Day 17: Thursday, July 22, 2010

St Joseph Island, Ontario to Wawa, Ontario

Indirect Miles:203

Total Trip Miles to Date: 2221

Road Trip Around The               

            UPPER GREAT LAKES....

Come back to this site often and ride along with me around the Upper Great Lakes.

New photos will be posted every day or two..

All Photography by Ken Stewart © copyright 2010

As I departed St. Joseph Island Ontario to continue my travels north on the Trans Canada Highway, I asked “how are the roads”, I didn’t expect the answer I got ... Watch out for the Moose!, They’ll wander out on to the road at any time! and he added,  Oh... and the roads are good, very scenic drive!

To get to the infamous “Moose Route”, that follows the north shore line of Lake Superior, I first had to go through the city of Sault Saint Marie. The Soo, as it is known by locals, (population 75,000) would be the last large city I’ll see for a some time... My destination for this day was the northern mining town of Wawa, Ontario.

While driving through the Soo, I noticed that there were two of the “Tall Ships” moored at the waterfront docks. Cool ! The ships finally caught-up with me ! (regular viewers of these pages my recall I tried, in vain, to find and photograph the Tall Ships when they where to  be in port at Bay City Michigan, more than a week ago.

Following making a few photos of the ships, in the Soo, I moved up the waterfront to the old Soo Canal & Locks, that are now a historical attraction since the new larger lock system was built a number of years ago.  The locks are the only way for ships to get to and from Lake Huron and Lake Superior.

I then got onto the road north to the town of Wawa, (population 3700).

Until 1960 there were no roads into or out of this gold and iron ore mining town. If its residents wanted to go to the Soo, to the south, or to the city of Thunder Bay to the northwest, (200 miles either way) they had to go by boat or train. After decades of pleading with the Canadian government the final link of the Lake Superior section of the Trans Canada Highway was completed, and Wawa residents had their road out..

Wawa is the site of the first and only iron ore mine, that was discovered in the 1800’s by gold miners and was eventually depleted by 19???.

The drive to here was very scenic.. But I have been told I ain’t seen nothin yet... the area between here and my next destination, (the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario) is no less than spectacular... I’ll be on the road again tomorrow...

Wawa, Ontario

Hundreds of Moose warning signs line the Trans Canada Highway north to Wawa.

The water front at Sault Saint Marie. (The Soo)

Two Tall Ships moored at the Soo waterfront as a sailor rigs the sails of the Bounty, the ship used for the filming of Pirates of The Caribbean, and Mutiny on The Bounty.

The bridge to and from  Canada and the US spans the Soo Canal and Locks.

The Historic old Soo Canal and Locks are currently under restoration.

Tourists stop to take family photos at every opportunity, as the views of Lake Superior keep getting better with every turn in the road.

The final section of the Lake Superior link in the Trans Canada Highway opened in 1960 at Wawa. To celebrate the road, area residents commissioned a giant sculpture of a Canadian Goose... The word Wawa translates to Wild Goose in the Ojgway Indian language. 

Gitchee Goomee

totems can

be seen all around the town of Wawa.

Children enjoy a swim at Wawa’s town beach.

Three miles down a dirt road just south of Wawa, is the spectacular Magpie High Falls and picnic shelter.