Last days in Ontario

On Saturday morning, we left Thunder Bay in the fog, in a damp 18°C. (We learned that this is a regular weather condition up here due to the cold waters of Lake Superior). First on the day's itinerary was a stop at Kakabeka Falls.

We then continued west along Hwy 17/Hwy 11 for about an hour, turning up the northerly route following Hwy 17. The landscape and rock type changed several times along our route; white pines giving way to scrubby short pines mixed with Aspens. Along the way, we crossed the Arctic Watershed: all rivers in this next stretch of land flow into Hudson’s Bay in the Arctic Circle. That was cool! 

At 12:26pm, we also crossed into the Central Standard Time zone. In a fine show of the best of modern technology, Richard’s iPhone immediately changed back an hour. In a fine show of operator not-so-up-to-date, Catharine’s iPhone (not set on “automatic change”) stayed in Eastern Standard Time. Lol!

After crossing the divide, there was a long stretch of flat, swampy ground, sandy and a bit forlorn, where a silver-sage-green moss (lichen?) grew along the side of the highway with low spiky black spruce, looking almost muskeg-like. The land undulating, granite of all colours, and then surprisingly, as we left Dryden, pastoral views with recently mown hay bales, open fields - similar to what we were used to seeing on Hwy 141 to Rosseau from 400, or in the Egansville to Golden Lake on Hwy 60. As we drove, the weather got warmer, climbing up to 25C+ by the afternoon.

After about 7.5 hours on the road, we arrived in Rushing River Provincial Park. What a gem! This little park skirts the shores at one end of Dogtooth Lake. A swimming area has been set up in and around a sandy and small rocky outcrops, making it a perfect place for families to spend the day. The camp ground is charming, with campsites nestled into little nooks and crannies among the rocks and trees. 

We arrived to find out site in full sun at the end of the day, a most welcomed change from the previous locations offering the opportunity to dry out all our damp bedding, tent, etc. After quickly setting up camp, we went for a refreshing swim. The water is very dark but clear and clean feeling. And warm enough that Richard was able to enjoy it! Before bed we took Zoe for an exploratory walk through the rest of the campground. Utterly charming and well-laid out.

Today, Sunday, has been beautiful. Sunshine, very little clouds, and again about 25C. Catharine had a wash and swim off a sunlit dock and that’s about all she managed today! Richard took Zoe for a nice long walk along the rapids downstream of Dogtooth Lake leading into Lake of the Woods. Here are some photos.

Otherwise we’ve been resting up. And we’ve had a good cell phone connection hence this post. Stay tuned for the next instalment. Tomorrow we leave Ontario and head across the Prairies. The next couple of day will involve long drives as we dash towards Jasper and then onto BC.