Thank goodness Lake Superior is so cold, because it was meltingly hot this morning by 9am. Alexe and I started our day with an invigorating swim in the icy calm lake, and then moved the picnic table into the shade so that we wouldn’t die of exposure while I made pancakes for breakfast. Well, they were sort of a mash-up of pancake and crepe. Pretty good, actually. And we ran out of propane at the exact second the last pancake was alllmost done but still edible! Miracles.
We stopped on our way west to explore the sleepy village of Rossport, nestled between the water and the train tracks. A long freight chugged through town while we were there, right along the back of the houses that line the waterfront. The town is quite pretty, with fishing boats almost everywhere you turn. The Rossport Caboose Museum is first on the strip, then the Forget-Me-Not gift shop — specializing in the unique and unusual since 1964 — that seems to be open only on Mondays (?) but has a “husbands’ waiting bench with scenic view” out back of the shop; the pretty Serendipity Cafe peering out over verdant gardens; several bed and breakfasts and rental cottages; and Superior Outfitters & Ecoventures, a kayak touring and instruction operator and paddling shop.
After stopping in Nipigon for some groceries, beer, and a trip to the post office (hi Grandma!), we dropped Mike and Bogdan off in Eagle Canyon, home of Canada’s longest, highest, and fastest zipline. After crossing two suspension bridges (one of which is also Canada’s longest — stretching 600 feet across, and 152 feet above the canyon floor), they made it to the top, where Mike promptly strapped on safety gear and jumped. And got heatstroke.
Alexe and I went swimming in Marie Louise Lake in Sleeping Giant provincial park.
When the boys got back, we made miniature homemade hamburgers and aluminum foil potatoes over the campfire – we’re getting good at this – and perfectly roasted marshmallows. Sleeping Giant is one of those family campgrounds where there are kids everywhere, bikes and dogs and fishing rods flying by, and everyone says hello. Our site backed on to the lake, with a little path through the bush, and we could watch the sun setting through the trees. A very Ontario experience.
Tomorrow – tea at Silver Islet, mayyybe a hike depending on the weather, and hoping we don’t run out of gas before Thunder Bay.
Photo by Bogdan Stoica
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