We are travelling this week. We have chosen to take the northern route across Lake Superior and will end up visiting our son in Barrie and relatives in Inglewood and Waterloo. We have taken the route many times in the past and every trip we are reminded of how the highways and passing lanes make the trip so much easier. So too this year. In the past we did the route in two long days. This year we drove less and saw more.
This year we have discovered that Ontarians have taken to heart to “Discover Ontario.” And licence plates from British Columbia to Nova Scotia have been seen even in the smallest communities across the north. We have also discovered that convoys of Ontario vehicles are travelling north and if one could do a snapshot of the north, you would probably have discovered Northern Ontario’s population had doubled.
There has been a great deal of publicity given to small communities like Rainy River, Red Rock, Bruce Mines, Thessalon, and Blind River that have caught travellers attention. Just try and find a room across the north on same-day need. It is impossible. Even the ferry from Tobermory to South Bay Mouth on Manitoulin Island was completely sold out for the midday departure three weeks in advance. That is a sign of the popularity of Ontario’s true north.
One might expect traffic to reduce once you travel above the French River, yet it remained strong and almost continuous from Sault Ste. Marie through Wawa, White River and to Marathon.
We stayed at the historic Red Rock Inn. It is a handsome old inn, existing today much as it did almost 90 years ago. We enjoyed a pickerel supper at Melly Bee’s restaurant that is part of the recreation complex of the community. We toured the well-done interpretive centre of the community. It was a worthwhile stop.
The next day we arrived in Bruce Mines and enjoyed ice cream cones featuring Kawartha Lakes ice cream. The portions were large, and the owner provided much information about the community. Walking down to the marina we spoke with boaters from Michigan who had either sailed or motored up across Lake Huron making stopes at ports in Canada along their route.
We skipped by the Sault, Sudbury and Parry Sound, but found our way to the French River Provincial Park and museum. The museum is well done presenting information about this key waterway in the development of Canada and the fur trade. Lady Frances Simpson, who Fort Frances was named after, had many of her diary pages spoked aloud, as did her husband George.
In the past in our hurries, we have driven past many of these communities wondering how they got their start. This year several have provided us with the answer. It is not too late to “Discover Ontario.”
