Prince Edward Island turned out to be a really nice and unexpected treat! We got up in plenty of time on Canada Day, July 1. We planned to be in Charlottetown for the fireworks later in the evening but in the meantime, we wanted to do some exploring of the island. First stop was about 60 km (40 miles) north-west of Charlottetown at PEI National Park. The park was established to preserve many of the spots referenced in the books written by Lucy Maud Montgomery of Anne of Green Gables fame, among many other works. Since it was Canada Day, all the parks were free! What a bonus! We decided we had seen enough shoreline for awhile so we went to the home of Montgomery’s grandparents where she spent a lot of time and based her novels from that farm. It was pretty interesting to see the ‘Lover’s Lane’ and the ‘Haunted Woods’. The house and grounds are remarkably well preserved as is the barn and other outbuildings. After an hour or so there, we headed back south and towards the coast to take in Fort Amherst National Historical Site.
We got to Fort Amherst after a bit of detouring due to a bridge being out and were pretty disappointed that the visitor’s center was closed and looking in quite disrepair. Since we couldn’t get our book stamped, we opted for the next best thing and took a picture! Hopefully it will count on our quest. The upside is that Fort Amherst has a spectacular view of the Charlottetown harbor! Getting to the fort was the best part. The countryside on PEI is really pleasant to drive through. We saw loads of farms (potato that is, since PEI is famous for potatoes) and lots of great houses overlooking the ocean. After a brief pass through town, and it being still early in the day, we took a spin back to the campground for some lunch. Shorty after (since the bugs were so bad and the wind was down) we took off east towards a small town called Georgetown. The drive out was just as lovely as the trip earlier out to the northwest. We stopped in Georgetown for supper at a place called Clam Diggers and enjoyed the view from the dining area that was right on the water. Since it was getting later, we headed straight towards Charlottetown on route PEI 3.
Once back in Charlottetown, it was apparent the crowds were going to be pretty bad. We found a parking space pretty easy and walked down around the waterfront. Seems we missed the free food they were giving out because of the holiday! We should have just come down there! Besides being Canada Day, it was also the 150th anniversary of the meeting for Confederation which took place in Charlottetown. .Anyway, after roaming around for a while we stopped at a Cows ice cream store to get some blueberry ice cream (our favorite). It is supposed to be the best in Canada but we don’t think so! Since it was only about 6:00 pm and it doesn’t get dark up here till about 9:30, we just couldn’t wait it out. Off we went back to the campground. We were fortunate though, we were close enough to see the fire works light up the western sky.
Our last day on the island was pretty nice albeit cool. A front was starting to move in. We found out that Arthur was starting to move up from Florida and ahead of that was what we were seeing- lots of humid air meeting the cool Canadian air from up north. We packed pretty quickly and were on the road, stopping for coffee and some breakfast. The service light was back on this morning telling me I only had 200 miles to go for an oil change so we planned another visit to Atlantic Motoplex in Dieppe, NB. Turns out that heading west started to take us around the front. Since we had entered PEI via the ferry, we were taking the Confederation Bridge back out. After a short 50 miles or so, we paid our $18 and started across the 8 km long bridge, the longest continuous bridge over open ocean in the world. Our plan worked- as we headed towards Moncton, NB, we were actually skirting the bad weather. All worked out pretty good. We opted for a hotel close to the dealer and took care of wash and organizing things in the trailer.
We had a big day on July 3. We changed our plans and decided to travel west across Canada since neither Cynthia nor I had been in northern New Brunswick and Quebec and northern Ontario. So, after our visit to Atlantic Motoplex for the oil change first thing in the morning, we made our way back into Dieppe to hit the Walmart and Canadian Tire for supplies. By 10:00, we were back on the Trans Canada to put on some miles. It was a good driving day with temps ranging from 72-88. Since the humidity seemed to be so low, cloud cover made the temps drop fast. By the time they cleared, the temp would climb back up. The Trans Canada is a really nice road almost all the way through New Brunswick but once you pass Edmundson just at the Quebec border, things get bad. Lots of road construction and much lower speed limits. Most times we were only able to do 80 kph (50 mph) and that made it that much longer. Once we were headed south (west) on QE 20, a main expressway along the St Lawrence, it was much better. This part of Quebec is really pretty with the river views and beautiful farms along the route. By 5:00, we were 466 miles further on and staying in Levis, Quebec, just across the St Lawrence River from Quebec City.
Friday, July 4 we again took off on QE 20 towards Montreal and had a really nice morning of driving until the skies opened up just east of Drummondville! On went the rain gear! It was a short storm and thankfully, it was over before we got to Montreal. Handling the traffic in Montreal without rain is bad enough! I really wanted to enter Montreal via QE 40 but I missed the cut-off outside Levis to cross the St Lawrence there. So, we got hemmed in with some pretty heavy traffic on QE 20 and that continued onto QE 40 till just past the airport, south of the city. All started looking really good as we could see the skies to the west were breaking up. By the time we were just outside Ottawa, it was well on its way to becoming a really nice afternoon, and we needed it! We decided to call it a day just west of Ottawa at a provincial park called Fitzroy, right at the confluence of the Carp and Ottawa Rivers. Though it was crowded, we got a nice site and by supper, the sun was out in full.
It was a glorious Saturday July 5 and we started out much later than usual. Since we weren’t planning on going far, it was nice to take it easier in the morning and leave late. We only planned to go about 150 miles into Algonquin Provincial Park. Algonquin Provincial Park is the oldest and most famous of Ontario’s provincial parks. In the early days, visitors arrived by train and stayed at one of the numerous lodges that existed in those days. Though there are still lodges there to enjoy, there are only three easily accessible from ON 60, the main road through the park. This park is a boater’s paradise. That was pretty obvious early on as most vehicles entering the park had canoes or kayaks on the roof. The park is THE place to be to canoe! There are plenty of backcountry canoe trails you can take. Included on those ‘water’ trails are backcountry camping sites. Algonquin Provincial Park really deserves a second, much longer visit. Maybe next year!
The drive to Algonquin was great! Beautiful scenery on both sides of ON 60 and it was always a treat when the road passed through one of the small towns along the way. Much of this area is cottage country since there are so many lakes up there. Lots of vacation spots though the traffic (tourists or visitors) weren’t in great numbers. The downside to cottage country is the bugs. We were fortunate in that the wind was up so the black flies and mosquitoes weren’t an issue, but they can be! The drive through Algonquin Provincial Park is beautiful, the road passing many lakes, the woods of spruce and birch and the rock outcroppings that remind me a lot of Maine. We settled into our camp at Tea Lake on the western-most side of the park and planned out our next few days.
Since we were at our camp early, I took at close look at the rear tire on the 1600 and we are just about at the wear bars. Right now, that Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT has 7,147 miles on it. The past rear tire, a Pilot Road 3 lasted 8,768 but was pretty well done. The other Metzelers all lasted in the low 8,000 range. I was hoping this GT would put out more miles than the Pilot Road 3 since it is supposed to be designed for heavier bikes. It will probably be about the same but I won’t know. It is only about 600 miles to the BMW dealer in Grand Rapids and I didn’t want to push it too far in case we were a lot further away from a dealer if I passed them up. Consequently, I sent a message to BMW of Grand Rapids, MI to inquire about fitting a new Pilot Road 4 sometime next week (July 8, 9 or 10). At this point, we are waiting to here an answer.
Another glorious day greeted us Sunday, July 06. We took our time getting coordinated and headed out again west on ON 60 to Huntsville and there we picked up ON 11 south to our first destination, Bethune Memorial House National Historical (NHS) site just outside Bracebridge, ON. However, it was not to be. Even though the sign from the highway said 2 km to the house, we couldn’t find it. So, I pulled out the GPS to put in our next destination, the Big Chute Marine Railway NHS. Sounded pretty interesting. The drive there was really nice with the road passing many lakes and numerous cottages, lots of trees. We were soon at the Big Chutes Marine Railway NHS but we got foiled again! Though it was in operation, the visitor center was closed. No stamp, no way to prove we were there. What was even more disappointing was that we couldn’t get any history on the place. Cynthia caught up with an employee who explained that because of budget cuts, many national historical sites are either closed or have limited hours etc. We were pretty bummed. The upside was that we got to see how they lift boats from one lake up to another passed the Big Chutes and we got a camp ground tip from another motorcyclist. That’s always good to hear from locals about local stuff!
At this point we decided not to pursue any more Canadian parks since we’ve been disappointed a few times since being in Canada. Canada doesn’t promote or maintain their national sites anywhere near as good as the U.S. does. We were only a day or so from our planned entry back into the U.S. so that suited us fine. We jumped back onto ON 400 and headed north towards Sudbury. Our plan was to make it to a park called the Chutes along the Trans Canada, about an hour west of Sudbury. This would make our morning trip to Sault St Marie an easy one. Well, that didn’t happen either! The trip up ON 400 was just beautiful though! The road is mostly 4 lanes, but even when it narrows to two, the road surface is smooth and graded nicely. Lots to look at and the northern reaches of Ontario are hard to beat. We are pretty sure we’ll be back next year when we think about visiting Algonquin again too.
We rolled into Sudbury under threatening skies, slight drizzle and MUCH cooler temps. I stopped for gas at the Canadian Tire Store close to downtown and we talked about what to do- go on and chance camping in the rain or bale out and check into the Hampton Inn across the street with restaurants all around, etc? Hard choice right? We put in early at the Hampton to catch up on some writing and organizing. It was the right thing to do as was confirmed by the Weather Channel’s outlook for the next day- clear, sunny and warmer temps!
We left Sudbury early to make the most of our day since we had extra mileage to do. We were looking at 180 miles to the Sault (300 kms) or about 3 hours and we wanted to get into Michigan a ways and maybe make Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan as our camp. It was cloudy and cool most of the morning with some drizzle but traffic was light and that made the travel better. By the time we arrived at Sault St Marie to cross the border, the sun was out and temps were getting nice and warm. We crossed without incident and stopped at the visitor’s center to contact BMW of Grand Rapids and plan our next steps. The bridge across the border gives you great views of the surrounding areas. The locks for the lake freighters are pretty cool as there was one just entering a lock as we passed overhead. We were unable to get the BMW folks on the phone so we had to change plans.
Good thing I brought along the BMWMOA Anonymous book! I flipped it open and found three dealers in the greater Minneapolis area. I called Moon Motorsports in Monticello, MN and the good folks there not only had a Pilot Road 4 GT but were also able to give me a first thing in the morning appointment on Wednesday, July 9. That was really good. It gave us two days to get to them. So, off we went along MI 28 through the UP as they call it (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan. We made it to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore just outside Munising, MN by about 4:00. We had no campground reservations and according to all I read, getting a site near there was going to be a problem. It turned out we got the last site in Bay Furnace, right on Lake Superior. How lucky was that!? It was a lovely night and Cynthia and I strolled along the beach and explored the ruins of the iron furnace that once functioned on the shore. By the time the evening started to wear on, the mosquitoes came out in full force so we bailed into the tent for an early night. About mid-night the rain came and it lasted all night. By 6:00 am however, the rain stopped just long enough for us to break camp (in record time of 30 minutes). There are few things less pleasurable than waking up camping in a tent and it raining. Top that with being on the motorcycle and the temperature outside is a balmy 46 degrees.
Our morning July 8 wasn’t getting off to such a great start. We slid out of the campground without seeing another soul up and continued on MI 28 towards Ironwood, WI. It was a miserable ride with either hard rain or fog the whole way. It never got more than 52 degrees and we stopped twice for some coffee. I thought it would be about 300 miles to Monticello but it turned out to be 350 miles. A little more than half of those were tough cold rainy miles. By the time we got to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, the sun was out and things warmed quite a bit. I must say however, the UP of Michigan and northern Wisconsin are absolutely beautiful! Lakes everywhere, plenty of trees and access to some of the world’s largest freshwater lakes make this a great vacation spot and excellent fishing destination. As with Ontario, I think we’ll be back!
Apostle Island National Lakeshore consists of a group of islands just north of Ashland, Wisconsin. The Apostle Island NL has the largest and finest collection of lighthouses in the country. The first lights were built in the 1850’s and 1860’s while construction continued on even more through the 1890’s. As most people know, Lake Superior is one of the deadliest when storms arise and these light houses were put on the islands to help in navigating ships into Chequamegon Bay, where Ashland is located. At that time, Ashland was a major port on Lake Superior. Shipped from there were loads of fish and lumber and after the Great Chicago Fire, the demand for sandstone as a building material added to the commerce of the area.
After leaving the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, we continued west along US 2 to for a few miles and swung south on WI 63 to take a diagonal route to the Minneapolis area. This was another great road that would have been even better had the weather been a little nicer. Though it didn’t rain, it never really got too warm and we did get some showers from rogue clouds that seemed to encircle us. Along the way we stopped at the St Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitor’s Center to learn more about this river that runs through Wisconsin and Minnesota. Travelling down WI 63 there seemed to be hundreds of access points for canoes and boats alike. We met a fellow at the visitor’s center who spends his summers ferrying young people along the river from drop off points to pick up points many miles apart. They canoe for a week at a time and he sees to it they get in and get out on time. It was refreshing to see them having such a good time out in nature and not stuck on a phone.
It was good to finish up our trip to Minneapolis on a positive note and that included the weather. By the time we got to our hotel, all was warm albeit a little breezy. That’s okay- we dried our stuff out quite quickly in it! After the laundry and some writing, we turned in for the night.
Over the past two weeks or so, Cynthia and I felt like we had lost something in our travels. Turns out, we weren’t really doing the exploring of parks as we had set out to do. Between visiting family and friends and the somewhat small park choices we had in Canada, we felt so much better getting out seeing Apostle Island National Lakeshore and the St Croix National Scenic Riverway. NOW we’re back in the saddle! After our new tire, and the fact that we’ve crossed the Mississippi and are officially in the west again, there will be LOTS more to come in the weeks ahead! We’ll be back soon with our next installment of our National Parks Tour! Stay tuned! Greg & Cynthia.