Planning Part 7 - Day Five Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie

Image of Persian pastry from Wikipedia

In Planning Part 3 - Day Four Thunder Bay, Ontario, I talk about the decision to spend an extra day in the Thunder Bay area. Now that I have a better sense of what it is going to take to get to Thunder Bay (a.k.a. some very long days in the car), I am even more committed to that plan. So day four in Thunder Bay it is.


Once we've loaded up the car with Persians (deep-fried cinnamon buns with pink icing) as per our must eat local specialties rule, day five will see us hit the road again - this time making the trek from Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie. Since we're on the subject of our road rules, this trip will provide ample photo-ops with quirky attractions - not the least of which include Winnie-the-Pooh in White River, the Wawa Goose in Wawa, and the Big Fish in Sault Ste. Marie.

Day 5

On a more serious note, day 5 will be another long day the car as we make our way around the north shore of Lake Superior. The main stop on this leg of the journey will be Lake Superior Provincial Park. The park encompasses 1600 sq. km. (618 sq. mi.) of northern Ontario wilderness and Lake Superior shoreline.

Map from Friends of Lake Superior Park website

There are many hikes, including a number of small ones that could be completed as part of a day trip. I've seen many recommendations for the views from the Old Woman's Bay trails, so we'll likely make a stop there, as well as a few other viewpoints along the way.

The main attraction for me however, are the Agawa Rock Pictographs. This sacred site  of the Ojibwe was used to record dreams, visions and significant events. A short, but rugged trail takes you down to the base of a rock cliff that houses red ochre paintings of canoes, animals and spirits.

According to Ojibwe oral history, the people originated at the mouth of the St. Lawrence and over thousands of years migrated through northern Quebec, Ontario and Minnesota, ultimately becoming the second largest indigenous group in Canada and fourth largest in the United States. The Ojibwe are known for their birch bark canoes, birch bark scrolls (which housed detailed historical records), mining and trade in copper, and cultivation of wild rice. Treaties signed between European-Canadian leaders and the Ojibwe were essential to European settlement of the West. Thus the Ojibwe people were critical forces in both pre- and post-European history, and their birch bark canoes have become a quintessential Canadian image. Petroglyphs and pictrographs, such as the Agawa Rock site, were the main way this group left their mark on the landscape. Fingers crossed that Lake Superior will be calm enough for us to visit this important site.

Although, we likely won't have a long layover in Sault Ste. Marie, it is a point of interest in and of itself. It was a traditional gathering place of the Ojibwe people during white fish season, and was first colonized by European missionaries in 1668, making it one of the earliest settlements in North America. It later became a fir trading post and expanded to both sides of the St. Mary's River. After the War of 1812, the St. Mary's became the dividing line between the United States and Canada, and the once cohesive community was split in two. Today, they are joined by the International Bridge.

Historic sites in the city include Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site and the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site. The canal was built in 1895 and was the last link in the marine transportation system stretching from the St. Lawrence River to Lake Superior. The seaway remains an important shipping corridor for both the United States and Canada, and handles 40 to 50 million annual tons of cargo. Given it's significance, it will definitely be something to take in before we leave the Soo.

Fun Stuff Part 2 - Adventure Inspiration

Looking for some inspiration for planning your own Canada 150 adventure? Here are a couple of interesting sites to provide some ideas...

Want to know what sesquicentennial activities are happening near you? Check out the Passport 2017 website or download the app.

Want to learn more about Canada's history? Learn about key historic events one day at a time on OnThisDay or follow the twitter feed #OnThisDay

Want to do something quintessentially Canadian? Check our Where magazine's Top 50 Canadian Bucket List Things to Do.

I can check off 18 of the 50 bucket list items... time to get working on more!

Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls, ON 2014

Planning Part 6 - Day Three Winnipeg to Thunder Bay

The bulk of day 3 will be spent in the car as we make the trek from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay - an 8-9 hour journey unto itself. We'd be remiss, however, not to make a detour for our first National Historic Site - Lower Fort Garry. Lower Fort Garry was built in 1830 by the Hudson's Bay Company as a trading post, and became a major centre for business for the Red River Settlement and surrounding area. Being located at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers it was also a shipping port for the York boats that transported goods to the Hudson Bay. Most notably, it was the location for the negotiation and signing of Treaty No. 1 between the First Nations and the Crown in 1871.

Preserved within the grounds are original stone structures as well as many reconstructed or replica buildings that display various architectural styles. The Fort also contains many collections of artifacts including several York boats. Given the amount there is to see, and daily activities at the Fort, I anticipate we'll spend several hours there. After which, we'll need to hop in the car and start making our way east.

Day 3 Part 1

For this leg of the journey, there are not a lot of planned stops in terms of attractions or historic sites. This is, however, a good time to discuss a couple of our key road rules:

Rule Number 1: If you hear about a good place to eat... you eat there.
As self-proclaimed foodies, eating - in particular, trying local specialties - will factor prominently in this trip. So when we hear of a regional specialty, local hot spot or unique treat, the mandate will be to seek it out. Needless to say then, that when I heard the town of Lockport described as "hot dog stand heaven", it warranted addition to the list.

Rule Number 2: Photos must be taken with all kitschy roadside attractions
Canadian towns have a strange affinity for oversized, quirky landmarks. Don't believe me? Google giant perogy on a fork, or UFO landing pad, or my hometown icon, Pinto McBean. I truly believe our tendency to sensationalize the mundane is a truly admirable trait, and something to be celebrated. There are many reasons to stop in Kenora, ON, not the least being it's the last place for gas for several kilometers. But the real reason I want to stop is "Husky the Muskie"... a forty-foot sculpture of a fish.