July 21, 22 Ontario, Canada

Thursday, July 21

A pleasant 61 degrees this morning.  We emptied tanks and then found a boardwalk trail.  Not a lot going on, mainly red-winged blackbirds and frogs, but it was a nice walk.

They really do sit on lily pads sometimes

This one appears to be meditating

Back on the road, we head towards Ottawa.  Time for an oil change, so we find a Canadian Tire shop, but they can't lift the Trek, and send us a few blocks away to "Monsieur Lub" - Mister Lube.  We have about a twenty minute wait, but the people are pleasant.  Driving through Ottawa, we are impressed with the variety of restaurants we pass - Lebanese, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Indian, New Orleans, TX Lonestar Grill and more.

From here we decide to take "the high road",  northern route 417, to North Bay.  Lots of logging trucks, trees and rocks, rocks and trees.  We have encountered quite a bit of road work and some roads, especially in Ottawa, that really need it! We encounter the first of several detours around bridge work.

We pass several bays on Lake Huron and reach North Bay about 5 PM, in the rain.

 We decide to do the Walmart routine tonight but first head to a restaurant called Dave's Green Papaya for some vegetable tempura and Thai fried rice.

Friday, July 22

We stop at E Duchesnay Falls on the way out of North Bay.  Had read about it but there are no signs and the trails are pretty rugged.  The Falls are more like a long cascade, but quite pretty.

We stop at an overlook to Lake Nipissing, and enjoy breakfast and the view.

Then drive on to Sudbury, where we visit their library for a couple of hours.  Nice library and the librarian is pushing us to stay in town for the evening Greek Festival.

With all the lakes, we see many signs for boat launches and fishing piers, and places like "Nibbler's Fish and Chips - One bite and you're hooked!"  Walleye is the preferred fish around here.

We've decided to head north on route 108 to Elliot Lake and beyond, hoping we might encounter some wildlife.   The

road is called the Deer Trail Touring route. It is mostly a simple, rough asphalt road.   And the only deer we see are these statues at a welcome center as we begin.

 The day is windy and reaches the mid-80s.  We stop for photos now and then - just gorgeous!

 and end up at Mississagi Provincial Park.  We have second thoughts when we see the stop sign at the entrance -

 There is also a "don't feed the bears" sign, but the ranger tells us they haven't seen any yet this season, and actually don't see much wildlife in the park at all.  Oh well.

We find a nice campsite and Greg sets up a fire for later tonight.  Then we take the 7KM Helenbar trail ..  Very few mosquitos.

Large errata left by a glacier

View of Helenbar Lake

A bit of beach near our campsite.

There are a few other campers, but it is very quiet. No showers here and we are back to pit toilets.  We review pictures and have a big salad with chicken for dinner.  Nice night as the temps drop to around 60 - cool enough for a fire!