Covid RV 2020 Edition - Ch. 4 On the Road - Heading Home

 

Thursday 23^rd to Saturday 25^th, 2020 Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Our next stop was Sleeping Giant Provincial Park only about a 45-minute drive from the KOA. This park is at the tip of a long peninsula projecting down into Lake Superior and is named after the shape of the mountain which stretches down the length of a good chunk of the peninsula. It resembles the full length of a man lying on his back with his arms across his chest.

The Sleeping Giant  

The park is remarkably large with the drive to the office being at least 20 kilometers from time of entering it. We were greeted at the closed-up office with a young ranger who got us checked in via a little hole in the window. We were a few hours early to check in to our site. With the park being so large we decided to drive to some of the sights that we would not be able to reach easily by bike. We asked the young ranger to give us his recommendations for doing this, which he duly did. One of the walks he described would take us to the top of the Sleeping Giant for “views that should not be missed”. He suggested we would need at least three hours to do this.

We opted for a couple of shorter walks and were not disappointed at the views and outlooks over the lake which we came across. Having earned some down time, we made our way to the campsite to get ourselves settled in. We are now getting slick at the whole set up routine and within 15 – 20 minutes we were settled down enjoying a cup of tea under our awning. 

Formation in the background is the 
Sea Lion. Unfortunately his head fell off
so all that remains is the name. 

Our best beach so far - Shady grass,
nice sand and lovely warm water. 

We took a bike ride to go and check out the campsite and find our way to the beach for a swim. We detoured along the way and found some of the nicest campsites we have come across ever. They were overlooking or right on the beach. The ones on the beach which were tented sites only, each had a set of wooden steps to take them to their own personal piece of beach. It almost got me wishing we were camping in a tent again and then I remembered all the comforts of our RV and the temptation departed from whence it came.

We made our way to the beach. It was beautiful, with a large, wide sandy beach complete with shady picnic table on grass, under the trees and playground equipment for the kids. We noticed that lots of people were swimming and realized that the beach was not on Lake Superior but Lake Marie Louise, which meant the water was warmer. We had been told that the beach was the only spot in the park where we “might” get a cell phone signal and sure enough it was the case. We had landed in a little corner of heaven with all of our needs taken care of. We took a dip which we figured could count as our bath for the day. The Provincial Parks do not provide a water supply to our campsites for RVs, so we have to rely on what our tank can carry and that is fairly limited.

The views of Lake Superior just kept getting better and better. 

More beautiful views

Some of Ontario's 
tallest cliffs

The next day was glorious weather with nice temperatures. We decided to check out the possibility of doing the hike up the Sleeping Giant for the “must see” views. It was only three hours according to our trusty young ranger at the reception desk. We figured out that we could ride our bikes for the first 7.5 kilometers to the base of the mountain, after doing the 2-3-kilometer ride to the jumping off point from our campsite. Once we got to the base we would see if we would just have a swim and come home or carry on for the next five kilometers up the mountain. The bike ride to the mountain base was beautiful with some lovely secluded camping spots on the lake. When we got to the base, we were feeling reasonably fresh, so we locked our bikes and decided to go for it. To cut a long story short, it was a taxing climb, described on the brochure as “Difficult”. One family ahead of us, with two dogs and a couple of 10 -12-year-old kids, having walked the 7.5 kilometers that we had ridden on our bikes, got to the top of the “stairs” and just ran out of steam and decided to turn around. Someone coming down earlier, had told us the stairs were the toughest bit, so we decided to keep going, to at least see one of the lower lookout points. By this stage we were done for, but we figured coming down would be easy in comparison. Eventually we got to our first lookout point. The views were stunningly beautiful. Other hikers, coming down, encouraged us to do the final kilometer or so, which was fairly flat. We had come this far so we might as well finish it, so off we went. As it turned out it was worth the final view as we overlooked the lake and stood at the top of the tallest cliffs in Ontario. The climb down was probably almost as hard descending the stairs, as the climb up had been, as we were exhausted, and our co-ordination was flagging a bit. We made it back to our bikes and our ride back to the parking lot at the beginning of the hike was a breeze in comparison.

At the parking lot we still had to ride up a long steep hill for 2-3 kilometers to our campsite. We were exhausted and were not relishing the prospect. We prayed we would find someone with a truck who would offer us a ride back with our bikes. The previous day we had bumped into a couple twice and then again coming back down the Sleeping Giant. They were walking the 7.5-kilometer section just behind us. We had passed them on our bikes close to the end. We knew they had a truck. Sure enough, they took pity and offered us a ride back to camp.  As it turns out, these Good Samaritans, are our neighbors at the campsite and we have become quite friendly since then. All in all, our round trip had taken us seven and a half hours, with not a lot of breaks. We figure we rode about 18 kms and walked 10 kms up and down the mountain. Fortunately, we had taken a picnic lunch and enough water, just in case it took us longer than the three hours projected by our young ranger.

Cher and I had not exerted ourselves like that for many years. When we got back to camp, we had supper, and were in bed by 9.30pm. In the middle of the night the wind came up and our awning was flapping and clanking. Awnings can be quite susceptible to wind damage, but we did our best to ignore it. Eventually in a stupor of half sleep we got up to take in the awning. In doing so, in the dark, we somehow managed to disconnect one of the arms from itself. We didn’t have the energy to do much more than just fasten it securely and wait for morning to fix it. That is what I get for feeling smug about all the comforts of an RV compared to the campers in their tents.

Cher and I eventually dragged ourselves out of bed around 8.30am the next morning which we never do, as sleeping in later than 7am is commonly agreed to be sinful. We decided what was needed was a down day, so we had a lovely relaxed brunch, went down the lake to catch up on our communications with the cell signal and then headed out for a short but very pleasant hike, which we could reach easily on our bikes from the campsite. R&R for the rest of the day was much needed.

Our Good Samaritan neighbors arrived back from a day of exploring Thunder Bay area and came and joined us around a campfire for a bit before we all headed for bed, as soon as it got dark around 10pm. Sadly, tomorrow we would be leaving Sleeping Giant and our journey home would begin in earnest. It had been fun being on a road trip with endless horizons ahead of us.

Sunday July 26^th (Rainbow Falls Provincial Park)

We had a slow start to the day, did a gentle pack up and took the RV down to the Sleeping Giant Beach, the only place we could find a cell phone signal for our online service with our church back home. It felt a bit strange watching people arriving with their gear, swimming and so on, while we enjoyed our church service. Covid19 certainly has introduced us to an invisible connected world, available to us in the most unlikely of places. I’m sure there is a sermon in this thought somewhere.

We bade farewell to Sleeping Giant beachfront, which has been my favorite spot on this trip so far. Back at the main road I had noted a truck stop selling cheap gas, so we popped in, to gas up. While I was in line to pay, a friendly voice behind me said, “Hi Rob”. I nearly fainted. It was Dave Brown, a long-time friend from our church. He is a long-haul truck driver and was on his way to deliver a load in Winnipeg. Here I was, at least a thousand kilometers from home. He had probably another fifteen hundred to go. I caught a glimpse of what life on the road must be like for the truckers of this world.

Nipigon's 360 degree lookout

Cher counting train carriages from
the Nipigon lookout platform. 

Seventy kilometers further on, we stopped at Nipigon to do some groceries. Cher was shocked at the prices we had to pay at a regular supermarket. I guess that comes with living in a small remote center. Nipigon, a town of 1700 people sports a most unusual, 360-degree five story, raised, fully glassed lookout of the view overlooking the town and surrounding area. They have a striking suspension bridge, their own personal lake and of course the pervasive view of Lake Superior in the distance. Nipigon also stands at the crossroads to the road route to Northern Ontario which I guess makes them a key little hub town. A train came by and Cher entertained herself counting the number of carriages. An astounding 136 of which at least half are carrying double stacked up containers. It is amazing that one engine can pull this weight. Another tribute to those engineers who never cease to impress.

Next stop was Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, about 150 kilometers east. It was fun retracing our steps from a week or so earlier and seeing all the same beautiful views along the road from a different perspective. This drive across the top of Lake Superior is quite breathtaking in places and the road is a pleasure to drive on.

We got settled into our campsite and took a bike tour to get our bearings. The campsite was on White Sands Lake and had two small but lovely beaches. At one of them, a dog was being driven to exhaustion by playing fetch in the water. I have never seen a dog so determined to retrieve that orange piece of plastic. After numerous long ls I began to fear he might die of heart failure. 

The lake empties into a series of 
Falls which cascade down for about 
half a kilometre

More Falls 

We decided to do the “easy” two-kilometer hike from the lake following a series of waterfalls via a well-maintained wooden walkway. It was very pleasing to the eye. An earlier sign had said we should do the whole hike to the lookout at the top as the views were well worth it. So, we began the trudge up the hill on the other side. Our bodies were still telling us we should not do it, as our muscles were still complaining from our exertions at Sleeping Giant. We are now seasoned hikers and cannot be so easily dissuaded. When we got to the top, the view was indeed splendid. Also, a treat were the five bars we had on our cell phone, so we made a couple of calls to the girls since we figured the moment shouldn't be missed. 

Toppled trees are a common sight - they have very
shallow root systems in those parts
because of all the granite.

 On returning to camp we were tired, so settled down to supper and watched “Amazing Grace”, the story of Willian Wilberforce and his efforts to end the worldwide slave trade, in which Britain was the key player. A very inspiring movie.

Monday 27^th July 2020, Wawa RV Resort

We were up early for our 280-kilometer drive east to the mighty hub of Wawa. We had been booked into Lake Superior Provincial Park a bit further on, but due to some of our late date changes had lost our booking. RVing is having a bonanza Covid year with people taking to it in large numbers for the first time, so were lucky to find a spot in Wawa.

Split log bench - a nice touch
on Wawa's waterfront

 Kid's log playground - another nice
touch at Wawa waterfront

Before checking in to our campsite we decided to check out Wawa for any undiscovered gems. The main road through town was being repaved, and much of it was looking rather run down, shuttered, and grubby. Having said that we found the diamond in the rough down at the waterfront. Wawa has its own beautiful lake, surrounded by hills rising sharply out of the water. The sandy beach was wide and long, with a brand-new walkway with split log benches all the way along, making for a pleasing effect. The kid’s playground celebrated the lumber flavor of the area with a log theme. We had some lunch, paddled in the water, and entertained ourselves by watching a bunch of kids playing on a massive floating mat in the water. We had never seen anything like it. It was made of foam, about three inches thick but obviously almost unsinkable. The combined weight of five or six kids did not even make a dent in it in the water. It rolled up into a large cylinder for transportation. I got chatting to the owners thinking it would make a great toy for the grandchildren, but quickly changed my mind on hearing the price, well over $500. For a piece of foam. Ouch!

Wawa is "famous" for its goose

On to our campsite, which had a nice homey feel to it, despite rather small campsites. We celebrated having a water hook up. After limited water access at the provincial parks, we plan to shower twice a day, just because we can.

Tuesday July 28^th, 2020 (Walmart, Sault St. Marie)

Today we had decided to spend the day enjoying some of the hikes in the Lake Superior Provincial Park (LSPP) which we would have done had we been staying there. We would then continue on for an hour or so to Sault St. Marie to make our next day’s driving a bit shorter.

The day started, and continued, with more stunning views of Lake Superior. The drive along the north shore of Lake Superior has been described as one of Canada’s most beautiful drives and I must concur. One of the remarkable things of this drive is how relatively isolated and undeveloped it is. In more populous, easy to reach parts of the province, one would expect to find cottages, marinas, and lots of boating activity. These are very sparse in this part of the world.

Old Mother's Bay - from the top of the viewpoint

Our first stop was Old Woman’s Bay which had been recommended to us several times. The Bay itself was lovely, but we had been told that the 5 km scenic hike was the key attraction, so of course up and at it we went. Naturally, to find a good view typically one needs to be up high. We have really discovered the value of a good walking stick this trip. Acting as a third leg it helps a lot on the ups and even more on the downs. And of course, they should prove handy to stave off unwanted advances from any amorous bears looking for a hug. We have noticed some of the cooler hikers have those nice collapsible aluminum walking poles, making them easy to stow when not needed. We have added them to our shopping list. We must keep our cool image up and every bit helps.

Our hike was not as tough as the one we had done a few days earlier at Sleeping Giant, but it did elicit a few breathless moments on the uphill part and our haunches reminded us they had recently been badly abused. The views at the five lookout spots were indeed spectacular, and we were impressed yet again with the incredible diversity and beauty of God’s creation. The official map of the hike said it would be a 5km hike, but our Iphone step counter informed us we had only done 3.4 km. That is the problem when one uses cheap equipment. Faulty readings.

Next up was Kathryn’s Cove, also highly recommended, for a picnic lunch. When we got there, a very full parking lot greeted us and there was severe competition for a handful of picnic tables. After briefly double parking our lumbering beauty in a tight spot, managing to park in numerous vehicles, we had a quick look and moved on to our next planned stop which was the Sand River hike.

This was also an extremely popular spot and there was no obvious room for our extra-large vehicle. Eventually I just decided to act like everyone else. I picked a regular parking spot, breathed in deeply and tried to pretend my behind was not sticking out another fifteen feet. No one else seemed bothered so we just carried on. We had our picnic lunch in the RV, a quick power nap and were ready for our next activity.

The hike up the Sand River, was quite different. It consisted of a series of waterfalls and rapids as the river made its way down to flow into Lake Superior. Some of the falls were spectacular to see and it was possible to clamber out onto the rocks to get up close for good views. We walked up a couple of kilometers seeing three significant waterfalls along with numerous rapids along the way, before retracing our steps. I would say that this was probably our most impressive collective “waterfall” on our trip so far.  

Sand River Falls 1

Sand River Falls 2

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By then I was ready for a cup of tea and knew just where to go for it. About an hour further down the road was the roadside stop which offers the “world’s best apple fritters”. A cup of tea and a gigantic fritter sounded like just the job. When we arrived, we barely beat the early dinner rush. The servers were not that keen to serve us tea on their limited number of patio tables as they were preparing for dinner. They eventually succumbed to our hang dog looks. The patio overlooks beautiful Bachawana Bay and it was a gorgeous sunny afternoon, so we were well rewarded for our earlier in the day exertions.

Voyageurs's Lodge World Famous Fritters
is a "must stop" for the road weary traveller. 

After our tea, the beach looked so inviting, we decided to have one last dip of the toes and a final walk along the beach. We walked at least a kilometer up the beach and then back. The water was surprisingly warm, so either the lake is warming up as summer goes on, or my thermostat has adjusted itself down about five to ten degrees.

Sadly, we bade farewell to Lake Superior and headed for Sault St. Marie, another hours’ drive further on. From here on, Lake Huron would be our closest companion for the trip home. We had decided to sleep over with a free stay in the Walmart parking lot, as all we were really doing was sleeping there. It is always entertaining to see who else is joining us for a “free night on the road”. There was a full complement of freeloader guests, with seven or eight regular RV’s like us. Our direct neighbors were a couple and their dog who were driving a Uhaul truck and towing a trailer with their car on it. They no sooner arrived than they opened the back of the truck, which was full of furniture, including their double bed which they were clearly planning to sleep on. They set out a tiny table, and two chairs and pretty much parked themselves there until about 11pm. Someone else arrived with a fitted out for camping small school bus. In addition, there were a number of smaller vans, campers etc. making up a nice little like-minded community.  Sam Walton, the Walmart founder, made a smart move, allowing these free overnight stays at his stores. We went in to buy a bottle of water and $40 or $50 later came back with a whole bunch of things we had “forgotten” we needed. Before we left the following morning, I popped in for something else I had realised I needed, adding to Sam’s score. A mutually beneficial relationship all around I reckon.

Wednesday July 29^th, 2020, Chutes Provincial Park

In the morning we had a pleasant 225-kilometer drive to the Chutes PP. We had heard this would be worth the visit, so it made a fitting stop for our last night on the road. We arrived around noon, had a quick bite, and then got packed up for the beach. The main attraction at this park is the impressive waterfall, followed by some nice fast flowing water which allows folks to get into the water just below the falls and then float down the river for a couple of hundred yards, with the current sweeping one along. We needed our pool noodles to float with, deck chairs and refreshments in a backpack. We looked like a couple of third world taxis by the time we wobbled our way down to the beach, rather precariously, on our bikes.

Our final beach day at Chutes
before heading home

Riding with all our gear
was a bit of a challenge

Once down there, it was delightful to sit in the shade and watch others show us how it was done. All ages were having a go, from tiny infants, to oldies like us on a variety of floating devices. Some were just floating down with no floaters to help them. We laughed at one guy. He had a tiny inflatable boat and a battery powered leaf blower. He was trying to use the leaf blower to rocket his way down the river, without much success, I must add. We took a couple of turns and, a good time was had by all. More folks kept arriving and by the time we had had enough there were a lot of people. This was a definite “must do again sometime” activity and was a fitting way to end our trip. One last campfire tonight and then back to civilisation and the real world tomorrow.

Chutes was a fun stop - and much enjoyed by lots of locals and visitors

Thursday July 30^th, 2020, Home sweet Home

We were up earlyish to get started on the last leg of our 370 km trip before hitting the road. The RV has driven like a dream the whole way so far and today was no different. Even though it is now the grand old age of 16 years, the motor has still only done under 50,000 miles, so mechanically it is still a baby.

The final stop of most RV trips needs to be the final emptying of our tanks at the dump station. We stopped in at Grundy Lake, about halfway home and did that little chore before heading home for the final stretch, arriving home around 2pm.

No matter how much we have enjoyed ourselves, it is always nice to get home and get settled in again. I must say though that I love the feeling of a good long road trip, especially with untravelled horizons ahead of one, so the end of a trip is always a happy sad occasion. Our next venture out will be a week in one place with the family at our annual Fairhaven’s Family Camp. Watch this space.