Rockies Trip - Day 1 - July 15th, 2014

Rockies Trip - Day 1 - July 15th, 2014

Elliot Lake to Wawa

A wet start!

After setting off this morning under an overcast sky, we traveled through a few isolated showers and a couple of heavy downpours. 

Just north of Sault Ste. Marie, patches of blue began to appear and we enjoyed sporadic sunshine on the way up to Wawa, with just a sprinkle now and then.

The run up from the Soo to Wawa is  one of our favourite haunts, and the amazing views of Lake Superior never fail to draw a ‘Wow’ from our lips. We did stop at a few places – Alona Bay being one that we had not seen before.  

At 3:00 p.m., we stopped beside a beautiful part of the lake so that I could keep an appointment for a coaching call with two of our team members. It’s fun to know that I can do this from anywhere, at any time! 

There is an interesting trading post just north of Batchawana Bay and we took a picture of a Weather Station that caught our interest during a previous visit. I can’t help feeling that it may be more accurate than other forecasts that are available on TV and the Internet!!! 

For those of you who know me, you’ll understand the thinking behind this pic….

Last summer, when we were visiting the Pictographs, a fellow tourist told us of the Bathtub Islands, so we couldn’t resist taking a walk along the beach there. It is becoming apparent that Mark cannot resist taking ‘selfies’, now that he has mastered the art!! 

 The air was too cold for us to feel like swimming, but we are hoping that we’ll be able to get in the water when we return at the end of the month.

These flowers just seem to thrive in the sand.

Last year, we were able to wade out to the island (it’s shallow enough to never reach chest level) where we found the pools of warm water among the rocks. We were also told of a lone-wolf attack that took place in this very spot a few years ago.

Looking out over the expanse of Lake Superior, together with its moody sky, we remembered the song, ‘The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ (Full song and lyrics here). We happened to have a CD of Gordon Lightfoot and listened to it while we surveyed the scenery before us.   

This year, we managed to take pics of the names of three smaller lakes on the route. We had seen them a couple of times last year and thought they were cute. The third one, Orphan Lake, is situated some ways away from the other two. Maybe this accounts for its name. 

Mark was delighted to find out that he is famous!! In his words, ‘As many of you know, I have been follicly challenged for most of my adult life. Imagine my joy when I found that I have a river named after me!’ 

We actually turned the car around and went back to the sign to take this picture!!

After paying a return visit to Old Woman Bay, we finally reached our destination just south of Wawa at the Mystic Isle Motel. We’ve stayed here several times in the last year and can thoroughly recommend it for so many reasons. 

Tomorrow, we set off for Thunder Bay. Hopefully, the weather will be warmer and more conducive to swimming.