Colorado to Nova Scotia: Ontario is Big!
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| dog does not help pack |
But, first things, first. 3 days! of driving. Across Ontario. Ontario is big. Bigger than Texas. (Ontario = 1.07M sq. km. and Texas = 700K sq. km.) And, Quebec is bigger than Ontario. American mind blown! Canada is just big.
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| a dreamy rest in Pukaskwa National Park |
Off we went after a beautiful, dreamy rest. Rivian to exploding. We drove the entire top of Lake Superior, passing Provincial Park after Provincial Park, all the way to the end where we landed at Sault Ste. Marie, a place where this superior lake meets another great lake (Lake Huron).
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| Soo lock: gigantic doors |
We deliberately stopped in Sault Ste. Marie because the canal and Soo locks connected Lake Superior with Lake Huron and then, the rest of the world via the Atlantic Ocean. Thats a big deal (or it used to be)! We watched boats go up and down, then float through gigantic doors, onward. We wanted to stop here, explore more, spend more time, not drive further. But, plenty of light left in the long, summer day and places to be!
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| almost down! |
Finally, eleven hours later (including breaks, groceries and charging) we landed in Sudbury and after a rainy, late night charge at a gas station (yuck!), we rolled up to a packed Microtel. Travelers like us! Kindred spirits! Where are they going? And, the next day after laundry and, of course, baked treats and coffee, we drove again. Past quaint towns, pothole lakes and smooth, treed, rocky outcroppings.
Oh to get on a boat and paddle out into the great beyond. But it was hot and we were driving to Quebec. NOT paddling, NOT floating (peacefully across a string of pristine lakes). NOT stopping for ice cream.
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| yummy, good things at Salute Coffee |
We thought Ottawa looked a lot like Denver: busy, not pretty, lots of traffic, important things going on. The small towns along the Ottawa River, though, those were different from home - well kept, people out walking, sitting on their porches, or working in their yards. Healthy and vibrant rural communities.
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| important things going on while charging at Canadian Tire in Ottawa |
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QUESTION: On our way home, weeks later, after we had passed through Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, small towns became something like the norm and we expected a cute, vibrant main street, folks sitting on their porches, well-kept houses and yards, and people out and about. In the United States, though, not so. We felt sad and disappointed at so many deserted, struggling, sometimes scary, small towns. We live in a smallish town, in a kinda rural community, in the U.S. We own a small business. It is almost impossible to sustain and it is getting harder not easier. How can we do better? What is Canada doing differently?
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We camped at Voyageur Provincial Park and stopped through the little town of Vankleek Hill which was a typical example of one of these charming small towns: walkable main street, lots of small businesses doing good business, people out and about and the greatest grocery store we had seen in a long while.
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| our little slice of heaven at Voyageurs Provincial Park |
At camp, annoying red bugs chased us into the tent where we watched the sunset from behind protective mesh until a billion fireflies came out for their evening serenade and made it all better. Our camp neighbors were up all night singing and dancing. But we didn’t care. They were happy and we were sleeping.
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