Our route along the northwestern side of Lake Superior was beautiful albeit hilly, curvy, and replete with ridge cuts. From these curves and descents we had frequent gorgeous views of the lake.
In addition to the views, we again encountered road construction which must be done during the summer when the weather is moderate. This stop was for bridge construction.
Our destination, Neys Provincial Park, juts out somewhat into Lake Superior. George enjoyed the road into the park because we crossed the Canadian Pacific transcontinental railroad. We had ridden the train on this route back in 1977 when we made a round trip between Toronto and Vancouver
The Neys park officials spread our large group throughout the park. We were fortunate to wind up in a paved parking lot with nice views. We soon learned that we were parked on the very site of a WWII prison camp for captured German officers. There was an excellent museum in the park that documented the life of the camp. At the time, Great Britain had amassed a large group of German prisoners and was concerned about the potential for escape into the general population. So, they sent them to Canada, and quite far inland at that to this remote and isolated area. The men were treated quite well. We saw pictures of their athletic teams, and even an orchestra.
We also learned of the escape attempts. One small group of men easily hitch hiked with some unsuspecting and friendly Canadians who were traveling west on the Trans Canadian Highway. Their plan was to make it to Vancouver where they hoped to catch a ship to Japan where they thought they would be home free. They were soon arrested and returned to camp.
We enjoyed the view of the lake, the fish sculpture, and sunset on the lake.
Leaving Neys Provincial Park, we stopped in White River to see the Winnie-the-Poo statue. The bear which inspired A..A.. MIlne’s book was bought here by a veterinarian on the way to WWI and later taken to the London Zoo where Milne and his son Christopher saw and loved him. The bear was originally named Winnie after the vet’s home town, Winnipeg.
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