Ontario was about 300 kilometers East of Brandon. That meant about three hours of driving. We set out early and drove by Winnipeg. We started to see a lot more water. Lakes, rivers, water everywhere. One of the things I miss most about the East is the fresh water. A short drive into Ontario and we were at the visitor information building.
I went in and looked aboot (spelled purposely). Due to time restrictions, I had decided not to go to the International Peace Garden. I did want to go to the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. I got information from the aide and also asked how far to Ottawa. She replied with a straight face, "Aboot 23 hours." What!?! Ontario is huge. HUGE!
One thing about Ontario and it's size is that the provincial map does not list native lands. This was the first province to leave us blind as to getting gas. The information stop didn't even have wifi so we could do our own search. They did a bit of research and gave us a single sheet of paper from the web which showed us the general locations of First Nations.
There was one located less than an hour away, so we headed towards it hoping they would have some indian gas. The Iskatewizaagegan Tribe was located along the Lake of the Woods, about 20 K off of Rt. 17, the new number for the Trans-Canada Highway. It was another gravel road going up and down and around. We hoped our newly repaired tire would hold out.
We have been on the road a week now and there comes a time in most of our road trips that we become a bit edgy. Me a bit more than Tom. One wrong word and all hell breaks loose. We saw the sign for the First Nation and continued on into the community. From my left eye, I saw gas pumps. From Tom's eye, he saw a sign saying proceed to ferry for gas. Neither of us saw what the other person saw and I drove towards the ferry just for a looksie.
At the ferry was some gas and a store, but I made a u-turn and headed back to the gas I saw. Tom, all this time, is telling me I'm wrong. Me, adamant of what I saw, just ignoring him. "You're wrong!" "No, you are!"
We arrived at where I saw the pumps and saw that they were in-operational. Oops. Crap! I was wrong!
We drove back to the ferry and pulled up to the pump. Showed my card and filled up. I asked the clerk if it was OK to let the dogs in the water, which would have been their first swim in Canada and for the trip. No problem.
I didn't really think about the Ferry thing until Luther was in the water going after a thrown ball. There had been a small passenger ferry that took some people away and brought a few more in. Around the bend and a few minutes later, though, this car ferry came barreling in.
Luther is pretty good in the water but, as mentioned, does not always follow directions. It was a race between the dog and the ferry as to which would get to the landing first. Fortunately for Luther, he won.
BuddyJack did a bit of swimming too. Along the shore were two cute and scrawny res dogs. No gimp, but needing food and affection. They hung around for awhile and offered some entertainment for us and the dogs.
We headed out towards Thunder Bay. We stopped for Lunch at Hap's Pub and Grill. It would have been great to have a pint and some nosh, but after the long weekend, their taps were practically empty. Had some Canadian beer, which was not great. The views of the water were obscured by a big tent which was used the day before for some festival.
Food was mediocre, but once again filled the hole.
Mural outside Hap's
We looked for a campsite outside Thunder Bay and found the Happy Land RV Park. Wifi, Pool, Hot Tub. A slice of Heaven, although all we did was set up camp and quickly went to bed.
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