soldier, veterinarian from Winnipeg, travelling by train to England to look after the military horses, bought an orphaned bear cub for $20. He took her with him and when he was sent to France he left her at the London Zoo where she became a favourite especially with Christopher Milne, son of the author.


Winnie the Pooh's origins

 

In Wawa, a mining town, they even had a short gold rush, an Earl and Lady lived there today their claim to fame is a huge Canada goose (statue), it rivals the one in Dunrae.

 

                                                       Under the Big Nickel

 The guardian of the pathway at Sleeping Giant Park

We finished our tour of Manitoulin Island, it was pretty quiet but I bet in the summer it’s bumper to bumper traffic on very narrow streets and roads. This morning took the ferry, Chi Cheemaun, from South Baymouth to Tobermory.

Sudbury Area & the Big Nickel

We are at Espanola, ON, right at home in a pulp mill town. Correction to my last post, we are camped at Lake Apsey, very small, quiet campground about 20 sites and half are set-up for the long term. They also have a few cabins, nice little sand beach and people are out fishing but we haven’t noticed if they are catching anything.

Yesterday we went into Sudbury and saw the BIG nickel, also toured Dynamic Earth, a demonstration mine. You start out in a 19^th century mine complete with low, drippy ceilings and puddles on the floor, then progress to the 1950’s and eventually the modern version. Denis got the big nickel t-shirt! We stopped at an RV dealer and bought the awning part.

This morning, after much reading and worrying, Denis replaced the part in the awning and Voila! It works like magic, another skill to add to his handyman resume. We are doing laundry, amazing how similar Laundromats are no matter where they are. We haven't got any pictures ready but promise some with the next post.

Tomorrow we are moving on, Manitoulin Island is our next destination, then the Bruce Peninsula. We have a spot reserved in Ottawa starting June 30 and we plan to see Jeanne & Ron (in Perth) on the 29^th if they are available.