ARCTIC Expeditions

On Monday we started the long drive north towards Thunder Bay. The Tobermory ferry runs from the tip of Bruce Peninsula across Lake Huron to South Baymouth, and takes about two hours. It’s a big ferry, not quite the size of the BC Ferries that run across to Vancouver Island, but roughly that scale. They only run two or three times a day.

We were about half an hour into our trip when the crew started making announcements asking if there was a doctor or nurse on board. Ten minutes later they announced we’d have to return to Tobermory for a medical emergency. (It turned out to be an older lady who was having a panic attack; sounds like she’s fine.) We had no schedule, so the extra hour didn’t really affect our travels, and we got to relax for a while, mostly plotting our next tour.

We drove to Blind River, where we took a gorgeous shortcut (okay, technically it’s not a shortcut since it adds about twenty minutes) which bypasses Sault Ste Marie entirely and leads you along a beautiful winding river for a few hours, with no towns or civilization, nothing but a few hunting & fishing lodges from time to time. Marcus has driven this road many times and had always wanted to stop for a swim in the river, so he scoped out a good spot for us to make some sandwiches and go for a dip.

I thought about taking some videos, but they would have come out something like the Blair Witch Project; everyone was screaming in horror at some point. Scenes such as these:

• Todd running around in crazed circles flailing his arms, yelling about the blackflies in his ear.
• Marcus and I each stepping into the river and screaming from the brutal, numbing cold. (It wasn’t so bad after a few minutes once I lost all feeling in my legs, and I even immersed my entire body in the river for about 1/4 of a second just to make sure I was still alive.)
• Todd and I freaking about the slowly growing army of blackflies closing in on the car, sneaking in the window, as Marcus was being overwhelmed by the swarm outside the car while attempting to change out of his bathing suit. We were afraid he wouldn’t make it back, and worried about how long we could live in the car without opening the doors or windows.

I was smothered in citronella, so I only got 4 mosquito bites and maybe a few blackfly bites that aren’t so bad. Marcus seems to have had entire chunks taken out of him. Todd’s frantic flailing and long-sleeved shirt seems to have protected him.

I tell you, we’re spoiled in Vancouver.

We headed on to Wawa, home of large goose statues, where a teenage girl immediately gave us the finger as we pulled into town. It’s a town in sad shape; a few mills apparently closed and it’s been emptying out. There’s a nice touristy general store that seems to do well. We stayed at a place on the way out of town, called Northern Lights Motel, where the rooms had more little personal touches than I’d ever seen: little funny notes, pages of reading material on the back of the bathroom door, earplugs for those who have to sleep with snorers, Q-tips, rags for dirty boots, books, and a cribbage game (I have no idea how to play). We had some awesome trout for dinner and got a good night’s sleep.

No internet though, and I checked my email on my phone to learn that our Winnipeg show has been cancelled - the Cavern had a plumbing emergency this week and has had to cancel several shows. It’s disappointing, but nothing we can do about it. We’ll see if we can find a new venue, but with one day to go and no real internet connection, I’m not terribly optimistic.

Coming up next: Thunder Bay and Winnipeg… I’d write it up now but I did not get enough sleep and am far too tired and cranky. You’ll have to wait.