Airstream Time

Nokomis Trail

by Greg • August 19, 2025 • 4 Comments

August 17, 2025

47 degree low; high 66

I went outside at 4am to see the stars and took 4 iPhone pictures while lying on the picnic table. I have no idea what this is.

We were sore and tired from hiking, but it was going to be a sunny day in the 60’s – perfect for a hike. Martha made a hearty breakfast scramble with eggs, bacon, onions, peppers and left over french fries and toast.

I glanced up and saw a beautiful red fox trotting past the trailer, up a little bank and stopped to poop. I quickly grabbed my phone, but he was gone. What’s with the pooping on our site?

We set off to the Nakomis Trail at Old Woman Bay. Some of you with great memories may recall that Nakomis was Hiawatha’s grandmother, who raised him.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokomis

Nokomis is the name of Nanabozho‘s grandmother in the Ojibwe traditional stories and was the name of Hiawatha‘s grandmother in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow‘s poem, The Song of Hiawatha, which is a re-telling of the Nanabozho stories. Nokomis is an important character in the poem, mentioned in the familiar lines:

By the shores of Gitche Gumee,

By the shining Big-Seawater

Stood the wigwam of Nokomis

Daughter of the moon Nokomis.

Dark behind it rose the forest

Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees

Rose the firs with cones upon them

Bright before it beat the water

Beat the clear and sunny water

Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.

According to the poem, From the full moon fell Nokomis/Fell the beautiful Nokomis. She bears a daughter, Wenonah. Despite Nokomis’ warnings, Wenonah allows herself to be seduced by the West-Wind, Mudjekeewis, Till she bore a son in sorrow/Bore a son of love and sorrow/Thus was born my Hiawatha.

Abandoned by the heartless Mudjekeewis, Wenonah dies in childbirth, leaving Hiawatha to be raised by Nokomis. The wrinkled old Nokomis/Nursed the little Hiawatha and educates him.

From https://www.flickriver.com/photos/snuffy/253269079/

The Nokomis Trail is a 3 mile loop rated moderate taking 1.5 – 3 hours. We figured we could walk 3 miles. The clue was the 3 hours. It is a loop trail taking you up a mountain to beautiful views of Old Woman Bay. We walked it counter-clockwise, which proved to be a good guess. Starting the hike was a round-rock trail through a pretty forest, but you had to stop to look around. There was a lot of reindeer lichen, which woodland caribou love to eat. Unfortunately, they are no longer here, as the wolves and humans have taken their toll.

The path changed to dirt for a steady climb, then to rocks until we climbed to the top for an outlook on a huge boulder. We could see Old Woman Bay, the river and the Trans-Canada highway. On the way down there were two more overlooks and places that looked like filming of “The Last of the Mohicans.” The trail turned very steep going down, so we had to turn around like climbing down a ladder. We were coming down a long, steep stretch and I took a fall. I guess it is part of getting older, but all along I thought about all those hard, sharp rocks and the damage they could do if you slipped or fell. I was coming down, almost to the bottom when Martha reversed her direction. Trying not to run into her, I took a bad step and tumbled to land on my back. Very fortunately, there was no damage. My backpack saved me as there was a sharp rock underneath it. Whew!

I must say I admire the Canadian way of “swim at your own risk.” Hike at your own risk, look over a waterfall at your own risk, or just no sign at all, but you go at your own risk. I like that.

Old Woman Bey
Trans-Canada Highway

We took 2.5 hours to do the hike, including stops at all the overlook and 10 minutes for Martha to retrieve my hat after I fell. Martha rated the hike a 3.5/5.0 because of all the rocks, but all the young people just frolicked up and down the mountain, and the views are spectacular. A couple of young guys greeted us at the first overlook and Martha said, “I’ll trade you my legs for yours,” and one replied, “I’ll trade for your wisdom.” That brought a smile to her face. We saw our first snake on the trail, but it was going too fast to identify it.

I could have fished the lake in Rabbit Blanket, but the wind was blowing pretty good and I had no legs to hike down the river. Maybe tomorrow.

Lake superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Silver Falls, Wawa, Ontario, South Old Woman Trail, South Old Woman Trail, Lake Superior Provincial Park

South Old Woman River Trail

by Greg • August 17, 2025 • 4 Comments

August 16, 2025 at 4:47 PM

Opting for an easy hike this morning, we chose the South Old Woman River Trail, rated 4.4 and easy. My hip was sore from the last few days hiking, so easy for an hour and a half sounded good. The hike starts across 17 from the campground, so we walked from the campsite.

Reproducing Kelly’s picture of the Trans-Canada Highway

The South Old Woman River flows out of Rabbit Blanket Lake, under 17, the Trans-Canada Highway. I was anxious to see it. Darkness took over as we entered the forest. Trees sent roots everywhere, across the path, over rocks and into pools of water. Frogs and chipmunks greeted us at every turn. When we didn’t see them, we saw where Squirrels or chipmunks had eaten, leaving shells from seeds covering the path or tree stumps.

There were holes all over the place, leading to where I don’t know, but I was cautious stepping between roots where my foot might go through to God knows where. Who lived in all those holes? Chipmunks? Squirrels? Some were big, and stepping around them made a hollow sound. Were there underground tunnels? Several were huge, where bears might sleep. I decided this was a forest where gnomes might live.

The river is gorgeous, whether you are a fisherman or not. It is tea-stained so I couldn’t see any fish, but it is cold water, and I know they are there, because the sign said this was great brook trout fishing. It was so hard to step between all these roots and still get a look at the stream. Make a bad step into a gnome’s hole and you might sink to your hip.

We crossed the stream several times, but one was rather threatening. Huge boulders with flat tops led across the rushing river, but first we had to sit on our buts and slide our foot to a sharp-angled rock and then climb up the the first flat boulder. A mistake there and it’s trouble, especially for people in their late 70’s.

The trail makes a lollipop loop at the top so we can see a beautiful waterfall plunging into a big pool below. I was picking my spots to fish….if I could get to them. It was tough conditions to fish, but that might mean there were lots of wily Brook Trout.

At the end of the lollipop loop, we stepped cautiously back toward our origin. I took pictures of plants and flowers on “PictureThis” app, to determine what they were, but I had no cell service – another reason to think there were gnomes here. I love the app, because it identifies the plant and tells you if it is edible or medicinal or just pretty, or you want to plant in your yard. Some were poisonous to people and pets, but then I have never seen a Labrador retriever eat red berries or mushrooms.

Mountain holly or Swamp Holly
Yellow Birch or Swamp Birch
Creeping Snowberry
Bunchberry dogwood or creeping dogwood, non-toxic, deer resistant
Trichaptum
Northern sea oats surrounding a mushroom
Bracket polypores

I was soaked in sweat when we got back from this easy hike rated 4.4, but right off the bat, I would rate it a 5.0, moderate. It is so unique and travels next to a gorgeous trout stream that is difficult or impossible to fish, which just piques the imagination. And then there are the gnomes living in those holes, a rushing stream underground that you can’t see, but only hear, and trees growing right on top of giant boulders.

Probably someone’s dog, but they don’t allow dogs on the trails and there are no claws on the prints

Moose poop, like chocolate-covered almonds

After a shower and lunch, we drove 33 miles to Wawa, one, to see this beautiful country of one gorgeous lake after another, and beautiful, rushing rivers feeding into Lake Superior. The other was we needed propane, and to fill up with gas.

We stopped at the mouth of the Old Woman River where Kelly caught two beautiful steelhead 12 years ago. People were sitting on the beach eating lunch and enjoying the scenery. I remember walking upstream past Kelly, across a little peninsula and seeing tracks and scat that made me realize we were not in Kansas any more. I made a quick retreat back, where Kelly was trying to protect his two fish from ravens trying to steal them.

I peered around the corner to see the rivers. It wasn’t rushing so hard, but giant trees were strewn across sandbars just to let you know how powerful this river can be.

We came to Wawa, which is more like an outpost on the edge of a frontier. Businesses had come and gone, yet the town of 2,000 pushes on. Carvings of giant Canada Geese are the trademark of the town. This is a place to stock up and fuel up before heading out into the wild to fish, hunt, photograph or explore. It is nice to know there still are such places, making me wish I was younger.

The only propane refill place in town is not open on weekends. With all these campers and cabins, I can’t believe we couldn’t find propane on a Saturday. We have another tank, so it isn’t urgent, so we’ll come back next week. We drove through town to find Silver Falls on the Michipicoten River. We continued up a wide, well-maintained gravel road to find Long Beach. We didn’t go down, but we could see people swimming and having a big time on a cool 68 degree day.

Back at camp we opened a bottle of wine, built a fire and cooked hamburgers over it. Maybe tomorrow maybe we’ll go see the pictographs.

New trick I discovered for writing the blog. All HEIC pictures from iPhone have to be converted to JPEG before I can upload them to WordPress. A video, (https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=what+is+the+best+way+to+convert+HEIC+pictures+in+bulk+to+JPEGs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f315e512,vid:WQcYYPJ8NFo,st:64) told me to go to Photoshop, File, Scripts, Image processor. Then select the folder where you want the pictures, check save to same folder, choose the quality you want and the format – JPEG, push Run. The second time is much faster since the same settings come up. Just change the folder. Saves a LOT of time.

Candle lighter, Chipmunk, Gear, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Lake superior Provincial Park, Pancake Bay to Rabbit Blanket Lake, Trans-Canada Highway

Lake Superior Provincial Park

by Greg • August 17, 2025 • 4 Comments

Checkout wasn’t until 2:00, so we took an “easy” hike from the campground through a forest, then across a fen. Martha explained to me the difference between a bog and a fen. Water doesn’t move in a bog, but does in a fen. I wore my bug shirt this time, and the mosquitoes were sure trying to get in. The problem is you get hotter. It would be much more comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, but that is not an option.

Back at camp we fixed lunch. I watched two guys across from us pull their big all-one-unit camper out of their site and run into a tree and the post marking the site. It was hard to watch. Then they backed up and did it again! I moved my truck so they could pull across, back up and have a straight shot out. They knocked off a tool box on the side, and I’m sure scratched up the shell. The site was at a 45 degree angle the wrong direction for a one-way road, but still…! It made me very nervous to hook up and get out safely, but thankfully, we made it.

The drive from Pancake Bay to Rabbit Blanket in Lake Superior Provincial Park is only an hour and 15 minutes, but there are beautiful views of the biggest fresh water lake in the world. We stopped at two overlooks to see such clear water, we could see all the different colored rocks on the bottom.

I talked to a man in a big, old Class A camper – the kind you drive. It looked like it had been around the block a few times. He said it was a 1991, and they were just coming back from a trip into the Yukon. When he started the big diesel, it sounded great! I gave him the thumbs up as he pulled out.

At the next overlook we met a man who was riding a bike across Canada all dressed in pink. It has taken him 10 years, but this trip will take him to Toronto, which is a bit less than 900 miles from here! He had his campsite reserved, and was ready to get to it on his new Trek bike. To do this and carry clothes for all kinds of conditions and camping gear and food and water adds up to a lot of weight. You might guess this is flat land, but it is very hilly with small mountains.

We passed so many beautiful rivers and lakes beckoning us to come float and explore. We stopped at the Lake Superior Provincial Park Visitor’s center, taking in all the exhibits. Then on to Rabbit Blanket, a very nice campground on a very pretty lake. We walked around to explore before returning to our site, which by the way had fresh bear poop and black fur right behind where we parked the trailer.

Gear: Candle lighter. I love this thing. It is a rechargeable candle lighter. I love sitting by candle light, writing in the early hours. I also light the stove with it so I don’t wake Martha with the loud stove clicker. Disclaimer: I make no money from this blog.

Beaches, Edmund Fitzgerald Overlook, Edmund Fitzgerald Overlook, Pancake Bay Provincial Park, Pancake Bay Provisional Park

Edmund Fitzgerald Lookout Trail

by Greg • August 15, 2025 • 4 Comments

Love this setup

At 8:30 we set out to hike to the Edmund Fitzgerald Lookout. The ship Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a terrible storm in 1975. The storm was so fierce the ship broke in half! Looking at Pancake Bay, it is hard to imagine. Canadian singer, Gordon Lightfoot, wrote a great song about the incident.

The hike is rated moderate for a 4-mile out and back hike gaining 383’ for 1.5 hrs. We made it two hours by spending 30 minutes or more at two lookouts at the top. The walk is through a pretty forest with lots of Canada’s native birds – the mosquito. We didn’t have any bug spray and didn’t wear a bug suit. We were the first to the top where there are two beautiful overlooks of Lake Superior and Pancake Bay.

Turkeytail mushrooms

After sharing an apple, we headed back down. What makes it a moderate hike are all the roots and muddy areas, so you must watch every step. Several muddy areas had slippery logs to walk across. Happily, we made it back down, and I was dripping in sweat. It was chilly when we started and I stupidly had on a cotton T-shirt and a cotton fishing shirt – bad choices as it heated up. Many hikers has on shorts and T-shirts. The national birds are going to have a good time.

Back at camp, we had lunch and took a 30-minute nap. At 74 degrees and sunny, we opted for an hour or so on the beach. There was a little bit of a breeze, but a perfect beach day really. Not that it was crowded yesterday, but there were fewer people today. We explored an atlas-like book of southeast Ontario. I had this book from 12 years ago, and it still proved helpful. It boggles the mind to look at all the lakes and rivers in Canada, and to comprehend how it was explored and mapped, mostly by canoe.

Looking at the maps, we noticed the trans-Canada hiking trail, as well as a lot of long distance hiking trails. There are hundreds, probably thousands of canoe trails with campsites along all over the place. A train travels through parts of this, and people load their canoe and gear on the train, getting dropped at their destination. I can only imagine!

Martha took this video

Pancake Bay Provincial Park, Pancake Bay Provincial Park, Pancake Bay Provisional Park

Pancake Bay Provincial Park

by Greg • August 14, 2025 • 2 Comments

We did two loads of laundry at the Sault Ste. Marie KOA before hooking up. Bill and Joan have everything you could ever need at this campground, including a trailer wash, and it’s all in top shape. We did our grocery shopping yesterday, and filled up with gas. It’s not like we are going into the wilderness, but we will be in provincial parks for the next five weeks.

It is only 40 miles to Pancake Bay Provincial Park, and check in isn’t until 2:00, but first a visit to McCauley’s Motel in Havilland Bay. We were lucky to get right through the construction area, which saved us 30 minutes. Although I paid $8 for a little magazine for the “Lake Superior Circle Tour,” it lacks in detail. We passed beautiful Chippawa Waterfall right beside the road with no turnout or warning. Then there was a fabulous view of Lake Superior with mountains in the background, but there was no scenic overlook. I will have to be more alert and quicker on our next drive.

Pulling into McCauley’s Motel, so many memories came back to me. Kelly had seen a fishing show on TV where Ady was advising the fishermen where to go. We parked next to the spot Ady had let us camp for 5 days for free. We had a very large decal made by Mike Chanail with “Fish Across Canada” below. Ady said it would be good advertising for him. It was a famous fly shop, run by one of the great characters and gentlemen of fishing. He had it all; maybe a hundred rods hanging from the ceiling, a huge supply of flies that he tied himself (“What else am I going to do in winter?”), a whole wall of fly-tying materials, reels and so much more. It was just fun to wander up and down the isles. Kelly describes this well in his book, If the Fish are Bit’n, which you may still be able to find on Amazon. Ady helped us so much, telling us where to go and what to use. Later on the trip, we would call him to tell him where we were and what we were doing.

We knew Ady had passed away, but with some vestige of hope, we walked toward the building. A lady called out to us, “Can I help you?” She was very nice, telling us the motel and all had changed three times just since she had worked there 8 years ago. The fly shop was now part of the motel, where groups could stay. The restaurant was only open for dinner, but is very busy, and the motel stays booked all the time. She didn’t know anything about Ady or the fly shop or where everything went. I gave her (Theresa) my card in case she heard anything about where Ady’s merchandise went. She said two McCauley sisters still lived in town, so she would ask around. She suggested a place for lunch as we headed out. Martha took a picture of Theresa and me wearing my treasured Misty Mountain Fly Shop hat.

Greg and Teresa
the old Misty Mountain Fly Shop

We stopped at Theresa’s recommended place, The Voyageur’s General Store, and ordered whitefish tacos, which were delicious, and came with a huge order of French fries. Next door we bought one of their famous apple fritters. Even with splitting everything, it was more than we could eat.

It was too early to check into Pancake Bay, but we tried it anyway. A nice young lady checked us in, telling us how to get to our site. It is a huge campground, and it was full. It was full when I booked it four months ago, but I took a spot way in the back. Baking into the site, I struggled to navigate with trees blocking me in front. Finally I got to a reasonable spot only to discover a muddy place next to the trailer. We decided to put the trailer on top of the muddy spot, but that some wiggling too.

After setting up, we chilled for a while, then went down to the bay to see what it was all about. It was a huge 3.2 km. C-shaped, white sand beach. Kids were playing in the shallow water. One had already mastered his paddle board. People were playing corn hole and some other game where they bounce a ball off a small trampoline-like ring. With a perfect 73 degree, sunny day, many were just sunning themselves or reading a book beneath their umbrella.

Pancake Bay
Really, really clear water

We decided to walk to the point on west side of the beach. After walking 30 minutes to the point, it was clear why this was such a popular place. It is one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen. Beautiful, soft sand with some smooth, round rocks for decoration, crystal clear water and shallow depth add up to enjoyable conditions. Shallow depths allow the water to warm in the sun, so I decided to test it. It wasn’t a hot day and the water was chilly. I came to a drop off and took the plunge. It was quite refreshing, so I did it a couple more times before wading back out. There wasn’t much wind, so I didn’t have to dry off. It all adds up to pretty perfect conditions with gorgeous scenery.

Fishing, Goulais River, Goulais River Provincial Park

The Goulais River

by Greg • August 13, 2025 • 1 Comment

The Trans-Canada Highway (Rt. 17) crosses the Goulais River northwest of Sault Ste. Marie. The river is surrounded by The Goulais River Provincial Park, which has no facilities. Reports are that the river supports a sjstainable Brook Trout population and it is wadable.

First step was to get a non-resident fishing license. Those of you who read the “Fish Across Canada” blog 12 years ago might recall our rants on Canadian Fishing Regulations. You have to be a Canadian lawyer to keep up with them. If you are lucky enough to fish across Canada for four months, you will find that every province is different. Every river is different. Then there are different regulations for sections of the stream.

My online license registration for Ontario asked for the usual information. Then you must buy and carry a hard card, which will be mailed to your home!?*# So I put the hard card in my basket. Next, do you want a Sport Fishing license or a Conservation license; 1-day, 8-days, 1-year. Well, I am here for 7 weeks, so I guess I need the 1-yr license. The sport fishing license allows you to keep more fish, while the conservation license allows you to keep fewer fish. Well, the taste of a wild Brook Trout made me look further.

On the Goulais River, with a Sport license you can keep 6 Brook Trout in a day, but with a Conservation license, you can only keep two, but none over 18 inches. That’s good with me – two for dinner, and I will return the other 18 to the stream. So I paid the $8 hard card fee and a $53 fishing license. The 6 fish/day license was $83. I printed the license on my amazing, little Canon printer that only gets used once a year, and it was purchased for this specific purpose 12 years ago, when we had to have a license in every province and often a special regulations permit. So this little Canon printer is stored in a hot or cold trailer, never being removed, and it printed perfectly.

I invited Martha to join me, sure that we were going to see some beautiful country and catch a bunch of my favorite fish of them all, the mighty Brook Trout, which is also the best tasting fish. As we drove west, I decided I would stop after catching 20 fish, only keeping two.

Four miles from the KOA traffic was stopped on the two-lane Trans-Canada highway. Road Construction. It looked like a section got totally washed out. Imagine the vast expanse of Canadian roads that are subject to snow, snow-plowing, ice and flooding. Lately, add fires to the list. Anyway, here we sat for 15 minutes while the traffic in the other lane passed us. I was reminded of someone telling us there are only two seasons in Canada, winter and road construction.

Finally, we were through and turned on Rt. 552 that follows the river a long way. The road wove through big hills or small mountains. The river was indeed beautiful. I passed up two very pretty access points due to cabins and houses nearby. Too much pressure on the fishery, I quickly surmised. We climbed up a mountain, leaving the river way below us, and the road turned to gravel. Finally it came back down to river level with a pull out and a gorgeous waterfall, or what they call the chutes. Although we didn’t see any, the river is a popular canoeing destination.

We found a place to park and I anxiously geared up. Martha was quick to comment that, “Kelly would be fishing by now!” True, but how would she know that? I mean i had to put waders on, put my rod and reel together, get my fishing vest and see what fly boxes were in there. Ahhh, Royal Coachmen, the perfect fly for Brook Trout. Probably wouldn’t need anything else.

I took out a chair for Martha to sit on a gravel bar and relax while I showed her how it’s done. Three trailers had what appeared to be a permanent position next to the river. I thought it was a provincial park! There was a fire pit and kids’ toys scattered around. I worked the Coachman with my 5-wt. Orvis rod. It seemed to be one of those rare days I was throwing it well. Of course I was totally unobstructed by trees or bushes as the river was 40 yards across. With no action, I worked my way across the 2-foot deep stream to the other side, working a run on the far side. Martha seemed content reading a book. It is a beautiful stream with an impressive waterfall ahead.

Nothing. I climbed over some huge boulders to the plunging hole beneath the waterfall. For the third time, I changed flies to something that would get down. Nothing. I noticed car tracks on a gravel bar leading to a road encroached by bushes. On the gravel bar, a healthy green plant grew with beautiful blue berries. Using Picture This app, it was identified as sand cherry, mildly toxic to humans.

So this beautiful spot is a popular destination in summer and likely in winter. I thought of 12 people coming for a weekend, catching 6 fish apiece per day! They need a new regulation for this section, and restock it. We got back in the truck and drove down to another pretty access point. I fished several flies, even a dropper nymph, but no luck. The water didn’t feel cold enough for Brook Trout – maybe years ago before all these cabins and trailers and warming temperatures.

It’s a lovely river and no doubt, a good one to float and take a swim in. Maybe another 20 miles up that gravel road we would have done better. Who knows? Back on the Trans-Canada Highway, we waited in line at the construction site – two cycles. Martha could have gotten a bike out of the back and ridden back to camp faster than I got there. Oh well, may as well get used to Canada’s two seasons.

The Chutes, Goulais River

Bushpilot Museum, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

The Bushpilot Museum

by Greg • August 11, 2025 • 2 Comments

The #1 TripAdvisor recommendation of things to do in Sault Ste. Marie is the Bushpilot Museum. I love this place, although it has changed with more emphasis on fighting fires, which is no doubt a huge issue today.

The museum as we saw it 12 years ago, focused on individuals exploring Canada after the invention of flight. Up until then, exploration was done by canoe. That requires a level of toughness I can barely comprehend, especially in winter. When flight entered the picture, things may have gotten physically easier, but brought increased requirements of navigation and survival. Like the wild west, it took a certain breed to want to tackle immense challenges. No one is coming to get you should something go wrong.

At the entrance is a camp set up to resemble maybe a 1940’s to 1950’s fire fighting campsite. Just a basic camp was a load to carry in a small plane, and this was a well-equipped camp with a big canvas tent, axes, saws, etc. Most would have gone to hunt, fish and explore. Imagine the game in those days!

Today the focus is on fire-fighting, which has its own requirements for bravery, flying and fire-fighting skills. A good movie puts you right in the middle of the fight with all the modern communication and fire-fighting planes. Just the skills required to scoop up water from a lake, and then dump it on just the right spot, and you have to be accurate. They call it precision bombing.

The museum has many more planes than were there 12 years ago. In those days it was run more like a club. Volunteers who loved flying, history and the exploration of Canada, worked on and restored all the planes. They bragged that every one of them flies, and they were anxious to show you around. I was disappointed not to see any of those men today, but it is still the #1 thing to do in Sault Ste. Marie. You will know where it is when you drive down the street and look up to see what looks like an old plane about to land in the street.

First flight in Canada
Movie theater
Canoes made in sections so they could be carried on plane

Chipmunk, Ontario, Rabbits, Sault Ste. Marie KOA,, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, The Boardwalk

The Boardwalk, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

by Greg • August 11, 2025 • 2 Comments

Sunday, August 10, 2025

After four days of driving, we wanted to get out and walk. #2 on the things to do in Sault Ste Marie is the Boardwalk along St. Mary’s River that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. It is a busy area for Great Lakes shipping both with loading and unloading as well as locks to move ships between these lakes.

The boardwalk is planted with beautiful flowers. Bikers, walkers and runners passed us on our walk. Passing a hydro-electric plant, we came to the locks where Kelly and I had observed people steelhead fishing. Whitefish Island has been a productive fishing area for many generations. Indian tribes came here every summer for the whitefish, netting and trapping them.

Following the trail down to the river, chipmunks came out to greet us. A rabbit hardly looked up as we walked by. Birds flitted between bushes. A creek runs through the middle of the island, but locks and hydro-electric facilities have all but drained the flow. That didn’t stop beavers from making four dams.

Surprisingly, the river was flowing strong, much more than our last visit. There are so many fires in Canada in very dry conditions, I thought water levels would be low. I love this spot!

Not far from the KOA is a unique lunch and takeout place called The Soup Witch with fresh-squeezed lemonade, espresso, sandwiches, chili, pies and more.

KOA campsite
Beaver dam
Bridge to US
Saint Mary’s River
St. Mary’s Rapids
Snowshoe Hare
Locks Tour
The Soup Witch

Canada, Sault Ste. Marie

Crossing The Border

by Greg • August 11, 2025 • 9 Comments

Having a little history, I don’t like border crossings. With another day of travel, we drove through Traverse City, recalling our previous visits to this city. It was a 4-hour drive pulling the Airstream, and not a bad one. There was very little traffic along I75 to the Mackinaw bridge across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, better known as “The UP.” Traffic did get backed up to pay the bridge toll. Martha pulled out a credit card, saying it would be faster than cash. I questioned if they would take it, but she was right. EZ Pass would have been a LOT more efficient.

Anticipation grew as we drove toward the next bridge. The land was wide open with a few farms. It looked like moose country, but with 92 degree heat, any moose would be sleeping in the shade. We paid the $8 fee for truck and trailer and crossed the St. Mary’s River. Below were all kinds of locks to transport ships between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. There is a good view of Saint Mary’s Rapids where people fish for steelhead.

Only a few cars were lined up to go through customs in Canada. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. The agent asked if I knew where my license tag was from as he examined our passports. “Are you carrying any guns? Where are you going? How long will you be here? Have a good time.” I smiled, thanked him and drove on.

The roads were rough, buildings run down or abandoned and businesses closed, not a good sign for a major entrance into Canada. We drove north of town to the Sault Ste. Marie KOA, where Kelly and I stayed 12 years ago on our Fish Across Canada trip. Bill and Joan still run the place, although a couple of young adults greeted us, one guiding us to our sight. The campground has grown a lot since our last visit, but they have all the amenities – showers, laundry, swimming pool, trailer wash, air station, putt-putt and more….and they charge appropriately.

We got a shower before a thunderstorm came through. Although there is cable TV, we couldn’t find anything worth watching, so we were off to bed early.

Camp Cadillac, Cadillac, Michigan, Campgrounds, Canada, Driving, Wild Cherry Resort, Leland, Michigan

Starting Lake Superior Trip

by Greg • August 11, 2025 • 4 Comments

We set out to explore Lake Superior, some parts of which Kelly and I saw on our “Fish Across Canada” trip in 2013. It was so foggy on that trip, we couldn’t see 20 yards in front of us. The old days of traveling without reservations are gone, so I have booked campgrounds all along the route for a 7-week trip. Hundreds of fires are burning in Canada, including Newfoundland. We thought about cancelling, but decided to go. We could always turn around at any point.

We set out on I64 to 35N to Columbus, Ohio, parking next to Ed and Debbie McGlumphy’s home. Ed gave us a tour of his Clear Choice office, which is an amazing business utilizing the latest technology and teamwork to provide teeth for those who are losing their own. With two prosthodontists, a surgeon, two laboratory technicians and an excellent staff, they are able to remove diseased teeth, place implants and restorations all in the same day.

We had a nice visit and dinner at the McGlumphy home. Kellye and Nick, Nancy and Medic came over to join us. We walked down the street to see Kellye and Nick’s new home. Of course they were very excited and have lots of projects they are working on. Upper Arlington is a great neighborhood with a nice park and good schools. It’s hard to beat.

Debbie got up at 4:30 to go workout before a day of teaching at the dental school. Ed was off to work before 7. By 7:30, we were off to Michigan. I didn’t want to drive I75 and 23 around Detroit, but next time I will. It was only an hour longer to go 35 to Fort Wayne, over to 131 to Grand Rapids and Cadillac. I think we pushed some setting on the GPS that led us to the most convoluted route possible, zig-zagging around construction sites, backroads, 1,000 turns, which at one time led to a low hanging bridge of 9’10”. Fortunately I didn’t make that mistake again, but it took a lot of work to get back on track. What should have been a fairly easy drive turned into a grueling day.

We stayed at Camp Cadillac Campground, which was pretty full. We didn’t want to cook, so we went to Lakeside Charlie’s for dinner. Cadillac is an interesting town that is built around lovely Cadillac Lake.

After a good night’s sleep, we went to the Farmer’s Market, which is pretty unusual for a Friday. We walked through a pretty, little park and out to a pier into the lake with black ducks swimming all around. It is a very pretty lake with clear water. We walked back to the park, crossing railroad tracks that appeared to still be in use. The train station, however, has been converted to a restaurant called After 26 Depot. We peeked inside to see a nice, busy restaurant, especially for a Friday morning. Outside, two vendors engaged us with easy conversation. The nice lady told us about the restaurant, saying it was very good. It was started “by our organization” to employ learning disability adults (after 26 years old).

Across the street the farmer’s market is in a covered, open air pavilion. It was just the right size really. There were great-looking fruits and vegetables, and lots of corn, but we weren’t sure of the restrictions for crossing into Canada. As it turns out, there are fewer restrictions now. Martha loves a farmer’s market and made the circuit once before making her final choices.

Returning to camp, we hooked up and headed north to Leland, Michigan to visit David and Beth Sutton. We checked into Wild Cherry Resort Campground. Resort usually translates to a more upscale campground with amenities like swimming pool or golf course or on the water. This one has generous sites with pretty surroundings and a lake in the middle. There are no showers or bathroom facilities. The owner greeted us, and when asked, he said, “I didn’t want to clean bathrooms.” Can’t blame him for that.

Camp Cadillac
Fishing pond

Martha took a nice nap before we drove over to the Sutton’s. The whole family enjoys Leland, so it makes a great family gathering with three grown children and 7 very cute grandchildren. We toured the work they are doing on the big house and “Granny house”, then walked over the beach on Lake Michigan. On a very hot day, they were all enjoying the water. Max, their handsome yellow lab, swam around splashing water with his paws, then catching it in the air. Later he followed a lady throwing a ball for her labradoodle. David had to go retrieve him.

We walked over to Gordon’s house and waited for him to return with his new pontoon boat. He told us about their success fishing for smallmouth yesterday with a few pictures to prove it. Gordon got off at a restaurant to meet the family and David took over for a tour of Lake Leelanau. Beth and her family have been coming here since she was a kid, so hearing her stories, along with the history of the town were very interesting. As she said, people came here for the fishing, and for cooler summer temperatures.

Slowly, we went through “The Narrows” and a marsh where swans were nesting. The lake is shaped like an hourglass with a bridge crossing at the narrowest part. Our campground was just east across the bridge. After a bit of searching on a busy Friday evening, we found a place to park, and walked up the hill to a restaurant called Dick’s Pour House. With Max joining us, we were fortunate to find a table outside. Two entertaining ladies waited our table. While she told us stories of her dogs and their troubles, I examined her tattoos and teeth.

Beth ordered Walleye and Martha and I follow her lead. David also ordered a plate of smelt, which you don’t often find. A sardine-sized fish, they were good. The Walleye was very good and a generous portion. A beautiful, full moon rose as we started back up the lake. How David found his way back home, I don’t know. There are no headlights on the boat, so we traveled slowly, looking for channel markers. After docking, we tried to scare Lucy through the window as she read a book, but she just waved us off. We thanked David and Beth for their hospitality and found our way back to camp.

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