Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
We were up early to an overcast day. It was great having all the company for the night. There were nine of us camping there in the “Wally Park” parking lot at Thunder Bay.
I managed to make contact with Lee, VE2QA, who was in contact with Dave, VE2EDB, on the Trans Provincial Net on 7055 kilohertz. Lee told Dave my location. It felt good to be that close again.
Joan went in to the Wal-Mart while I took down the HF antenna and unblocked the trailer. She came out and said McDonald’s was open for business. So Joan and I went in for coffee and an Egg McMuffin.
Right after that we walked over to the computer store across the other parking lot. We learned what we suspected. The computer went dead while I was talking to Dave, VE3EGC, yesterday. The battery had gone dead without warning. We simply plugged it in and saved everything up to where I had called Dave.
We then went back to the trailer and got on the road at 9:48AM. It was an overcast day that improved as we went along to the point we wore our sun glasses most of the day.
Joan and I have no idea how stupid we could be. We took no photographs while at Thunder Bay. None. Zilch. It is too bad we did not own at least two cameras. Dang we are getting stupid. Actually we both are kind of homesick. Dermot was the last on the list who was not family that we wanted to visit. Both Joan and I hate to see this excursion end. It has been a lot of fun. The things I have written about here simply remind us of many other things that have happened.
Have you ever been passed by a helicopter on the highway? The guy driving this pickup drove it like one who flies that helicopter. He was always ten or fifteen klicks above the limit. I saw him back there and wondered what the heck was coming and before I knew it I had a helicopter passing. He pulled into the Husky Oil Station at Nipigon and was there just ahead of us.
Joan, the navigator, came up with the Wawa RV Park at Wawa for the next camping spot.
We spotted a Black Bear we felt was about two or three years old walking down the hill on the right side of the road more or less next to the road. We were unable to get a photograph of it.
It was a long old day and the road was rough. We pulled into the Husky Oil Station at Nipigon at 11:25AM. We took on board 58.367 litres of diesel at $1.239 per litre for a total of $72.32. While there with the other big rigs one of their drivers came up and asked me if I was heading south on 17. I said I was and he advised me the O.P.P. - the Ontario Provincial Police – had a road block down the road checking seat belts, etc. I said that is great and I will enjoy a chat with them because I am convinced they are Canada's finest police force.
He was right. We did not go far and there they were. One O.P.P. Car on each side of the road and the two constables were standing in the middle of the road chatting. They had their blue and red beacons flashing on both cars. I switched on my four ways so that there would be lots of flashing red lights for those behind. We pulled up and had a great chat with the young constable working my side of the road. He was quite interested in our trip. Joan had given me three good strong breath mints and I made sure he got a good wiff when we first stopped. He wanted to know if I had any booze. It was a great visit while it lasted.
We continued on down 17 East and it is rather pretty with Lake Superior on the right side often and if not a multitude of smaller lakes. They all were full and overflowing.
This is one of Joan's scenery photos. It looks as though we are going to drive right into Lake Superior.
At 3:55PM we pulled into the Husky Station at White River. We took on 70.210 litres of diesel at $1.325 for a total of $93.03. It is getting expensive.
We pulled off into a snowplow turnout and had a half hour snooze at one point. Just as we pulled off an O.P.P. Car pulled into the one across from us. I thought he might have something to say but he simply turned around and went after the two American cars that had passed us. At least that appeared to be his interest. The highway down through here is cluttered with O.P.P. Vehicles. A lot of the pickups we have seen have a boat and trailer on behind. How they can fish with the water so high is beyond me. Maybe they are just headed to their camps to get things ready for this season.
We kept coming after our snooze and pulled into the Wawa RV Resort and Campground, the official label, at 4:54PM.
The mileage Thunder Bay to Wawa, Ontario was 480 kilometres.
The Wawa RV Campground is one of the better campgrounds we have been in. I blocked up the trailer and put up the HF antenna. Joan got supper ready and after supper headed to the laundromat. It is amazing how the laundry piles up. We may be too clean.
This is the truck and trailer in site 70 the Wawa RV Campground.
This is looking down the road in the campground in front of our site 70. The next camper, the class C Motorhome is from Canning, Nova Scotia. He recently retired from the Department of Highways and is touring across Canada. He knows Roscoe Construction and Oscar and Nancy's Meat Market and all that good stuff. We are now meeting the East Coasters heading West.
This is the Wawa RV Campground Office looking out from inside the campground.
Joan did laundry all evening. She did the mats and what have you. She wanted all the clothes I am wearing and that would have left me sitting here in the nude. Not a pretty sight at all. She can do them with her next batch of laundry.
This Wifi is typical Wifi. It is worth what we paid for it and nothing more. We paid nothing for it and that is what it is worth. It has taken all evening to get my records off to Robert. We will answer our emails if we can.
With that another interesting day became history.