14th June 2018

A very pleasant night’s sleep was brought to an abrupt end by a thunderstorm and torrential rain at around 8 am. We were reluctant to make an early start on today’s adventure, hoping the rain clouds would move on. By the time we finally loaded up the car, it was 10 am, and it was still raining, a decidedly chilly 7°C!

Our host during last night’s splendid meal was Trinidadian and had told us that she had lived in Wawa for the past 30 years. She had fallen in love with the area while travelling between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa and she decided to make it her home. Sue had looked up today’s route and discovered that it is listed as one of the nine best road trips in North America. It didn’t look very likely that we would be seeing it at its best today.

For the first half-hour, we saw very little of the beautiful coastline we were following, apart from the occasional murky bay glimpsed through rivulets of water marching across the windows.

When the rain eventually eased, we seized the opportunity to pull into one of the beauty spots, joining a couple of other travellers. Oooooo, it was chilly! But the view at Old Lady’s Beach was still impressive, even under a sombre sky. Low clouds whipped across waves that seemed to thrash at each other in a frantic race to the shore. It gave meaning to the story outlined on a nearby information board about the foundering of a large iron ore freighter in the 1960s, during the worst storm ever recorded on Lake Superior (did that include this morning?)

Although the rain held off for the next stretch of our journey, we had been warned that this route was often plagued by fog, and that was exactly what we got, thick, dense fog that at times reduced visibility to just 50 metres or so. Our progress slowed, and our eyes remained fixed on the grey murkiness ahead, rather than the presumably stunning scenery passing by in unseen slow motion.

We stopped (to rest our eyes) at a Tourist Information Centre, situated, it seemed, on the very banks of Hades. The surrounding forest dissolved into a writhing, swirling mass of grey-green mist, while the beach looked as though it might at any moment reveal Charon and his ferry boat emerging through the blanket of fog just a few metres offshore. Inside, however, it was warm and welcoming, staffed by friendly rangers eager to discuss bears. We admitted we hadn’t seen any. The interactive displays were fascinating and held our attention until the road beckoned once again, and we continued our journey along the ‘road to nowhere’.

Eventually, the fog surrendered to the returning rain, and by lunchtime, we pulled into a Cookhouse for some much-needed sustenance. Local whitefish from the lake and fries from a field somewhere, gorgeous! As a bonus, when leaving, we spotted hummingbirds sipping from a couple of hanging feeders. Naturally, we photographed them; they were completely unfazed by our presence. What stunning little creatures they are! So fast, so small, so delicate!

Those tiny birds proved to be the essential element that lifted the spell that had marred our journey so far. The sun came out, and at last, we could see where we were going! However, we then encountered a series of roadworks that occasionally brought us to a standstill. Eventually, we arrived in Sault Ste. Marie, and the satnav guided us straight to the Holiday Motel.

After checking in, we set off to explore. Our first stop was Bellevue Park, a picturesque patch of green jutting out into the St. Marys River. After parking up, we soon discovered the reason for the wispy clouds racing across an otherwise clear sky; it was blowing a gale! The river sparkled in the sunlight, white horses galloped madly across its surface, and it was bitterly cold. We completed a full circuit of the promontory, grateful for the lee side, where we were briefly sheltered from the biting wind.

On the opposite side of the river lay Trump country. We could see lines of RVs parked along the far bank, close enough to swim across, though certainly not today. As we wandered, we came across a box attached to a post that dispensed free poop bags for dog owners. What a novel and sensible use of local taxes! However, as with many well-intentioned initiatives, there was a drawback. The park (and the river) is home to several hundred Canada geese, and they also poop a lot, with droppings comparable in size to those of a medium-sized dog, which were everywhere! Good effort, Sault Ste. Marie, but you might need a goose education programme to run alongside this scheme.

Next, we drove to the other side of the city to visit the International Bridge, St. Mary’s Island, and Whitefish Island.

The bridge marks the border between the USA and Canada. Considering its significance, it was surprisingly quiet, with only a vehicle crossing roughly every 30 seconds.

The two islands are linked and form a First Nation Heritage Site. After parking, we crossed the large ship canal onto St. Mary’s Island and walked up to the bridge. The wind had dropped, and despite the late afternoon hour, it was quite warm. After taking a few photos of the bridge, we set off along the island trail.

We passed a group of fly fishermen, wading in the river and casting for fish. We lingered for a while, hoping to witness a successful catch, but were disappointed. Further along, we encountered a red-winged blackbird that seemed keen to chat, tweeting, chirping, and screeching at us as we walked. We responded, and amusingly, he answered back. No idea what the conversation was about, but it lasted a good ten minutes until a passing walker disrupted our exchange.

Next, we came across a beaver lodge. A passing local explained that this was their winter lodge, while their summer one was across the river, and where they had their young in the spring. Yuppie beavers, eh?

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The walk along the trail took up the rest of the afternoon. We found the heritage site was well designed and thoroughly enjoyable, with its information boards bringing the history and natural beauty of the area vividly to life. I’m sure it’s a valuable asset to the city, and it certainly seemed well-used by the locals.

On returning to our accommodation, we grabbed a meal at a fast-food outlet in the city before settling into our hotel room for the evening with some TV.