We had a good sleep then showers before breakfast with our friend, Pauline. It is amazing what breakfast with old friends (NOT friends who are old) does for the spirit, especially when you are away from home. After a round of hugs we parted and headed towards Ottawa.
We had a nice sunny day which was welcome after a day of rain, but the plan to walk the streets in Ottawa were foiled by the absence of a place to park the van. We explored the Ottawa River in Hogs Back Park, Pete was exploding with energy at the site of the big grey and black "city" squirrels.
After we drove Wellington Street to view Parliament and the other old buildings that form our seat of power in our National Capitol. With the absence of parking we crossed the river to view Parliament from the Quebec side. We left the van in the city park and walked the shoreline and bike trail to get a better view. Pete was starting to branch out, hoping to catch some Canada Geese but we held him back, likely protecting him from a sound thrashing from an irate goose!
We got our third oil change of the trip, then left town just as rush hour was hitting. We drove on the northern Trans Canada highway 417 then 17 heading towards Sudbury. We stopped in Deep River for supper where we met Rod and Darla at the local restaurant. After a bit of chit-chat they invited us to park in their yard for the night which was better than what we were thinking of.
We had a great evening with them hearing stories of the local area as well as telling some stories ourselves. We left with a whiskey bottle of maple syrup and memories of our new friends. As is his habit, Pete mooched treats from both Rod and Darla!
It was a cold night, temperature outside around -3c, inside was 10c. Very happy we had the extra blanket and the gas heater. We drove into North Bay stopping along the way to take photos of some of the small lakes and fog in the morning sun. In North Bay we stopped at East Duchesnay Falls and explored the trail and creek finding small and larger falls as we went. Pete went swimming, loving the freedom after being in the van for the last day or so.
We stopped just outside of Espanola for the night, finding a good camp spot off the highway. We are looking forward to a cold and clear night, a good time to pull out the campfire put again. We stopped at a roadside view point for a elevated look over Lake Superior. As is his way, Pete made friends with Otis and Alex who was travelling from New York. Pete and Otis raced around while we shared a coffee with Alex and got to know him over the next hour.
Come morning, we had a blanket of morning fog and had that cool night. The site was great, off the road enough to make it fairly quiet, but close enough to get out easily. We are re-tracing our steps now that we are coming west; next stop was Sleeping Giant Provincial Park where we stayed for two nights so we could explore the park more than we could on our journey east. We got in a couple of short hikes and nature walks before coming back to camp where we sat by the new fire pit. Plated in gold, but worth every penny!
We thought we finally saw a moose, but the binoculars confirmed it was a stump at the end of the marsh. A small black bear caused a bit of a stir in camp, but we missed him. Pete was fixated on squirrels and field mice and when he wasn't, he slept. There was a good rain through the night, and cool in the morning. No sign of snow yet, but that is coming one way or another. We stopped on the other side of Kenora, near the Manitoba border for the night. We have been finding some great off grid camp sites using the iOverlander app. For a quick overnight stop, it has been working out great for us.
We have decided to get back to Calgary by the end of the week. Thanksgiving away from home played into that, but also acknowledging the leaves are dropping and the snow is coming helped make that decision. We are thinking we will be in BC early enough to squeeze in a trip to the Sunshine Coast, giving us a true coast-to-coast trip. Again, hoping the snow holds off until November!
Drone shot of sunset, near Kenora, ON