Back in Ontario

We’re back in Ontario Canada again. If you’ll remember, the western section of The Great Northern Auto route, US-2,  ended abruptly in St. Ignace Michigan. The Great Lakes got in the way. The eastern section of US-2 resumes in upstate New York and the quickest, most interesting way to get there is through Ontario. So here we are again in Ontario…  déjà vu all over again.

Day 30 - A hard rain fell all night, tapered off sometime in the early morning and by the time we had done a few housekeeping chores and were ready to leave, the sun was shining. We headed back to the trans Canada Highway (17E).

Notably, the Trans Canada Highway is the  longest road in Canada and travels through all ten Canadian provinces from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The main route spans 4,645 miles (7,476 km) across the country, one of the longest routes of its type in the world. Its iconic green maple leaf logo is seen all along the highway which, by the way, is typically only a 2-lane road.

As we drove, we saw signs for the Lake Huron Circle Route. We resisted all temptation to detour around another lake, but it certainly presented possibilities for a future road trip… circling all the Great Lakes. A little detour, however, took us to Thessalon, “a little town with big dreams”, that sits on the shores of Lake Huron. The water was crystal clear and sparkling in the sunshine. Time for a toe dip.

Traffic was slow due to lots of construction. We stopped frequently waiting in long lines for pilots cars to usher us along single lanes of the highway.

Sudbury is known for its hard rock mining…nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, gold, and silver. After consulting Atlas Obscura, we decided we’d head into the city in search of the “Big Nickel”. In front of the Dynamic Earth Museum, there it was in all its splendor, a very big nickel.  A 30’ tall replica of a 1951 Canadian nickel was erected in 1964 as a monument to Sudbury’s nickel industry and its workers. Possibly the world’s largest coin, it’s constructed of stainless steel and weighs a whopping 14.3 tons.

Back on the TransCan Highway, we came to a police roadblock and the road was suddenly closed. We had to detour about a mile, but got back on without difficulty. We went another mile and the road was closed again. We took another mile or so detour and resumed the trip only to be stopped once more with no side roads or local detours available. The police would not comment on the problem or when it would be resolved. We were only told that Highway 17 was closed. The only detour was some 75 miles out of the way. That sounded like way too much effort. It was mid-afternoon and we decided to stay at the local Comfort Inn in Sturgeon Falls. We learned later that there was a serious accident further up the road with fatalities. Highway 17 had reopened around 8pm.

Day 31 - We drove the final 260-mile leg into Ottawa. It was cool and overcast, but pleasant enough. We drove past what seemed like hundreds of little ponds and lakes, most with water lilies floating gracefully at the water’s edge. We learned later that Canada, the world’s second largest country, by the way, has ~880,000 lakes larger than 25 acres. That’s a lot of lakes and it accounts for the fact that Canada has 20% of the world’s fresh water. Wish they’d share some with Las Vegas!

We finally arrived at Poplar Grove Campground & Park. It was definitely a park past its prime, but it suited our purposes for a few nights. The staff was friendly and helpful and the location close to the city was great. We pitched the screen house to take advantage of the lovely weather without having to swat mosquitoes and flies.

Day 32- It’s Canada Day here. Like celebrating the 4th of July in the USA, except, of course, they’re still part of the British Commonwealth and the USA is not. Yes, I realize that Canada Day is celebrated on July 1st and this blog is a couple weeks late. Gotta live it before you can write it and there’s so much to share sometimes, it takes awhile to get it all together.

Rather than drive Blanche into downtown Ottawa, we left her in a Park & Ride and took the bus downtown. ‘No need to pay on Canada Day’… all public transit was free.

We were heading for LeBreton Flats Park, the site of the major Canada Day festivities. It turned out to be quite an ordeal since most of the paths, walkways, and roads into the park were closed and only one entrance was open. We did get some good views of Parliament Hill in the distance though.

We reckoned we walked about five miles before we found the entrance. Security was very tight. We were scanned on entry.

There were scads of people there. Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, had been there earlier to deliver a Canada Day speech. A live band was performing on stage. There were all the typical booths and tents and kiosks and food truck fare. I had my heart still set on a Beavertail pastry, but the line was so long, I gave up. We walked around about an hour and headed into the city following the path of the Ottawa River. Quebec was just on the other side.

Wellington Street is the main thoroughfare which took us past all the Gothic Revival government buildings of Parliament Hill… the Supreme Court of Canada,  the Prime Minister’s Offices, the Senate, the House of Commons and the Peace Tower. All quite grand.

We passed St. Andrew’s Church, built in 1828, it’s the oldest Presbyterian church in Ottawa.

As we walked along, a protest parade was in progress… the Freedom Convoy (no semis involved) were protesting pandemic mandates, Trudeau and we’re not sure what else. Not so different than in the USA. It was loud and ‘colorful’, but peaceful.

The highlight of the afternoon was lunch at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Built in 1912 in the same Gothic Revival style as the Parliament Hill buildings, it was and is one of the grande dame railroad hotels of the past century. It’s a bit rich for our hotel budget, but a splurge lunch was perfect.

After lunch, we walked along the Rideau Canal. Today folks were boating on the canal, but in winter they skate.

We caught a bus back to the Park & Ride and returned to the campground in time for the local Canada Day fireworks which were clearly visible from our campsite. A great way to end the day.

Day 33- The day dawned bright and sunny. It’s not far from Ottawa back to the USA. We crossed the international border at Cornwall, driving across the St. Lawrence River on the Three Nations Crossing Bridge in recognition that it connects the Akweasne Mohawk Territory, a self-governing nation, to the United States and Canada.

We were in and out of New York in the snap of a finger and crossing the bridge into Vermont and driving on US-2 once again. We’re back on the Great Northern at last!

US-2 wends its way south hugging the shores of Lake Champlain, crossing the bridges and causeways that connect the beautiful Champlain Islands. We hadn’t made any reservations (what’s new?) and a holiday weekend was approaching. We tried all the state parks without any luck and other than the most expensive hotels, everything was booked in and around Burlington. After a bit more research, I found the Champlain Landing Resort Campground on Grand Isle in the middle of Lake Champlain. I had no illusions about them having space, but I called anyway. Emma, an ex-pat Brit, said she’d find space for us for a couple of nights. Wow! The campsite was grassy and spacious and a stone’s throw from the lake.

The Grand Isle to Plattsburgh, NY ferry runs 24x7, 365 days a year. The 2-mile crossing takes only 14 minutes. The ferry saves about 50 miles of driving and costs $11.25 for car & driver and $5/passenger. We could hear the ferry as it motored past during the night.

The sunsets on the lake were outstanding.

Day 34 - We hadn’t been able to ride our new bikes much since we left Las Vegas and here was our chance. The Champlain Islands are very bike-friendly and we’d decided on a couple days of biking for a change. We decided to start easy with a 10-mile round trip to the Snow Farm Vineyards.

The ride to the vineyards and time at the vineyards was delightful. On the return trip, however, David’s bike pedal fell off. He had the tools to fix it, but the crank arm was stripped. Really? Other than one downhill segment, we did a hike-a-bike back to Champlain Landing. Grrr!

Day 35 - Another gorgeous sunny day, but no bike ride. We called the local REI in Williston, VT and they told us to bring it in. We figured the chances of them having the correct part were nil, but we were hoping they’d figure something out. The bike mechanic was a knowledgeable young lady named Bridget. She not only had the part and installed it, but checked out the rest of the bike, too while we waited in the store.

Most of the day was wasted, but we still had time for a walk. We’d intended to bike the 13.4 mile Island Line Rail Trail, but instead we walked a part of it in order to see the bike ferry. A section of the old railroad track has been removed to create a channel for boats to pass.

The Local Motion bike ferry operates during the summer months and transports bikes and passengers 200’ across the cut. It’s a pretty short ride. The ferry operates as a free service, but donations are greatly appreciated and highly suggested.

One thing about walking, you can take time to observe and smell the roses or whatever other flowers happen to be in bloom. In this case, we spotted some Indian blankets and a tall thimbleweed. Both interesting finds.

Back at the campground, we watched the Plattsburgh holiday fireworks across the lake. Good show, not much noise. A fun and productive day. We packed up our gear before retiring for the night. It’s time to move on.

Join us next time as we at last complete our Great Northern journey through Vermont, New Hampshire and into Maine. We’ll celebrate by dipping our toes into the Atlantic… and eating Maine lobster.