Crossing Canada -Day 3-7

Day 3 we had a short drive from Wawa to Neys Provincial Park on the shore of Lake Superior. We had planned on going to Hattie’s Cove in Pukaskwa Provincial Park but the woman at the RV resort recommended Neys and everyone else we talked to acted like they had never even heard of Pukaskwa – including the Ontario Parks phone number.  

On the way to Neys, we passed through a very small town called White River, Ontario.

We absolutely had to stop because this town’s claim to fame is, as the signs all indicated, Winnie The Pooh – Where it All Began.   Oh my heart… Winnie the Pooh has always been near and dear to me.  The story of When Harry met Winnie goes like this...  On August 24^th, 1914, veterinarian Lt. Harry Coleburn purchased a black bear cub from a trapper for $20.00.  He named her “Winnipeg Bear” because he grew up in the town of Winnipeg.  Harry ended up taking “Winnie” (for short) with him overseas to London when his troop headed there for World War One.  Winnie became the popular mascot for the 2^nd Canadian Infantry Brigade.  However, when the brigade was sent to France, Harry was not allowed to take Winnie along.  Instead, he donated her to the London Zoo.  Winnie was incredibly tame and a huge hit at the zoo.  Visitors could ride on her back and feed her as well.  

Turns out that A. A. Milne and his son, Christopher Robin were two of the most frequent visitors to the zoo.  Christopher Robin subsequently named his stuffed teddy bear after Winnie, combining it with the name of a friend’s pet swan, Pooh, to create Winnie-the-Pooh.  On October 14, 1926, A. A. Milne published the first Winnie-the-Pooh book, based on the stuffed toys of his son, hence the start of the wonderful series of books that I know and love.  And to think - Winnie-the-Pooh has Canadian roots.

Ok, I digressed a bit, but that was really the highlight of the day for me.  Neys Park however, had a gorgeous view of Lake Superior.  It was also the site of a German internment prisoner camp during WW I. 

I’m not sure of any significance of this cool fish sculpture, but it made for a nice photo. 

Day 4 was a full day of driving from Neys Park to Rushing River park.  As we pulled into the park, it started to sprinkle (the first rain we've had) but we were (finally) able to get a flat spot to park Gibby and we settled in for the night.  The advantage of camping during the week, apparently, is that you can have a campground almost to yourself!   

Day 5 was supposed to include more rain but we lucked out! We walked all around the park and tried to do a hike but the trail was closed for maintenance.  A lot of trees fell during the winter so the park crews are busy cleaning up. 

We decided to rent a canoe instead of hike and paddled around Dogtooth Lake for a couple of hours.  The temperature was about 15 C (about 72 F) and the skies were blue with some clouds.  It was a very relaxing day.  David has been building fires at the last several spots so we sit by the fire in the evening.  It finally gets dark around 10:00 pm.  

Day 6 -  We finally got across Ontario - that province is HUGE! We zipped through Manitoba, which is also fairly large but tall and skinny, rather than wide.  Into Saskatchewan!  Lots of people told us that the drive through the prairie provinces was going to be really long and boring.  It wasn't nearly as bad as people said... I guess it's all about expectations.  There were not a lot of towns, but lots of green pastures and some low, rolling hills.  We stopped for the night in a town called Moose Jaw.  Ok, again - I like the name of the place :)  

We were there early enough to go to a place called the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, where they gave us a historical reenactment of the Chinese immigrants to Canada in the late 1800's.  As new immigrants ourselves, it was a very interesting perspective of the hardships they endured. They were treated horribly, taken advantage of and it is amazing the perseverance that they maintained.   

Day 7 - We crossed into Alberta and are headed to see our friends  Sandra and Rene, that we met 2 years ago (almost to the day) on the Rhine River Cruise.  We will be staying in Airdrie with them for a couple of days, so be sure to check back for more updates!