Friday, June 22

Marathon to Sioux Ste. Marie

A long day on the road today. Our first stop of the day was Wawa, Ontario. One of the reasons for getting the van’s engine overhauled was that I had a dread of it breaking down in Wawa. On the map it just looks like a place so far from everything. Well, it is far from a lot of things but it’s a busy little town.

I took the opportunity to visit their Canadian Tire store. (See, I said it was happening place.) Yesterday morning I broke my plastic bodum type coffee press and had had to make due with instant coffee for two mornings.(Fortunately Ute was no longer with us.) I found a serviceable looking glass press and it turns out that the old one’s little neoprene jacket sort of fits it. This Canadian Tire store was not very big but it was crammed top to bottom and side to side. I’d bet that it had as much merchandise as the Douglas Street Canadian Tire in Victoria.

I felt a bit silly having Eliot on his leash as the dogs in town seemed to wander at large. And another odd thing. When I crossed the street a man with a stop sign rushed out into the middle of the street to stop traffic … of which there was none. It was around lunch time so perhaps school children would soon be coming by. I noticed that there was another man further down the street with another stop sign. We jaywalked to avoid the mild embarrassment of having him stop traffic for us.

Wawa is famous for its big goose which greets visitors as they enter town. The original was apparently built of chicken wire and plaster (don’t quote me on that) to mark the completion of the Lake Superior stretch of the Trans Canada Highway. The original barely survived its first winter and so the powers that be in Wawa decided to commission a goose to be constructed of steel made from Algoma iron ore.

The new goose is holding up quite well although there are a few rusty bits. Time for a new paint job, I’d guess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The visitor’s centre also had these lawn chairs on their deck for use by weary travellers.

And I thought these Gitchee Goomees were really fun.

And the canoe is doing well in Wawa … at least symbolically.

We’ve ended the day at an RV park on St. Joseph’s Island just southeast of Sioux Ste. Marie. It’s practically surrounded by the U.S.A. And there’s a bridge so no ferry is required. A lot of the sites in this RV Park seem to be permanent or summer places. Still everyone is very friendly as I appear to be the only one staying just for the evening.

A little while ago a young fellow drove by in his SUV and rolled to a stop. I looked up and he said: “That is SO cute!” I thought he was referring to Eliot and said: “Yeah, he’s a pretty cute dog.” But he said: “No, the van. It’s really cute. Can I take a picture?”

Turned out he’d never seen a VW Westfalia before. I had been thinking that I’ve not seen a single one since leaving B.C. And I’ve gotten some strange looks when I’ve rolled into some gas stations.

On to Sudbury tomorrow. Hope I can find the big nickle.