August 29, 2025
39 degrees at 5:00 am
We both have the cold now, and it’s one of those that stay with your for a while. After six days here, we are about out of fresh water, although you can refill in front of the shower house.
The 3.5 hour drive from Pukaskwa and Nipigon is one of the prettiest in America. Winding through small mountains of green forest with lakes on one side and spectacular views of Lake Superior on the other. Islands break up the expanse of the great lake with mountains bordering it. The Trans-Canada Highway crosses many beautiful creeks, streams and rivers.
In Terrace Bay, we stopped in what I thought was Costa’s Grocery, but it was around the corner. Asking about Tony Costa, who was so nice to us 12 years ago, the young cashier said he had passed away, and the family has moved to Thunder Bay.
Looking for a nice spot to eat lunch, we cautiously drove down a winding road to the beach. You never know when pulling the Airstream if you will be stuck, not able to turn around. Luckily it was a large parking lot. We made sandwiches and walked out to Adirondack chairs along a boardwalk overlooking a lovely beach.
A retired policeman struck up a conversation telling us about the history of Terrace Bay and how the main industry has suffered. Then on to telling us about the shooting in Minneapolis, which we hadn’t heard about. A lady stopped behind us as she heard the conversation. That is her home town, so she added to the news.
We walked out to the beach and heard someone calling, “Is that your Airstream?” Four people at a picnic table waved, so we walked over. Glancing at the parking lot, there were now three 25’ Airstreams. We exchanged travel stories, and they highly recommended seeing Fort William in Thunder Bay. We said we had best get on the road and said our goodbyes.
At Nipigon, we stopped at an overlook just past the iconic Nipigon Bridge. There was a tall tower to see the river. A bench commemorated the largest Brook Trout caught in the river. I didn’t measure, but it was well over 30″
After Nipigon, the road became more busy. It is four lanes in some places, and there is serious construction to extend it. It’s Labor Day Weekend, so many are on the road.
We turned at the top of Thunder Bay on 587south for 30 minutes on a bumpy road to the campground. It is a huge campground as there are lots of things to do here, but at first we missed our site in Pukaskwa.
