This was our first time camping in a road side park. We got the idea from some other bike tourists who said they do it regularly without a problem. We didn't have any issues (there is actually no sign that says 'no camping') so we are doing this whenever we can now :) Quite convenient. This night there was a Major lighting/thundering/ torrential rain storm so we ran around in our underwear and washed off and crawled in our tent (which we later realized we had set in the part of the lawn all the water drains to...) and waited it out until morning, our sleeping bags getting only slightly soggy.
This is Ottawa from across the river... We didn't go into Ottawa, only enjoyed it from our ride through a park to get around the small city across the river.
The river near Ottawa
This is the last Tourist Information Center we attempted to stop at before leaving Quebec. Looks like no one's visited this one for a while :)
Beautiful storm a brewin' above the farmland. I loved the colors this day. Coming towards Shawville, a small English-speaking village drastically different from the rest of Quebec. Lots of Character. Very excited to see us :) We got into town and pulled into a nice little cafe the same instant the clouds burst and the rain came pouring down like mad. We took our time eating... but luckily the storm was clearing by the time we left, three hours later. Then we were rounded up for an interview for the local paper.
Coming towards Pembrook. This was one of those looong days where we had much trouble finding an appropriate campsite when the time came.
We ended up camping behind a big tree in the city park that night. Quite a nice spot, really. Keith took a dip.
The nightly drill.
This is Bill-- a friendly guy who invited us to come in when he found us eating our lunch outside his place (it was our 40 mile stop). We had a good time chatting with him and meeting his wife who had made this delicious "Strawberry foam" (a by-product of the jam). They sent us away with a tub of the sweet foam and some blueberry jam, wonderful fuel :)
On this very hot day Keith decided to stop when we saw a van parked with a huge sign: "Wild Blueberries for Sale." We bought about a 1/5 of what was in one of those baskets and I told Keith I wanted to just sit down right there and eat them. Ray invited us to come up and sit in the shade of his garage. We enjoyed thoroughly the chairs to sit in, the cold Cokes, and bowl of nuts he brought us and hearing about he and his wife's blueberry venture. They are retired and now, each summer, make $25,000 extra picking blueberries across from their property. They pay the owner of the property $500 and then spend every day of the summer 8 AM to 8 PM alternating picking and selling, first to individuals and at the end of the day, whatever is left over to local buyers. We saw a few other people selling that day, as well as trucks parked advertising "Buying Blueberries." The blueberries were the best I had Ever tasted, I could hardly stop just putting more and more in my mouth, and realized I could have handled a whole basket :)
This place (a local secret) is a family-favorite of the Mazeys--an Awesome family we stayed with a bit past Sudbury, Ontario. We met Amy Mazey at church (we camped the night before in the trees behind the church, hadn't showered for a week, and felt like true hoodlums crawling out of the forest and being greeted by confused faces fresh for church) who invited us right away to come to her place for a meal and a shower. She told me she had a big, nice house and a huge bathroom I could use as long as I wanted :) Her place was right on our way so we biked the 40 miles after church to get there. We had a nice dinner and hopped in the car to go down to this lake for a swim. There were rock islands to swim to and jump off and we had a nice soak in this beautiful place :)
Lyle, Kira, Amy, Elle, Mikaela, and Malachi (father, Ed, not pictured :) What a fun bunch. We stayed up until one in the morning watching "Mama Mia!" (Keith was a good sport :) They make the BEST chocolate desserts!! Delicious, moist chocolate cake, and some wonderful Chocolate Tort that was just amazing.
Funny story-- we left the next morning, said our goodbyes, and headed down the road. We ended up only going 20 miles before we got to a town Keith decided we should stop in to use the library so he could send in his Province reports for his internship. We spent five hours! doing that, so we were just going to head out of town to find a place to camp, when we saw Amy helping out with Elle's soccer game in a field. She waved us over and despite our doubts about fitting our bike and trailer in her van, insisted that we must try because she "felt bad for us" and wanted us to come back to her house :) We were glad to!
They taught us how to eat Perogis-- topped with bacon and sauteed onions, cheese, and maple syrup. Keith loved it. Then we stayed up until past midnight for the second night in a row learning to play a very fun board game (another family favorite) "Ticket to Ride." We had some good times with the Mazeys ;)
This is Mike and Nelda's, where we stayed near Sault Ste. Marie (family friends of the Mazeys who hooked us up!) We got to stay in that air-conditioned camper and enjoyed feasting and conversing with Mike and his daughter, Lisa, and grandma Marilla. Another wonderful evening :)
We were directed to this place (a free campground for cycle tourists!) by some other bikers we passed going the other direction. It is run by a bike shop, Velorution, in Sault Ste. Marie and was just so nice! We got some Ravioli at the Walmart across the street and had a real treat, drinking milk and sitting near the fire (only the second we've made our whole trip!) If you are a bike tourist and you are reading this, go there! They have a shower!
Due to the dangerous biking conditions and very limited options through this part of Ontario (North of Lake Superior) we have opted to go cut down to the U.S. and bike South of Lake Superior through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The "Trans Canada" of Ontario--with it's 6-inch shoulder, many hills (so the trucks don't slow down), and tons of semi-trucks that drive so close and fast that you feel they are going to skin your left elbow as they go by--made us ponder the value of our lives too often for comfort. This was the worst road we had experienced the whole trip. We'd heard the roads are much better down there in the States.
