2. Testing the waters in Ontario

Our mindset in this early stage of our trip was to spend some time in Muskoka as a quarantine from Toronto. Things were so unpredictable at that point, we just hoped we could travel slowly north through Ontario and make it to the Manitoba border before we made further plans.

We drove to Sudbury, met a friend for lunch in a pizza place parking lot. It was raining so we ate in the van and had a good catch up. I took advantage of Sudbury being more open than Toronto and was able to get a pedicure – I answered health related questions, signed in and everyone in the salon wore masks.

That night we spent at our first Terego location, the Dare 2 Dream Alpaca Farm. Our hosts, Ray and Lina were very welcoming. Ray took us on a tour of the operation in the morning and let us give the alpacas their breakfast. We both got soft, warm alpaca socks and now wear them in the van when we’re chilly. The farm was a good spot to stop but rather run down, I guess because they are getting out of the business as they are aging and want to slow down a bit. Alpacas are lovely animals but running the farm is a 24/7 job.

The next day we drove to Manitoulin, passing through Espanola. We did the Cup and Saucer trail, stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and walked around the town of Gore Bay. We noticed at the marina, there were so many boats still on land and wrapped up. They were American-owned so I’m sure they stayed that way all summer.

We spent that night at another Terego spot – the Manitoulin Brewing Company- where we enjoyed fresh local whitefish tacos, and a new beer that I liked enough to buy a supply, Lemon Weiss, kind of like a shandy. The parking spot is right beside the highway – a bit noisy. From Manitoulin we drove north and stopped at Chutes Provincial Park for a short hike, and at Bruce Mines for lunch by the North Channel  of Georgian Bay. That night we had our fist ‘campsite’  on Lake Superior, actually a friend’s driveway at her camp on Goulais Bay.

(Side note – Terego, Harvest Host (HH) and Welcome Boondockers (WB) are membership organizations that provide free parking spots for RVs, sometimes with services. Terego and HH are usually small businesses such as wineries, rural museums and golf courses. WB are fellow RVers who have property they are happy to share. )

We drove to Lake Superior Provincial Park for a 2 night stay at the Agawa Beach, a gorgeous beach of polished round multi-coloured rocks. We collected just a few for our garden, realizing transporting rocks for a few months was not the best idea as the van is heavy enough as it is! We did a section of the Lake Superior coastal trail, the Sand River hike and swam in Lake Superior.  The lake was so cold but thrilling and a bucket list experience for me! Bob has spent a lot of time paddling and camping on Lake Superior in the past so had already experienced the bone-chilling water. The park is lovely and just off the highway which is convenient. The campsites are steps from the beach. We celebrated Canada Day in the park and were very impressed with how the RVers had decked out their sites with flags. We’ll be sure and do that next time. We are such newbies, we didn’t know to travel with decorations!

Neys Provincial Park is also right on Lake Superior with long wide beaches and fine sand, lots of dunes, and beautiful driftwood that looks like old bones scattered on the beach. We did a hike to a lookout on a very hot day and took a wrong turn adding a few extra km to the hike. Thankfully we started early and were back at our site by noon for lunch and a few hours siesta. By then it was a bit more comfortable, so we walked to Prisoner’s Cove and The Point. Neys was a prisoner of war camp in the 1940s.  The Point is a short walk and most interesting as it is a beautiful smooth huge rock jutting out into the lake and also the site of old logging boats left to decay. The boats were used by the prisoners as they were ’employed’ to do logging work.

The drive from Neys to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is easy, the road off the highway to the campsites quite long but we were rewarded at the end with a beautiful camp site right on Marie Louise Lake with steps into the water that was so refreshing on a super hot day. On the way to Sleeping Giant we crossed a beautiful cable-stay bridge over the Nipigon River, stopped to buy groceries and check out the smallest CND Tire store in Canada!  

North from Sleeping Giant to Sandbar Lake Provincial Park,  we stopped at the beautiful and touching Terry Fox monument,  and downtown Thunder Bay for Finnish Pancakes at Kanga. Sandbar Provincial Park I would recommend for young families who love the beach and very shallow warm water. I wasn’t too keen on it but I’m not a beach person and not a fan of shallow water. The kids were having a blast though!

Rushing River Provincial Park, just east of Kenora, is also great for families and kids of all ages. On Dogtooth Lake, it is beautiful, deep and refreshing, with a very nice beach as well as a dock to swim in the deep water. The campsites are close together and no trees so not very private, but it was a good spot to stop close to the Manitoba border.

We had at that point made the decision to keep heading west. It’s a six-hour drive from the Ontario border to the Saskatchewan border. Quarantine was not required if we transited through Manitoba, stopping only for gas and food. So we planned an early start to drive through Manitoba and hoped that by the time we headed back to Ontario in a couple of months, maybe we could see some of the sites in Manitoba.