Niagara of the North

October 5

Pancake Bay to Kakabeka Falls

Our first night in Plan B at Pancake Bay, and Jutta’s “first ever” night camping, couldn’t have gone better.   It was chilly of sure, but the beds are super comfortable, and the addition of the luxury duvet’s and feather pillows was a nice touch.  Breakfast plans were quashed when we realized that somehow we were never properly hooked up to electrical service, and the batteries couldn’t take the load of multiple lights turned on, the space heater, toaster, electric frying pan, 2 computers charging, my scalp massager (essential), and all of a sudden it was dark.  No time to figure it out, when there is a breakfast sandwich somewhere down the road, so we packed it up and aimed our sights at Thunder Bay.  I knew instantly that Jutta would become a fine camper when on the way out of the park we had to stop and drop the evening’s garbage.  A large garbage filled cage with a bear proof latch faced her, and with only a slight delay, she popped it open and made her contribution.  She’s smarter than the average bear BooBoo.
We are in awe of the stunning beauty of this land of ours.  Seeing North Superior in its fall splendour is amazing, and the lake had kicked up from its calm state yesterday, with wind howling and waves rolling in, crashing to shore………it was all amazing.  Pictures don’t do it justice, and you might not believe us, but we have included a few hundred to try and convince you.

 

I hate to keep on referring to the ride Sid and I did across Canada six years ago, but I honestly can’t stop chatting about it to Jutta as we pass by that campground we stayed at, the restaurant that was amazing, the killer hill that busted our balls, or the visitor centre where we camped out in the washroom and tried to dry our gear using the hand dryers.  I’m sure Jutta said to me at least three or four times today, “You rode up this hill?”……..of course we were flying down it at the time, applying trailer brakes, and trying to keep Plan B on the road.  

My cousin Dave and his wife Margaret live in Marathon, Ont., and I haven’t seen this guy for probably close to forty years.  They drove out to the highway to meet us on the way through, and we had the best twenty minute howdy do ever.  Awesome to meet Margaret and reconnect with Dave in person rather that on FB.  They advised that our search for fresh pickerel might be a bust………”If you have pickerel these days, you’re not selling it, you’re keeping it”……….the search continues………..

Even though we are sprinting our way out to BC, I told Jutta there are certain pictures you absolutely have to take along the way……….the big goose in Wawa……..Winnie the Pooh in White River, etc………more to follow.

We were in search of cheap reservation gasoline in Nipigon, when a wrong turn turned into a “holy crap, look at this”………..an elevated viewing platform, maybe four stories high, with those lovely see through stairs and floors, glass railings, and thirty mile an hour winds to boot……..for me, not a chance!, but Jutta was up there like a gazelle.  

Absolutely the best part of our day was towards the end, when we visited the Terry Fox Memorial on the outskirts of Thunder Bay.  The visitor centre has been closed for a while, but all you need to see is that statue and that says it all.  A very heartfelt moment for us both, and a great tribute to Terry for his accomplishments.  

Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park is our home for the evening, and even though I booked a pull-through site, it still required some jiggy jiggy with the trailer to get it in position to accept the electrical service (going to get it right tonight!).  Jutta is becoming an excellent spotter for me as I twist and turn the trailer during back-up maneuvers, and we are starting to get our signals and voice commands fine tuned………the one we have made clear right from day one is “STOP!!!” “STOP!!!!!!!!!”………… I have managed to save a few trees as a result of this, not to mention untold thousands in body work.

Tomorrow we are off to Falcon Lake, Manitoba……….I’m going to buy some fishing gear and catch my own damn pickerel.