Saturday, June 30, 2012

Day 2 Summer 2012 Road Trip


We had to set the alarm to get us up this morning.  We have to depart the hotel by 7am because we have a long 711 KM drive ahead of us.  Today we will drive as far as Thunder Bay Ontario.

Before we leave Sault Ste. Marie we have a few roadside attractions to visit.  I have an app on my iPhone called “Roadside America”.  It is a guide to uniquely odd roadside attractions.  The app will tell me what is nearby that is worth checking out.   Since installing the app, we have visited 112 locations.
So first up today is the “Three Goofy Cows in a Pile”  located in front of a local dairy.

7813 Ontario Sault Ste Marie Lock City Dairies

Next is the “Worlds Largest Baseball”  It is made of steel and is 2000 times as big as a normal baseball.

7819 Ontario Sault Ste Marie - World's Largest Baseball

And last was the “Man vs Moose, Moose Wins” statue.

7820 Ontario Sault Ste Marie - Moose with captured hunter at The Totem Pole in Frontier Village Trading Post

And so we depart Sault Ste. Marie on Hwy 17.  Every few KM’s or so there is a warning sign to be aware of moose.  This would be a dangerous drive at night, a lot of accidents must happen despite the warnings.

7838 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 moose crossing warning sign 7839 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 moose crossing warning sign 7840 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 moose crossing sign

Hwy 17 across the top of Lake Superior is considered one of the most scenic drives in Ontario, around each bend is another spectacular view.

7848 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior 7855 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior 7867 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior

We stopped at one of the many overlooks.

7860 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior scenic overlook 7861 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior scenic overlook 7862 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior scenic overlook

We stopped in Wawa at another roadside attraction.  The “Largest Canada Goose”.   Wawa means “goose” in a native language.  The goose is 27 ft tall.

7886 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Wawa Tourist Information Centre - Wawa Goose 7887 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Wawa Tourist Information Centre - Wawa Goose
 7896 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Wawa Tourist Information Centre - Wawa Goose

Highway 17 crosses through some of the most remote regions of Ontario.  If you are a Bell Mobility subscriber, there is no connectivity along this part of the route.  Gas stations are few and far between, and you can drive 200 or more KM before finding a station. 

We fuelled up back in Sault Ste. Marie, but by the time we got to Wind River our gauge said 1/2 so we stopped to fill up again.  While I filled up the car, Karen walked down the road a bit to take photos of this colourful childrens playground featuring Winnie the Pooh.

7908 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Wind River - Winnie the Pooh 7909 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Wind River - Winnie the Pooh 7911 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Wind River - Winnie the Pooh

Back on the road again and more stunning scenery.

7922 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 7924 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 7935 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - scenic overlook - Ripple Lake

There are many rock cuts along the way.

7853 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior 7877 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior 7945 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17

And the scenery just gets better and better.

7956 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior 7958 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 - Lake Superior 7962 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17

We arrived in Thunder Bay around 4:30 pm.

7971 Ontario Trans-Canada Hwy 17 (Trans-Canada Hwy 11) - Terry Fox Courage Highway - Thunder Bay Welcome sign

We checked into our hotel and then went back out for dinner at Pizza Pizza, then back to the hotel to work on the photos and blog.

Tomorrow we can sleep in a bit, we don’t have to leave quite as early in the morning.

To see all of the photos from today, you can find them all on FLICKR.

4 comments:

  1. Looks like the start of another good trip. The moose is pretty cool but, in my opinion, the cows top the day.

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  2. Love that baseball! We travel in search of "world's largests," and use RoadsideAmerica.com a lot. We have it on our GPS and LOVE it! It makes a "ding" sound when you drive near one of the quirky attractions in its database.

    --Traci from the "Go BIG or Go Home" blog

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    Replies
    1. Traci, what GPS do you have, I have the app on my iPhone, but it does not "ding" when I am near an attraction. I have been thinking of buying a new GPS, so this could be my excuse to get one.

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  3. Great photos! I grew up outside Sault Ste. Marie and I don't remember any of those three attractions - I guess things change when you haven't been home in decades! :)

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