Those of you who followed the story of my flat tire in this thread may be interested to know I’m heading out on the road tomorrow for the return trip. I’ve got about 3200 kilometers (i.e. about 2000 miles) to go, I’ve got a new tire mounted and balanced and installed, and I’m planning on pulling out tomorrow morning.
I’m starting from a friend’s farm, about an hour north of Toronto. My route will take me on back roads to Highway 12 north, to meet with Highway 400 near Coldwater, Ontario; to Parry Sound and Highway 69 north; to Sudbury and Highway 17 west; and from there through Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, and Kenora. After the Ontario-Manitoba border, I’m on Highway 1 westbound through Winnipeg, Brandon, Regina, and Swift Current to Medicine Hat, where I peel off on Highway 3, and then, to home.
I’ll try to check in when I can–many motels now offer wireless Internet–so I should be able to keep the board up-to-date on my progress when I’ve stopped for the night. Current plan calls for me to pull out by 0800 tomorrow and to shoot for Wawa or White River by tomorrow night. Let’s see if I can manage that.
Well, I made it to Wawa, Ontario today; about 900 km (550 miles) from where I started. A fairly uneventful drive, but seemingly long–many small towns and construction sites to go through.
But a few things stand out. For example, the berry-pickers west of Sudbury, who were picking berries in the highway median. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, except that there was a toddler with them–and he toddled right out onto the eastbound lanes of the highway! Thankfully, no cars were coming (I was going west), but still.
And there was the Chrysler who, for some strange reason, would pass a number of cars, then pull over, then pass everybody again a few miles ahead. He did this a few times. Odd.
Anyway, I’ve stopped for the night. Tomorrow, back on the road.
My sister and I drove as far as Wawa one time. We took pictures in front of the bog statue of the Canada Goose near the road junction, then headed back to the Soo. Man, it’s beautiful country between the Soo and Wawa!
It is. I kind of wish I wasn’t driving so I could take in the scenery. Still, there were some breathtaking glimpses of Lake Superior, as well as many smaller lakes and rivers. And of course, trees and the road.
Lake Superior Provincial Park, through which the road goes, manages to be both beautiful and frustrating. The beauty comes from the trees and lakes and views; the frustration comes from the lack of any sort of sign telling you where you are or how far you are from anywhere. But there are a number of clearly marked picnic areas with washrooms–just what is needed after getting a jumbo coffee in Sault Ste. Marie.
Godspeed, Spoons! Sorry I won’t see you as you go through Regina, but the Pipers have a prior committment at Taylor Field, to help welcome some Eskimos.
We were running the same stretch for a while today.
I left Winnipeg last week and went to Ottawa and Montreal. I took 17 all the way through Ontario. Gorgeous drive. I saw the berry pickers too - took a while to figure out what the deal was with all the cars parked on the side of the road.
I left Montreal yesterday morning, stopped in Ottawa for a couple of things at my sister’s place. Then from Renfrew, took highway 60 through Algonquin park, connected to 11 south, went through Barrie and overnighted in Owen Sound.
Today I went north to Tobermory and took the ferry across the lake. I continued north to highway 17 west to the Soo, then crossed into Michigan.
Tomorrow, I’ll ride to Duluth along highway 28 in Michigan’s UP, then meander across WI and MN until I’m back in Winnipeg on Saturday.
Did you see a big white motorcycle today?
Drive safe. Watch your stimulus dollars at work building roads between Wawa and Thunder Bay.
I meant for Spoons, when he passes through Thunder Bay, but any other travellers drop me a line, too. If you are travelling through Canada, from Southern Ontario to a western province you pretty much have to drive by my place (well near it. I don’t live on the highway)
It’s morning, and the kind souls who are running this motel have thoughtfully got coffee made. I have to walk down to the office to get it (well, more of a stagger; me in the mornings prior to coffee is not a pretty sight), but it is hot and good.
Today’s plans call for heading west from Wawa on 17 to highway 102 just east of Thunder Bay, then north/west from where 102 meets 17 again, until I hit Dryden, or possibly Kenora. Of course, if I encounter any delays, then it might just be Thunder Bay. But we’ll see. Heck, I just might stop from time to time too, and take in the scenery. As has been said, this part of the country is beautiful.
Critical Mass, I didn’t see a big white motorcycle, but I’ll watch for one as I may be trying to get around Winnipeg on Saturday. (Note I said “trying”; I learned on the eastbound trip about all the construction delays on Highway 1 and the Winnipeg bypass.) You keep your eyes open for a tan Chevy Blazer with an Alberta plate. Plenty of boxes in the back.
Mona Lisa Simpson, private message backatcha.
Northern Piper, thanks and good luck to the Riders!
Okay, one more coffee here, then gas up at the station across the street (and yet more coffee), then on the road again.
Okay, I’ve stopped for the night. I’m in Dryden, Ontario–I didn’t get to Kenora, but after dealing with 800-some kilometers (500-some miles) of twisty, turny, up-and-down two-lane blacktop, I thought it would be time to stop. Oh, and there was on-again, off-again rain that occurred over the past six hours. Looking out the window of this motel room, it looks like it’s pouring somewhere.
But an interesting drive. I did stop a couple of times to take in the sights–for example, just east of Thunder Bay, I spent some time at the Terry Fox memorial. I’d seen photos before, but it’s more impressive in real life. And happily, he’s still heading west.
Also took time to visit the Aguasabon Gorge and Falls, near Terrace Bay. This was a bit of serendipity, as I was tired of a trucker tailgating, so I took the next scenic exit I saw. This was it. I’m no geologist, but this was pretty interesting.
And somewhere along the road, I saw a mother moose with her baby. I elected not to stop and get out for a better look–I didn’t think Mama would take too kindly to that, and I’d surely lose in a tangle with a moose–but I was able to slow down and take a good look at an animal I’ve only ever seen in zoos.
Tomorrow’s goal is Regina. May treat myself to a nice dinner there (tonight is most likely pizza from the Domino’s across the street). It will be a long drive, but it will be mostly double-tracked four-lane freeway, so it won’t be too difficult. Except for the construction around Winnipeg, of course.
A somewhat stressful drive this morning, as I was leaving Dryden. It’s again, a twisty-turny, two-lane highway, and a semi tailed me over the 200 km or so to the Manitoba border. He was loaded, and couldn’t get past me in the uphill passing lanes, but he sure was on my tail on the single-lane downslope. Gravity was not his friend.
I didn’t want to just floor it to get away from him–I knew from a trucker buddy that the Ontario Provincial Police like that stretch of highway, and love to pull over unreasonable speeders (“unreasonable” being anything over 15 km/h over the limit) on that stretch. So when I was doing 15 km/h over, and a U-Haul truck and a Buick managed to roar past me, I was glad of a couple of rabbits. Sure enough, not far down the road, there they both were, pulled over and talking with an officer of the OPP. It’s worthwhile to know where to be a turtle.
I needed gas, so I filled up at a gas station just east of Winnipeg. As I was coming out of the station after paying (and getting coffee and a snack), there was the U-Haul. The driver, who was filling his tank, was still angry about geing tagged for speeding back in Ontario, as he was telling his girlfriend all about it loudly.
The construction around Winnipeg that I was concerned about wasn’t as bad as it might have been on a weekday, and I was able to get through with minimal delays. From there, it was a pretty smooth and trouble-free trip to Regina.
No moose, but I did see a doe and two fawns. And, I ran alongside a train for a good length. You know you’re in western Canada when the road parallels a train track.
Well, I’m back. The run from Regina to home was uneventful–no crazy drivers, no wildlife by the side of the road (that I saw anyway), few trucks. Half of the road is still washed out at Maple Creek, Saskatchewan; but traffic in both directions is sharing the other half.
But overall, driving to Toronto and back was an experience. I travelled through some amazingly beautiful country, from the vastness of the prairies to the ruggedness of northern Ontario. Perhaps even more amazing is what we’ve done with it: I have nothing but admiration for the engineers who surveyed and built the roads that connected all the small, and formerly remote, settlements in northern Ontario; and for the people who irrigated the prairies so that they could grow all that they do.
Today, the only place I’m driving to is work. Oh, well.
Glad to hear you made it safe and sound - that’s a heck of a drive for one person. We’re driving to Yellowknife next month - that’s going to be a long one, too, and I have questions about what kind of highways we’re going to be on. It’ll be an adventure.
Log in when you can and let us know how you’re progressing. I’ve flown into Yellowknife before, but I’d love to make the drive sometime. And possibly to Inuvik/Tuktoyaktuk. The car I drove to Toronto has now driven in all provinces of Canada except Newfoundland; and it would be nice if I could drive it to the NWT and Yukon before it gives up the ghost. (It has also been to six US states.) It doesn’t owe me a dime, but when the time comes, I’d like to send it out with a good track record of places behind it.
Forgot to add–I actually like driving long distances. So yes, it was long and it was only me driving; but it was also fun–to me, anyway. I met some great people on the road, and I saw some things one would never see from an aircraft. I did learn, however, to take more music for the trip; I still like Queen, Supertramp, and Styx, but I think it will be a while before I again listen to them voluntarily.
We like long drives, too - we’d have stopped after the first one if we didn’t. We take an iPod and car adapter on our trips - 6,000 songs to go, baby! Our car (Car-y) has hit four provinces and (I think) 18 states now. We kind of have in the back of our heads that we’d like to drive it to Mexico, too - probably the Baja Peninsula. There’s a kind of zen to long drives that either you get or you don’t. If you don’t get it, they’re just long slogs. If you do, they’re actually a great experience.
