Road Trip To Peace River - Day 2

The big Canadian Goose, Wawa, Ont.
It was windy, so our eyes our closed :p

This morning we left Sault Ste Marie at 9 and our first stop was the town of Wawa, ON. Home of NHL player Chris Simon, as well as the big goose!

After Wawa, we drove through the towns of White River and Terrace Bay (home of Jesse Bedard, our friend from back home).

We noticed that no matter how small the city, 500 or 15,000, there seemed to be an LCBO in each of them...

Our drive today was much more scenic then yesterdays and we saw some pretty cool wildlife.

One of the many natural beaches between Sault Ste. Marie
and Thunder Bay.

At one point, two hawks were circling the highway and one swooped downwards towards our car. The wingspan was about the size of our windshield! We made some stops along the highway to take some pictures and enjoy the breathtaking views.

We also got to enjoy the Lake Superior shoreline for the majority of our trip, which consisted of natural beaches and many steep climbs that provided a good view once we were at the top. It was truly beautiful.

A view down a mountain and through an opening in the
Canadian Shield. Lake Superior at the foot.

We continued our trip to Thunder Bay where we stopped for dinner and refueled. Along the highway gas was priced at $1.56/litre, however, we discovered a cheaper gas price within the city (still $1.4
3), making us a little happier!

Jeff would like me to mention that Thunder Bay is the home of NHL brothers Mark, Jordan, and Eric Staal.

We then decided to continue our travels to Dryden, Ontario where we are going to get some rest, making today’s trip a total of 1045 kilometers.

The sun was shining bright until 10 p.m., and when we arrived in Dryden at 10:30, the sun had just set and it stayed bright until 11:30ish. Unreal.

Since we decided to push our trip to Dryden today, we will be passing through Winnipeg early tomorrow morning, checking out the city, and then heading into Saskatchewan to end tomorrow’s leg of the trip. Keep posted!

Love and peace to everyone,

Cass & Jeff

Here are a few pictures taken on today's drive... Click them for a bigger view.

Stopped along the highway just outside Sault Ste Marie,
to get a great shot of the Lake Superior shoreline.

A small but beautiful waterfall located along the highway just
outside of Wawa, ON.

Finally came across a "restroom" stop.
Not much of a restroom if you ask me (Cassie). 

Jeff and I with the waterfall! There are resting areas along
the highway, near the most picturesque places.

The small towns between the Soo and Thunder Bay were
definitely preachers. This was the last of about 15 signs we
saw along the highway.

A great shot of Lake Superior while driving along the shore.

Jeff with the Manitouwadge welcome sign

Road Trip to Peace River, Alta. - Day 1

Departing St. Catharines!

We made great progress on our first day – skipped any long-weekend traffic and set it on cruise control the whole way.

Our first stop was in Muskoka on Horseshoe Lake Rd. (near the Blay's cottage) at a Petro Canada to refuel, and then we stopped in Sudbury for lunch.

After taking the 69 to Sudbury, we then took the 17 to Sault Ste Marie.

When we first got onto the 17, we saw this black Nissan Altima with no license plates (or dealer plates) of any kind and two gangsta’s were driving it, so obviously we thought it was stolen. 

We ended up behind the car for a couple hours, but it sped ahead. However, we did catch up to it a bit later – pulled over on the side of the road by two O.P.P. cruisers; our suspicions were right!

It was neat going through a few small towns between Sudbury and the Soo, and after departing St. Catharines just after 7 a.m., we arrived in the Soo by 4 p.m.

If you've never been to the Soo before, you're not missing much, but it seems to be a very old city with some character. We stayed by the waterfront and you can view Michigan across the water. 

Aside from the beauties of Muskoka and the Canadian Shield along the highway that we have all seen many times, there wasn’t much visual excitement worth taking pictures of, and Sault Ste Marie didn’t have much either, which is why you’re only getting a picture of the welcome sign.

(Hopefully our next few days will bring some better and more interesting images. Today was the longest day of travel, so we will have time to stop and check things out more from here on in.)

As previously mentioned, the Soo doesn’t have much to it – but with just 75,000 people, they do have a gorgeous arena downtown called the Essar Centre (below) where the Soo Greyhounds play (proves a small town can still build a decent facility).

Essar Centre, Sault Ste Marie, Ont. Home of Soo Greyhounds (OHL)

We're going to be watching the Bruins/Lightning game before bed and getting up bright an early to embark on our second day of the trip. 

Thanks for checking in, and we will be updating again tomorrow night from the Thunder Bay area. 

Catch yah then, 

Jeff & Cass

Roadtrippin'

Hello friends and family.

As you know, we will be departing for Peace River, Alberta on May 23, taking roughly a week to drive there through Canada.

We will be updating this blog daily from our hotel rooms with pictures and updates from the trip, so check back in frequently!

Our first day will take us to Sault St. Marie Ontario, and from there we will be headed to Thunder Bay, before exiting the province and making out next stop in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

From Winnipeg, we head to Saskatchewan, through Regina and into Saskatoon. Our last stop will of course be in Edmonton, Alberta, where we will be staying for a couple days to take in the West Edmonton Mall and the city in general.

The final leg of the trip will take us through Grande Prairie and into Peace River, where we will be residing for the summer (and longer for Jeff).

To give you a grasp on just how far into the boonies our destination is, below is a link to a map of the area.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=peace+river+alberta&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Peace+River,+AB&gl=ca&ei=0x-_Tb-xNI2btweP1Oi9BQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ8gEwAA

More exciting things to come throughout the trip!

Check back soon,

Jeff & Cassie