Our day started early as we wanted to tear down and get going to our new location north of the Sault.  We treated ourselves to breakfast and coffee at a drive through, which saved us time and wash up!

 

Oastler Provincial Park is a lovely park with lots of beautiful sites, many of which had lake access.  A very “Muskoka” feel to it with many rock outcropping and some lovely viewpoints and public access for swimming.  The downside is that it’s located close to the rail line.  I counted 5 freight trains going past in the night, blaring their horns for all to hear! 

Once on the road, we headed north towards Sudbury through more huge rock cuts.  They are working hard to “connect the north” with a 4 lane highway, and I must say the driving was great.  But the massive rock moving effort is truly something to see.

 

We finally made it to Sudbury where we stopped to see the “Big Nickel”.  As. You can see, Dan’s been working out and managed to hold the huge structure is two hands!

We pressed on to Sault. Ste Marie from there and another 50 kilometres north or so we found our next stop on our trail.  Pancake Bay Provincial Park.  It is a huge bay the east shore of Lake Superior that is shaped like…well you guessed it!

 

By the time we got to our site we had to get our camp set up and dinner on.   After. Dan. And I got the tent up, I left him the rest of the set up and started in on  supper.  Tonight’s the first night on the trail that we (I) cooked.  Garlic Shrimp,  homemade pasta  and a fresh green salad!  Delish!

Tonight we went for a walk to see the shoreline ( our campsite is about 200 metres from the water.  The shoreline is spectacular!  We’re looking forward to either a kayak along the shore, or a hike to the lookout where we can see the rocky shores where the Edmund Fitzgerald went under.

Well we both look forward to a good night sleep, refreshed to enjoy our day to explore!

Day 3 – Pancake Bay…or was it?

We woke up around 8 and took our time getting coffee and breakfast ready. Our night had been somewhat quieter than the night before, however, Pancake Bay Park is right beside highway 17. We were lucky to be at the far end where a 30’ cliff protected us from they road, but people just 5 or 6 campsites east of us put up with loud highway traffic throughout the night!

After we had breakfast, we packed up all the food stuff (kitchen boxes) and decided to head out for our hike to the lookout to Whitefish Bay at around 10:30. Dan commented as we were driving through the park how odd it was that our permit had us checking out that day! I looked at our bookings, and low and behold we were only booked for one night! We turned the car around and rushed back to our campsite to tear down and pack everything up!! We managed a record pack and hit the highway at about 11:30 am, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park bound!

The drive was nothing short of spectacular! Hilly terrain, with spectacular views of Lake Superior!

We saw lots of signs warning us of moose and deer crossings, but nothing prepared us for this little surprise! I just managed to get my phone out in time to catch him (or her) ducking into the woods!

As we drove past more beautiful rock cuts , gorgeous lake vistas, and the odd mine

After a relaxing morning followed by a rush to get going and a 6.5 hour drive, we finally made it to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park! And yes, this time we are for sure staying 2 nights! More to come as we explore the park and the Thunder Bay Area!

Stay safe! See you soon!