Pub Crawl Day 13: Wawa, On to Sault Ste Marie, Mi

The 13th day of the Morgan Pub Crawl.  Nine cars running with no major problems.  (Oh, should I say that?)  The Wawa Motor Inn was a nice facility with modern rooms up by the road and rustic rooms down the hill.  There were even some cabins where two couples could share space. 

As morning dawned a heavy dew covered the cars, but bright sun was quickly drying them off.

Our route today is almost due south along the eastern end of Lake Superior. 

Again, a very scenic and smooth road with ample passing zones to get around the slower campers and trucks.  Everything moved quickly at 90+km/hr.  Ninety kilometers is about 56 miles per hour.

Lake Superior Provincial Park visitors center was an opportunity to stretch our legs a bit.  The cars always draw attention and this morning a family vacationing from Austria were attracted to them.  Reg offered to one of the daughters to sit in the car.  The family all took pictures of her sitting behind the steering wheel.  They all had perma-smiles.

The visitors center had some superb displays showing the force and fury of Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world. 

This model is of a Lake Whitefish, a coveted sport fish, great for grilling.  They thrive in the cold water of the lake and spend their life bottom-feeding on plankton and invertegates within a few miles of shore.  We've eaten several so far on this trip.  Good stuff.

It was just a few steps to the sandy beach and cool water. 

Here's Reg and Char in front of the center. 

Bruce and Betty

and Gary and Sally....

Here all three couples scoot down the road in their Morgan's. 

Another 60+ kilometers down the road we came to Pancake Bay and a chance to actually test the water.  Char reacts to the chilly surf.

A craft area nearby was offering all kinds of souvenirs.  It's the only place for miles for this sort of shopping.  Miles and miles of desolate pine forest, smooth road and no facilities. 

We saw many of these formations stacked atop the granite outcroppings along the highway.  Here's what the web site says: http://www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk.html

"The mysterious stone figures known as inuksuit can be found throughout the circumpolar world. Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path.""

Driving at night around these parts means you might encounter a moose.  These signs warn of the danger and the stories of locals describing the damage done to their cars makes us drive very carefully, even in the daytime. 

The US border is in sight here.  Our objective was Sault Ste Marie, Michigan which meant crossing the border into the US

The Soo locks from the border bridge.

Downtown Sault Ste Marie, Mi.  Our leaders found an Irish pub.  Even though we park in front, we went across the street to a restaurant billed as having good whitefish and a late lunch, early dinner.

After dinner we walked over to the locks.  Here is one of six lock systems, the inlet side from Lake Superior.

After a drop of 21 feet, the lock allows the ships to move into Lake Huron.
There are six locks of various lengths, widths and depths.

After the mandatory tour of the visitors center we went across the street and found a delightful selection of ice creams. 

Charlie and Bob fool around with a bear.

A good samaritan stopped to give aid to Texans Art and Patsy Kampschafer.  Their car had a roadside issue with the fuel system.  This chap, we are told, happened to have a bit of fuel line componetry which helped solve the problem. 

We will hope to have the full story of a successful roadside repair by morning.

A long day tomorrow with a drive back to Canada, then to South Baymouth and the ferry Chi-Cheemaun to Tobermory.  We won't get to the hotel until 8 or 9, so the blog tomorrow probably will be delayed until Friday night unless I can get wifi on the ferry, which is doubtful.