Camping in Thunder Bay

We slept one night in Thunder Bay.

We were all exhausted and slept well. It was warm that night. So hot that you didn't really need a blanket, but you wanted one to keep off all the mosquitoes.

When Mommy went to bed, she killed all the mosquitoes she could find. She went to bed feeling great that she saved everyone from the horrible bugs.

Then she woke up, took one look at the ceiling, and realized, that she missed tons! Ahh!

It was a great place to camp and visit. We felt so welcome!

They even built a campfire, and we roasted hot dogs! Camping can't get any better.

Northern Ontario

In Northern Ontario there was lots of trees, and strange sculptures.

One gas station had a giant mosquito carrying a person, as well as a knife and fork.

Another small town had a float plane. This was great to talk about how airplanes take off, and how hard it is to clear land for an airport, when it is easier to land on water.

Vermilion had a stone person. We have no clue as to the proper spelling of Inookshook

In Kakabecka Falls we stopped at a shop to see the rocks. Courtney and Nicole each bought a small piece of Amethyst.

Manitoba

After nine hours of driving and 500km, Mommy switched with Daddy.

Daddy drove us through Manitoba in darkness.

Lots of us kids said we never slept on the trip, but Mommy has proof!

Daddy made much better time at night then Mommy. He didn't have to stop for so many washroom breaks. Also nothing was open to see at night. Daddy made 500km in the first 5 hours!

Rocks in Sudbury

Visiting the Dynamic Earth. Each kid pointed out their favorite rock.

There were even rock experiments to do.

Thunder Bay's Mountain.

Heather took us up the mountain to look out and see the valley.

She showed us lots of things... including the sleeping giant.

Falls

Heather also showed us the falls.... It was a beautiful view... but the name was hard.

karabacka?.. kecabecka?... kacabacka?.. something like that.

Stopping to see Salt

Mommy spent some time this year, learning about Salt.

As we drove through Saskatchewan. Mommy saw salt everywhere. She had to stop!

She learned that in Western Canada there is salt deposits that start in the North West Territories, and continue all through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Is some places it can be over 100 feet deep.

She also learned that in there is a Salt water lake that attracts salt water birds. These birds often migrate from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, stopping here along the way.


As a family, we have driven past this lookout over the salt lake a number of times. This time we stopped to see what this was all about.

We climbed the steps and look over. We read about the different birds that can be seen here. Pictures were taken. One thing off the "I wish we could stop and see list" has now been crossed off.

Seven Persons

We decided we would stop whenever we saw something interesting.

Our first stop was Seven Persons.

We walked into a grain elevator that had been converted into a butcher shop and gallery.

On the wall inside, was one of the legend of Seven Persons.

Long ago, a group of natives were hunting. As they pushed through the grasses, they came to a strange sight.

High in the trees, were seven bodies, all in a row. They were in a perfect line, as if they had been following each other, and somehow died. They natives were puzzled with this site, as the bodies were not in decay.

Drawing back, the natives sat to watch for several days to see if anyone would come to claim the bodies. No one came, and the bodies never changed. Always perfect, and never decaying.
Thinking this must be a spiritual site, the group of natives decided to build a rock wall around the bodies to mark this special spot. Upon completing this, the natives named the site seven persons, they move on.

The following year, the natives again returned to the site. This time, nothing was found. The bodies and the stone wall they had constructed had disappeared, leaving not a trace.


The gallery was up the top of the grain elevator. Everyone walked up the steps to see the pictures, and sayings on the wall.

"We do not remember days, we remember moments." and "Cherish yesterday, Dream tomorrow, and Live today" were just a few on the wall.

Just outside the door, was this beautiful cactus plant. Kenny thought it was an amazing plant. He wanted to take some on the spikes with us on our trip. Mommy thought it would be better to just take a few pictures and leave the spikes there.









We signed the guestbook. It was sitting on the original butcher block.

We hit the open road

On Friday June 19th, around noon, we were on our way. The weather the good, the road was straight, and Mommy took the first leg of the trip. Everything was piled into or on top of the van. Missy even came.


Each kid had their pillow, a blanket, and their backpack. They all had books to read, 'thought journals' to write or draw in, and maps to mark along the way. They also brought some cuddly toys, or cars to play with. We also listened to stories on CD, only during the times everyone was awake so no one would miss anything. (We didn't have any DVD's or DS, and still arrived with little fighting)

We stopped along the way to pick up snack food. We ate nuts, pretzels, dried fruit, apple sauce, fruit cups, bananas, granola bars, beef jerky, and sometimes even pancakes, or hamburgers.