Wawa to Parry Sound

My final day on the road.

Got a late start out of Wawa. Left the hotel around 11, but had to go back to get gas. The most
expensive since leavnin Nanaimo- $1.13, but, it waas worth it because I got a picture of the goose.

Another long day on the road. The scenery around Lake Superior was outstanding! Long curves of road
and land, and majestic vistas of the lake. Definitely take this drive at some point in your life.
I stopped for a great lunch about 45 minutes outside of Sault Ste Marie, at the Voyageur. The menu
told of the northwest company voyageurs, their life, and how they used to camp their canoes on the
beach across he road. A very romantic tale, and a delicious lunch of whitefish rollup and rice and
hamburger soup. And coffee.

I started to fade at Iron Bridge, between the Soo and Sudbury, with about four hours of driving left to
get to the cottage.I figured if I stopped every hour to stretch my legs, I would make it safely. Tim
Hortons at Espanola, gas up in Sudbury, where it was sunny and warm at 7 PM..

The sun shone gently down my back as i headed down #69 for Parry Sound. I passed two deer nibbling
at the side of the road, and they cantered safely back into the bush. At one point a Great Blue Heron
swooped directly over my car, going my way, and even the crows seemed to be welcoming me home to
this softer, rolling, marshy land. I had a truck at my 6 all the way down, the two of us distant
companions on the road. I took it easy, just as well, as the OPP were out looking for speeders.
At the north end of Parry Sound, I turned off onto 124, and the familiarity of years of travel on this
well-remembered road. Jimmie's Garage no longer stands at Waubamik, althought the rusting pumps
are still there. Jeannie's Bakery is closed, unfortunately for our taste buds, but fortunately for our wastebands!.
The old wooden barn that marks the final curve and downward hill into Mckellar still stands, as
impressive as ever. Past the barn, you drive down the long curve and see the village of McKellar across
the bay of Lake Manitouwabing, and things never really chage that much there. There is always the
general store, the gas station ($1.06), the community hall (father's day dinner June 18th, 5-6:30). This
year there is a chip truck at the old gas station, where there used to be the post office, and where the
laundromat used to be for a while.

Mauve clouds and golden sunset ushered me down Grey Owl road, and into the shadows of the trees,
around familiar bends, past memories of home. “This used to be a very narrow lane,” I explained to
Belinda Beamer. “Once our dog, Sandy, got her nose smacked by a sappling, just for having her head
out the window! This part of the road used to be a bare rock. The road's really been improved over the
years!” I also told her how proud and amazed I was of her, for her outstanding perrformance on the
cross- county trek. Just after 9PM, my travels ended, as I parked my wonderful car under the trees
outsied the cotttage, and stepped out onto the soft grass, legs a bit shaky, and walked toward the door,
to be happily greeted by my loving mother and father.And a repaired pump and running water. See,
there really is a Goddess!

Now, we've had a bit of a visit, I've settled for the night here in the second upstairs bedroom, I've done
my yoga and completed this entry, now I can stop moving for a while, and settle in to my new
temporary summer home.Tomorrow I will give Belinda a much needed bath, and not do too much else,
if I can help it. Maybe just get to someplace with internet access, so I can post this to my blog. But that
can wait, you, my loyal readers, I know, will wait for me.