This day, I was facing a six hour drive from Hearst to Thunder Bay. I always planned my schedule so I'd have time to stop anywhere that looked interesting. This part of Ontario has many lakes but again, it was only a two lane highway and the shoulders were small, so unless there was a place to pull completely off the road, I did not feel safe stopping. The landscape is certainly unique. The trees are quite often short, lots of rock and muskeg, and many beautiful lakes and islands.
In the area of Macleod, I suddenly spied a strange looking building up on a hill. To me, it kind of looked like a space ship. Intriguing. On the other side of the road was a tall thin building. A grain elevator? No, not in that area of the country!
I turned in, drove up the hill and parked. I hoped it would be open (I really needed a washroom break!). Sure enough there was a lovely young man, a university student, working there for the summer and yes, there was a washroom! Inside this unusual looking building were historical displays about the area, native art, and information about the fully restored MacCleod-Cockshutt Gold Mine head frame which was the tall building across the street. The amazing things you discover sometimes when you're looking for a washroom.
I checked out the interpretive centre and the young man explained how the exquisite canoe in the foyer came to be. Apparently, an indigenous artist had created it with the assistance of some local school children.
Back on the road. The next point of interest was a giant snowman in Beardmore. It's 35 feet tall and was built alongside Highway 11 to promote the town and the local ski hill. Apparently it comes with changeable accessories for the various seasons!
My last stop before Thunder Bay was near Nipigon. Luckily for me, there was a pull off directly across the street from this gleaming white church. St. Sylvester's. It was built in 1877 and the Red Rock Indian Band are its custodians. There are plans to continue work on it including mapping the graveyard which is adjacent.
During the drive, I began feeling sicker and sicker and although all I wanted to do when I arrived at Thunder Bay was hit the sack, I was determined to find the Terry Fox monument and, in some small way, pay my respects. I'd seen where he started his Marathon of Hope in St. John's, I was not going to miss seeing where he unfortunately had to end it. I spent about an hour there. Sitting, thinking, wondering how his parents felt, and how courageous he was. The view from there is magnificent, quite a fitting place for him to conclude his run. I'm so glad that his legacy continues to raise money for cancer research. He remains a Canadian symbol of hope, one of our heroes.
Before I left the monument, I set my maps program to guide me to the hotel. I think whatever angel was traveling with me worked a little miracle because instead of taking me to the hotel, I ended up outside a drugstore. Hint, hint... go inside and buy some medicine Lorna. I did and within a day, the symptoms I had were much improved. I started to enjoy the trip again.
I have mentioned how terrific my accommodations were from the very start of this trip. There was bound to be somewhere disappointing on a cross country road trip. The Travelodge by Wyndham Hotel in Thunder Bay "wins" the title of "the worst place to stay" on My Happy Adventure Road Trip. It was run down, looked nothing like the photographs online, had gigantic potholes in the parking lot, and getting to my room was like entering a maze of hallways and stairwells despite there being an elevator. I would never stay there again. The only positive was the front desk clerk, he was a gem. When I complained, he showed me two other rooms. Unfortunately they were not much better than the original. One bad place along the way isn't too bad. I hoped that tomorrow would be better, and it was. Before leaving Thunder Bay, I found a vantage point for once last glimpse of the view across the bay and then got back on the road.
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