Thursday, October 02, 2014

SAULT SAINT MARIE TO DRYDEN ONTARIO & I REMEMBER THE SMELL WELL

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Just as we ended Wednesday in a pea souper of a fog we started Thursday morning the same way.  Because we were parked in the employee parking lot of the Ministry of Natural Resources we knew workers would be showing up for work early so we had no choice but to vacate the premises & hit the road even earlier.  When Kelly checked the weather Wednesday it was showing possible snow for this area later today.  Figured we had better make fast tracks out of there despite it still being dark.

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THIS IS WHAT OUR EARLY MORNING DRIVE LOOKED LIKE:((

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HAD TO STOP IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE WHILE A HOUSE WENT BY

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THESE PHOTOS KIND OF SUM UP OUR MORNING A BIT

Always scary to watch drivers plunging headlong into heavy fog at normal highway speeds.  With all the ‘Moose’ warning signs posted I wonder how many people die each year up here in these parts.

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THESE PHOTOS KIND OF SUM UP OUR AFTERNOON A BIT:))

We navigated our way around fog shrouded curves for about half an hour before finding a scenic look-out area to pull in & wait for daylight.  Out came my Kindle & Kelly’s book as we read for awhile before hitting the road again when we could see better.  Intermittent fog patches & a rainy drizzle followed us most of the way to Thunder Bay.  We didn’t see much scenery.  Kelly was finally able to pick up an internet signal about 30 miles north of Thunder Bay & published my blog for me. 

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A fuel stop & we greased ourselves at McDonalds.  Took a break, checked our computers & Kelly called the service tech at Triple E in Winkler Manitoba again to see if we could get in for an appointment.  Yes, Monday morning.  That was good news because we didn’t have to try & make it to Winkler by Friday afternoon.  Fellow said they have RV sites with water & electric so we’re just to pull in whenever we get there, hook up & make ourselves at home.  He did say he didn’t think our water problem was serious.  Sometimes reading manufacturer manuals can scare the holy ba-jeebers out of RV’ers with all their do’s, don’ts & ya better not’s.DSC_0028

Heading West out of Thunder Bay we both noticed right off how the topography changed.  The land flattened out a bit, less curves & grades on the highway with longer stretches of straightaways.  Biggest change was in the trees.  Gone were the brilliant reds & oranges we were seeing in abundance atop Lake Superior.  Most trees we saw today were Poplar & Birch with yellow & pale green leaves.  And multitudes of evergreens like Tamarac, Pines & Cedars.  Traffic again was lite & the driving was easier than our previous couple days.

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OUT FOR A NICE WALK IN A REST AREA SOMEWHERE NEAR  IGNACE ONTARIO

Our days weather was a mixture of rainy drizzle, fog, & cloudy skies.  Just west of Thunder Bay we were so encouraged by a patch of blue sky ahead.  Momentarily bathed in a passing sun splash it nearly brought tears of joy to our eyes.  However it was short lived & I was back to switching the rigs intermittent windshield wipers on & off again.  We checked the weather forecast ahead of us & it looks like a lot of rain but as I sit here typing this tonight in Dryden we are in sunshine at about 40F.  Computer weather map says it should be raining right now.  This time of year as the Seasons change weather is so totally unpredictable from one day to the next.  No idea where we will be tomorrow night but I’m sure the weather will have a hand in choosing a destination for us……………….

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AW COME ON PHEEBS, SUNNY DAYS AHEAD………..

We haven’t been keeping the travel map at the end of each post updated as we had hoped.  We find it just too hard to figure out & neither one of us wants to wrestle with it at the end of each tiring travel day.  It was a nice idea but we are not going to continue it.  Thanks to ED & GEORGE for their noble efforts in trying to help us set it all up…………….. 

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THIS WAS VERY BRIEFLY OUR WEE PATCH OF BLUE TODAY

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We rolled into Dryden Ontario around 5 p.m. realizing we had passed through a time zone along the way so had to wind our clocks back to 4 p.m.  Checked out the local Walmart but found the parking lot small & angled.  While looking for the Fairgrounds we spotted a big Petro Canada lot with acres of parking.  Pulled in & Kelly asked if we could overnight here & the answer was yes.  Upside is lots of room.  Downside is all the trucks coming & going.  Ooops, the Upside just lost all it’s room as the lot is quickly filling up with big trucks.  It’s gonna be a kleenix in the ears night for sure.

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AM I OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FRIDAY’S WEATHER AFTER OUR NICE BLUE SKY SUNSET TONIGHT?  LET’S JUST CALL IT GUARDED OPTIMISM…DON’T WANT TO GET TOO HOPEFUL & BE DISAPPOINTED BY THE PITTER PATTER OF RAIN ON OUR ROOF AGAIN

Been about 60 years since I was a small boy briefly living in a little nothing of a place called Oxdrift Ontario just west of Dryden.  Been a lot of changes in that time but one thing about Dryden has not changed.  It still smells bad here & I recognized the pungent odor of the Pulp & Paper mill immediately when we rolled into town.  It was always a smelly day in Oxdrift if an East wind was blowing.

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DRYDEN ONTARIO’S PULP & PAPER MILL…I REMEMBER IT’S SMELL WELL FROM THE MID 50’S

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man with a swollen foot goes to the doctor. After a careful examination, the doctor hands the man a pill big enough to choke a horse.  "I'll be right back with some water," the doctor tells him.  The doctor has been gone a while and the man loses patience. He hobbles out to the drinking fountain, forces the pill down his throat and gobbles down water until the pill clears his throat. He hobbles back into the examining room.  Just then the doctor comes back with a bucket of warm water. "Ok, after that tablet dissolves in the bucket, soak that foot for about 20 minutes."

9 comments:

  1. maybe if the two of you keep on driving, eventually you will hit some sunshine!
    hope the motorhome fix is a quick and inexpensive one!

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  2. We stopped here in Casper, WY at Sam's Club. It is snowing! This is just not fair, is it???? Let's hope that we all have a warmer, prettier travel day.

    The route that Mike sent you is great so far! Thanks again.













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  3. The New Google Map can be confusing and troublesome. I may hit a limit with the number of stops that i can show on this one map. If that happens I'll build a second and third if necessary to show your trip route.

    Anyone that is interested can follow along by using this link, I hope it is working.

    https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zMYXhDK1dh_E.k-1JAk7YrwtE

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  4. Where did the summer go? I can hardly believe there is snow up north already. I just love the photo of the trees and clouds reflected in the lake.

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  5. That has been some sad travels so far. I feel for you sleeping with trucks coming and going and the foul smell of a paper mill.

    May tomorrow be much better.

    I am sure the shop will have you on the road in less than a day.

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  6. To bad you are having troubles with the map, we like the feature,
    I remember the smell of Dryden quick well, spent a few weekends there back in the 70's.

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  7. Here's hoping you see some sunshine today to lighten all your moods, Pheebs included! Your photos are still gorgeous in spite of no sunshine!

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  8. Sorry you're missing the sun, I'd gladly send you some of ours! Manteca, CA used to have a sugar beet factory that smelled awful. I suppose residents got used to it, but I could never get through there fast enough! It's gone now, likely increasing the property value tenfold :-) With those hookups you may hope the repair takes longer!

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  9. We had a cold and blustery day here today ...and I had a garage sale to boot! My luck..They say it may even do a flake or two of flurries in Northern Illinois tonight...SAY WHAAAAAT???

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