This morning while hooking up the car for towing I noticed a penny on the ground. I placed it on the back bumper of the motorhome and continued the hookup process, then promptly forgot it until we were moving down the road. Some 160 miles of 2-lane, up to 11% grade and it made the trip for the entire day. Guess the road was not as rough as I thought.
That 11% grade for 4 kilometers is by the way the 1st time I have noted 4 “runaway truck ramps” on one hill.
Day 3
Today we cross into Canada. Passports in hand, check. No fresh produce, check. Drank up the wine, close enough. We are ready. Questions at the border seem to go just fine. The agent takes our passports and says he’ll be right back. No problem…we think. He returns, “we will need to look inside” he says. Kent and I pile out. I say nothing, that seems the most prudent action in situations like this, but I must look perplexed. “You didn’t do anything wrong”, the agent says as he climbs into the cab. We hang out for maybe ten minutes as they look around inside and in outside compartments then send us on our way. Seems it was just luck of the draw.
Our drive hugs river banks; first the Columbia, then the Slocan, then the Columbia again. Sometimes we share narrow twisting valleys alongside white water and others we follow the shores of broad slow moving “lakes” created by hydro dams all along these rivers. Thanks again, Kent, for the stress-filled driving. The views are beautiful. We see lots of wild turkeys; many with little ones. This is bear country but none makes an appearance today. We plan to overnight at the Municipal Campground in Nakusp, BC. Not happening, it is closed for a rally, Horizons Unlimited. No cell service makes finding an alternative spot a little dicey but we settle in at a commercial camp, KBR, and all is well. We are here two nights to allow for a little exploring.
Day 2
We climb up out of the Snake River Valley at Lewiston then US 195 takes us back into farm country. It is on an even bigger scale here as cropland stretches out as far as the eye can see. It isn’t exactly natural but it is impressive and beautiful in its own way. Makes me think what the great plains must have looked like for the early settlers. The scale is mind boggling. Small towns hug the highway including Uniontown, the home of (among other things I am sure) Jacobs Bakery. This is scone country and both the blueberry and lemon poppyseed are fantastic. We drive on. Smooth rolling plains give way to steeper slopes and increasing stands of pine. Hills transition to mountains as we head further into Washington to Kettle Falls, our last overnight stop in the US as we head to the spectacular Canadian National Parks. The local natural foods market had a nice selection of Pacific Northwest wines. Rascal Pinot Gris from The Great Oregon Wine Company paired nicely with our dinner salad (we had to finish off all those fresh vegetables).
Day 1
US95 cuts through seemingly endless fields of onions before finding its way to the twists and turns through the narrow, lush valley of the Little Salmon River. Cabins and fish camps dot the riverbank. There is no cell service out here and its 50 miles to groceries but I can see the appeal.
We emerge from the river valley onto vast rolling hills draped with a colorful patchwork of contour plowed, rotated crops. Varieties of wheat range from a pale green-grey to deep forest green. Brilliant yellow mustard blossoms seem to glow in the sun and a sweet smell fills the cab. Austrian peas bloom white and lacy tops of canola move in the breeze. They grow mint too. There is no mistaking that fragrance as we pass by. No, despite years of observing as we travel, I can’t recognize what is in the fields. There are roadside signs that identify the crops for passing inquiring minds.
We call it a day just short of Lewiston and overnight at a Clearwater River Casino. Ok for a quick stay over. It gave us a chance to check out the Nez Perce National Historic Park visitor center…. the movie was pretty good but otherwise not too impressive.
Up at 4AM and on our way long before daylight. It’s a couple hour drive, there is the border crossing lady, time must be allotted for the TSA folks, and add a little cushion in case we want some breakfast at Tim Horton’s. GPS Betsy does not lead us astray and the border agent on duty is very laid back so we have plenty of time to make our donut stop. Coffee is great and donuts very fresh (I tried the S’mores donut. Graham crackers are under-represented but otherwise quite tasty) plus it gave us a few more minutes to visit before the kids head off. We drop them at Departures and head back across the border and along the beautiful lakeshore.
Kent’s phone chirps. It’s a text from Mike. Seems there has been a bit of a snafu which we will credit to learning curve on Kent’s new “smart” phone. His calendar is set to switch time with time zone crossing and we didn’t catch it. So, the kids are at the airport an hour early. Better than an hour late. Oops.
Air travel into Thunder Bay, Ontario from NYC via Portland, OR is not always smooth. Just ask Mike and Tracy. They spent around 12 hours in airports or in the air but make it safe and sound albeit pretty tired. We pick up a tasty lunch at The Pita Pit then they snooze most of the way to camp at Sleeping Giant. Kent grilled burgers and portabellas for dinner followed by Mike’s first of several camp fires. We all turn in for a good nights sleep before the real adventure begins tomorrow.
Ouimet Canyon, the narrow canyon has nearly perfectly parallel vertical walls 100 meters high as it slices across the landscape. 
Theory 1: the land fractured under the forces of the last ice age. Erosion has done its thing since then widening the chasm and creating an immense boulder talus slope below. Theory II: tremendous water flow during melt of the glaciers retreating eroded the subsurface rock creating a void. Later the top layer collapsed creating this canyon then erosion took over. It’s all about rock; it seems straight forward but there is obviously room for debate and difference of opinion in the science of geology. A short trail leads to well placed overlooks providing a great view of the rugged terrain. We crossed a cool bridge on the trail
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Back at Sleeping Giant we check out Thunder Bay overlook. The trail ends on a platform cantilevered out over the cliff. 
It is a great view that comes with a slightly queasy feeling in the stomach as I look far below down between my toes. We picnic on the shore of Mary Louise Lake and come upon a nice patch of red raspberries. There are many long trails through the back country and along the shore. Perhaps we will return some day to check out some of those.
It is quieter in camp tonight. A red fox brazenly moves through camp to the treeline along the beach. A sleek coated, well fed doe contentedly munches on lush green grass near the shower house. We are heading to bed a little earlier tonight to rise bight eyed and bushy tailed. Mike and Tracy arrive in Thunder Bay by 10AM .
We take our time making our way from Neys to Sleeping Giant PP.
The Sleeping Giant
Highway 11-17 toward Thunder Bay has some pretty good hills and the last 20 miles to the park are on wallowed out, narrow two lane. We settle in and open up lots of compartments and the trailer. We are still drying out from the rain at Wakami. Kent runs a load of laundry. Seems fish camp clothes are about the same as boundary water clothes….
We manage to stay up until after 11 O’clock to watch the meteor shower. There is a bit of tramp light in camp but the sky is dark and we get to see quite a few “streaks”. Some were pretty spectacular. Bedtime!
Three o’clock, the sun is out and the haze has burned off the lake. We head for the swimming beach (keep in mind this is a Lake Superior north shore swimming beach) and find a comfortable spot among the driftwood. Fine sand gives way to BB sized pebbles among the wavelets. The water is clear and cold, about 58F. It is a nice place to spend the afternoon. Sunset is not real showy but a pleasant way to end our last day here.
White sandy beaches are great for swimming, sunning and sandcastle building but a rugged rock strewn shore with driftwood cast about is the best for hiking. The Geology Walk along Lake Superior in Neys PP takes us across the remnants of an ancient volcano and is a perfect example of that kind of walk. The walk is easy among wave tumbled, smooth boulders atop great stone outcroppings that remind me of the backs of breaching whales. Other sections are a bit more challenging. We hop jagged boulder to jagged boulder, across deep open fractures and scramble down drop offs. It takes a toll on knees but is a wonderful walk with great views even on this overcast morning.
Provincial Parks all along this north shore promote the works of early 1900s painters. The artists are credited with capturing the essence of Canadian wilderness and considered by many as the fathers of the young nation’s signature artistic personality. There are easels and artists stools set up at actual sketch sites in the wilderness. It is pretty lofty talk for a parks program but an intriguing story. Pieces are definitely not classic landscapes but more impressionistic. The painters themselves claim to have not captured the scene but captured the feel of the place. Looks about right.
Last night’s ranger program was a showing of the movie “Painted Land” that chronicles the effort to locate the artists sketch sites across the country. Interesting.
We take one last look at the lake shore as evening light fades then head home to close out a full day in another beautiful place.
A lovely gazebo sits high over Lake Superior at the Pic Island overlook (one of the sketch sites for the group of seven). 
It is about a 3 mile hike all up hill but hey, with a little planning this could work as at least a summer place. We soak in the view warmed by brilliant sun and cooled by the lake breeze.
On the walk down we are on the watch for a cow moose and calf that have been seen in the area but they don’t make a showing for us.