It’s remarkable, how a breeze off the lake can cool things down, and keep the mosquitoes at bay. A few more stragglers came out of hiding, and were dispatched rapidly. We won the battle, and plugged a few breaches in our defense. I wanted to bring out the heavy artillery, but bug spray is rather odiferous and toxic. A dishcloth will suffice.
The alarm pulled me out of my slumber at 5:45, and I prepared for the day, starting with coffee in bed for Susan (for my own safety), a tea for me, and a shared rusk with Chloe.
After a sewer dump, and top up with potable water, we hit the road at 8:30am, heading for our first stop, the mid way point of the Trans Canada Highway.
Trans Canada Highway is the longest national highway in the world and stretches for 7,821 kilometers. One end is in St. John’s, Newfoundland and the other end is in Victoria, BC. This unassuming midpoint of the Trans Canada Highway is near Batchawana Bay, Ontario – 82 kilometers north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. A small rest area and cairn commemorates the location. A short walk from the mid way point took us to Chippewa Falls.
After, we had stretched our legs, we continued our journey to Sault Ste. Marie. At one stage of our travel plans, we would have entered Michigan, USA, but we still had dairy and meat products in our fridge. We decided to stay in Canada while travelling east and consuming our supplies, before heading into the USA.
After a quick lunch at Arby’s (awesome shaved beef sandwiches) we continued east, and couldn’t resist a stop in the quaint town of Bruce Mines, with its long mining history.
The town’s roots can be traced back to the industry of copper mining. Samuel de Champlain recorded the existence of copper mines on his map of 1632 during the early exploration of this area. Etienne Brule is believed to have spent one winter in the area of Bruce Mines investigating the existence of the copper deposits.
Members of the First Nations tribes in the area had discovered the importance of copper as a valuable item to trade with the immigrants who had begun arriving in the New World.
In 1846 the copper mine was opened and became the first copper mine in Canada. It would eventually become one of the most important mines in existence during the mid-1850s.
Strolling down the streets today, a few buildings remain and stand out showing their age with pride.
Old Order Mennonites established farms in the area, unfortunately, income from farm produce can seldom supply all the needs of a family; and like almost all local farmers, the Mennonites do additional work, providing the following services: blacksmithing, harness making, saw milling, machining, woodworking, contracting in concrete, roofing and general maintenance, and operating agencies for wood cook stoves, steel siding and roofing.
Well used hitching posts for horse drawn buggies are spread around town.
From Bruce Mines, we continued east towards our destination for the day – Walmart, Sudbury South Supercentre. We found a quiet spot settled down for the night.
It’s a big day for me tomorrow. I get to visit Lynne, my long lost cousin. Family took us in different directions during our youth in South Africa, and many decades later, discovered we were both living in Canada, on opposite coasts.