Our day started with gray skies but sunny smiles. It was gray enough and cold enough to start out in rain suits over our jeans. I was wearing my new big ole clunky rubber farm boots. They quickly became my favorite things, even if atrociously styled. My feet were warm and toasty.
The scenery was more hills, rocky formations, and tiny lakes with tiny names. We passed Wabigoon Lake, and I wondered if that was the inspiration for Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon.
When we made our first gas stop in Canada, oh so many days ago, the gas station was selling a series of drinking glasses (one per week, $3.99 each with fillup, that kind of thing) for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. The drinking glasses had a faux etching of their chosen symbol, a stack of rocks shaped like a man (see photo). We had seen the glasses, and we had seen some rocks stacked up occasionally beside the highway in B.C. However, in Ontario, where you drive through small rock formations all day long, these rock stacks are EVERYWHERE. We found out that this formation is called an “inukshuk,” which is an Inuit word meaning “in the image of man.” They are stone formations built to resemble humans, and they can be found along Canada’s northern shores. They were originally landmarks to aid in navigation for caribou hunting, but Canada has adopted the symbol as a reminder on our dependence on each other. Here endeth the plagiarism of a small informational card I found in a gift shop.
Every turn in the road would have a rock wall beside the road, one or three inukshuks on top, and then, of course, graffiti. We saw a crew of two men painting over the graffiti with paint colored roughly the same red as the rocks. They left the little rock men alone though. L was appalled with all the graffiti. I was more impressed with the dedication of someone so compelled to tell the world that J.L. loves T.D. 4ever that he/she would drive 40 miles down a two-lane road to nowhere to tell the world on a rock. I told L, “Look at it this way: graffiti is just modern petro glyphs. Who is to say the carvings we drive miles to see in ancient caves weren’t just prehistoric teenagers saying, “Og (expletive deleted) mastodon (expletive deleted)?”
L thinks I am seriously disturbed. No doubt, my friends, no doubt.
We stopped in Thunder Bay for lunch. I want to live in Thunder Bay, not because it was a great place or anything, but the NAME! For cryin’ out loud, the name is fantastic! They must name every kid born there Thor. This bay is part of Lake Superior.
Right outside of Thunder Bay, we drove on the Terry Fox Courage Highway. I don’t know if any of my traveling companions knew who he was, but he was a big deal when I was a devoted runner in high school. He had cancer and tried to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research in 1980. He ran from the Atlantic Ocean to Thunder Bay when he had to stop because his bone cancer had progressed so far. Anyway, I remembered him well and felt a little misty as we passed his memorial. If anyone asks, I’m claiming it was leftover rain.
The day had become beautiful, so K and I were left with no excuses not to go camping. We stopped at Rainbow Falls campground. After we set up the tents and had our dinner out of freezer bags (Chicken Rice and Gravy – one of our favorites), we went for a light hike to see the falls. The sun was setting, and all was right with the world. We reveled in some free time off the bikes, outdoors, in the company of each other.
Daily Recap: 340 miles, Province: Still Ontario (Rainbow Falls Campground)
The scenery was more hills, rocky formations, and tiny lakes with tiny names. We passed Wabigoon Lake, and I wondered if that was the inspiration for Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon.
When we made our first gas stop in Canada, oh so many days ago, the gas station was selling a series of drinking glasses (one per week, $3.99 each with fillup, that kind of thing) for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. The drinking glasses had a faux etching of their chosen symbol, a stack of rocks shaped like a man (see photo). We had seen the glasses, and we had seen some rocks stacked up occasionally beside the highway in B.C. However, in Ontario, where you drive through small rock formations all day long, these rock stacks are EVERYWHERE. We found out that this formation is called an “inukshuk,” which is an Inuit word meaning “in the image of man.” They are stone formations built to resemble humans, and they can be found along Canada’s northern shores. They were originally landmarks to aid in navigation for caribou hunting, but Canada has adopted the symbol as a reminder on our dependence on each other. Here endeth the plagiarism of a small informational card I found in a gift shop.
Every turn in the road would have a rock wall beside the road, one or three inukshuks on top, and then, of course, graffiti. We saw a crew of two men painting over the graffiti with paint colored roughly the same red as the rocks. They left the little rock men alone though. L was appalled with all the graffiti. I was more impressed with the dedication of someone so compelled to tell the world that J.L. loves T.D. 4ever that he/she would drive 40 miles down a two-lane road to nowhere to tell the world on a rock. I told L, “Look at it this way: graffiti is just modern petro glyphs. Who is to say the carvings we drive miles to see in ancient caves weren’t just prehistoric teenagers saying, “Og (expletive deleted) mastodon (expletive deleted)?”
L thinks I am seriously disturbed. No doubt, my friends, no doubt.
We stopped in Thunder Bay for lunch. I want to live in Thunder Bay, not because it was a great place or anything, but the NAME! For cryin’ out loud, the name is fantastic! They must name every kid born there Thor. This bay is part of Lake Superior.
Right outside of Thunder Bay, we drove on the Terry Fox Courage Highway. I don’t know if any of my traveling companions knew who he was, but he was a big deal when I was a devoted runner in high school. He had cancer and tried to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research in 1980. He ran from the Atlantic Ocean to Thunder Bay when he had to stop because his bone cancer had progressed so far. Anyway, I remembered him well and felt a little misty as we passed his memorial. If anyone asks, I’m claiming it was leftover rain.
The day had become beautiful, so K and I were left with no excuses not to go camping. We stopped at Rainbow Falls campground. After we set up the tents and had our dinner out of freezer bags (Chicken Rice and Gravy – one of our favorites), we went for a light hike to see the falls. The sun was setting, and all was right with the world. We reveled in some free time off the bikes, outdoors, in the company of each other.
Daily Recap: 340 miles, Province: Still Ontario (Rainbow Falls Campground)
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We don't exactly have inukshuk, but here in Clintonville I see an increasing number of little rock sculptures that are very much like that. Being hippieville, though, they are simply random stacks of rocks. Or, maybe they aren't random, and I'm just not tuned in to the vibe.
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