The Sault to Dryden

Day 2
Kilometers traveled; 1100.

We awaken to the sound of two little sets of feet padding into our room. “Mom it’s 7:20, if we are going to leave at 9:00 you need to get up now.” Says Will, clearly he is not at all excited to get going. I went down stairs and was greeted by one of my favourite smells, fresh blueberry pancakes and Bob's best ever latte and espresso. After Nate ate his weigh in pancakes, toast, yogurt and banana, we said good bye to Bob and Judy and headed off for day two!



The day was grey and drizzly. The weather suited our surroundings. There is an inherent moodiness in the exposed shield and stalwart coniferous trees. The stark beauty of the Northern Ontario landscape was only heightened by the unsettled weather. After about an hour Lake Superior loomed on our left, Will was so excited, a number of times he said, "Mommy Lake Superior is so beautiful!" I did this trip with my family when I was 14, I don't remember being impressed by the Northern Landscape but seeing through my adult eyes and the eyes of my children is a completely new experience. I am engrossed with every sheer rock face, with the contrast of the creamy while birches against the deep green of the spruce trees. I have a stack of reading at my feet but all I really want to do is look out the window.



We arrive in Wawa and the boys are seriously excited about the BIG Goose, however, Will is quickly distracted by the fact that there is an air port across the street. Turns out The Big Goose is the perfect little picnic spot. Picnic tables, a great little park for the boys to blow off some steam in and an interpretation center with lots of maps and interesting pictures for the two very curious minds in the back of the car. After lunch Will and Ken went to take pictures of the goose while Nate and I ran races back and forth on the wood deck on the front of the center. Over the past few days I have come to realize that running races with Nate at breaks are essential to the success of our driving time. After a decent amount of racing Nate eventually passes out in the back seat. We pile back into the car - next stop, Thunder Bay. I have to say that for the most part the boys have been brilliant in the car. The car kits with lots of new treasures were a hit and I really think that Will would be quite happy to just look out the window at the very dramatic land scape. As we drive further North, that land scape becomes shrouded in think fog and gloom. Again, somehow it feels appropriate. The mist only adds to the drama and mystery of the hidden lakes and steep rocky faces. As we approach Thunder Bay I start to feel a twinge in my stomach, I hadn't thought about how the Terry Fox Memorial would affect me until now. As we drive up the tree lined drive the tingling intensifies. As we walk down the beautiful path to the Memorial site there is an over whelming sense of tranquility. The stunning view of Lake Superior and Sleeping Giant Island feels like this is exactly the right place for this monument to be. The iconic images of all things Canadian surround it. Will and Nate are asking thousands of questions wanting to know everything there is about Terry Fox. From why he was running around Canada to why he had to die. Driving away Nate says, "I'm sad, I'm sad that Terry Fox had to die." I think that expresses the emotion of any human being who knows the story of Terry Fox.

After dinner we decide to push on to Dryden as the boys seem to be tolerating the driving really well. This for the most part was a good decision. As we drive, the sun is slowly setting on a land scape that is returning to something more pastoral. The sky and clouds turn every deepening shades of magenta and orange and Ken and I are feeling pretty satisfied with ourselves, the boys are settled quietly in the back seat, we are enjoying Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe, quintessentially Canadian! About an hour and a half from Dryden things take a turn, the boys have reached their tolerance for time in a car seat and they are exhausted. For a few tense moments I thought we would have to leave them on the road side. Then, they developed a game of looking for transport trucks that look like Mac (from cars) and encouraging Ken to pass so they could see if it truly was Mac or not. This kept them well occupied until Nate said, "I'm not looking for Macs any more." He then immediately feel asleep, Will shortly followed him and Ken and I enjoyed a peaceful last half an hour. By 11:00pm we were all snuggled into our hotel room, dreaming of the adventures tomorrow will hold for us.