The next adventure destination in our sights is Lake Superior Provincial Park located on the eastern shores of Lake Superior – situated between the communities of Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Highway 17 in Northern Ontario, Canada
The travel route crossing Ontario, Canada can be very challenging at times. Ontario is the highest populated province with some very large cities. The main highway routes always seem to push you towards the Canada/USA border and involve navigating some of the larger cities in the province like Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton and Barrie, Ontario, Canada.
They are great city destinations in Canada for culture, attractions, entertainment, dining, night life and so much more. However, this road trip was all about getting from “Point A” to “Point B” in one piece. This journey is more like a “take-it-all-in” trip than a “put-it-all-out-there” trip.
In our opinion the best highway route to travel when crossing Ontario, Canada is Hwy #17. Why? Well… because it includes allot more quality sightseeing opportunities because much of it follows the shores of Lake Superior. Plus Hwy #17 connects you to way more parks and smaller tourism communities.
Filling up the Road Warrior with gas.
One of the biggest perks of Hwy#17 is that it takes you straight to the Ontario/Manitoba border without much traffic chaos involving insane semi-truck drivers, off ramps, exits, stop lights and an endless amount of left and right turns. From Sudbury, Ontario to the provincial border is about 1,520+ kilometres. One highway, one direction… makes it that much more enjoyable on this journey.
The highway route was confirmed but the weather was not cooperating at all. Well… that may be a bit harsh – there were a few peek-a-boo sun and blue sky moments generating intense warmth. We just happen to be in a rocky relationship with a freak storm on massive mood swings.
Following the storm is putting it rather nicely. We were actually trying to out run the storm. But we were not doing a very good job at it. The clouds, rain and thunder pushed, shoved and tugged on our vehicle like a child with a new toy.
When we arrived in Lake Superior Provincial Park the storm clouds were still on top of us. Regardless we stopped in at the Old Woman Bay Day Use Area for a break – stretching our legs as we watched the clouds race by.
Old Woman Bay in Lake Superior Park, Ontario.
We explored the beautiful sandy beach in a haze of mist. We had an impromptu yoga moment for stretching. It was a short visit… a wet visit… a beautiful visit. We always tell ourselves rain is good because without rain there is no outdoors, wildlife, wilderness or adventure. Bring on the rain!!!
We sat in the jeep for some time as bullets of rain began to pierce the side of the vehicle again. Our plans seemed scuttled. What next we thought? Do we stay and wait out the storm or do we keep driving. It ended up be decided by a game of rock, paper, scissors. Paper covers rock – we continue on like a true Canadian explorers.
Driving for hours on end the night engulfed us in a blanket of black shadows. It was time to catch some shut eye. We pulled into Dryden, Ontario. The town had fallen a sleep a long time ago. We seeked out a piece of pavement in a parking lot. We parked, reclined our seats and proceeded to sleep in the jeep. This is our life… not very much luxury. Just how we like it.
What will the morning bring? More adventure for sure but in what form? We will see in about 4 hours.