Saturday, September 9, 2023

Today, we woke up at Brimley State Park in Brimley, Michigan. This was a nice campground located directly on the shores of Lake Superior. It was busy place though, with lots of barking dogs and one guy coughing up phlegm inside his tent. Yes, we could hear him doing that while we were inside our RV. Camping is weird sometimes.

Around 8:30am, we packed up our RV and drove to the nearby Walmart in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan (pronounced Soo Saint Marie). Andi placed an order for a few groceries to be picked up there. We left our RV parked in the Walmart parking lot and hopped in the Jeep to go see the famous Soo Locks. The Soo Locks are a set of parallel locks operated by the United States Corps of Engineers that allow ships to travel between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. In all, there are 16 different locks between Duluth, MN and the Atlantic Ocean — critical points for shipping in the United States.

In Sault Saint Marie, people can visit the locks for free anytime of the day to watch freighters coming through. There isn’t a specific schedule; the marine traffic website shows when ships are passing through. Fortunately, there were two ships approaching the Soo Locks this morning — the Herbert C. Jackson and CSL Niagara.

Before we went to the Soo Locks, Andi suggested we stop at Oh, Crepes for breakfast. The four of us ordered sweet and savory crepes to-go, and then walked over to the viewing platform at the locks to see the ships. We sat on benches and ate our breakfast while we waited.

We watched as the water in the locks slowly filled the channel to bring the Herbert C. Jackson to the other side of the locks. Andi said the process was akin to watching paint dry. It’s true that If you didn’t pick a point of reference on the horizon and watch it closely, it was difficult to realize anything was changing — the ships were moving so slowly.

As Herbert C. Jackson inched closer to the platform, an announcer came over the loudspeaker to share details about the ship. This steamship was 690 feet in length with a hull depth of 37.5 feet. Before the locks existed, a ship would have been unloaded at Sault Saint Marie, and then reloaded on the other side of the shallow rapids. The locks allow ships with hulls as deep as this one to continuously pass through.

It was amazing to see the size of lines the sailors used to tie the ship to the dock. It took two people to move them! After the ship passed through, the four of us headed into the visitors center to learn more about the science & engineering behind the locks system. Tory saw a sign for a Soo Locks Junior Ranger program, so naturally we jumped on the chance to earn another badge for the kids’ vests.

The four of us worked as a team to complete the Junior Ranger worksheet detailing facts and history of the Soo Locks in Sault Saint Marie. Andi explained to the kids how the locks function using a replica in the visitors center. Aden loved pretending to drive the ships at the “captain’s desk.”

I have to admit, we were a little disappointed when we turned in our Junior Ranger paperwork to the front desk and were awarded with a Junior Ranger… sticker. Since this location is operated by the US Corps of Engineers and not a national park or national monument, there’s no actual Junior Ranger badges. Oh well, we still learned a lot about the locks operation by completing the worksheet which I suppose is the whole point of it anyway.

As a consolation prize, we walked across the street and treated ourselves to some fudge at Zak and Mac’s Chocolate Haus. Twelve dollars for a piece of fudge! Andi did a bit of a double-take at that price, but the kids were happy. We had a great morning at the Soo Locks in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan.

Back in the Jeep, we drove to Walmart and picked up our RV parked there in the lot. Then, Andi and I connected the Jeep to the RV, and we made our way toward Canada. It took us less than 10 minutes to reach the border crossing. The St. Mary’s River (where the Soo Locks are located) is the political border between the Michigan and Canada.

Andi and I read multiple things about crossing the international US/Canada border with an RV, but ultimately the Canadian border control website was the best place to go to see all the rules. We brought produce and meat along with us in our RV fridge/freezer, but everything was sealed in a package (not opened). We didn’t bring weapons or cannabis, and crossed with a limited amount of alcohol which is allowed. We declared what we brought along. We had insurance cards and registrations for both the RV and the Jeep ready in case we were asked for them (we weren’t). We prepped the kids ahead of time that an agent may need to see the inside of our RV, and not to be alarmed if an officer came in to look around.

In the end, the Canadian border crossing agent was very kind and didn’t ask to inspect the inside of our RV. She asked us the usual questions about where we were traveling, and how long we planned to stay. Her face lit up with a big smile when we told her we were homeschooling and learning about Canada as part of our travels. She shared that she has a Canadian friend traveling through the United States in a 5th Wheel doing the very same thing with her family. In all, it took us less than 10 minutes to cross the border.

Now, we’re in Canada! Visiting this country has been on Aden’s bucket list for years — specifically, fishing in Canada. Once across the border, we followed the Trans-Canada Highway north along the shores of Lake Superior. This section through Algoma County is one of the Top Nine Great Drives of Canada. It is said to have been “a bear cat to build” in the 1950’s because the highway crossed some of the toughest terrain in all of Canada. This made for a beautiful scenic drive though! Andi and I couldn't get over how different Lake Superior is on the Canadian side. The lake was calm and the landscape was full of big rocks and boulders. It felt like were driving through Colorado.

We also weren't expecting the huge hill climbs and steep grades of the highway. Somewhere along the way, the brake cable that connects our Jeep to the RV snapped which meant the Jeep was “pushing” against the RV when we drove down those big hills. Not a good situation, but Andi thinks he can fix it himself.

Around 3:00pm, we entered Lake Superior Provincial Park. Canada’s “provincial parks” are similar to national parks in the United States. We pulled into the visitors center to check out displays about the lake and animals of Ontario. Then, we continued on in the RV about 15 minutes north to the Pinguisbi (Sand River) hiking trail. Andi realized after we got to the trail that we were suppose to have purchased a parking pass at the visitors center. We didn’t want to drive back there only to turn around and come back to the trailhead again. Traveling in a 24-ft RV with a car pulling behind it isn’t as nimble as traveling in a car. We tried paying for the parking pass online, but we didn’t have any cell or internet service in that spot. Then a park ranger pulled up. Andi asked the man if he could give him the $5 for parking, but the park ranger said we had to go back to the visitors center to purchase one. Generally, Canadians seem like a rule-following group of people, and that is the rule of the park.

We waited for the park ranger to leave, and then Andi and I decided we’d take our chances not buying a parking pass. The pass cost $5 and a parking ticket for not having a pass was $30. Andi said he’d rather pay the fine than go through the trouble of driving the RV & Jeep back to the visitors center to buy one. This made Tory beside herself with worry. “It’s not about how much it costs, Dad, it’s the fact that you didn’t follow the rule.” Isn’t it interesting how different personality types function? The four of us started walking down the hiking trail, and Tory was visibly upset. She walked fourth in line with her arms crossed over her chest in silent protest. Andi called her pose TDA, or “Tory Doesn’t Agree.”

The Pinguisibi trail followed the banks of the Sand River and was absolutely gorgeous. It felt like we were walking in a giant fairy garden with moss growing on the sides of rocks, small wooden bridges covering streams, and red mushrooms with white dots growing all around. We didn’t see another person on the trail the whole time.

After we walked for a mile-and-a-half or so, we stopped to enjoy the waterfalls. While we were there, Andi slipped and almost fell into the water. Luckily, he saved himself from getting wet, but he hurt his hand in the process. He’s OK; it’s just a little sore.

Back in the RV, we were relieved to see that we didn’t get a parking ticket. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best lesson to teach our kids about skirting the rules, but our choice did save us from having to back-track. We continued north on the Trans-Canada Highway toward Wawa, Ontario. Distance between Sault Saint Marie to Wawa is about 142 miles.

The first thing we did when we arrived in the town of Wawa was visit the bigger than life Canadian Goose statue. Signage near the goose told the story of one of the town’s influential businessmen named Al Turcott who was instrumental in securing the route of Lake Superior on the Trans-Canada Highway. Al and a group of other business people of Wawa came up with the idea of a Wawa goose statue to stop tourists along their Trans-Canada Highway travels. I’d say Al Turcott’s big idea worked because here we were stopping to see the gigantic goose.

In Wawa, Andi booked us a campsite at a private RV park in town. The batteries of our RV haven’t been holding a charge, so we need to be connected to electricity at night in order for our refrigerator to keep cool. I could tell it pained Andi to stay in a campground like this one instead of camping in the beautiful Canadian wilderness, but we don’t have another choice until we buy new RV batteries. This spot at the RV park campground was fine though. Bonus that it had the trifecta of electric, water, and sewer which meant … shower night!

Once we were settled in at camp, Andi started the grill and I prepped hamburgers and asparagus for dinner. The four of us ate dinner, and then Andi and I walked a loop around the campground while we took out the trash. I noticed that most of the people staying at this campground were from Ontario and Minnesota. The “Lake Superior Circle Tour” is a popular driving loop which I assume is what most of the Minnesotans are doing. It’s easy to forget we’re in Canada because the people and the landscape look so similar to home.

Tomorrow, we’re planning to drive east into the Ontario wilderness for a few days of backcountry fishing. Andi and Aden are so excited.