Day 4, Lake Superior Circle Tour

Breakfast at the Days Inn and Suites was nothing to write home about. We hit the road about 10 again. Went in search of Hillcrest Park for views of Thunder Bay. There was a good view, but it was cold and windy and spitting the occasional rain drop. Then went back downtown looking for an amethyst joint which was reputed to be good. It was in a really dicey area of town and we weren't impressed with the quality of the amethyst. So we hit the road. And decided to skip the amethyst mines outside of town.

Once on the highway, we encountered the Terry Fox Memorial rest area high on a hill overlooking the Sleeping Giant. Great views and a very nice memorial to Terry Fox. By this time, the sun was trying to peek out. But windy and cold on the overlook.

Stopped at several overlooks for great views. Decided to have lunch in Nipigon. Well, a person could starve to death in this part of Canada, with the exception of fast food joints on the highway. Finally found a licensed pizza place. Now we know that probably means they had a license to sell booze, but the sign said licensed pizza. Turned out to be pretty good licensed pizza.

Our fun adventure in Nipigon involved the railroad. We needed to get across the tracks, but a long freight was passing through town. It finally went by but the crossing gates didn't go up. Finally a woman got out of a truck and held up the gates to let the cars & trucks cross the track. Lights still flashing. And we went through the same thing a few minutes later when we didn't find any place to eat on the other side of the tracks and decided to chance the licensed pizza place.

On our way from Nippigon to Rossport, Turnaround Carolyn spotted a bear by the side of the road. She deftly turned around and we went back to see if we could get his picture. The sound my camera makes when it starts up apparently spooked him and he ran back into the woods. We continued down the road a bit more and executed another turnaround. He was back! Apparently not bothered by all the vehicle noise. We got some good pictures this time. A juvenile black bear.

Carolyn has acquired her new nickname today. She keeps mentioning she's good at turning around and we did a lot of that today. Thus, she has now been christened Turnaround Carolyn.

We arrived in Rossport and found our guest house and the restaurant. The Serendipity Gardens Cafe & Guest House. Only 4 units in the guest house. Very nicely done and very large rooms. We're quite pleased. Sure beats the original roadside motel I had found in Schreiber which looked more like a truck stop. Can't remember how I stumbled on this, but am glad I did. We had a wonderful dinner in the restaurant tonight. My trout had been swimming in the lake this morning. The people are very friendly. We did some serious damage to the plastic at a gift shop across the street which features local artists. Heidi found a great wedding present for her daughter who is getting married. Great stuff! The guest house and the restaurant also feature wonderful local art for sale.