Driving Home

 A large section of the Trans Canada Highway passes through Lake Superior Provincial Park and it was my favorite part of the trip, especially Old Woman Bay. The name for the bay and river come from a rock formation near the river's mouth that resembles the face of an old woman (I didn’t get it).

Next up came the heart pounding adventure of the trip at the Agawa Rocks Pictographs. 

This was one of the few short trails in the Park so I figured I would check it out but I had no idea what it consisted of. The trail to the site of the Pictographs is short, but very rocky and rugged and you have to walk out on a ledge to view the Pictographs.  The pictographs can only be accessed when the lake is calm and there are numerous warning signs that people have been injured and died here. 

This is a sacred site where generations of Ojibwe came to record their dreams and spirits in red ochre. The lake was fairly calm so I decided to scurry out. The pictographs were pretty cool but I found it hard to concentrate with Lake Superior lapping at my feet.

This is the trail!

My adventure across the Trans Canada highway ended when I jumped back across the border in Sault Ste Marie. I was having a good time waiting on the bridge and checking out the locks and the freighters but quickly grew frustrated by the long wait at the border. Then I got selected for a random search and had to pull over but it actually went pretty quick. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and made it to my hotel at 9pm.

Soo Locks

I had just planned on a long, monotonous drive across Canada on Saturday and had no idea the scenic wonders that awaited on the Trans Canada highway! It was a long day but probably my favorite of the trip. If you ever have a chance to drive the highway, it is a must see.

Despite the copious warnings, no moose were seen

The next morning I was up and on the road at 6:00am as I had to make it home. My first stop was in St. Ignace, MI. 2 years ago I ferried out to Mackinac Island and it was amazing. I didn’t have time to make it out to the island so I instead stopped at Straits State Park in St. Ignace, MI. It was so beautiful and I couldn’t resist seeing the Mackinac Bridge from all different angles. 

 

Opened in 1957, the bridge is the third longest in total suspension in the world and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western hemisphere. 

A memorial to those who lost their lives building the bridge

 When I first crossed the Bridge 2 years ago, a Good Samaritan in front of me paid my toll so I did the same when I came back. I planned on doing so again this year but since I was there at 7am on a Sunday there wasn't much traffic. I crept along, looking in my rearview mirror for a car behind me but they kept going to the open stalls. Finally, one pulled behind me and I told the toll collector that I would like to pay for them. Now it's officially a tradition!

 

 I also checked out the Father Marquette National Memorial in the park. 

 

Jacques Marquette was a French priest and explorer and he founded a Jesuit mission in 1671 in St. Ignace and was buried there in 1678. He lived among the Great Lakes and mastered several native languages and joined Louis Jolliet in his expedition to explore and map a navigable route to the Pacific Ocean, which resulted in the French discovery of the Mississippi River. After that, I cruised straight home, only stopping for lunch and to cross into Canada and back. Maybe it was because of my random inspection the day before but I had never gotten across the border quicker. I had such an amazing trip and am so grateful that our company gave us this week of. I definitely made the most of it!