Trans-Canada

Our trip across Canada from Ottawa to Fernie, and in the next few days Vancouver, has been amazing. I'm not sure that words can describe the absolute beauty of this country. I'm splitting the trip into provinces, sort of a five-part series, and will post the best shots and write about the best memories of the trip.

      Along the way we encountered several abandoned

      buildings, including an old residential school a farmhouse.

 Part 1: Not-so-terrible Ontario

It took us two nights and three days to get across Ontario, in total driving more than 2,000 kilometres. Granted we had a really slow start, I'm glad we didn't rush through the province but instead took our time and stopped at interesting places along the way.

We left Ottawa Monday morning and drove straight on until Massey, ON. (roughly 7 hours) camping at Chutes Provinicial Park for the night. We set up our tent in the dark, with mosquitoes, and then scarfed down potatoes and ham on the fire before passing out.

Stopping along Lake Superior, where there are pot holes (left),
where rocks have ground down to form deep holes in the bedrock. 

The next morning we checked out the Chutes waterfall before driving to just outside Sault Ste. Marie (another 8 hours). We drove along Lake Superior making several stops, skipping stones and running on sandy beaches, and even stopping at Chippewa Falls (anyone who's an avid Titanic fan knows the relevance of this place). We saw the most amazing sunset and then ventured down dirt roads near midnight trying to find a suitable place to tent near Marathon, ON. We had to pay $35 the day before to camp, and didn't want to again.

We ended up on a dirt road next to a railway track. It was freezing, but the moon was the brightest I've ever seen it, and when you're exhausted it doesn't matter where you sleep.

The third day in Ontario, we drove from Marathon to Winnipeg, Mb. We only had a few stops but they were remarkable. We stopped at the Terry Fox memorial outside Thunder Bay, and it was truly so emotional. There's a large statue and the story of Terry is written on the stone. He ran 27 miles a day and made it to 12 kilometres outside Thunder Bay. 

And lastly, we made a stop at Kakabeka Falls, where my mom and dad had stopped back in 1984 after they were married. The falls were like stepping stones, and an old legend says that an Ojibwa princess led her captures over the falls in attempt to save her tribe. 

We swam in Kenora and then just a few minutes later crossed into Manitoba on Aug. 25. Ontario is beautiful, is covered in lakes and if you haven't ever seen it, I suggest you do. 

Ben and I at Katherine Cove on Lake Superior.