Leaving North Bay
Today I'm back on the road. But boy is it hard to leave North Bay. I once again woke up to the most stunning view of the lake just outside the house. It's just such a beautiful place to live. I could stay here forever and just watch the sunsets come up over the lake - quiet and serene.
Not only was staying here the most relaxing and rejuvenating spot, but my excellent hosts, Tammy and Victoria, made me feel right at home. It was difficult saying goodbye to them after such an enjoyable last couple of days. But alas, the show must go on and I have another 8,924 miles to go. Day number 5 here I come!
I packed up the car, got all my sandwiches, all prepped from the night before, and my fresh coffee all situated for the next 4 hours of driving. One quick stop to fill up the gas and I was back on the road!
The Forbidden Trail
Today I am following Route 11 to Cochrane to visit the Polar bears before my final stop at Lake Fushimi for my evening of camping.
About an hour into my drive, I saw an exit onto a small hidden trail called "Lowell Lake Road". I saw that it would take me off the main highway, around Lake Lowell and then would join back up to the main highway again. I was instantly excited. My first hidden trail of the day, a perfect loop around a lake and then back on track down Route 11. So off I went, ready to explore.
The beginning of the trail started off great. It was a small dirt road, with small pebbles, but quite firm. I wasn't worried at all, as it was like driving on gravel. And the views did not disappoint! I started seeing the beautiful lake through the trees, stopping at points to get out and take photos of the scenery. I was driving very slowly through the rocky terrain, enjoying the glimpses of the lake through the trees. I could see quaint cabins and lake houses along the lake shore. The sun was streaming through the tree leaves making everything glow, and the water was serene and perfectly still, reflecting everything around it like a mirror.
At first, I hardly noticed that the trail was getting a bit rough. Here and there the rocks were a bit larger, there was a small puddle here, and a slightly larger one there. Each time I came across an obstacle I slowly averted it, driving around the sides, and eyeballing how deep various puddles and potholes were. Before I knew it the roads had gotten bad bad bad.
I was reminded of my trip to Costa Rica where the road from the Airbnb we were staying at into the town was horrendously bumpy and full of potholes. But I had come too far now to turn back. Though I quickly regretted that decision as the road continued to worsen. Huge puddles that spanned the entire road now kept coming up. And the rocks were so large and choppy, that the car was bouncing all over the place. I had to get out of the car every minute or so to assess each situation and figure out how to get across.
At this point, my heart was palpitating. I was driving as slow as humanly possible, literally 1-2 miles an hour. Just as I was questioning all my life decisions the next and final obstacle presented itself. There, right across the entire road, was a fallen tree. There was no way to pass. I had no choice but to turn back around, back into the minefield of potholes, puddles and sharp rocks that I had just come from. So back I went, heart racing, zig-zagging through the obstacles and back towards Route 11.
You may be wondering, "Shlomo, how did you get yourself into this mess? Why didn't you turn around when you noticed the road was bad?". Well, you know how when things gradually change over time you hardly notice them? Like when the parents of a baby hardly can tell day by day how much their child is growing, but a friend who hasn't seen him in 3 months is shocked by how much he's grown? Yes, well it was like that. Today's hidden trail was very very long (3-5 miles), and it worsened so slowly that it was hard to make the judgement to turn back until the fallen tree stopped all progress.
Every obstacle until then felt doable. I had made it this far, what was 1 more giant puddle? But then there was another giant pothole after that. And then a range of jagged sharp rocks. Until, in retrospect, I realized this was a very challenging road. Hindsight is 20/20 after all.
So that's how today's hidden trail turned into the dreaded "forbidden trail" (of doom). 😂 But it's all part of the adventure, and luckily no harm was done. I even enjoyed some really lovely scenery along the way.
Now, on my initial way into the forbidden trail, I had seen a woman walking along the road. As I passed her, I tried to drive as slowly as possible to not blow dust up from the rocks. Now on the way back, I saw her again. She was still walking along and I decided to stop to chat with her (because that's what I do 😊), and found out her name was Monique.
Monique told me about how she used to live in the North Bay area with her husband and kids. At the time, they were both teachers. Now that they have retired and the kids are all out of the house, they spend months out of the year camping.
She explained that they were currently camping in this area by Lowell Lake, and that they will camp for sometimes 4 months in a row (the entire season). Then, when the season ends, they drive a few hundred miles to their next camping destination and will stay there for another 3 months! When it's too cold to camp, they fly to Spain and camp there for a bit. I was very impressed. Imagine camping almost the entire year! And here I am, a bit nervous about my first night of camping in 36 years...
Monique and her husband were so set on camping year-round that they sold their home and possessions, all except for the necessities they needed to camp. They are free as birds, flying from one beautiful spot out in nature to the next, with just the clothes on their backs and their camping gear. I asked how this lifestyle compares to their years teaching, and Monique said that they are very very happy with their new way of life.
Temagami
I finally made it back onto Route 11 and was on my way again, but after that nerve-wracking experience, I had worked up an appetite and wanted to sit back and enjoy my sandwich. I pulled into Tenegami, only 10 minutes up the road, and found a lovely little spot on a bench with a pretty view.
Englehart Motel Pit Stop
Back on the road, I was really surprised when suddenly the landscape changed quite dramatically. After miles and miles of beautiful lakes and luscious green forests, the trees parted and gave way to a huge expanse of farmlands. Everywhere as far as the eye could see were huge fields lined with tractors and farming equipment.
After another hour of driving, my ice coffee was getting warm and I needed a top-up of ice. I saw a sign for a motel up ahead and pulled into the parking lot. I entered the small homey motel called Englehart Motel and spoke with the owners, Ken and Jay. They were kind enough to ice me up for my drive and we had a small chat before I left.
I asked Ken and Jay how they ended up in the small town of Engelhart. Ken said he had been living in the big city of Toronto, and moved to Englehart only a year ago. Jay said he had also started out in Toronto. They said they prefer small-town life and have really been enjoying this town and they are here to stay.
A Mennonite View on Life
Not long after I was back on the road, the farmlands gave way to the green of the trees and blue lakes once more. The farming area was short-lived after all, probably only about 20 miles long.
At 12:30 I was about 80 miles away from Cochrane and saw something on the road up ahead. As I got closer I realized it was a horse and buggy! Sitting inside was a group of people. I tried to pull up beside them to ask some questions about where they were from but they just ignored me.
As I continued driving I realized there were more of them! It was a convoy of about 20-30 carriages just trotting along the highway. One family of 6 was very friendly and I stopped to talk to them. They mentioned that they are Mennonites. When I asked where they are from they said that they all live around the area. They seemed a bit shy at first and mentioned that they don't speak with strangers very often. However, they were very friendly, warm and welcoming, and seemed happy to chat for a bit.
I asked them if they were aware of the developments in Artificial intelligence in the outside world. Surprisingly they seemed to be familiar with the topic, but said they try not to learn too much and prefer to stay ignorant on the topic. I asked them about their way of life as well and they explained that they truly feel that their lifestyle contributes to their happiness and they are able to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
I thanked them for their time, and off I went. Another 10 miles down the road I saw a parking lot FULL of horses and buggies. The lot was giant! Around the size of a Costco lot, and it was packed. I did a quick U-turn 2 miles down the road to go back. I felt this was a once-in-a-lifetime sight to see. When I returned to the lot, they had already settled all the horses into the barn nearby.
I pulled up and parked the car. I walked over to a bunch of young guys in their early 20s and spoke to them for a little while. They were all very well-mannered young men and were friendly when I asked to speak with them.
They explained that their lifestyle is very similar to the Amish, and after a few minutes of friendly chatter, I offered them a bag of my favourite sweet and salty olive oil popcorn. I told them it was my favourite and that I only have 3 more bags for the next 30 days, but that I wanted them to have one. They were sooo happy and appreciative. I waved goodbye to them and saw them all sharing the popcorn and relaxing together as I sped off.
Under Pressure
The last 10 minutes to Cochrane was a bit of a boring stretch. There were no cars around for miles, and the speed limit was 90. I was ready to arrive at Cochrane, and the speed limit was awfully slow for a completely empty area. So there I was going 105 in a 90 zone after watching several other cars speed past me at much higher velocities, when suddenly I see a RCMP police car coming towards me from the opposite lane. I thought I was safe, but then I saw him in my rearview mirror during a U-turn and coming back towards me.
I quickly slowed down to 93. Just in time too, because he pulled up behind me and continued to follow me for miles and miles and miles and miles. At one point I thought I'd lost him as I was reaching the city limits. The speed limit here was 60, and I immediately slowed down. The cop appeared shortly after, probably wanting to see if I adhered to the slower speed limit. Once I turned off onto the road to the polar bear conservatory he left me alone.
Cochrane North Polar Bear Conservatory
The Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat is home to 3 adult polar bears named Ganuk, Henry
and Inukshuk. This is the southernmost location you will be able to find a population of polar bears. The bears here have access to 24 acres of natural, sub-arctic terrain and forest and are free to move around as they wish. The conservatory rescues polar bears in need and has been providing sanctuary for these incredible animals for the last 18 years.
Excited to see some polar bears, I paid my dues, bought a cool hat and walked around to take some photos. I was able to see some polar bears walking around on the other side of a chain-linked fence. I noticed one of the buildings nearby had a red cross on it and thought it might be an employee emergency first aid building. It turns out it is the building they use for feeding time for the bears so that guests can view the experience from a safe distance. The building has a glass wall viewing out onto the enclosure which includes a pool for the bears.
Sadly it seemed I had just missed feeding time and was not able to watch from that area. But don't worry, there are heroes in this story!
There was a group of 3 other visitors other than me. Apparently, we were the only 4 people visiting the habitat that day. The other 3 guests, Curtis, Brian, and Lina, were from Alberta and worked in the gold mines there. As I got talking to them they were super friendly and showed me the photos and videos they took during the feeding exhibition.
They were kind enough to send me copies of the pictures, which you can see here in this blog! Special shoutout and thanks to Curtis, Brian and Lina from Alberta! Our blog readers thank you for the incredible polar bear photos.
After saying goodbye to the Albertans, I had a look at the Ski-Doo Museum that they had on-site. I learned that this is the world's most extensive Ski-Doo collection and that this area has a very avid Ski-doo population. They have here over 100 years of Ski-doos and it really was quite the array of different models.
"Camping" at Lake Fushimi
The time was nearing. Camping was just over the horizon. I called my wife for one of my 12 daily check-ins 😉, and she told me that she had read that the mosquitos at the campsite are unbearable. So bad in fact that people avoid putting their heads outside of their tents.
Well, those who know me know that I am a bit spoiled. And getting bitten by a swarm of mosquitos was not exactly up to my standard of living. So on the way to the campgrounds, about 30 miles before Lake Fushimi, I stopped at the small city of Hearst. I found a small motel to check if there were any rooms available, JUST IN CASE!!!
Then I continued to the campgrounds. 30 minutes of driving later, 10 on the highway, and 20 minutes on a long dusty gravel road, I arrived.
The good news - no mosquitos. Not even 1!
The bad news - the campsite was pretty much a dump...😬
I know I'm used to my creature comforts, but this was not what I had imagined at all! Though the lake was a beautiful sight to see, you could in fact, not see it from the campgrounds. There were so many trees obscuring it that mostly you just had a view of the lot and a wall of trees. You wouldn't even know you were at the lake. Not only that but there was no grass at all, just rocks and dirt. And don't get me started on the bathrooms and showers...
I didn't want my first camping experience in almost 40 years to be a disappointment. I was not excited at all about camping once I saw the state of the grounds. So I cheated....
Back in the car, a U-turn, 20 minutes of driving on gravel and 10 minutes of highway and I was back at the Villa Inn and Suites...where I will be "camping" this evening. 😅
I have to admit I'm quite happy here, with my bed, clean shower and bathroom, and internet. Don't worry! I am still going to try camping again tomorrow, but it has to be an extraordinary spot for me to set up camp and brave the night. Until then, I'll be enjoying the creature comforts of the indoors...
See you all tomorrow!
-Shlomo
P.S. There are many many many more stunning and incredible photos from today. Check the full collection out in the Photo Gallery!
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