Day 3 - Our day in the Bay

We woke up to fog and hit the road at 0800.  The drive this morning is not too bad.  We can see the lake again and there are some nice views and some big hills.

         Note for Jordon - we still have a lot of trees in Northern Ontario.

Went through so many little towns and had a good laugh at some of the signs along the way.  For instance, in Nipigan, they have Canada's smallest Canadian Tire, it's so small, we never found it!  Red Rock - we saw red rock sometime before passing through Red Rock but never when we got close.  Every time we would go through a little town we would play find the LCBO, OPP and gas station.  At 1010 this morning we get pulled over for the first time (hopefully last).  Clocked at 112km in a 90km zone.  Happy we don't have to add the cost of a ticket to our grand  total for the trip :)

We arrived in Thunder Bay at noon and the first thing we did was to go see the Terry Fox statue.  Justin was really looking forward to it.  The monument is situated on top of a small mountain just east of the city on Hwy 17 as you arrive.  The grounds and the monument are stunning.  We have to say one of the most touching monuments we've both seen.

Here is part of the text engraved onto the monument;

Terry Fox inspired this nation with his dream - his marathon of hope - a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research.

This young man from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, knew too well the ravages of cancer...because at 18 he had lost his right leg to the disease.  And etched in his mind was the pain and suffering on the faces of other cancer victims.  Determined not to leave this "world of miracles" before a cure had been found, he planned his 5,300-mile marathon.  

After dipping his foot in the Atlantic, he began his epic in St. John's Newfoundland on April 12, 1980.  

Running 26 miles a day, this outstanding young athletic had conquered five provinces by the time he had reached Ontario in June, then, at mile number 3,339, near this very site, recurring cancer forced him to give up his run.

"It feels good to give", he told the people of Ontario who responded wholeheartedly to his courage and his dream and through his perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, he inspired an outpouring of immense nation pride and a flood of $24 million for cancer research.

To the people of Ontario, Terry gave us pride - pride in having known him and, briefly, sharing his dream.

To every Canadian, he left us his challenge.  A challenge each of us will meet in our own way.

A cute anecdote is that we both said our moms would have a Terry Fox book from when we were younger for BB girl.  At the memorial, there is also a great view of  the Sleeping Giant (a formation of hills and cliff that resemble a giant sleeping on his back).

Justin - The sleeping Giant

After making a stop at the grocery store, We decided to head out to Mount Mckay to have a better view of the Giant and the city and to have a little picnic.  Getting there was quite an adventure.  We went over the tiniest bridge covered with metal sheets that seemed to be floating on the beams.  I did not enjoy that at all!  On the other side of the bridge we crossed Chippewa park - I mention it because earlier we had heard the song 'Indian outlaw'! An old country classic, and one of the lines is "my Baby she's a Chippewa"! Well, we laughed and were singing that song all day. You all know how we are crazy country fans!  Anyhow, we made it up Mount Mckay (not the nicest ride with the trailer in tow but we managed).  The view was indeed worth it and we were almost by ourselves up top and found a perfect spot for a nice picnic.

View of the Sleeping Giant from Mount Mckay

View of Thunder Bay from Mount Mckay

Next stop, a few kms out of town, was Kabakeka Falls.  Justin wasn't really interested in seeing 'cheesy' falls but we were both impressed.  They were very nice and forceful.  Had it not been that bb girl had not slept in quite some time, we would have taken the hike around the falls.  But we decided to keep going.  On our way, we spotted a little moose and then a big mama moose with her two babies.  So beautiful!

Kabekeka Falls

We made it to Dryden at 1800 - that is because we crossed into Central time zone (so we gained an hour - yeah).  We stayed at the North Western RV Campground.  A perfect campground for our needs and our hosts, an elderly Swiss couple, were wonderful. We took the time at this comfortable campsite to rearrange the trailer so we ended up going to bed a little late but excited as we knew we would be done with Ontario tomorrow!