NORTH ALONG LAKE HURON
        Crossing the Mackinaw Bridge
BRIMLEY, MICHIGAN
        Swimming in Lake Superior
FOLLOWING THE NORTHERN SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR
        Too big
        Wawa
        Hawk Junction
        Dinner surprise
        Schreiber
THUNDER BAY
THERE'S TROUBLE IN GRAND MARAIS, MINNESOTA
COMMUNICATION ON THIS LEG OF OUR TRIP
RON'S POTPOURRI
BARB'S THIS N THAT

Pictures to go with all of these stories are on our What's New page

We left Tawas Point State Park on Monday, July 5 and headed north. There was hardly anyone going in our direction. For one thing we were on one of those red roads (U.S. 23) and we were going north. Most traveling north would rather use I-75.

We commented in the last newsletter how wonderful the surface of U.S. 23 was and it remained great to the end (Mackinaw City). Roads in Michigan have been deteriorating over the last few years and we have dreaded traveling on any of them, but 23 was super. Lake Huron was visible on our right most of the
way and after Harrisville, the terrain became a little hilly and even prettier than it had been. There were lots of big beautiful maple trees as well as birch, and evergreens. Long, wooded driveways which looked like tunnels took off from the highway and led to hidden cottages which line the lake.

Just north of Rogers City, we pulled off at a scenic pull-out. Since it was just about lunch time, we made sandwiches and took them to the picnic table which was overlooking Lake Huron. We were all alone; not a single car pulled in the whole time we were there.

CROSSING THE MACKINAW BRIDGE
Traffic became a little heavier as we neared Mackinaw City. We didn't stop because we had been there many times before. We simply got on I-75 to cross the Straights of Mackinac (pronounced the same as  the city --- something about the French and English who controlled the areas long ago and couldn't agree on the spelling). We had crossed the bridge many times in all three of our motorhomes and in cars but that
five mile ride in the Dream is exciting because we sit up so high. And because we are 102 inches wide it seemed as though we were right on the railing. The sight from the bridge is beautiful with two majestic lakes (Huron and Michigan) joining together. I enjoyed taking a few pictures while we were crossing and have posted them on What's New.

SWIMMING IN LAKE SUPERIOR
It was a short drive from the bridge to Brimley and the state park that we had remembered from 10 years ago. We thought that the park would be empty after the holiday, but it was fairly full with more coming in all the time. We found a nice site in the less popular section at the back of the campground.

It is almost never hot in Michigan's upper peninsula, but the day we arrived was terribly hot and humid. Although we had electricity and could run the air, I just wanted to cool my whole body down quickly so suggested taking a dip in Lake Superior. Ron looked me like I had lost my mind; Lake Superior is always ice cold. I explained that I had just read that Whitefish Bay on which Brimley rests is the warmest in the
whole lake. He said that that wasn't saying much. He was a good sport though; we suited up, grabbed a couple of chairs and headed to the beach. Maybe it was because it was so hot, but the water was refreshing. We even put our chairs right in the water and sat and read for quite a while.

We enjoyed two wonderful days in Brimley. Since we have visited the area many times before, we did not go to Whitefish Point and the Shipwreck Museum this time, but if you go anywhere near that area, we highly recommend both. We drove to Sault Ste. Marie and found a Wal-Mart and a nice grocery store.

There is almost nothing to Brimley, but just down the road is the Bay Mills Indian Casino and Resort. We went to the casino the first night, lost a little money and said we had enough. But Marv, the head ranger at Brimley, said that the restaurant at the resort was good and not expensive so we went back the second night. The buffet which included beverage and dessert was only $7.95 and it was good. Since we were there, I talked Ron into playing the machines just a little bit. He headed to the nickel poker machines and I headed to the dollar slots. With the first three dollars I deposited, I won $150 so I coaxed Ron away from the nickel machines and let him dip into my bucket at the dollar poker machines. I won another $68 and
he lost a little. We went home with $100 which is better than I normally do. Of course it is always fun to win.

FOLLOWING THE NORTHERN SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR

We left Brimley on the morning of July 7 and drove the back road to Sault Ste. Marie, (Soo) Michigan, then jumped on I-75 for the last mile or so of that highway. It took us to the International Bridge which is the link between Soo Michigan and Soo Canada. The bridge at the Soo is short, but does afford a terrific view of the Soo Locks and a huge pulp mill just inside Canada. I was able to get a good pictures from the moving motorhome.

Sault Ste. Marie Canada is a very big and modern city. There is no comparison  to the U.S. city of the same name.

Route 17 in Canada is a beautiful road in scenic value as well as in road condition. It was like a new road. By looking at the map, it looked like there would be few (if any) towns to travel through on the eastern side and that proved to be true.In fact early on we entered the Lake Superior Provincial Park and there were no commercial businesses or houses to be seen. The landscape was that of heavily wooded rolling hills  and the rugged coastline of Lake Superior. I discovered that  looking away for a second meant that I would miss another  spectacular sight. Lake Superior appeared on our left now  and again and always the brief glimpse was awesome and to  the north there were many small lakes with trees so thick around the lakes and on the little islands that it looked like a true wilderness. There were no signs of human life except for those of us traveling the highway.

TOO BIG
We were looking forward to camping in a provincial park and were drawn to one of the three in the Superior Provincial Park. From our campground directory, we learned that Crescent Lake campground only had 15 sites; it was the most easterly  of the three campgrounds. Rabbit Blanket was the most westerly and had 60 sites. We chose to stop at Agawa Bay (the middle campground) because it had 164 sites (21 were pull throughs). All three of the campgrounds listed the site size as about 15 X 60 so we planned to check out the sites before we tried to settle in.

The young ranger at Agawa said we would not have any problem fitting in and assigned us to the longest pull-through. We had planned to unhook the car and drive through the campground first, but she was so confidant that we didn't bother. Feeling good about being able to get into the provincial park, we left
the entrance station and started driving to our site. Just barely into the first turn, we knew we didn't belong at that park. With great difficulty we unhooked the car and even without the car in tow, the turn was so tight that it had to be made by going forward a few inches, then backing up a few inches and so on. I had to be outside running from front to back checking the inches of clearance at each move. With some
skillful maneuvering the turn was made. We were past the point of no return before we even started into that turn. I drove the car behind the motorhome and every few feet, I had to stop the car, get out, and help by directing Ron so he could avoid colliding with trees on either side of the narrow road. There
were trees everywhere and they were brushing the top of the motorhome too. I felt crowded just driving the car and it kept getting worse. We made two more sharp turns (we were making a loop) and passed the campsite she had picked out for us. There was no way we would have ever fit in. Yes, it was long, but it was shaped like a "U." We couldn't have even made the turn if it had been a gentle pull through. I kept thinking of poor Ron who had the hardest job, but at the same time, I was watching this monster of a motorhome going down the lane with trees  within a hair's width on either side. I wished I had had my
camera, but there was no way that I could stop Ron and go into the motorhome to get it. He wouldn't have been in a mood for that and besides I probably couldn't open the door if he stopped. We made it out safely and no damage was done. Ron was calm and gently told the gal that we would not fit and didn't belong. She refunded the money he had paid and we went on down the road.

We were going to try Rabbit Blanket because she suggested that the sites were bigger there, but when we got there, road construction was going on just at the entrance and we didn't feel like dealing with that. We went on down the road and pulled into the Wawa RV Resort and Campground in Wawa which wasn't what we wanted, but it turned out to be very nice; it just wasn't the wooded wilderness we had hoped for.

WAWA
After we were settled in the campground, we took off to explore the town of Wawa. Translated from the Ojibway language, Wawa means "wild goose" and right at the intersection of 17 and 101 is a huge sculpture of a wild goose. The visitor center is also there. We learned of the town's history and got some information on hikes and drives in the area. We also drove downtown and checked out a few of the
stores and the monument to mining which was at the edge of Wawa Lake. We were surprised to see three sea planes parked on the lake and later learned that helping hunters and fishermen get into the wilderness is a big business there. And there is plenty of wilderness north of Wawa.

There was one difficult part of Canada's Route 17 for us and that was that there were few pull offs. So many times, we wanted to stop to get a better view but we didn't dare. When signs indicated that there was a scenic spot, we couldn't tell if it was something we could get out of or not so we avoided them. So early the next morning, we packed a lunch and took off  in the truck backtracking our drive on Route 17. There was a waterfall that I wanted a better look at and some hiking trails that sounded interesting. The first stop on our day-long trip was right in Wawa to view the Scenic High Falls near town. That was a short, but fun trip and the falls were beautiful.

Our next stop was the Old Woman Harbor. A ranger was collecting money for day use and we asked her how long the Old Woman trail was. After learning that she didn't know for sure but thought that it was a four hour hike, we passed on that one and continued east. By the way, the day charge (if you are
not camping in the provincial park is $7.50 (Canadian, of course). This provincial park is unique in that the trans Canada highway goes through it so the charges are paid at the different hiking spots (self registry type of thing) and the day charge is good at any/all stops. There were rangers at every spot we stopped checking for up-to-date passes.

Most of the evening before we had been talking about our close call at the Agawa Campground and we wondered if we should have checked out Rabbit Blanket after all. On our day-long trip, we made a little stop and after explaining that we were just checking out campgrounds for future reference, we were allowed to go into the campground. There were many sites we could have fit into. Now you know that and next time we will be better prepared.

We pulled off at the next hiking sign (Gargantua) to learn that we needed to drive 8 miles down a rough dirt road to get to the trail head. We started out and went about 3 miles. It was such slow going that we decided we would be taking most of our time just driving the road. We got back on 17 and continued
east again.

Trapper's trail was the next stop and we enjoyed a hike that followed the shoreline of Rustle Lake which was originally nothing more than a wide portion of a forest stream. Beavers dammed it and aquatic plant life grew inot the shallow waters forming the wetland. There were two viewing platforms and we
enjoyed watching for signs of wildlife. No one was home or at least they wouldn't come to the water. It seemed that we had the world to ourselves. In spots the trail was very rugged with many tree roots exposed and it was a little muddy in  spots too.

For lunch we stopped at Katherine Cove and sat on some large rocks at the edge of Lake Superior. The sun was warm and it was fun to watch the birds and hear the gentle waves brush the rocks. The lake looked peaceful and calm.

In the nice sized Wawa tourist booklet they listed many hikes and canoe trips for the serious outdoor enthusiast. If you are into 5-7 day hikes, they have a few to offer. Or how about a 10-14 day canoe adventure? The little footnote at the bottom of the canoeing page will help you understand a little
about this magnificent lake. "Caution is advised when travelling on Lake Superior. Except for protected bays and beaches in late summer, the water is very cold. The weather is very unpredictable; winds can abruptly change; heavy fog and waves can develop quickly. Pack safety equipment, extra food and warm clothing. Be sure to inform park staff or others of your plans and anticipated return date. The lake is calmest in June and July." People have been lost forever from this lake. Remember the big freighter named the Edmond Fitzgerald? Not a single crew member was ever found.

We turned back to the campground just after we reached the easternmost part of the Provincial park at Crescent Lake. On our way back I happened to notice that every little while someone had placed cairns on top of the higher ledges on the sides of the highway. Cairns are a grouping of rocks placed on top of each other pointing the way on a trail. This was no trail; this was a highway. It puzzled me why I was seeing them quite regularly. We were watching the Canadian National news later that night and they told about a movement started by an artist who has a shop in Toronto and sells cairns. They are not sure who started placing them on the highways but they are there. I guess people put them along the highways just for
fun. The next day, I climbed up to a ledge, created a cairn and left it there.  Why not!

HAWK JUNCTION
We were almost back to the campground when Ron said he would like to explore a little of Highway 101 which goes north from Wawa. I had noticed an ad for a restaurant and "gas bar" in Hawk Junction. It just seemed strange to see that combination of words in conjunction with a restaurant. I knew it was just
a little ways up the road, so we headed in that direction. Once we left the outskirts of Wawa, the road seemed lonesome. There were no houses, just trees, lakes and signs telling us to watch out for moose. When we got to Hawk Junction there was the restaurant and one gasoline pump and the signs indicated
that it was also the post office. We drove through the streets and saw houses of modest means, a school, but no other signs of business. I couldn't stand not knowing more about the town so we went into the restaurant for a cup of coffee. It was a cute little restaurant and the coffee was great. Since it was about 4 p.m. and the time for my mid-afternoon snack, I asked  about desserts. The butter tarts were baking but they did have  "maid of honor" tarts. We each ordered one and till the day I  die, I will remember how delicious they were. The jam and coconut filling was yummy and the crust was perfect.

We learned that the town's business is the railroad and were directed to the "business district" that we missed. It consisted of an old run down hotel, a confectionery store and a bar which advertised that they also sold the "sexiest worms on earth." The train runs to Hearst through a wilderness (there are no roads between Hawk Junction and Hearst) and transports hunters and fishermen to any stop they choose along
the way. The trains run on certain days of the week, so the sportsmen will know when to hike back to the track for a ride out. The railroad and sea plane business is good in this prime wilderness area.

DINNER SURPRISE
Since it was Ron's birthday, I offered to take him out to dinner and had noticed an ad for the Cedarhof restaurant in Wawa. It boasted that it was highly recommended in the book, "Where to eat in Canada." This cute little restaurant can only seat 37 at the various tables which were all covered with pretty sunflower tablecloths. We arrived at a good time and took a table set for two near a window. There were fresh flowers on all the tables and we started with some wine. The fresh Lake Superior trout that Ron had was "something to die for," he said. He just couldn't get over how well it had been prepared. I chose a delicious peach chicken dish with wild rice. Even though I was full, I ordered a piece of homemade lemon meringue pie which was huge. Ron's took a fancy to the wild berry torte. Our waitress had heard me  mention that it was Ron's birthday so she delivered his dessert with a candle on top.

The restaurant was full and when the waitress started to sing "Happy Birthday, everyone joined in. It was neat. Shortly after the singing,a lady near the center of the restaurant said, "Excuse me" in a kind of pleading voice, and we all looked up to see her pointing toward the glass entry door. With our eyes, we followed her finger. Imagine our surprise to see a black bear pressing his nose and paws right into the
glass. The young and beautiful waitress went to the door (now mind you she was dressed in a long black skirt and high heals) and from the inside shooed it away then opened the door to further holler at it. Everyone was like one big family talking about the bear and what excitement it was. The waitress
said that that one has been around a lot and told about a day last summer when she went out to the shed to get desserts. She had left the door open and when she turned around there were three bears in the shed with her. She screamed and the owner came to her rescue. Guess we really were in the wilderness.

We were scheduled to leave Wawa the next morning, but awoke to the sound of rain. It looked like an all day thing so we decided to stay one more day. Without reservations and a schedule we had no reason to drive on a rainy day. It turned out to be a very relaxing day; we both read and did a little computer work. The next day dawned bright and sunny. It was a perfect day for travel so we did.

SCHREIBER
Again by looking at the map and campground directory and still wanting to camp in a provincial park, we planned to try getting into Rainbow Falls park just west of Schreiber. This time, even though the ranger said we would fit fine, we asked to check first. She agreed so we quickly unhooked the car and drove to the site she had picked for us. It was beautifully wooded, but we had no trouble fitting into the long, straight, pull through site. And they had plenty of sites for RVs of our size.

We like to take off and drive the park, search out the nearby towns and see what is available our first afternoon. What we discovered was that the town of Rossport a little west was also nice and would have been okay for us too, but we preferred the woods to the lake shore. Rossport was a cute little village with Bed and Breakfasts and little restaurants and gift shops.

Schrieber (east of our park just a few miles) was not at all touristy and we were surprised to see Christmas decorations on the lamp posts and houses fully decorated for Christmas. I could ran into a store to inquire and learned that they have a Christmas in July each year and everyone decorates like it was December. We also learned that the town is made up of many people of Italian decent so we searched out an Italian
restaurant.

Rosie and Josies sounded great and it was. This large attractive restaurant had an ample menu with many traditional  items. Ron ordered spaghetti with hot Italian sausage and I ordered baked lasagna. We were surprised to find our waitress was in fact Josie, the owner of the restaurant. Rosie retired nine years ago, but her name remains on the building. Josie said she cooks all day and waits tables at night.

We stayed at Rainbow Falls for two nights and on our second day, we walked down the 180 steps to view the falls, then hiked up to the top of the trail on the other side of the Whitesands River to view a spectacular sight. It was a panoramic view of Lake Superior. Yes, we climbed back up those 180 steps too.

It was an easy drive from Rainbow Falls along more good road to reach Thunder Bay. We really hadn't decided on a campground yet and from the Trailer Life Campground Directory and our Map and Go program on the computer, we had picked three that were possible. We decided to check out the first one we came to and go further on if that wasn't okay. The KOA was the one. It was on the east side of town and had big sites. For only the second time since we left Mesa, Arizona, late in May, we got a full hook up site and as a bonus didn't have to worry about trees. The campground rate was very reasonable at only $20 (Canadian)which translated to about $12.50 American.  Such a bargain!!

We didn't do much the first day, and planned to visit Old Fort William all day on our second day. But when we woke up the second day it was raining and looked like it would last forever. We decided that if it cleared up, we would go to the fort, otherwise we would stay another day. It is nice to have such flexibility.

It did clear up at noon so off we went. We could have spent the whole day at the fort because it is the best we have ever visited. They do a terrific job at presenting life as it was in this large fur trading fort in the early 1800's. We were most impressed at the knowledge of the players. We played along and asked lots of questions as though it was 1815. We were rewarded with great answers. We learned of the
competition between the Hudson Bay company and the North West Company; we witnessed a council meeting, talked with the doctor's wife, many tradesmen and much more.

A definite highlight of the day was being able to see a birch bark canoe being built and learned that only six people in all of North America know this old art. If you have access to the web, you might enjoy some of the pictures of our day at the fort.

We left Canada the next morning (July 14) with some mixed feelings. Our time there had been too short but so very relaxing that we felt rejuvenated. As soon as we entered the states at Grand Portage, Minnesota, we were welcomed with less than perfect roads. Oh how we had been spoiled in both
Michigan and Canada and when we checked into the municipal campground here at Grand Marais, we were shocked to find that they had recently raised the camp site price nearly 50 percent. It went from under $20.00 to a shocking $29.00  (plus change) per night for a full hook up site. Even the water and electric site is $26.52 per night. We had already ordered our mail to come here, so we are stuck --- kind of.  If mail doesn't come Friday, we will leave anyway and have  the post office here forward it. When we checked in, we were  given a site that a small class C could barely fit into so  we asked for another.The choices we were given were not good;  they were short, or terribly unlevel or muddy. But one regular
camper came to our rescue and told us that we should look at  sites on the west side of the park. We found lots of good sites that would suit us and requested several different ones,  but most were reserved and all the while the clerk tried to steer us to unacceptable sites. Even though we had paid for 3 days,
we took a site that was only available for two days and asked for a refund for the third day. "We don't give refunds," was the reply. When we asked about the exorbitant rate hike, we were told that they can't discuss it and that we should go to city hall to complain. If we had had any clue that this campground
would increase their rate so much we would have stayed in Canada and entered Minnesota from highway 71 rather than 61 avoiding this high tourist area.

After we got settled we went for a ride in our Toyota truck. Low and behold we found Cascade River state park just south of here. I had Ron stop and I went into the office to see if we could just drive through the park (they weren't busy) and see if our motorhome would fit the sites. We have done this many times and never been refused. We were refused; we had to have a state park sticker. No way was I gonna buy one when I might not be able to use it. She wouldn't budge and just said that there were a few sites that a 40 foot motorhome would fit in. You know what I thought (@#$%%^)? But I just went on my merry way. The final straw came when we went to the IGA grocery store. We smiled but she couldn't say "Hi" or "How are you?" or "Go to Hell" and when she didn't say "Thank you" Ron said, "You're welcome" anyway.

The view of the lake here is beautiful, but not any prettier than Leland, Michigan, or Grand Marais, Michigan, and definitely not worth what these people apparently think it is worth.

A FOOTNOTE AS WE ARE READY TO SEND THIS OUT

We went back to the office this morning and the manager was much more helpful and cheerfully refunded us one night's camping fee. We asked who to see at the Town Hall and were directed to talk with Russell Good.

We explained to the clerks at the Town Hall that we were writers and wanted some information on the new campground fees. Mr. Good wasn't in. The two clerks said that they weren't able to discuss anything about the situation. They indicated (as did the campground people) that they don't like the new change either and suggested that our questions might be answered by the members of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) who were responsible for the change. We were given three names: Ron Lund (his mother owns Lund's Motel which is across from the campground); Gene Erickson who owns "what's left of the Standard gas station" and Don Schulte at Super America. One clerk added that Don Schulte had tried to get the vote changed and apologized to the campers which indicitated that the other two were the ones we needed to talk to.

The Standard station was easy to spot, but there were no gas pumps. We walked into the little dingy office and asked if Mr. Erickson was in. He was on a wrecker call and we were told he should return soon. We went across to the Ben Franklin store to wait for his wrecker to show up. An obvious sign at the edge of the gas station said, "Future home of Harbor park."

When Mr.Erickson returned we walked to the wrecker and waited while he chatted to the UPS man. Ron introduced himself and stated that we were writers and wanted more information on the campground fees. We could tell that he has had to answer these questions many times and in fact later said that he gets
people everyday who want to know about the fee. is first response was, "We are on Lake Superior, as you can see." Right away Ron mentioned that we have camped on Lake Superior in other beautiful settings and that is not an excuse for such a high increase all of a sudden.

From the sketchy information we got while standing in the cold breeze in front of the station, we learned that the real gripe is from people who have cottages here. When they leave in the winter they have to pay $40 per month in utility bills even though they turn their utilities off when they leave. They blame the campground for this and believe that the residents subsidize the campground. Then Mr. Erickson said that there are RVs in the park with skirting all around and flower boxes and those people stay all summer but don't have to pay the winter bills like the cottage owners do. "Oh, so that's it," I thought. People think that the seasonal campers have it made. Does anyone stop to think though that cottage owners have appreciation in their property values where the RV renter has nothing. If it is unfair and we don't think so, why not just raise the rent on the seasonal renter?

There is something fishy here and it isn't the whitefish. Both the Standard station and the motel are run down. It doesn't look like business is good for either of them and then there is the soon to be developed Harbor Park. Why are they cutting off their noses? Mr. Erickson agreed that the increase was 30
percent this year and 20 percent last year which truly adds up to a whopping 50 percent. He tried to tell us that Two Harbors south of here has the same rate but we knew better and told him so. We have a reservation (our first since we left Arizona) for that park tomorrow and the rate is $19.00.

Ron added that if the sites were paved and level and if the electricity was 50 AMP, it might be worth more, but as is it is the most expensive campground of its sort in North America except for Wildnerness park at Disney World and they have Mickey and Minnie.

BOYCOTT GRAND MARIAS, MINNESOTA
It is obvious from all we have heard and seen that business in this town is down. When people who have reservations come and discover suddenly the inflated price, they will remember and not come back. We say, "Boycott Grand Marias, Minnesota." Try Two Harbors just down the road or Grand Marias in Michigan. They have a lovely city park and the rates are very reasonable. Granted Grand Marias in Michigan is not as fancy, but as the man said, being on Lake Superior counts a whole lot. I am not even going to take a picture of this harbor. I don't want you to even be curious about it. If you come here,
leave your RV somewhere else.

We have had good luck again getting email even in state parks in Michigan. At Brimley, Marv (the head ranger), was very congenial. I make sure I tell them that I use a toll-free access number and will only be on the phone a short time, and I add that most prefer that I use the FAX line as that does not hinder the park from receiving phone calls.

Just after I posted the last newsletter and mentioned that we would not be getting email in Canada and that we were going to the "wilderness." I reveived a couple of emails from Canadian women who let me know that there are phones in Canada and that it is not wilderness. I apologized and will post the letters when next I do that, but we were in a remote area most of the time.

In Canada, the 800 access number for our internet service provider does not work. Nor was there a local number that I could use. So we really were out of touch by email. The folks at the campground in Wawa were very kind to let me use the phone line, but my numbers just wouldn't work and I didn't want to have them incur a toll call and/or try to figure the charges.

We had a cell phone signal in both Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay (Ontario) but not a thing in between. We checked voice mail by using a pay phone and our calling card. Even if we had had a signal, we wouldn't have used the cell phone for anything other than an emergency because there is an extra
charge of 65 cents per minute when calling from Canada with our AT & T one rate service.

Thought for today: Why should a town benefit from a view that it didn't create? Maybe the profit from the high prices they charge should all go to the church. After all it is God's creation.

After crossing the bridge at Sault Ste Marie, we began heading west. It will take a while, but we are actually heading to Mesa, Arizona---the long way.

As Barb tells the story, it was a birthday that I will never forget. Do you think they planned for that bear to appear?

My soul mate actually had me fooled when we got out of the newsletter business over a year ago. I should have known that she would get us right back into it somehow. At least I don't have to fold, stamp, staple and mail anymore.

It's hard to avoid tourist areas when traveling in the north country during the summer, but I will try harder. Do you think it will be crowded in the Dakota's and western Nebraska? We'll let you know.

You may think that the old accountant just likes the exchange rate, but I really do like Canada and the Canadian people. Last summer we were in Alberta, this summer Ontario and next summer perhaps British Columbia. I even have some Canadian currency left over.

We have just heard that Dick Goodman is now in a hospice. I am sure he would appreciate all of our prayers. Those of you who attended our camp out in Februaru will remember that he and his wife Alyce were with us and he was so happy to be a part of our group. Thank you.

Remember my dental surgery early in May? I honestly thought that eating would be difficult for a long time but I am happy to report that just recently I have eaten crunchy carrots, steak and peanuts all with ease. Whoopie!!!

While we were camping in Tawas over the July 4 weekend, we did a little mental researching to remember all the different places we had spent that holiday since we have been on the road. Interestingly, two were spent in England and were among our fondest memories. One bed and breakfast where we were staying had a picnic and celebration for us because they liked Americans even though we beat their "bloody butts." One time we were volunteering in Yosemite and we were all alone in the woods after working hours. And a couple of times we were in state parks that were not in a high tourist area. Last year we
were in Thermopolis, Wyoming, in a nice quiet campground and it was like a normal day. Next year we will remember these things.

Many who travel depend on USA today as their newspaper and national news on the TV for news. If we hadn't been watching local television in Canada, I never would have discovered  the mystery of the cairns along the highway.

We had cool, but pleasant weather once we got into Canada. A good indicator of what winter is like here, we saw the following sign near the entrance of a donut shop in Wawa: "Warning,snow and ice may fall from the roof." We also saw huge supplies of snowmobiles and snowshoes for sale.

We couldn't get over how clean and liter free the highways were in Canada and there are no signs indicating that volunteers do the clean up.

Another thing we liked about Ontario parks was the tender way rules were posted. There were no threatening tones to them.

When you get this I will have posted two great new articles in our Guest section. One is about Chicken, Alaska, and the other is on Newfoundland. Also Ron's latest View from the Driver's Seat article is now on the web.

Until next time, happy trails!!!