Did 360 miles today and am stopped for the day in the town of Blind River. That's a name I just can't see. Maybe there is some special story behind it.
Got a latish start after breakfasting on my first omelet on this trip. Unfortunately, it was on the low end of acceptable and wouldn't have been that if I hadn't been hungry. Rained slightly the first 30-40 miles, but was a nice break from the humidity. Kind of like on-bike air conditioning. After 150 miles, I made a planned stop at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park. I attach pictures. Before I do, however, let me tell you about what is in some of them. I have pictures of two canoes. One is a single man, two in a pinch, little birch bark number, paddled by a little old man who only took it out on Sundays. The other is the Mack Truck of birchbark canoes. Thirty-six feet long, six feet at its widest, three feet high. When it was fully loaded, it had only about six inches of freeboard. This is a replica of a craft used in the fur trade. Personally, I had no idea they were so large. Apparently, they could go as long as forty feet before they got so heavy they would just break during a portage.
The canoes in these pictures are the real deal, constructed as the old ones were. I hope you can read a bit of these.
These are a couple of the one man sports coupe.
Note the fancy grill work in the last picture.
These are the Mack truck. Three pictures, stern, middle, and bow.
I estimate the birch bark to be about 3/16ths inch thick. Note how close the supports are to one another.
This is a shot from bow to stern.
Here are examples of some of the furs that were the object of all this effort.
After leaving the provincial park, I looked for weirdness. Found some. Saw a sign for a place where you could "MAKE YOUR OWN GREAT WINE - Ready in 4 to 6 weeks!" Personally, I think they're aging it too much.
One of the reasons I traveled only 360 miles today is the speed limits are designed for driver trainees. The limit on the equivalent of U.S interstates is 100 kilometers per hour. That's about 64. On other parts of the Trans-Canada Highway, the limit is 90 kph. Think of the old two-lane US highways and you have the general idea. The Canadian roads do, however, have some improvements over the old US roads. Every few miles the road widens to three lanes so you have two lanes in one direction and one in the other. This allows for easy passing and the traffic moves right along. I'd forgotten this nifty feature. Except for the interstate equivalents, however, the roads go through towns, not around them, and are not limited access. They are nice drives, though. Saw a beaver dam and several lodges right off the side of the road. Also several signs warning of moose crossing. Only other place I'd seen this was in Maine.
The signs, of course, are in both English and French. Got me thinking about how many French words the English language has just adopted outright, and how many more are modified. For example, 'ville' for 'town' yields 'village.' There are phrases that just don't translate, though. "Take zat, feelthy English peeg dog!" simply cannot be translated into the continent's predominant tongue.
Here is the view from my accommodations for the night. Lake Huron, it is.
I forgot to share some of my favorite signs from Vermont. "Hidden Drives" and don't we all have that problem? Even when doing our self-improvement best we still have at least one "Hidden Drive Left."
Checked my maps and I figure 6 days to Calgary. Taking it easy and may make a stop in Winnipeg for an oil change.
Night, night.
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ReplyDeleteSounds like a grand day, and a fitting one to travel through such history. Let's get one of the coupe jobs - I like the birch! You portage, I'll paddle. :-)
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