I'm sitting here in a nice cozy motel room off Black Lake as the temperature outside in cold Ontario drops- forcast to drop below 0 degrees Celcius. The road began to ice during the last hour of the drive before I turned into the Cedar Resort and Winderness Camps on Black Lake. The lake itself was frozen as are most lakes along Route 11. So for another night at least, my stay will be in Ontario.
Bob Binkley, the owner of this resort, and I worked out a deal for $25 Canadian (about $18 US) for a housekeeping motel room (room 7). A housekeeping room is practically an apartment except no living room. This room is small, but complete: It has two beds, couch, a kitchen including stove, microwave, sink, large refrigerator. However, there is no telephone, but there's a pay phone outside. The room usually cost $30 Canadian, and that's still a great deal by American motel or resort standards. It's a good thing I found this inexpensive place because the sun was setting, and pretty soon it'll be freezing. (I've lost control of my truck driving in the ice before and don't want to reexperience that.)
In some way I envy Bob because he's taken 12 acres next to a small lake, and with his blood and sweat, he's converted the land into a retreat where people can go to enjoy the outdoors. It's something I wouldn't mind doing. Bob is there by himself; not sure what happened to his wife, but Bob had a picture of his daughter in his office.
This morning, I woke up at 6:00 am and the sun was already out in full force. I had to use the bathroom so I quickly warmed up the truck and headed out of town using Route 80. After I left my territorial mark out on the country road, I decided it was time to make a quick change in directions. On this trip, I told myself that I would not regret the routes chosen, and that most of this trip would be impromptu decisions.
Seeing as to how the camping season hasn't begun (and won't begin until mid May) I've decided to head west towards my old hometown of Anchorage, Alaska. It's been a recurring dream to return to the place where I first learned about American culture and the English language. It just elavates my feelings just thinking another dream will come true on this roadtrip. I dare say most of us would like to re-experience a piece of our childhood. The original plan was to head east in Canada and return to the United States around Niagra Falls; and from there explore northeast United States and return to Canada somewhere around Maine; from that point, head west to Alaska. But I'll return to Canada again.
Most of the day was uneventful as I drove from Sudbury to Timmons, and headed west on scenic Route 11. This truly is a scenic route, and the Rand McNally atlas labels it. Snow covered most of the landscape, while the lakes were frozen. All the government parks and some of the rest areas were closed. Also, all the private camps were closed.
In Timmons, Ontario, I stopped at an Esso to purchase gas, and found out that most places in Canada are full service. Even the places with self service charge full service prices. The guy who filled my tank didn't even bother to check the fluid or air pressure on my tires, but that's okay, I checked them already. It comes out to be about $1.60 US per gallon.
What's neat about these northern Ontario towns is most of them have tourist information stations. Not one was opened though on this Sunday. The stations generally have information about the whole province as well as the local city. And best of all, they have nice clean restrooms. Never underestimate finding a clean public restroom.
One place I wish I could have spent more time at was Oganawa Falls park, but it was closed. I parked the truck along the road and took some pictures. Since no one was around, I brushed my teeth here.
