Day 58: Thunder Bay, ON -> Nipigon, ON

Date: Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Start: Thunder Bay, ON (The Haven Hostel)
End: Nipigon, ON (Nipigon Marina Campground)
Distance: 115km

I had gone to sleep rather late owing to blogging.  The hostel wasn't fully booked, but a band that was on tour through town had booked the place up at the last minute, so my dorm room was full.  Thankfully the hostel provides ear plugs, because one of the band members...I wanted to go shake him awake because I was worried he wasn't getting enough oxygen as he slept.  He didn't so much snore as he gasped for air.  It was like an Evinrude with the throttle wide open!  Anyway, I'm happy to report the earplugs worked!

I woke up, went down to the common area and had some breakfast!  They served a cold continental breakfast, but since I hadn't expected it...it was great!  Hard boiled eggs, muffins, fruit, cereal.  I sat and talked to a German family who had lived in Montreal for two years and were now on a cross country road trip for almost 2 months before flying back to Germany.  Their son taught me to crack a hard boiled egg on my forehead.  He was totally awesome.  They were leaving to canoe into a campground that day and it sounded like they were on a real adventure!

After breakfast I set out in search of coffee and pastry.  My first stop was an Anglican church that now hosted a coffee shop called The Habit.  I'm not a big fan of puns, but this is one of the best names for a coffee shop I've ever seen.  And the shop itself was BEAUTIFUL.  I'll show you the pictures first and then explain a bit.

So the church was original a Baptist church and was bought by a husband and wife who reopened it as an Anglican church, but also put a LOT of money into it!  It now houses a coffee shop, women's shelter, community space, and still holds services as a church.  In addition, the bell tower was renovated into a prayer room, so you can look out over the city in a room that's all naturally lit.  The entire thing was really well done.  All of this was explained to me by a volunteer who showed me around.  The coffee and rhubarb strawberry square (baked on site) were both great.  But the space was an absolute treat.

These churches used to be the centre of large and strong communities, so to see it being kept up and changing to still serve the community was really encouraging.  Well done to the volunteers and owners.  This has been one of my favourite finds of the entire trip!

From there I walked to the grocery store to stock up on more provisions.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to find anything in Northern Ontario, so prepped for days!  Unfortunately, they didn't have my crackers at FreshCo.  Sooooo last time I shop there!

I then walked to a bakery....which was closed.  BECAUSE SOMEWHERE, AT SOME POINT, I DID SOMETHING AND AM DOOMED FOREVER TO HAVE THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME!

No matter.  I walked back to the hostel.  Along the way taking pictures of sights in Thunder Bay.

The hostel was founded by a woman named Holly who has traveled the world and this place is modeled on her favourite features of hostels she's stayed at in the past.  In the bathroom on the ground level this was written in the floor:

It made me think that this place was really a work of love.  I thought this was beautifully written and it really helped explain why the place was so well maintained and why the vibe was so wonderful there.

But it was time for me to go.  And I packed up my stuff, got my bike, thanked all the staff, and left.  If you're ever in Thunder Bay, I think The Haven Hostel is likely better than any hotel.  I encourage you to check it out!

I had at least one stop before leaving town.  I headed for the waterfront and biked on pathways of what was clearly some redeveloped waterfront land.  I saw the old train station, a memorial to The Merchant Marine and Navy sailors and ships lost in WWII, and the marina.

As I biked along the waterfront I realized....this was Lake Superior.  Mightiest of The Great Lakes!  I stopped and walked down to the water and dipped my hand in.  I'd officially reached The Great Lakes!

The stop I'd wanted to make is a historical marker for C.D. Howe.  Some of you might know him as the "Minister of Everything."  He was an important Liberal cabinet minister under Mackenzie King in WWII and then under Louis St. Laurent post-war.  My Masters thesis largely focused on him and the Ministry of Munitions and Supply that he ran in WWII.  He's honoured here because he was the MP for Thunder Bay (then called Port Arthur).  He was a big deal in his day...and so it seemed odd not to see more honouring him than this plaque.  There's also a Howe Street...but it seemed to be the shortest street in the city.  I suspect the relationship might be more complicated with him and this town than I know!

I took a few moments there overlooking the city to think about him, his work, and his legacy.

Then I was off again.  This time heading out of town.  I passed by a few old grain silos/piers, at least one of which C.D. Howe might have built as a young man when he first moved here.

As I biked out of town I passed a waterfall that seems to be running dry right now.  The dam is doing it's job admirably!

While biking out of town a car pulled into the cycle lane a ways in front of me and someone got out to tell me about an alternate route out of town that avoided the highway.  Unfortunately it would have meant missing my second goal of the day, and he agreed it was worth seeing.  A big thanks to Brian for stopping to try to help though, and I enjoyed talking to him!

So I kept going to highway 17 (which is pretty treacherous for bikes just outside of Thunder Bay) but I'd rejoin the alternate route shortly thereafter.

On the way out I got an incredible view of The Sleeping Giant, a provincial park that sits across the water from Thunder Bay and offers a stunning view.

In only a kilometer of two I reached my goal!

I already posted about it, but the Terry Fox Memorial is a must see.  The statue sits overlooking Lake Superior, the highway, and the city of Thunder Bay.  He had to give up The Marathon of Hope a short distance from this spot and the memorial is large and very impressive.  It does justice to his character, vision, and legacy.  I was overwhelmed upon seeing it and shed a few tears.  I wasn't the only one.  I talked to a couple about my trip, and when Terry Fox came up I saw the husband get goosebumps just thinking about Terry Foxes importance to Canada.

After snapping a few pictures I chatted with a couple who were on vacation and currently driving back to Ottawa from Alberta.  I must have chatted with them for almost 20 minutes, and we discussed the trip I was taking and their experiences visiting different parts of the country.  They had many of the same experiences I had and it was great talking to them about their travels!  We eventually parted ways, but I really enjoyed the time we spent sitting under the shade of trees by the statue and discussing the country.  I hope you're both well and have made it back safe and sound Ken and Nancy!

After almost an hour there I had to leave.  It was now noon and I had only gone about 10km.  I grabbed some water at the visitors centre where one of the staff gave me a sticker and a pin, she said she does it for all the cyclists crossing the country!

Back on the highway there was no shoulder...or at least whatever was there was gravel.  I rode in the gravel for the kilometer or two until an exit which brought me to Lakeshore Drive which paralleled the highway and offered easier cycling. It also offered some wonderful views of the water.

As soon as I reached this road I put on a song I've been waiting to listen to for a while now.  It's by a Canadian group called Great Lake Swimmers, and the song is called Your Rocky Spine.  It was a staple of my undergrad and my room mates and I listened to it frequently.  It's title, tune, vibe, and subject matter always makes me think of the Superior coast.  I put the entire album on, and it starts with this song.  I think I'll start each day on Superior with this song because it's just too perfect.  That banjo picking when I start pedaling for the day is the right way to get started...

At some point I rejoined the highway.  There was a nice shoulder now and while the traffic was loud, the safety of the shoulder was welcome.

I passed a lot of highway construction as they worked on twinning the highway from Thunder Bay to Nipigon.  This involved blasting a lot of stone, and you can see the work it takes to build roads in this area!  Also, move over PEI!  There's another place with red earth!

Later in the afternoon I reached another goal of the day...

5000km.

It's been 5000km since I set out on May 16th from Calgary on that smokey day.  I could hardly believe it.  I grinned from ear to ear.  It's as arbitrary as any other number...but it felt like a major achievement.  This was tempered by the knowledge that this is only about the half way mark of the trip.  I wish I had some more insightful thoughts for you, but at this point in the trip I'm living a life of routine and can't really give you much more.  I snapped a picture of the odometer for you.

Further along the road, a house with a broken back.

At times the shoulder whittled down to almost nothing.  Here's a taste of what it was like in a few spots.

As I got closer to Nipigon I came up to a place called Red Rocks.  I found out why it was called that.  The cliffs were incredible!

The sun was also at the right angle to light up the walls of rock that had been blasted for the highway.  The colours really shined.

At some point I reached Nipigon and was happy for it.  The day had been very warm and I was feeling drained.  As I entered town I passed one of Nipigon's bizarre claim's to fame: Canada's smallest Canadian Tire.  I stopped to take it in!

Nipigon was off the highway and down a hill.  I knew I'd pay for that tomorrow.  Everything in town was closed as it was just after 6pm.  It had a beautiful park and splash pad for kids though!

The campground for the town is at the Nipigon Marina, which is more like a recreational area near the water.  I found a few other people already there and marveled at being allowed to stay at some prime real estate along the water (rather than land between the highway and railroad tracks).  I chatted with a guy who was on a touring motorcycle about his trip and the beauty of this campground.  Doug was taking his motorcycle from Moncton to Calgary and enjoying the things in between.  He was a nice guy and I hope he has a safe trip!

I setup camp and then went to one of the docks and ate dinner by the water.

After dinner was done I sat and stared out over the water.  I thought "What a great place to sit and long..." But instead I opted to sit and yearn.  It was so peaceful and beautiful at sunset.

When I got back to my tent there was another person with a bicycle who had arrived and setup his tent.  His name is Gavin (more on him in later posts) and he'd started in mid June, biking from Victoria and took a different route through B.C. and had now caught up to me.  We chatted a bit but the bugs were getting bad and so we opted to go to sleep.

It had been a big day!  I'd seen some of Thunder Bay, the Terry Fox Memorial, and crossed over 5000km.  Nipigon was lovely, and I was feeling good to be finally moving over Lake Superior!  The next day was looking like it was going to be a long one and so rather than typing this blog post I turned in for the night.  Sleep was too important, and the day was better summarized by someone who could keep their eyes open!