Thunder Bay to Wawa (April 21, 2011)

The day started with my friend missing his flight in the morning but he managed to get a seat in another flight on the same day. I got up early as well and did not have enough sleep because we went to bed quite late. I also had to get a geological highway map and some other geological information from the northern mine development office. After that again it was time to refuel for my next leg to Wawa, which is around 475km from Thunder Bay. The sky was clear this time and the rocks were beautiful along the road. There were some very beautiful view of Lake Superior on the way as well. The outcrops included volcanics, diabase, layered metasediments with sulfide along bedding planes and some major quartz veins running through volcanics close to Wawa. If you are a geologist, this section of highway would be exciting. This time I made a few stops for rocks and pictures.

Frozen Lake Superior

Banded Iron formation

Upon arrival at Wawa, I tried to search for the motels that my roommate told me about but apparently they are back on the highway and more expensive that the town motels. Being by myself there was no point of staying out by the highway so I decided to spend night here in town.

My next destination is Sault Ste Marie. Although it is not too far from here but I know the rocks will be even more amazing tomorrow and the highway would be more scenic.

Kenora to Thunder Bay (April 20, 2011)

After accomplishing my mission for the two snapshots I gassed up and left Kenora to go east on highway 17 to Thunder Bay, which is about 500km away. Except few random snow showers, the driving condition was perfect with multiple outcrops to keep me entertained. Stopped in Dryden for a quick Subway sandwich and other than that the drive was pretty much non-stop. I arrived at Thunder Bay just around 1800hrs and checked out some motel prices. The city had some issues with the cell phone service and for that reason my phone was not working there, however, the internet in the phone was working. 

I crashed at my friends place on his couch there for the night. Next day my target is to make it to Wawa and observe the outcrops along the road cuts very carefully.

Saskatoon to Kenora (April 19, 2011)

The first day of the trip started smoothly even though I was delayed by a few days because of a snow storm in Ontario. I left Saskatoon just after 0715hrs with a full tank of gas and all possible gears that I could remember to take. The first song of the trip was "Release" by Pearl Jam for obvious reasons. It was a nice cool spring day with temperatures of 0C to +4C and a decent cross wind. All in all it was a great driving day. 

I took the eastbound Yellowhead highway which had some flooding just before Lanigan but otherwise the road was perfect. From Foam Lake I picked up a hitch hiker, who needed a ride to Winnipeg. His name was Scott and he did a lot of hitch hiking in his life. In his experience, drivers in Alberta are the one who are generally dumb and likes to drink beer while driving. Of course they are the brainless rig guys who drives big-ass pick ups for no reason. Otherwise the guy was mostly quiet. 

I filled up in Minnedosa at a Husky gas station and then saw an Esso in Neepawa. I generally try to go for Esso as much as possible but it was too late this time. I saw some serious flooding in most part of Manitoba before Winnipeg. After dropping Scott off at a truck stop before Winnipeg, I headed towards Kenora on TransCanada. Shortly after Winnipeg, the landscape started to change and the empty fields became fields full of Spruce trees, granite/metasedimentary boulders and outcrops and lakes. Just before the Ontario border, the highway turned into single lane and as you enter Ontario the speed limit drops to a 90kmph. The road was windy with passing lanes once in a while and exposed outcrops along the road cuts. I made it to Kenora just after 1900hrs (1800hrs SK time) local time and managed to find a decently priced motel. It was a 1014km drive and I was too tired to crash in the Jeep this time or to find a camping spot. This motel is brand new and they are still in the process of building and expanding. There is a decent pub in this town called Haps and they do have an amazing patio location which is open during summer.

Kenora Railway Station

Kenora dock

Tomorrow I need to take a couple of pictures including the Kenora railway station building. After that I will be heading to my next destination which is Thunder Bay.

Coast-to-Coast road trip 2011

This blog will contain my personal experiences during the solo road trip from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to St. Johns, Newfoundland to Tofino, British Columbia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia and then back to Saskatoon. The whole trip will cover a distance of almost 17000km, which should be approximately the width of Canada times two.

This is the first day of the trip and every day will have a separate entry above this post. My ride in this trip is the "Shadow Hunter" which is a 1998 black Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. The starting odometer reading is 271800km in it. The plan is to complete the mission in 40 days. The trip also involves two separate long ferry rides. One between Sydney, NS and Port aux Basques, NFLD and the other between Port Hardy, BC and Prince Rupert BC. The pictures will be added to the blog possibly after the trip is over. I will also add the provincial maps showing my starting and ending points and mark the roads that I will be driving through.