Thunder Bay to Neys Provincial Park

 

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.

                            

Thunder Bay–Our 1st Stop in Canada

 

From Duluth we headed north where we crossed into Ontario at Pigeon River. 

         

We were welcomed to Thunder Bay at the KOA campground where we stayed.

         

Fort William, the original name of Thunder Bay, was the largest fur trading post in colonial North America.  It was operated by the Astor family under the name Hudson Bay Company.  We visited Old Fort William portraying the settlement in times past.

         

                             

         

We also visited Kakabeka Falls, the second highest waterfall in Ontario, and a beautiful area. There were two large viewing areas with boardwalks for easy access. 

                

           

         

         

We also enjoyed bicycling in an area along the lake near downtown, beginning in Marina Park.  We passed by a nice restaurant where we ate dinner with Rod (Yankee RV Tours) the evening before.

         

         

We visited the former Thunder Bay train station where we stopped on our trans Canadian trip on the Canadian Pacific around 1977.  It’s well maintained but “train-less” – no passenger trains stop in Thunder Bay now.

         

                      

We went in a gallery next door to the former train station which had an elevated outdoor area great for observing the sights:  oncoming freight trains, a bagpiper, and skateboard/BMX plaza at Marina Park. 

         

                         

         

Looking opposite the train tracks – toward the lake – we could see and hear the bagpiper who played periodically during the afternoon.  He walked back and forth in a small area as he piped.

         

                              

The 25,000-square-foot state-of the art skateboard/BMX plaza at Marina Park really caught our attention, and we watched the riders circle the wall and fly out of the “pit” for quite a while.

         

         

Our next destination was Mount McKay Scenic Lookout.  Mount McKay, towering 1,000 ft. over the city, is the most outstanding feature of Thunder Bay's landscape. .    

         

Half way up - at the end of the road - is the scenic lookout with a viewing scope and skyline walkway, offering  an excellent view of the city and harbor,   Located on the Fort William First Nation Reserve, McKay was originally known as "Thunder Mountain" and is used by the Ojibwe tribe for sacred ceremonies.

         

         

We enjoyed Thunder Bay and all there was to see and do there.

Duluth

 

We have been looking forward to our visit to Duluth since this trip started. There are two reasons. First because it is a special place to our friends George and Jan who raised their family here. We are actually staying at a campground at a marina that was formerly George’s yacht club. Secondly, because we enjoyed our previous visit so much in 2009.

Here’s a shot of Irene taken from the Lake Head Boat Basin where we stayed. You can see Duluth’s famous land mark, the vertical lift bridge, in the background.

            

Here is a similar shot that includes the Lake Head Boat Basin as well.

            

This is our view from inside the coach.

            

Duluth is historically a shipping port on Lake Superior. Wheat and timber from the western states as well as iron ore from mines to the north were brought in by rail and loaded on lake freighters for shipment to various markets around the world. Much of the iron ore went to the auto industry in Detroit.

Here is one of the lake freighters coming into the port of Duluth underneath the vertical lift bridge.

              

The day after we arrived the wagon master had arranged a motor coach tour of Duluth. We went up on top of the mountain overlooking Duluth and George got these long shots of Duluth and the vertical lift bridge.

  

  

We biked Duluth’s water front trail. We had hoped to repeat our 15 mile ride on the Willard Munger Trail south of Duluth, but rain caused us to cancel our plans.

Ashland, Wisconsin–City of Murals

 

We stayed at Ashland City Park (Kreher Park) in Ashland, Wisconsin, which is on the shore of Lake Superior.  The campground is spacious and open with good views of the lake – and a bicycle trail goes past it.  It was a great location for us!

         

The eight-block Main Street business district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the background for an interesting walk through Ashland’s history as seen through the eyes of mural artists Kelly Meredith and Susan Prentice Martinsen.

         

         

Thirteen murals depict people and events from Ashland’s past. 

           

         

In the late 1800s, Ashland, Wi was one of Wisconsin's largest cities and a major Lake Superior port.  Now the mural is all that’s left of the ore dock.

         

         

The end of the logging era and other economic changes took its toll, and in the latter part of the 20th century, Ashland was a depressed area. Tourism is helping Ashland rebound.

            

The people depicted in the murals are real people who lived in Ashland.  Many are painted from photographs.   

During our “mural tour” of Ashland, we were fortunate to come across one of the artists busy at work on a new mural near the railroad station.  Irene enjoyed talking with her about the murals.

         

             

While not on the National Register, this 1926 Ford Model T Coupe that was parked in front of the Ashland Historical Museum, was another reminder of the past that we saw in this interesting town.

         

Ashland is bike friendly – we toured the murals by bike – and it also has trails that run beside the lake. 

         

Leaving the lake, trail goes beneath the highway to reach the downtown area.

         

We enjoyed exploring Ashland and enjoyed our campground at the lake’s shore.  And we enjoyed seeing the peaceful sunset over Lake Superior.