The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

September 7 Toronto

The rest of the photos for this day are here>

Moving so quickly across the landscape makes three nights in one place a true delight, so this morning was easy and relaxing. With so much to see and do in Toronto, it is a bit daunting to decide how to spend the time we have, and the local guidebooks were full of choices. It has been years since I visited a zoo, but I had heard that the Toronto Zoo is excellent, so that was on my list. The other tourist site we couldn’t miss was the CN Tower.

Sometimes traveling with Abby can provide some challenges, and on this day the zoo rules of no animals anywhere on site, including the parking lots, made things more complicated than we wanted to handle. Since I was the one wanting to see the zoo, Mo dropped me off and went home to enjoy a quiet morning with Abby while I wandered alone through the exhibits. It was a great time for both of us. This zoo is well known for it’s excellent animal habitats, and was the first zoo to organize it’s displays by regions of the world. In two hours, I didn’t have time to see it all, but two hours of steady walking felt great.

The Tundra Zone is new and the resident polar bears were having great fun swimming and playing in their pools. I know how incredibly dangerous these animals are, but watching the big guy do flips in the pool and swim on his back with his cute little belly showing was really endearing. Another favorite was the gorilla exhibit, watching the family interactions. The baby of the group is just a year old, and his mom is every bit as busy running after him as any mom of a little one. The story of George, the big daddy, and his heart-wrenching grief when his long term mate died just two weeks ago was riveting. The zoo felt serene and uncrowded, and the animals seemed relaxed and content. It was a great experience.

Mo picked me up at noon, and after settling Abby into her safe crate with the air conditioner going, we left for downtown Toronto. This city has a tremendous public transportation system, and public transport is a great way to see an unknown city in any country. The Rouge Hill station was just a mile or so from the campground, with a big lot for parking, and the sleek, clean GOTRAIN ready to take us right downtown and back for just $5.30 each (so nice to be a senior).

Once downtown, we walked toward the CN Tower, sometimes visible and sometimes not. I had the GPS with me, set to pedestrian mode, but the satellites weren’t too happy with the extremely tall buildings. Something to note, satellite reception for a GPS isn’t very reliable in a city with skyscrapers all around. The CN Tower began as simply a reception antenna, but evolved into something much grander. It is one of the seven man made wonders of the world, and the tallest structure. The elevator ride itself is a wonder, and my ears were popping by the time we reached the observation deck. There is another deck at a higher level, but that cost even more money, so we opted out of that one. On the observation deck is the innovative “glass floor” where you can walk out over the empty space below, on thick glass of course. It’s a disconcerting feeling, dizzying and weird, even though the mind knows it’s solid, the eyes see nothing but hundreds of feet of space below. The views of Toronto were magnificent, but the open portion of the observation deck was closed due to the heavy winds.

The Entertainment District was another area on our list, and was just a few blocks north of the Tower. Toronto has a vibrant theater district, and we hoped to see a show while we were here. It wasn’t to be, though, since all the good shows ended recently, and new ones aren’t scheduled to begin until next week. The Royal Alexandria Theater was advertising a great musical of 80’s rock which sounded exciting, so it was a great disappointment to walk to the box office and be told the next show was in a week. Ah well. I laughed and told the agent he had saved us a ton of money.

The theater district was full of interesting people and sidewalk eating establishments, and we found a pub for a beer and sweet potato fries. Our table right by the street offered a fascinating glimpse into city life. By the time I finished my very good Moosehead beer, I was laughing hard at all the complexity and wonder of it. Most people here definitely walk with a purpose, hard and fast and focused. Almost everyone has either an IPod or a cell phone held to their ears, and the clothing can be any combination of crazy weird to slick suits. Everyone is going in all directions, some on bikes, on skates, on skateboards, hailing taxis, jogging, walking, with a very few ambling a bit aimlessly. I have no idea how the bikers and skaters keep from being obliterated by the crazy traffic in skinny or non existent bike lanes.

Walking back to the train at rush hour with the masses of humanity was fun. These huge train stations can be a bit intimidating, but after a few misses we managed to find our way to the right platform and the right train. At Union Station there is a wild combination of the GOTRAINs, the VIA Trains that seem to go to more distant locations, and the subway. The signs for the platforms are all numbered the same, so you do have to know “how you are traveling”, which we didn’t at first. I thought a train was a train, but not so. The information person seemed to think I was a bit stupid since I really didn’t know what train I was looking for. Gee, I don’t know, the one that goes to Rouge Hill?

Ahh city life.

September 6 Killarney to Toronto

I have only a few photos of this day, and most of them are somewhat gloomy, but I did put them up on Picasa and they are linked here.

After the gorgeous day we enjoyed yesterday, this morning we woke again to gloomy rainy weather. Deciding to skip the morning hikes in the pouring rain, we packed up the MoHo and headed for Toronto. On the way, we happened to stop at a roadside information kiosk where the attendant told us about the Muskoga Lake Region. She also was incredibly helpful and made phone calls for us to the Swift Kayak and Canoe Company where we planned to visit.

On the way, we visited the charming little town of Muskoka Lake, and stopped at an area dominated by huge exposures of the Pre-Cambrian Shield. This is some of the oldest rock in the world, covering a large portion of Ontario and where much of the wealth of the province is derived.

Thanks to her information, we re-routed back north and through the lake district, and went to the main store selling the Swift Adirondack kayaks that I have been admiring on the internet for a time now. These kayaks are sleek and gorgeous, weighing only 34 pounds, with a cockpit that can accommodate Abby, and sealed bulkheads that will keep our gear dry. The owner just happened to be in the store, and offered to ship to the US, saving us the 13 percent provincial tax. It was an exciting day, and our boats will arrive in Oregon when we return after October 1st.

Even though we were traveling the beautiful lake district, with all the forests we didn’t see very much of the lakes and didn’t want to take more time to stop and visit. It is a beautiful area, however, and I would have loved to spend more time. The rest of the day was uneventful, as we navigated into the eastern part of the city of Toronto where we planned to camp at the city owned Glen Rouge Park.

September 5 Sault Ste Marie to Killarney and a bear!

The rest of the photos for this day of travels are linked here

Our day turned out to be wonderfully exciting and beautiful as we crossed the border into Canada. The weather was gloomy at first, but cleared as the day progressed. Originally, our plan for this trip included several days in the provincial parks along the northern shore of Lake Superior where we planned to kayak the lakes and rivers of this part of Ontario. We changed our plans a few days ago, and it turned out to be a good idea. The storms and rain would have kept us from doing any kayaking and the drives were long and featureless with the lake hidden by miles and miles of trees. In addition, the cost of gasoline in Canada ran as high as 4.00 per US gallon, so those many miles would have been expensive.

Instead, our only day camping in Ontario parks was today, at Killarney Provincial Park. Once over the border, which was completely uneventful, we stopped at the Ontario visitors center for information. The guide there was knowledgeable and helpful, and told us in her opinion Killarney was the loveliest park to see.

On the way through the park we stopped for a roadside rest along a lovely lake and hiked around a bit with the dog before continuing. Arriving at the campground around 2 in the afternoon, we set up our camp and thrilled at the brilliant sunshine. The park brochure listed several excellent hikes that were accessible to us, in addition to visiting the small coastal town of Killarney and kayaking either a lake or a river. After perusing the map and the weather we opted for a chance to actually take our boats down and get in the water for the first time on this trip! The skies were gorgeous and the winds were high, but the launching point on Chickanishing Creek was protected enough and had a good ramp. There were several people coming in to land, and the winds were a bit daunting, but we launched and headed for the “Big Water”.

We paddled through meandering water with very little current, among huge pink boulders of granite, smoothed by glaciers and dotted with pine, spruce, and fir. Once we emerged onto Lake Superior, there were granite islands all around us, but the wind was so high we were afraid to go very far into the waves. We don’t have skirts for our kayaks, and big winds make big waves, and we didn’t want to swamp in the extremely cold water so we turned back.

Gichee-Goomi, the Shining Big Sea Water

Paddling upstream was almost effortless, and back in the protected shelter of the creekside banks and cliffs the wind wasn’t as difficult to manage. While gliding along watching the bank, I suddenly realized that something was also watching me! I was eye to eye with a small black bear on the bank, just a few feet from my kayak. Wow! I was glad to be in my boat, even knowing that bears are great swimmers, I felt OK. I called out to Mo, backpaddled to get a better view and take some photos. Abby was sniffing like crazy trying to figure out what that thing was, and the bear was doing the same. We didn’t stay around long enough for him to get more interested in us, but he didn’t seem the least bit afraid of us either. It was the first bear I have seen up that close in ages, not since my mapping days in North Idaho in the 90’s. He was cute. From the safety of my boat, at least.

Our first bear of the trip, up close and personal!

The weather held up long enough for us to reload the boats and get settled into camp before starting to rain again. It was a perfectly wild and gorgeous day with a bear to top it off.

September 4 Gogebic to Sault Ste Marie

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here:

Rain seems to be following us on this trip through the northern part of the country, and according to the weather forecasts, it will follow us into Canada. Today we left Gogebic Lake in the rain and drove across Michigan to Sault Ste Marie, on the Michigan-Canadian border.

Our northern route included a side trip to the Picture Rocks National Lakeshore in the northern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In the small town of Munising, Michigan, we had pasties, touted as the best on the UP. I think that may be true. Muldoon’s Pasties specialty are the traditional beef, potato, rutabaga, and carrot kind, served with a rich beef gravy. Mo liked the apple dessert pasty the best. The definition of a “pasty” is a pie that is made without a pan, basically a kind of hand pie. Yummm.

We left the MoHo in Munising and drove the 11 mile route to the shore through gorgeous hardwood forests. The weather was wild and windy, but Pictured Rocks was still the highlight of the day. We hiked out to the overlooks and along the cliff trails of the one area of the park that is reasonably accessible. I can see how on a pleasant day this would be fabulous coastal kayaking area, but it also wouldn’t have been as dramatic a visit as it was for us in the wild wind.

After our sidetrip, we ambled on through the UP to Sault Ste Marie. The town actually consists of two cities, one on the US side and on in Ontario. The locks here are operated and owned by a cooperative effort between Canada and the US, and were built in the mid 1850’s and one of them is the longest lock in the world. After our tour of the Panama Canal last January, it was interesting to see locks that were built long before the Canal locks. The level of Lake Huron is 21 feet below Lake Superior and the volume of commerce has been immensely important to the economies of this part of the world.

The visitor center here is extremely well done and informative, and there are viewing platforms for watching the ships go through the locks. The rapids of the St Mary’s River have been preserved in a small section adjacent to the locks and are a very popular fishing site. Because of the rain and high winds however, there were very few ships attempting to navigate from Lake Huron to Lake Superior. The next big ship, a 1000 foot long freighter, was scheduled to enter the locks after 9pm. We decided instead to go find an Irish Coffee in a pub, check out the souvenir shops in town across from the visitor center, and go back home to our warm and dry home waiting at the campground.

We opted to stay at the Auld Osborne campground operated by the city of Sault Ste Marie. As we approached our destination, the volume of big fifth wheels and motorhomes was surprising. Once settled in, however, the site was OK, with a view of the river and a somewhat open site. The pedestal for the power was in a pool of water, and the water was in a completely different direction. Not long after we got settled, we saw a parade of people heading for the riverbank, and figured that meant a ship was on its way. Sure enough, a big freighter rolled by, moving amazingly fast. Most of these freighters are hauling taconite, a form of iron ore that has been processed for easy transport. The visitor center had information on the many types of freighters and their history, and in the shops we saw the freighter identification guide book, a worthwhile purchase if your plans include more than a single night.

September 3 Duluth to Gogebic, Michigan


Cool rain for our morning walk	The St Louis River

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here:

We left Jay Cooke State Park this morning in the rain, but not before taking some time to check out the swinging bridge over the St. Louis River. The bridge was originally built in the early 1900’s, flooded and destroyed twice, and then the bridge you see here was completed in the 1960’s. It spans the St. Louis River, a wild cataract of brown tinged water cascading over sedimentary slates. The brown color is disconcerting at first for westerners used to white water, but is caused by the diluted acids from the organic soils that these waters flow through.


The Bayfield marina is the jumping off spot for the Apostle Islands	Bayfield neighborhoods have many restored Craftsman and Victorian homes converted to B&B’s

We traveled across Wisconsin on a northern route, and spontaneously went north to the small town of Bayfield. Even in the dreary rain, Bayfield was a beautiful place. There were flowers everywhere, amazing creative little shops, an excellent visitor center and a gorgeous bay. Bayfield is the gateway to the Apostle Islands, full of sea caves and wild trails. These islands are a well known destination for kayakers, and we fit right in with our kayaks and bikes on the baby car. Well known to everyone but us, I guess, since I had never heard of them until we saw them on the maps of Lake Superior.

I have an old saying, “I could live here”. Of course other criteria comes in when deciding where to live, and proximity to my family is a big one, so maybe I really couldn’t live here. But if I could just plop this town down somewhere in Oregon, it would be perfect. The Chamber of Commerce has a great brochure with photos and stories of people who came to Bayfield to visit, and stayed to open small businesses and thrive.

After Bayfield, we knew it was time to find a place to sleep, and with this being a few days before Labor Day knew that it could be problematic. A quick phone search revealed a large lake in Michigan to the east, and we called and landed a electric site in the park. Something we have found in most of the state parks in this part of the country is that they are expensive. The initial camping fee is reasonable, but all the parks have a day pass that is required in addition, and extra charges for other little details as well. Most of our park stays are running over $30.00 a day at least. Since we are only traveling for six weeks, it’s not ideal, but manageable, but if we were full-timing these state parks might be a bit too pricey. Especially since electricity is sketchy and WiFi non existent.

Gogebic was windy and wild as we settled in, and also very crowded. The sites were grassy, with big ruts from the wet soils. The electric cost extra, and with the weather we were glad to have it. We set up, hooked up the power, and it worked for a few minutes before going completely dead. Of course, instead of looking at the storm around us, we tried to figure out what was wrong with our power system, or what we had done wrong. Later, I finally went to the camp office thinking perhaps the breaker was down. What I hadn’t considered was the weather. Duh. The power was out all over the campground.