August 31, 2014 Rossport, Ontario to WaWa, Ontario

Unsalted and shark free. Two reasons to choose Superior over an ocean.

It all depends on the weather and the weather says “Yes.” The day dawns clear and beautiful and bright. So, we contract with Superior Outfitters for a tandem kayak and paddle out into/onto the placid waters of Rossport Harbor.

And the day is perfection and the lake is inviting. We’ve are given a “route” around Nicol Island, which takes a little more than an hour of paddling alternated with silent drifting while absorbing our surroundings. The water is so clear that we can see the rocky underpinnings of the island until they drop deeply off. Loons keep us company and wildflowers punctuate the shoreline.  Did I say perfection?

Rainbow Falls flows out of Lake Superior to form the Hewitson River. We follow a boardwalk trail downstream, (180 more stairs), along the rushing river to a bridge over a narrow gorge where we stand to watch the water twist and turn and splash on its way.

Rainbow Falls

Totally different and more dramatic is Aquasabon Falls. As we step down a lengthy staircase to a viewing area each person we meet says “it’s worth it.” And indeed it is.

The falls froth over a high crag and cascade into a deep constricted ravine and then disappear into the mixed greens of the forest.  Worth it.

Aquasabon Falls

In White River is a rather large statue of Winnie Pooh.  The bear A.A Milne based his stories on was orphaned near White River when a hunter killed her mother. She was adopted by a soldier who named her Winnipeg, after his hometown. She was eventually donated to the London Zoo where she became a favorite attraction. There she won the hearts of A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin. It was Christopher who added the “Pooh” to her name.

A statue of the real Winnie can be found at the London Zoo. The inscription reads in part:

 “She gave her name to “Winnie-the-Pooh” and A.A. Milne and Ernest Shepard gave “Winnie-the-Pooh” to the rest of the world.”

PS: Ernest Shepard is the illustrator who created the image that we know (before Disney Studios turned her into a cartoon).

Therefore, White River is where Winnie the Pooh was born. No disputing it. No kidding.

Young’s General Store in WaWa is jam-packed with meticulously organized merchandise. It has an old-fashioned feel with long counters. The hand-operated cash registers have big fat buttons that look like they take some muscle to depress.

Rest Rooms at Young's (fully functional)

We opt to eat in the dining room of the Best Northern Motel where Polish cooking and pierogis highlight the menu. I try the beef, chicken and sauerkraut pierogi. Jim sticks to steak.

August 30 Thunder Bay, Ontario to Rossport, Ontario

We hang around Thunder Bay this morning. Breakfast is at Hoito, a non-profit restaurant located in the basement of the Finnish Labour Temple.  Hoito means “care” in Finnish. The restaurant was started as a co-operative to provide reasonably priced home-cooked meals to Finnish workers. It’s well known for the thin, crispy Finnish pancakes they serve. We wait in line for a table, and end up at the coffee counter with several grizzled regulars who stop for coffee, leaving tips of a quarter. I have porridge and Brez has the pancakes and eggs. The service is unhurried and a bit disorganized which does not win favor with Jim. The waitress wins him over though and they discuss the restaurant’s decision to remove the coffee counter for more table seating, (bad idea).

We stop to view Kakabeka Falls known as the “Niagara of the North”. It’s just off the road and an easy walk to the viewing platform. In Ojibwe, Kakabeka means waterfall over a cliff. Perfect description. Refreshing stop.

Fort Williams Historical Park is a recreation of the fur trading post, as it existed in 1815. Interesting to note that Grand Portage, (where we stopped yesterday) was relocated to Fort Williams when the Grand Portage area was ceded to the United States and the international border was settled. The park is not on the original site of the fort, (supposedly a mosquito infested swamp), but consists of 42 buildings constructed in the original style and using the techniques of the 1800’s. Canoes drift on the Kaministiquia River; the stockade raises its pointy moss-covered spikes enclosing the simple community, the Native encampment huddles in the nearby forest. Individuals in period dress go about their day-to-day activities but are eager to stop and engage we people from the future who have invaded their space.

Furs in the Trading Shed

Trade Goods

Weighing Furs

Bark Stockpiled for Canoe Building

Voyageurs Bunkhouse

Indian Encampment

Our drive today takes us past Ouimet (We-met) Canyon Provincial Park. It’s off the road a bit on a winding road away from the lake. It’s a bit of a walk to two viewing platforms suspended out over the canyon, but the views are outstanding. The sheer cliffs drop down 330 feet on either side of an almost 500 foot wide gorge that runs for about a mile.

Nearby is a privately owned suspension bridge and zip line across the canyon. If the road into the complex had been paved, we’d have done the walk, (not the zip line). However, the gravel road surface was deemed to be not Porsche worthy.

In Rossport we stay at the Serendipity Guest House. When we check in they hand us a hatbox filled with breakfast items to put in the room frig. We have dinner in their café. Although Rossport is a tiny town, (less than 100 people), every table in the café is taken. The food is delicious, (red fin trout from the lake and fresh blueberry shortcake).

We stroll home in the silent dusk.

August 29, Duluth, Minnesota to Thunder Bay, Ontario

It’s true, looking out at Lake Superior is like gazing at the ocean. There is nothing on the other side but sky.

After a hearty breakfast at the Duluth Grill, where we shared the counter with an ex-Navy man, (20 years of service, 13 years at sea), we opt to take the 19-mile scenic highway along the lake. Soon enough we’ll join highway 61 for the remainder of the trip to Thunder Bay.

In Knife River we stop at the Great Lakes Candy Company. A friend recommended their salted caramels before we left. When we told them we’d driven all the way from Washington State to try their caramels they insisted we take a tour of the kitchen where the candy is hand stirred in copper kettles. A batch of air crunch was rising in an enormous copper bowl. A mixture of baking soda and vinegar gets the process going and the finished product tastes like malted milk balls, (ergo the air). They were delighted to have their picture taken and kindly stuffed my pockets with free samples as I was leaving. We purchased a supply of salted caramels to share with friends, (IF they make it back to Spokane, and the odds are not good).

Gooseberry Falls is known as the Gateway to the North Shore, so we really have to stop even though it has started to rain….actually pour. We whip out the smiley face umbrella and take the ½ mile trail to the falls. We keep the water off our heads, but splash plenty on our clothing. The falls are pretty, but Brez has to buy a cheap windbreaker in the visitor’s center so he can take off his very soaked pullover, (yes, he only packed one).

Gooseberry Falls

As a result of “the storm of the century”, (30 foot waves, 60 mph winds and a temperature of 13 below zero), that sank 9 ships in 1905, Split Rock Lighthouse was built. A crew of workers who were paid $21 a week completed it in 1909. There was no road, (until 1934), so tenders brought supplies (and people) to the base of the rocks and a hoist and derrick system lifted it all up the sheer rock face. People were hoisted in a bucket. The rock base is so substantial that the lighthouse is only 54 feet tall.

Split Rock Light

There was no electricity until 1940. The light was a vaporized kerosene lamp that could be seen for 22 miles. It burned 1 gallon of kerosene a night and the keepers spent much of the daylight hours cleaning the kerosene soot from the glass. In heavy weather the foghorns sounded every 18 seconds and they were so loud the windows of the light station were reinforced with chicken wire to hold them in their frames.

The original lens is still in place. It sits on a base that floats on an encased pool of mercury, (7½ quarts). The lens and pedestal weigh ¾ of a ton. A weight dropped with the pull of gravity turning the lens (silently) using perpetual motion. The weight needed to be cranked up every two hours so it could drop again.

The light station housed 3 keepers in 3 identical houses.

In 1969 it was replaced by radar. In 1971 it became a historic site.

Shovel Point is supposed to afford a stunning view of the lake. The rain has left behind a foggy atmosphere and the .6 of a mile trail is damp and slippery. BUT, we won’t be back this way any time soon so off we set. The trail follows a boardwalk and we count 250 stair steps before we arrive at the finish line. The fog adds an unexpected dimension to the view, giving the tree line a softened edge and the peninsulas an indistinct smudgy silhouette. Beautiful.

View From Shovel Point

250 Steps (Both Ways)

We buzz through Grand Marais and then on to Grand Portage National Monument.

This is a living monument. Volunteers are dressed in period costume throughout the recreated rendezvous. They staff the display areas and share historical information with visitors. This is the place where the Ojibwa came with their furs to meet the men of the North West Company from Montreal to trade for goods and supplies.

In the canoe warehouse we learned how birch bark canoes were constructed. This was the means of transportation used by both Indian and French-Canadian trader.

Canoe Warehouse

Canoes in the Rafters

The birch bark was peeled from the tree by a vertical cut that allowed the bark to be “unwrapped” from the trunk but did not kill the tree. The best bark was cut in July when it was full of sap. The canoes are built on a frame, sewn with spruce root and sealed with sap. They lasted two years. The gunnels are ash and the planking and ribs are cedar. A 40-foot canoe, weighs 450 pounds and carries 8100 pounds of cargo and crew. The men paddled in sync at 45 to 60 reps per minute.

Between Montreal and Grand Portage there were 36 portages. On the overland treks ach man carried two ninety-pound bales plus their own provisions. Four men carried the canoe. The portages totaled 1300 miles and took two months at around 20 miles a day.

Stockade at Grand Portage

Outdoor Oven

The Lake from Grand Portage

Indian Encampment

We cross the border into Ontario at Pigeon River and lose another hour. We’re now on Eastern Time. It’ll feel good to get those hours back!

Dinner at Bistro One. A 5 star experience in what looks like a commercial zone. An entire head of roasted garlic comes with the fresh bread and butter. Lobster mac and cheese and roasted pork on noodles with fresh veggies send us to bed content.