Sunday, September 18, 2016

Northern Lake Superior


I've travelled north of Lake Superior 3 times in my life. The first was when I was 9 years old, again when I was 16, and lastly around 1978. Each time, I admired the scenery of the area. I think it was the combination of the great lake waters and rugged landscape. I always thought it would be nice to spend time there, but each time, it wasn't the destination in mind, and as a result we just passed through. But this time it's different, it is our destination.

The area we're talking about is 650 km of coastline between Sault Saint Marie and Thunder Bay.


 You've probably heard of Wawa and Marathon which are somewhat notable towns along the way. Often, when someone tells me they've driven through Wawa, their description is that it's in the middle of nowhere, and it has a large Canada Goose.


In the picture below, you can see not only my brother and I in one of our closer moments in those days, but also the remoteness of the Wawa bush land looking west toward Thunder Bay.



As you know, Marlene and I like to take the path less travelled, so this should suit us well, and that should be especially true given the time of year. We expect most of the other travellers will be just passing through at highway speed except for a few hunters. I was just reminded yesterday, it's great moose country, and the hunt will likely be on.


There are other signs that autumn comes early up there. Research has indicated that some of the campgrounds have scaled back their facilities already, and others have closed all together. Also, a check of the area temperatures showed forecasts for single digit lows at night and teen temperatures for daily highs. This brings me to our trailer, Penny. We will be towing her along, and for those that followed our trip last year to the Magdalen Islands, you know she's pretty well equipment for some tough weather.


So we're excited to be heading out, and we'd like you join us as we explore Lake Superior's northern coastline, landscapes and of course the unknown.

Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2016/09/the-lake-superior-experience.html