Thursday, October 02, 2014

SAULT STE MARIE-WAWA-TERRACE BAY & “HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM”:((

THIS IS MY WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 1 POST…NO INTERNET SIGNAL WEDNESDAY NIGHT

DSC_0026

A quiet night boondocking in Sault Ste Marie’s Home Depot parking lot.  We were the only one’s there.  Nice.  Taking Pheebs out for a walk Tuesday night I was encouraged to see the cloud cover had parted to reveal a big half Moon overhead.  Fingers crossed for a cloud free morning.  Finger crossing doesn’t always work & as our early morning dawned it was obvious this was one of those times.  A discouraging solid cloud cover for the third day in a row & we were fogged in!!  Weather map shows we are headed into rainy days & colder temperatures.

DSC_0003

SOON AS THE FOG HAD THINNED ENOUGH WE WERE ON THE ROAD

DSC_0008 DSC_0002 DSC_0006 DSC_0007

DSC_0012

When light enough we headed north from Sault Ste Marie on highway 17 with a misty drizzle keeping me busy with intermittent sweeps of the windshield wipers.  This sporadic drizzle continued for about an hour.  Fall foliage colors are in their prime & despite the dull day views were awe inspiring.  Passed a pulled over lettered Class A with the words JESSE'S JOURNEY.  Remembered hearing something about that on the news. 

DSC_0027

THE RUGGED NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR

DSC_0025 DSC_0030 

This drive over top Lake Superior is truly spectacular made even nicer by Fall colors & lite traffic.  Would recommend this drive to anyone.  Great highway with gentle grades & long curves.  Again today traffic was light.  Highway follows along the rocky Northern windswept shores of Lake Superior the largest fresh water lake in the world.  We pulled into a view point along Alona Bay & discovered the great lake freighter Edmund Fitzgerald had sunk in 1975 just 19 miles off a point we could see to the south.  That sinking was immortalized in the song by Canadian songwriter/singer Gordon Lightfoot, ‘The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald’.

DSC_0034

NINETEEN MILES OFF THAT POINT OF LAND SANK THE EDMUND FITZGERALD

DSC_0031

Well before reaching the great Goose at Wawa Ontario the days misty rain had stopped.  Highways were dry with a comfortable temperature of 60F.  Such beautiful country.  Wawa soon hove into sight & we decided to pull off & have us a look at the big Goose.  I have been by here maybe 4 or 5 times many years ago but my memory banks were blank.  While taking some photos of the big Goose Kelly slipped into the Visitor’s Center.  We had seen a sign for Tim Hortons coming into town so Kelly asked the lady inside where it was.  She said about a 15 minute walk from the center & it was not very accessible for big rigs, even along the highway.  So now here is something very amazing for this day & age & it is a page out of Mayberry RFD.  The lady reached into her purse, handed Kelly her own car key’s & said, “take my car it’s much easier to get into Hortons with’'.  And that’s what Kelly did & the lady didn’t even want a coffee for herself.  Now doesn’t that just knock your socks off for good old small town hospitality.

  DSC_0059

VIEW TOWARDS LAKE SUPERIOR FROM WAWA’S BIG GOOSE SITE

DSC_0058 DSC_0064DSC_0061

DSC_0056 DSC_0065DSC_0066 DSC_0073DSC_0070 DSC_0074

THE TRANS CANADA HIGHWAY HEADS WEST OUT OF WAWA & THE VISITOR’S CENTER

DSC_0081

THIS IS THE LADY WHO GAVE KELLY HER CAR KEYS TO GO GET US A TIM HORTON’S COFFEE

DSC_0067

A TRUE HISTORIC CANADA GOOSE

Kelly also asked the lady where we could dump our tanks & find some water.  All Parks are closed now up here in the North so we figured we had better clear the tanks & take on water wherever we could.  Lady said just down the road across from Tim Hortons was Young’s General Store & we could dump & take on water there for free.  Bonus, so that’s where we headed.  And that’s where we ran into trouble.

DSC_0082

DSC_0083

JUST PULL IN BESIDE THE OLD FIRE TRUCK CAUSE THAT’S WHERE THE DUMP STATION IS

DSC_0090 DSC_0091

SEEMS THERE IS MORE THAN ONE GOOSE IN WAWA

DSC_0084 DSC_0086 

DSC_0088 DSC_0087 

PRETTY NEAT OLD FIRE TRUCK

DSC_0092 DSC_0089

No problem emptying our black & gray water tanks so hooked up our hose & began filling the fresh water tank.  Seemed to take forever.  Stood inside watching the tank level gauge finally go from quarter full to three quarter full.  Figured that was enough & headed out the door to turn the hose off.  Soon as I stepped out I saw water coming out by our steps.  Water was running out three rubber drain hoses.  Ran around & shut the water off at the tap but water continued to run for another 5 minutes or more before we heard air sounds from the hoses.  Had also noticed something hanging out of one hose.  Steel wool?  Reached in & pulled more steel wool out of all the hoses.  We think the former owner plugged up those hoses for storage to keep rodents out.  A check of our fresh water tank now showed the level at a quarter full.  We had lost most of the water we had just put in.  We still had water from the tap inside but how much water in our fresh water was an unknown.  I didn’t trust the gauge.  So now we had a problem.  Checked all the bins for water but all was OK there & bins were dry.  Decided to not re-fill the tank because we didn’t know what the original problem was.  Pouring through the rig’s manuals Kelly found a section saying be sure drain valves are free of obstructions because if not serious problems can occur when filling the fresh water tank.  ‘OH-OH’ we could have some serious water line trouble here:((DSC_0093

DSC_0108 DSC_0053

ENJOYING THE DAY’S BREATHTAKING SCENERY

DSC_0018 DSC_0098

THIS IS WHAT I SEE IN MY REAR VIEW MIRROR WHILE ROLLING DOWN THE ROAD & A POLICE SPOT CHECK FOR TRUCKS BUT THEY WAVED US THROUGH

DSC_0095

Just before emptying our tanks we had decided to drive to Pukaskwa National Park near Marathon Ontario & hole up for a couple days.  Plan was to arrive in Winkler Manitoba next Monday or Tuesday.  Winkler is the home of Triple & is where our rig was made.  But now with some kind of problem or leak with our fresh water tank we knew we probably didn’t have enough water to last that long.   Our crappy weather also aided in this decision.   Decided the only choice we have is to head for Winkler & try to make it there before the week-end & before we run out of water.  Hopefully they could diagnose our problem & help us out.  So for right now that is our plan.  We will try to reach Winkler by Friday afternoon sometime.  After a first great day our journey has taken on a stress factor.  A furnace problem, a water problem, & the weather has been the total pits.  Other than that the rig has run great.  Impressed with the power this 8.1 Chevy engine has.  We kept right up through the hills & dells with those big diesel banging truckers:))

DSC_0029

DSC_0054 DSC_0105DSC_0043

Ended our day in a drizzly fog.  Found a place beside the Ministry Of Natural Resources in Terrace Bay & pulled into their parking lot for the night.  Fingers crossed we don’t get kicked out.  About 9 o’clock it began pouring rain…..:((

  DSC_0103 DSC_0110

Meant to include a link to Mike’s blog over at PHANNIE & MAE a few days ago but it slipped my mind until tonight.  Their Motorhome was burglarized while in a high end RV Park.  Be sure to read his latest follow-up post as well.  Some lessons to be learned here.

  DSC_0112

OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT AT THE MNR

About 80% of today’s photos were again taken from a moving driver’s seat so pictures may be a bit fuzzy & not the best.  I’m hoping they will at least give readers a sense of the Fall’s colors.  There are literally a million photos per mile along this stretch of road & how I would have loved to been able to spend some time in fine sunny weather just wandering along a rugged Lake Superior shoreline trying to capture even a little bit of the awe inspiring majestic scenery & absolute beauty which abounds here in this land of Indian myth & legend…………………

DSC_0006 DSC_0003DSC_0001

WE ENDED OUR DAY IN A SHROUD OF FOG

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Unable to get on the internet tonight & not able to reach my Groaner’s Corner joke source or Hotmail account where I have jokes filed.  Therefore I am unable to come up with anything humorous.  I did manage to save something from Hotmail this morning though.  Saw it on my Son Sean’s Facebook page.  Another stunning photo of Granddaughter Erin…………

10646623_713422478735492_5912953681183840503_n

17 comments:


  1. Erin is stunning, beautiful eyes. Too bad about the weather and the water problem, at least you are going where you can get help with the coach.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was very surprised to see a roadside America type photo on your blog. I think those big sculptures are a hoot!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the Lake Superior coastline, even the American side! It can't all be sunny days, and there is beauty in a misty morning as well. I'd love to be able to afford to take my next trip east through Canada, but the fuel prices keep me from doing it.

    Erin is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm loving this drive of yours getting to AZ.... darned good photos... and taken while on the road!!! I loved the "piano keys" chairs on the patio.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Al, maybe you could help publicize this theft of an Aliner camper from Halifax, NS. The owner is a traveler, photographer and tour director. She did a photo tour of Route 66 a few years back. GOOGLE Sandi Wheaton to find her web page and blog. Thanks.
    http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningmoncton/2014/10/02/not-a-happy-camper/

    ReplyDelete
  6. The big goose is a new one for me! Love the scenery along the trip. Bummed that you are once again having to rush your travels :-), and hope removing the steel wool solved the issue. Of course she lent Kelly her car - she had you and Pheebs as collateral! The last photos are very Halloween-y, and perfect for the first day of October.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You have a beautiful granddaughter. Dolly and I have one granddaughter too, and her name is Erin also. She is only 10.

    Hope you get the worrisome stuff out of the way early in your journey so you can enjoy the many beautiful and fun months ahead.

    Love the goose!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love seeing all the fall colors in the photos. We have none down here in the south.

    So glad you found the steel wool before you really had a big problem. I would have never thought of putting steel wool in any thing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Suggestion: call ahead to Triple E and confirm whether they will be able to help you. If so, ask if you can make a reservation. If EEE can't help, ask if they know of any place along your route that can. If yes to the latter, call the place (and repeat as necessary). So many service facilities these days are running long wait times. Good Luck!

    ReplyDelete
  10. By the sounds of your problem there are drain valves that you have yet to find that are open or low drain lines left uncapped.
    Erin is a beauty and will probably have a busy modelling career ahead of her.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautiful scenery along that stretch of road, too bad about the weather.
    Good luck your repair issues.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The colors are just wonderful. I'm bummed that you took them from the driver's seat. I can't do that well paying full attention. Really sorry to hear the water problem is altering your trip. Hope it all gets fixed tomorrow and your stress level goes back down where a retired guy's should be.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Finally caught up on all your posts since the end of August. Can't believe that you are already on the road. Sorry to read about your current water problem, always something to deal with. I know it will get sorted out but in the mean time it is a pain in the you know where. Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The fall foliage came out great from the driver's seat but I would rather hear that Kelly was taking the photos so you could only drive the huge vehicle:)

    How nice of the woman in the Visitor's Center. We have always found most Canadians to be extremely friendly and very helpful.

    Hope you are able to quickly get your problems taken care of:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. We just got home from the Michigan side of Lake Superior. Lots of beautiful color in Michigan's UP. But now that it's cold and rainy we decided home was the place to be.

    Safe travels.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Al, find a dealer in thunder bay... The factory won't be set up to fix or service rigs that have been already put in service...

    ReplyDelete

  17. I know who has the most beautiful Granddaughter in the land ........ Absolutely, BEAUTIFUL !!!!

    ReplyDelete