Monday September 12th

We had only returned from the Alaska trip on the previous Wednesday, but we were very conscious that the warm weather was coming to an end, and that we had to set out for Labrador soon. We were only home long enough to fix a few problems, plough through three months of mail, clean up, and transfer everything from the trailer to the camper. Jeff's daughter Chelsea had packed his property when she was out in BC, and she'd done a good job. The cardboard containers for the pictures all went on top of our bed and the boxes of books and ornaments were lined up alongside the sofa. We could move around the camper, one at a time, but sleeping or sitting required advance planning and a clear strategy. We expected to be at their place by the weekend, so we weren't going to be cramped for long.

We had a good start to the trip, a scenic drive across Wisconsin, along the Namekagon River, familiar territory for us. This was a similar route to the one we took in April last year, and it was nice to see the occasional golden-coloured tree in the woods instead of the occasional snowbank that we did back then. Similarly, a humid eighty degrees was better than last year's snowstorms. We had a long way to go that day, so we just piled on the miles across Michigan, not stopping until the weather looked threatening and we pulled into Beaufort Lake, a forest service campground. It was a nice cheap spot on a sandy lake, like most of those in Michigan. We had just enough time to sit outside and sink a beer before the deluge began. With thunderstorms rolling through it was a noisy, steamy night.

Tuesday September 13th

Fall colours had come early to this part of Michigan, and we had a pretty drive through the woods and along the south shore of Lake Superior. We were a little concerned that the leaves might be all gone for most of our trip. Lake Superior looked very inviting but it's just as cold here as it is in Minnesota. The beaches here are big sweeping sandy crescents, very different from Minnesota's rocky north shore.

I had accidentally brought the truck's keys with me so we took a side trip into Sault St Marie to mail them back home. The "Soo" is an interesting place, sitting on the edge of the great locks that tamed the "sault" or rapids that connect Lake Superior with Lake Michigan. The Canadian town is accessed by a long bridge that extends over part of the American town and the locks. The Canadian customs office is at the end of the bridge and, of course, we had to declare that we had this pile of Jeff's stuff we were delivering into Canada. We pointed out that it had all started from Canada in the first place. "Do you any documentation?" "Er, it says Jeff on the boxes." She waved us through but we had to stop and wait for another inspection. We had to get out the camper, but leave the engine running. Then a truck with a long arm and an attached camera, drove the length of the camper, taking an x-ray of the contents, rather like what dentists use, but on a much larger scale. Sandie asked how come the Canadians had this equipment but the Americans didn't. The guard said the Americans do have them but they don't tell you they are doing the X-ray. Oh! Anyway, they must have liked the picture as we and Jeff's belongings were waved on into Canada.

The weather was good for our drive along the north shore of Lake Huron. The trees here were mainly green, so maybe Michigan was just an anomaly, something to do with the sandy soil. There was no sand here, just rock and water and trees. It was getting dark, so we dived into Chutes provincial park, the only park along this road. It was a bit pricey by western standards, but we later found that to be typical for the eastern provinces. Prices have more than doubled in the last five years.

The park is named after the logging chutes that used to bypass the waterfall many years ago. They were meant to avoid the log jams that often formed at rapids and waterfalls. The chutes are long gone, but the waterfall is still there and quite noisy. I followed the noise and found the falls but by that time it was dark.

Wednesday September 14th

We made an early start as we hoped to cover 350 miles by evening. We weren't going all the way to Verona, but, instead, were stopping off in Hamilton to meet up with the Johnsons again. We took a quick look at the River aux Sables and the waterfall in the morning sunshine, and then we were off towards Sudbury. Heavy rain started as we turned south towards Toronto and stayed with us most of the day. The road follows the coast of Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, but not close enough for us to see the lake. Mostly the scenery is just rock and more rock, with a few trees and the occasional river encased in a steep-walled canyon. Closer to Toronto the road becomes the 400 freeway, mostly blasted out of solid rock, looking like a man-made canyon.