Thunder Bay or Bust

My time in Winnipeg, Manitoba  has come to an end. I researched the city till my eyes went blue and hiked the parks till my feet felt like jello – all the time taking pictures, scribbling  notes and putting hundreds of kilometres behind me. I was glad to pack up my base camp and leave the campground I was currently staying in as the mosquitoes were very big and hungry, the bathrooms dirty and the showers very cold and wimpy. The campground needed work but my choices were limited. It was time to move on.

The days ahead were going to be busy ones. Lots of ground to cover. According to my plans I wanted to research the beach communities located north of Winnipeg  before I hit the backroad highways taking me into the province of Ontario to meet my brother who was scouting out possible winter accommodations for us. I was excited.  He was excited. It has been 3 weeks now since we have seen each other. But before the reunion there was work to be done.

I had marked down that I wanted to visit and research Winnipeg Beach, Grand Beach, Victoria Beach and the village of Gimli located north of Winnipeg first. And I am glad I did. They were beautiful beaches. Beaches which the community of Winnipeg does not market very well. It is easy to see why the rest of the country sees Winnipeg as only hay and canola fields. There is so much more!  What cute little hamlets the beach communities were. All centred around large sandy beaches.

Winnipeg Beach was probably my favorite because of the cute little village, the boardwalk path, the mural seawall and the white sandy beach. The beach was littered with people. Some people just laid there melting away under the intense sun, others were swimming, sailing, boating, fishing, jet boating or canoeing. All were enjoying the 33 degree weather.  I, on the other hand was sticking to my clothes not embarrassed to perspire. And believe me I did that very well.

Lucky for me I started early in the morning at about 7 AM as the beach communities took me to 2 in the afternoon to complete.. and I still had to put some major kilometres behind me so I would reach Whiteshell Park by nightfall. Whiteshell Park is a major park located east of Winnipeg on the border with Ontario. It was a must stop because of the popularity of the park and it was going to be my overnight pass out location.

I am not a big fan of Hwy #1  as it is an expressway – not a sightseeing route as no one lets you enjoy the sights.  There is constant pressure from other drivers which sucks. Hwy #1 is full of tail gating truckers, cars zipping by at the speed of light and big diesel trucks driven by people with small man syndrome passing on double yellow lines. What is it with them. People on Hwy #1 do not like being lined up behind a laid back BC boy who drives the speed limit and wants to see everything.

Whiteshell Park Sunset

I pulled into Whiteshell Park just in time for some pictures and a beautiful sunset. Lucky I was tired as the skies were about to erupt. That night the ground shook with the loudest thunderstorms I have ever witnessed. The skies lit up so much that it could of easily passed as daytime. The rain was so hard I thought it was going to pierce the roof of my camper. I was surrounded by what seemed like a marching band on steroids. So much for a good nights sleep.

Up at 6 AM .. I headed straight to the Ontario border (main picture).  There was going to be no research on this leg of the trip as that would come later. My goal was to reach Thunder Bay at a reasonable hour and meet up with Bro. During this leg of the trip I listened to my french tapes over and over again as the radio was limited.  I will have this french language thing down pat by next year if it kills me.

Merci ( are you impressed yet.. ha ha ha)