Manitoba to Northern Saskatchewan

 

A glimpse of any wildlife makes my day. This distant little bear was following his Mother and siblings across the road in front of two cars. They have plenty of seasonal berries to eat at the moment but they need to fatten up in order to survive the winter hibernation.

The day after this picture was taken Stephen was put off visiting the washrooms in the campsite as there was a bear hanging around outside!

An inquisitive white tailed deer.

This is the world's largest Tee pee! 70 feet high. That takes a lot of covering.

Many of the 1000's of lakes in this region are only accessed by float plane, motor boat or canoe. We stayed at Jan Lake and met a lovely couple who took us for a boat trip as the sun was going down. They have 30 miles of lake system to enjoy.

We headed further into Northern Saskatchewan visiting the town of La Ronge and the legendary shop, Robertson's Trading Post, the one stop shop for anglers and hunters. You can buy anything from baked beans to a bear trap, fashion to hand made clothes and moccasins and of course trade in your pelts.

After meeting some canoeists in the pretty Nutpoint campsite just outside La Ronge, we were enticed yet further north up the dirt road to Stanley Mission, a Cree Indian settlement, to watch a canoe race. The beautiful Churchill river here makes it 5th in the 'best spot to canoe in Canada', (so we were told).
The race was 45 minutes of flat out paddling round an island and back twice!

The church is Saskatchewan's oldest building constructed from hardwood logs cut by aboriginals in 1860.
It is only accessible by boat.

 

Prince Albert Provincial Park

Returning south to Prince Albert National Park we met this Elk and young at the side of the road whilst  walking.

Saskatoon

We are now in Saskatoon, now the largest city in Saskatchewan, where the landscape has changed from lakes and forests to arable farmland and prairie. Coyote country. We saw a large one yesterday brazenly checking out an empty campsite. (No picture unfortunately.)

Fort William, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Again, as with previous historical sites we have visited, we were treated as if we were part of it all and our hosts were impressed by our long canoe journey, all the way from England!

We were welcomed by a trapper for the North West Company. He was representing a member of the Ojibwe, first nation group of trappers. He proudly showed us his furs of fox, beaver and others, especially the white fox winter fur, prized by European woman of the 1800's.

His cosy Wigwam, made of Birch bark,sewn together with roots and lined with furs and fir branches to keep the snakes from sliding in, was surprisingly spacious with a central fireplace.

We were told that a Wigwam is a permanent structure as opposed to a Tee pee, which is more transportable and covered with skin or cloth.

The doctor's wife showed us her husband's instruments for curing the effects of a bad diet and extracting bad teeth!
Oh and if you needed your toes cut off because of a bad case of trench foot, the cocktail of rum, opium and camphor was on the menu.

The drying room of furs did not have the authentic odour of the time, luckily.

Here the furs were pressed, baled and wrapped in canvas to be carried by the French voyageurs by foot and canoe to their destination.

This back breaking work was called 'portage'. They would carry two of these bales at a time for maybe six miles between lakes.
They would have to move the bales 100 metres at a time then go back and forth to get the rest and of course the canoe, until they reached the next strip of water.

The canoes were also made from birch bark and lined with cedar with bitumen to seal the joints.

All good business for the Scottish gentleman running the company whilst beaver felt hats and furs were fashionable.

Scenic drive through old Canada and into Ontario's beautiful parks

Having focused on major cities for many days it has been good to get out into the countryside and forests, again.

We stopped to look at the oldest remaining covered bridge in Canada (covered to protect it from the weather), in Zuber Corner, near Elmira in Ontario.

Here we came upon a Mennonite community.
We bought the freshest blueberries we have found
and homemade cakes from the Mennonite shop,
opposite the bridge car park.

Similar to the Amish, the Mennonites basic values are family, humility, simplicity, modesty, and pacifism. 'Man' was rather a contrast to the black buggies we saw coming and going.

Lake Superior 

Lake Superior Provincial park

This picture looks like a beach at the seaside but is in fact at the Agawa Campground alongside Lake Superior.

The sites were right on the beach if you were lucky and had the usual fire pit. We enjoyed a great steak cooked above the logs followed by a moody sunset.

Next day we scrambled precariously along some rocks to see a few pictographs painted in red ochre on the rock face by first nations people 150-400 years ago. You can only see them when the lake is calm, so we were lucky. And we didn't fall into the lake!

Two of the Agawa Rock pictographs. A mysterious animal and snake depicting a story ?

From one story to another

If it's not 'Winnie'. Stopping at White River on the main road I had to take a picture of the original Winnie the Pooh.
The story goes that an army captain from Winnipeg bought a baby black bear from a hunter in White River. He named it 'Winnie', short for Winnipeg, after his home town. When he was called up to serve his country abroad he sent the bear to London Zoo for safe keeping.
A.A Milne's son, Christopher Robin, took a liking to the adorable bear when visiting London Zoo and the Winnie the Pooh stories were created by his father. 
Eventually Disney purchased the stories and the rest is history.

This Winnie had to be changed slightly by the town, to avoid copyright infringement.

Pukaskwa National Park

Still alongside Lake Superior, another beautiful Park, this time Pukaskwa National Park.
We stayed in Hatties Cove and enjoyed a few trails that took us through humid forest, driftwood strewn beaches and great views of the lake. No Black Bears or the elusive herd of Caribou but plenty of berries for them to eat. I am sure they know which ones are poisonous!

A gorgeous Newfoundland who had been enjoying the water. Aah!

Lake Superior's average water temperature is a chilling 4C. The beach shallows are a little warmer.

Yet another....

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

30km off the main road another beautiful park perfect for relaxing, hiking and canoeing. Our campsite was spacious.

With its own stairway, to our own beach.

And the head of the Duck welcoming committee to great us. Luckily, not the Skunks as a fellow camper endured!

The peninsula in the distance in the shape of a reclining man is the Sleeping Giant, considered to be a sacred place for years.

A very peaceful spot.

 

Niagara Falls from top to bottom

 

There are two awesome falls.
The ones on the left are on the USA side and the falls far right are on the Canadian side.
The border sits in the middle of the water. We didn't see anybody defecting!

The Canadian Falls are horse shoe shaped. The boat 'Maid of the Mist', a privately run boat from a fleet, takes a boat full of tourists every 15 minutes! She heads right into the force of the falls.

We donned the complimentary blue rain capes and enjoyed the very same.
You get battered by the spray as the boat fights to keep position against the current.




Back on dry land we were treated to vivid, long lasting rainbows to create a fantasy/mystical mood.

You can stand remarkably close at the top of the falls, lean over the wall and watch the water pour over the edge into what seems like a large, steaming cauldron.

  Or stand along side and peer up at
 the enormous curtain of water

We stayed to enjoy a romantic dinner in the restaurant overlooking
the falls to end an exciting day and they kindly illuminated it for us!