Spoffords Travel

Day 24 August 16, 2026 Longlak Ontario to Cochrane Ontario 268.2 miles

Yesterday evening the campsite had very few mosquitos. We even commented how nice that was. Then the sun went down and the mosquitos came out in huge numbers. By the time we got in bed there must have been at least twenty inside the trailer. They were little ones that moved fast and rarely landed except where we couldn’t reach. Thank goodness for the fly swatter. Rob managed to get most of them. The rest did not die hungry.

Sometime in the night it rained. Not real hard but we could still hear it on the roof. The vent leaks a little but not so badly that we got wet. We thought about taking an outside shower but that action would have been attempted suicide with all of the hungry mosquitoes.

No one else ever came into the campsite. No one came to collect money either. One passerby said no one works on the weekend. Well we had a nice stay. The place didn’t have toilets or showers so maybe it was not intended for overnight stays.

We had to backtrack to get gas. The station closest to us was closed and their pumps didn’t take credit cards.

The terrain is very much the same. Forest, lakes and rivers everywhere. Very few towns and the ones there are quite small. We try to fill up at just about every station because we don’t know how far to the next one.

Still lots of semis going both directions. Not many of those are tankers. Not sure how the gas and diesel get everywhere. They also move a lot of containers by trains. We heard and saw several yesterday. Most of those are really long.

Most of the afternoon it rained. Sometimes a gentle mist and other times a very steady rain. That makes taking pictures very difficult. Getting out is no fun and the passenger side windshield has no wiper. We have not figured out how to filter out the rain drops.

We stopped at the first motel we came to in Cochrane. We got the last room. The motel is a temporary home to people from a town further north that was evacuated because the water system was contaminated. They have been here for six months. How many reward points would that be?

The car started fine all day today. No starter problems. Of course we always stop on a hill if we can.

Day 23 August 15, 2026 Thunder Bay Ontario to Longlak Ontario 195 miles

The day is starting out cloudy so maybe it will end up sunny. Not the case. The sun only peaked out occasionally. We even had a very few raindrops at one time.

We passed another Punjab Restaurant. Since it’s early in the day the restaurant is quiet.

For a few miles we can see part of Lake Superior in the distance. This is a busy section of road. It is nice and smooth however. Most of it is divided highway with two lanes in each direction. No exit ramps however. If you want to get to the road on the other side you simply cross over the median on the road provided. The maximum posted speed has been 100 KPH.

The terrain is forested hills with lots of lakes and rivers. RVs of all sizes and shapes are going in both directions. Lots of semi trucks too. Seems quite common for them to occur in threes. They are rarely the same company so they might just be friends.

We drove along Lake Helen for several miles. No one is on the lake which seems surprising since today is Saturday. Some of the rocks along the edge are pretty colors.

We had a toasted ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. The little microwave toaster worked great again. We were in a pull out near another lake. Two couples with small trailers were there for lunch as well. They were very interested in our set up.

Not far from Longlak we passed a huge mining operation. It’s called the Greenstone Mining Company. They hope to mine 300,000 ounces of gold annually for the next 13 years. Today they are down for maintenance. Hence all the hotel rooms are booked.

The First National folks are also having a pow wow. Rob talked to a young Indian who said he knew of a campground. He walked along side us until we got to the campground. No one is there. No campers or tents either. Well we set up anyway and will wait for someone to show up. Three different people so far but none of them are affiliated with the campground.

The starter on the car locked up only once today. Several locals gave us a push.

Day 22 August 14, 2026 Vermillion Bay Ontario to Thunder Bay Ontario

We had quite a slow start this morning. Several people at the motel wanted to talk about the car. A father and son from Great Britain, a couple from Germany and a couple from Slovakia. Rob has such a wonderful time talking about the car.

Today is mostly cloudy but no rain drops. Lots more forest and lakes with a small amount of farmland thrown in for good measure. More logging trucks are on the road now.

The GPS warned the route might be impacted by wildfires but we weren’t. Glad for that one. The morning drive had very few trucks. By afternoon that sure changed.

We ate lunch at a nice road stop beside a small lake. A couple were fishing not far from us. Never saw them catch anything however. The rest stop had lots of picnic tables and trash cans. The toilets however needed some attention. Nice to have our clean “dry flush” toilet with us on the road.

We stopped for gas at a small spot. It had a restaurant advertising Canadian Punjab food. The attendant looked to be Sikh and many of the truck drivers are also. Many trucks were stopped there.

Then oh my gosh we actually saw a live moose. She was grazing along the side of the road. We have seen lots of warning signs but this was the first real moose.

Made it to Thunder Bay and checked into a small hotel. Then we went to a seafood restaurant that specializes in fish and chips. They were really good.

Back at the motel Rob worked on the car. He changed the points. He did something right today because the car started after the job was done.

Some observations about hay. The hay seems to be grass not alfalfa. It is baled in large round bales. Some are wrapped in white plastic, some in a mesh and some with wire or twine. The ones wrapped in wire or twine seem to be coming apart already. Seems more harvested than needed. Lots leftover from prior years. Some of it is in the fields.

Day 21 August 13, 2026 Arborg Manitoba to Vermillion Bay Ontario 278 miles

The skies look mostly sunny this morning. Only guessing what the skies will be by evening.

We went to the Bakery to get something for breakfast. It is a very busy place. Oh the goodies they had inside. Pastries of all kinds, cookies, and bars. Then they had sausage rolls and bread. They also had a large assortment of drinks both hot and cold. We bought cheese sausage rolls, an apple fritter and a cinnamon bun. The sausage rolls were delicious. The cheese was in the sausage. Dough was wrapped all around the sausage to include one end. The Bakery is considered one of the town’s main attractions.

We then went to see the other main attraction which is the world’s largest curling rock. Coincidently it is located next to the curling rink. It is the color and shape of the curling stones but its not made of granite.

We thought the start of our drive today would be along a lake. We are sure the lake is over there but further away than we thought. Trees line the shore preventing the view. Large farm fields are between the trees and the road. Same crops in very large fields. Sunflowers were a new crop to see. At least two large fields of them.

At our first gas stop the car would not start after the fill up. The store clerk came out and helped rock the car. Then it did start. Still have not figured out what is causing the starter to occasionally stick.

We are in the town of Selkirk Manitoba which happens to be the catfish capital of North America. They have Chuck the Channel Cat statue. It was built in 1986 and stands 33 feet tall. We found it by Smitty’s Restaurant and yes, catfish is on the menu.. He is quite unique.

Once again the starter was stuck. This time the two of us were able to get it going.

We pulled off the road in some shade for lunch. We ate in the car to avoid the bugs. Also no picnic table.

Had to drive on about 20 miles of gravel. Sea gulls were lined up most of the way down that road. They flew as we got there but amazing how many there were.

Up until about now the terrain has been farmland. Now the terrain is rolling hills covered with rock and forest. In between the trees are lakes. All different sizes of lakes. Very few have any water craft on them. The shorelines don’t have houses either.

We ended our trip on Highway 17 which was carrying lots of traffic in both directions. Rob had to pull off several times to let the traffic clear.

At one point nearly 100 motorcycles were going in the opposite direction. Wonder what it is Ike when they stop for gas.

Our luck held out as we found a motel room for the night. It looks like we may have stayed here four years ago. Looks very familiar.

Day 20 August 12, 2026 Swan River Manitoba to Arborg Manitoba 267.1 miles

The day started out nice and sunny but ended wth a short rain shower. The weather seems to change as we go through the day.

We took a picture of the big swan statue not far from the hotel. It welcomes you to the town. As we were loading up a guy said he just read an article about us on the web. It was from the magazine the Bulb Horn that was done last year.

The terrain is mostly flat wth lots of big fields. Mostly grain and hay here. A few corn fields are mixed in too. We didn’t see much activity in any of the fields.

We had to take a detour because the road is closed. They had a big rain here in June that washed out a lot of bridges. They got nine inches in three days.

We had a picnic lunch by a lake. A small park wth tables and playground equipment follows the shoreline. Kids are playing in the water. It appears to be a fresh water lake. We did not check the temperature but the kids are having fun.

The highlight of the day was driving through the Narrows. This is where Lake Winnipeg gets narrow enough for a bridge to cross. The lake is very beautiful. Two large RV parks are along the shore.

The wildlife sightings for today were a squirrel, a swan and numerous crows. Cows and horses don’t count as wildlife,

We experimented with Google Maps today. We put in gas stops along the way to test out some options. Still a bit to learn.

Arrived in Arborg about 5:00. The small motel was full but the hotel in town still had two rooms. A big expensive hotel is on the outskirts of town. We didn’t try that one.

We bought supper from the bakery and ate in the room. Rather easy day with few mosquitoes.

Day 19 August 11, 2026 Flin Flon Manitoba to Swan River Manitoba 227.7 Miles

Very cloudy today. Looks like it could rain. The campground is really quiet. No kids in our area.

We got off to a good start. Today’s route will take us past many lakes. Some are very small and some are big. Some have cabins along the shore but most don’t. In between the lakes is more of the boreal forest. Some burned an some not.

Lots of graffiti is on the rocks along the road. Centuries from now someone may be trying to figure it all out. We wish them luck.

Oh my goodness we are going faster than the train. The tracks run parallel to the road.

We stopped in The Pas at a grocery store to pick up a few supplies. Found out they were celebrating indigenous people. Not sure if it was a one day event or perhaps a week. The town has a strong native culture.

About an hour later we pulled onto a side road and Rob fixed lunch. We had toasted ham and cheese sandwiches done in the microwave. Last year we bought a funny device that works in the microwave. It really does make great toasted sandwiches.

Then it began to sprinkle. A little at first but quite heavy in one area. Connie just saw dots on the windshield.

We have noticed that the places where a bridge joins the land can be extremely rough. Seems we could blow a tire or something when we hit them. Some are marked so you can slow down but this is the exception. Some of the perpendicular grooves cut in the pavement get rough. These are cut about every 30 feet and often have a pothole somewhere along the groove.

We made it to Swan River and got the last room at the Super 8 because someone cancelled. Got lucky there. Talked with another nice Canadian who suggested we go through The Narrows on our way east. We will look into that. The motel has a coin operated laundry so we got that done for another week.

Day 18, August 10, 2026 Prince Albert National Park Saskatchewan to Flin Flon Manitoba 227.3 miles

We certainly look out of place in the campground. By far the majority of RVs are very large trailers and 5th wheels. We only saw a couple of other small set ups. Just about all sites have screen patios set up near their unit. Don’t know if we can fit one of those in the teardrop. That would be good since the mosquitos are quite nasty. They are quite small and can get in everywhere.

We have been very popular at the campground. Lots of people have come by to take pictures and talk about the car. Canadians are so friendly and nice.

Rob tried starting the car several times until it refused. Still not sure what the problem is. He dug around further and found the tow rope and then asked a guy from the next RV for a pull. He was really good at it and the car started quickly. Then more folks taking pictures.

We headed for the only gas station in town. One guy warned us they may be out of gas. Sure enough when we got there a sign on the pump said out of gas. Fortunately another station is about 15 miles away.

We did see what we think was a fox headed for the woods. He was hidden quite well by the small bushes and grass along the side of the road. His ears gave him away.

Then we came to another stretch of gravel. It was definitely a two lane road and in good condition. In one area a road grader was working it. Not many other vehicles.

Back on the main highway we drove passed miles and miles of burned forest. This is more of the boreal forest that covers much of the upper regions in Canada, Russia, Alaska and Scandinavia. Now this region is just black poles.

We arrived in Creighton Saskatchewan where we planned to spend the night but both motels were booked full. Evidently lots of different contractors are working up there so they are booking all the rooms. So we drove on to Flin Flon which is less than three miles but is in Manitoba. The hotel on the Main Street thought the new hotel out by the Walmart would be better especially for the parking. So we went there but they are booked full as well.

We ended up going to the small campground across the street. Other than the mosquitos it was quite nice. They had really nice showers that cost $1 Canadian for 5 minutes. Plenty of time. The shower was better than some of the ones in the hotels. Since the campground was small it was also quiet.