Spoffords Travel

Kenora Ontario to Thunder Bay Ontario 303 miles

Let’s begin with a couple of things left out from yesterday. We actually saw two fields being irrigated with sprinklers. None of the other fields to date had done that. Second we saw a crop duster off in the distance. That may explain why the fields have no weeds. Another observation is that at least 50% of the cars, pickups and SUVs are very dusty on the bottom half. This is especially true in the northern areas. Must have something to do with all the gravel roads. By the way they usually drive these at normal highway speeds. Now for today. The skies are mostly sunny and the temperature is warmer. Even though the temperature is warmer the humidity is still high. Therefore the engine is still wet. Rob tried a new technique with the woodie. He dried it first and then put towels on the engine for several minutes. He was able to get it started without a push or pull. We filled up with gas and headed out. We will go the majority of the day on highway 17. Not far down the road we observed a giant spider. The body was made from a Volkswagen Beetle. Wish we had been quicker with a camera. We passed lots and lots of lakes. They are surrounded by forest. We have seen lots of boats but none on the lakes today. The landscape is small forested mountains. More rock is visible too. Rock stacks are often on the rocks adjacent to the road. Our gas stop had a very large one in their parking lot. Signs are frequent advertising for campgrounds, resorts and lodges. They are down dirt roads in the direction of one of the lakes. Traffic of all kinds is on the road. This is a two lane road but it often has three lanes. Two going one direction and one going the other. Periodically it changes sides to allow traffic to move along. Too many times when passing the vehicle moves back in the lane too soon and comes much closer than we like. One pickup passed so late the oncoming car had to move onto the shoulder. Off to the side was a big pile of flat rock slabs. Turns out it was a granite company. Wonder if you could purchase some of those scraps. Scattered along the route are convenience stores and houses. Many more than we have seen in the past. That is good because the distance between gas stations is much less. Thunder Bay is a much larger community. The sign on the edge of town said 109,000. After wandering through town we got to the hotel. We walked next door to a sandwich shop for supper. When we got back Rob did maintenance on the car and Connie did laundry. The desk clerk had never seen the $5 bill Rob had given him for laundry change. Another guest said it was fine just older. Laundry here is much cheaper. $2 to wash and $1 to dry. Early to bed tonight because we have a 300 plus miles set for tomorrow. It is difficult to find lodging on our preplanned route every 250 miles as desired.

Brandon Manitoba to Kenora Ontario 282 miles

Today is partly sunny with high thin clouds. Should be a nice day. We had a very light breakfast at the hotel. Two couples traveling together on Harley Davidson motorcycles were there also. Once again today the car refused to start. The inside was very wet even though there was no rain last night. A push didn’t do the job. Luckily another guest at the hotel offered to pull the car. Then it finally started. Huge fields are on both sides of the road. They are all so smooth they almost look like velvet. The median strip has big round bales. Still have not seen much livestock to eat all this grass hay. At one point there was a big Simplot processing plant so there must be potatoes somewhere. We also saw two fields of sun flowers. We drove on just about every type of road possible today. We started on freeway, then on provincial roads and gravel. In many cases however the gravel was actually smoother than the paved. Some of the paved roads had patches on the patches. Then there would be a short distance of newly paved road. That little area must have been really bad. The tallest things anywhere were the trees and the silos. We stopped about noon to fill up. The station had a totem pole and appeared to be on a First Nation reservation. The car caused lots of commotion again. While Rob was waiting in line to pay, a couple paid for our gas. Rob figured that they thought we were destitute. Two tired old people driving an old and very dirty car. Traffic on the freeway wasn’t bad until we got back on it as we came into Kendra. We stopped at Caddy Lake Resort in the afternoon for a break and to see if they had ice cream. Rob got a drumstick and Connie got two scoops on a cone. They were huge scoops. One was Rolo like the candies and the other was Triple Toledo which was strawberry and orange. I wish I had taken a picture but it was so huge and dripping. I had to eat fast. This is a Sunday so families were out enjoying the lake. Kids playing in the sand and the water. Others enjoying picnics. Lots of different water craft were going here and there. Our wildlife for today was a gaggle of geese and a chipmunk. Saw signs for deer and elk but never saw any. We checked into the hotel and then went to the grocery store. This time we tried No Frills. It was a warehouse store but the prices were good. Rob cut off a fender brace bolt that was too long and tightened up some other bolts.

Swan River Manitoba to Brandon Manitoba 221 miles

Hoorah no rain overnight. The skies are partly cloudy and the wind is minimal. We got the car loaded up but it wouldn’t start again. Two guys helped push but it took a short pull to finally get it going. At the intersection with the highway was an onion dome church. Not a common sight here. While filling up with gas two guys stopped to comment. Then we are off. The highway is good and only moderate traffic. This is mostly farm land again. We actually saw two corn fields and two bean fields. Lots of grain elevators. We turned off the main highway to drive through Duck Mountain Provincial Park. That put us back in the forest. Before we got to the park the highway became a gravel road. It was several hours of gravel until we were out of the park. There is no charge to drive through. Not too far from the entrance were two different church camps. We past near numerous lakes. Some you could see pretty well. Others were glimpses between the trees. We stopped at a convenience store near one of the lakes. The area included a small sandy beach and playground equipment. Rob bought some super glue to try to repair the cell phone holder that broke yesterday. This gravel road is far superior to the ones from earlier in the trip. More campers and boats on the road. Obviously a popular place to come. Eventually we got back to asphalt just in time to encounter a detour that went on gravel road for 3-4 miles. We filled up again at a convenience store that happens to be for sale. It was across the street from the museum and a very large golf ball dressed in golf attire. We are back in farm country temporarily before going into Riding Mountain National Park. Since we were just driving through we didn’t have to pay. Big signs warned to watch for wildlife. We saw one squirrel and one deer. The park is pretty but nothing different or unusual. The rest of the drive was thankfully uneventful. We checked into the motor inn. The bath tub/shower looked like something out of a fairy tale. Connie did laundry which was rather expensive at $5.40 to wash and dry. Rob greased the car and tightened up a few nuts and screws with the help of numerous mosquitoes. The sunset tonight was particularly stunning. Lots of orange.

Flin Flon Manitoba to Swan River Manitoba 231 miles

The rain really came down in the night. Everything is soaking wet. That means woodie doesn’t want to start, Rob tried drying the engine off. We even found a guy to pull him around the block. Still wouldn’t start. So he parked it on the street and dried it off again. After several tries it did start. Two senior citizens came up to admire the car and talk a little. The one lady lived in the house we were parked in front of. We have observed that many folks are missing several teeth. As we leave town we see several lakes and rivers. We could actually see a little of them but the windows were so dirty that pictures weren’t an option. The road seems pretty good today. Of course compared to the gravel most roads would seem good. We see many vehicles pulling fishing boats. Lots of places to fish. A really strong wind is hitting us from the side. It actually moves the car sometimes. The trees are really swaying too. That probably explains why we see numerous trees down that are still green. We filled up in The Pas. The car was the center of attention. Lunch was at a roadside turnout. Then back down the road. Swan River has a large white swan statue surrounded by flowers as you come into town. Looks really nice and could be in Paul Bunyan.s yard. My gosh the bathroom has pink tile surrounding the bath tub. The bathroom last night did also. I think we have gone back in time. We went to the Timberland Restaurant for dinner. The reviews were good and the parking lot was full. Connie had dry rub ribs which are porklets with a light batter and deep fried. Rob had a hamburger. Canadians in this area like to eat their french fries dipped in brown gravy. Didn’t go to the quilt shop in town. The laundromat closes at 5 pm so we won’t be going there either.

La Ronge Saskatchewan to Flin Flon Manitoba 203 miles

Another cloudy day with rain in the forecast. The hotel had a nice included breakfast. Rob loaded up the car and tried to start it. No luck again. A guy even pulled him around the parking lot but that failed also. He finally resorted to calling his brother Ed for further suggestions. Well they checked and tweaked for over 40 minutes. Then Rob got another pull and this time it started. Woodie is definitely not a morning vehicle. We stopped at a gas station on the way out of town to fill the spare gas cans. We got a report that the station half way to Flin Flon might be closed. Then off we go. We had to back track about 30 miles. You can’t really tell if that is what you are doing because the scenery is much the same. We got to the turn and guess what!! Gravel again. At least 70 miles of it. The road is much the same as yesterday. Maybe not as many hills. Just as many ruts however. More of the road is wet which makes it somewhat slippery. We could only go about 26 miles per hour. It’s going to be a long trip. Things were going well when a small black animal with long tail ran across the road in front of us. It was closely followed by a smaller one. Rob tried to stop before running over the smaller one. When he did that the car died. He got out to see if we had hit the animal. Luckily we had not. A Google search lead us to believe these were minks. Well you guessed it. The car would not start. Not many cars have been on the road going either direction. No cell coverage either. Rob tried one other tweak and like magic the car started. Boy was that a good sound. We put off eating lunch and continued the drive. We came to a camping area with lots of blue tents. Looked like perhaps a First Nation event. Yeah we came to the end of that road and the next one was paved. We did eventually find an open fuel stop. We started to eat lunch while stopped but another vehicle came in for a fill up. Probably the only two customers all day. Gas was $7.21 USD per gallon. The car started right up so we could pull out of the way and eat lunch. The remainder of the drive to the hotel was uneventful. We did see a painting on the side of a building of a couple of Model A cars. Not something we expected to see. The car as usual draws a lot of attention. After unloading we went out to go to the grocery store. A guy offered to take us there. He was going that way. The store was further away than expected. Another nice store. We stocked up and returned to the hotel. Another guy stopped to show us a picture of his Model A. It was the only resident Model A in town.

Meadow Lake Saskatchewan to La Ronge Saskatchewan 232 miles

It’s cloudy out this morning but they are high clouds. No rain showers last night. Breakfast was included with the room. We visited with an interesting father son combination. They were in town to celebrate the grandson’s first birthday. Even though it didn’t rain last night Woodie didn’t want to start. Rob tried numerous times and even tweaked things a little. Finally it started and we were on our way. There is some farm land and lots of lakes and rivers. Soon we are back in forest. Overall the land is quite flat. A few small hills here and there. The road has lots of patches and isn’t very smooth. After an hour or so the road became gravel. It was good at first. Not that much different from the paved. For the next hour we saw one car, one pickup and one semi. Then the road got worse. The potholes were frequent and deep. Some of the holes were full of water. They are very close together and the woodie creaks. Sometimes it bounces all over the road. Only occasionally does the road smooth out. We should have kept track of the miles but it was over 70. We saw only a handful of other vehicles, a couple of folks walking on the road and a couple more semis. We finally pulled over about 2 pm to eat lunch. During lunch a pickup stopped to check on us. The skies are getting much darker too. All we need now is rain. Luckily that didn’t happen. We finally got to a paved road. Now it feels really smooth. Well we are still 35 miles from the next gas. Sure hope we can make it. The gravel road was so slow it probably required more gas. We did just make it to the pumps. We put in 10.66 gallons. Remember this is officially a 10 gallon tank. Finding the hotel was pretty easy. This was a really grueling day. The gravel road was probably a couple of miles shorter but a couple of hours longer. Across the street is a trading post. Now that was an experience. They have some of just about everything. Some of the biggest frying pans I have seen. Stuffed animals of several varieties lined an upper shelf. Beaded moccasins and leather jackets adorned another beam. You could buy some furs. They also had carved antlers that were quite unique. This is the place to get your muck boots and warm winter coat. Oh and don’t forget your Kirkland brand nuts. They had several kinds. We bought a can of Kirkland brand chicken and a maple leaf shaped sugar saver. Connie has one shaped like a bear but this one made for a good souvenir. A guy stopped by to photograph the car. His wife’s brother had seen us in Fort Smith.

Slave Lake Alberta to Meadow Lake Saskatchewan 324 miles

Looking out the window this morning it must have really rained during the night. It’s still raining lightly. This does not bode well for starting the woodie. We had breakfast at the hotel. Hash browns, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. Not real warm however. Rob loaded up the car and then tried to start it. As expected no luck. He got a guy to come help push but that didn’t work either. He finally had to go get his truck and pull the woodie around the large parking lot about 10 times before it finally started. It even back fired once. Rob says that is a first for the woodie. Having a nice tow strap along was a good item on the packing list. Unfortunately we did not fill up last night so we had to stop at a gas station. Luckily the car started right up this time. We decided not to go to the grocery store since it is still raining. We headed off down the road. It rained most of the day. Sometimes Connie could barely see anything for all the rain on the windshield. It was not much better for the driver. There were a number of times when the windshield wiper could not keep up with the rain. It was cooler today so both of us had heavier jackets on all day. It may be time to install the manifold heater again. The landscape was a mix of forest and farmland. We actually saw some cattle. Something to eat all the hay. The only wildlife was a flock of Canadian geese. When we stopped for gas we saw a restaurant serving burgers, pizza, wings and donairs. We decided to eat there. Another customer suggested we order one super donair and split it. That was a great suggestion. Half of that was plenty. Really good too. Our route took us on several different highways. We really had to pay attention. The town names didn’t help because there are more small towns now. Much different from up north. After roughly six hours we crossed into Saskatchewan. Today we filled with gas before checking into the hotel. We went to the grocery store for a few things and then quit for the day. Much longer day today. One other note. Most all gas prices in a town are the same.