May 10 Ottawa ON to Temagami, ON

There was a little excitement at the motel this morning. There was a fire truck, an ambulance and several police cars at the unit across from us. We never did find out what was going on.

Today’s route takes us west and north along the Ottawa River to North Bay, and then north from there to Temagami ON.

This is a route we have taken many, many times starting in Montreal, 2 hours further east, to Kirkland Lake in northern Ontario where my inlaws lived for over 35 years. I remember cold, dark winter mornings at Christmas time getting up at 4 am, packing sleepy children into the back seat and driving for 12 hours! Sometimes having to shovel the driveway first! No 4 lane highways and no cell phones or tablets either…. and driving straight through with only the occasional pit stop. Ah those were the good old days.

It’s a beautiful drive so I am happy that today we are not going as far and can stop along the way and enjoy the scenery.

We had intended to stop at North Bay on Lake Nipissing, but it was still early, we had no place to stay and we decided to go as far as Temagami instead so we can have more time tomorrow to revisit places with old memories. North Bay and Sudbury (which is on our route home ) mark the unofficial boundary between Southern and Northern Ontario. The two regions couldn’t be more different in almost every way.

The Ottawa River has spectacular scenery. The Ottawa River Valley from Ottawa to Montreal has rich farmland that becomes gorgeous rocky outcrops as it wends its way westward through the Laurentian Shield. The river was of major importance for the early economic development of Canada and exploration being a major route inland for hunters and trackers, loggers, voyageurs and explorers. I remember log booms (anyone know what a log boom is?) on the river. E.B.Eddy had a major match factory across the river from the city of Ottawa and Renfrew and Arnprior  just to the west are ( or were) pulp and paper communities. I can still smell the Sulphur! Yuck.

The words to the campfire song we sang as children describes this part of the world best:

“Land of the Silver birch, home of the beaver, where still the mighty moose wanders at will, blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once more” etc etc

I have to admit, I never saw a moose… ever… but the rest is pretty descriptive.

Our drive took us through Pembroke, Petawawa and lots of small towns scattered along the river. Nothing has changed in the time we have been in the U.S., at least 25+ years.

Petawawa is a Canadian military base built in 1905. I am mentioning it because it was a military training camp for both world wars. My father and uncle were stationed there at the start of WWII in 1939 for their training before being sent to England. It’s sandy, making it perfect for artillery training. My father was an anti-aircfraft gunner.

We did find a beautiful spot on Lake Temagami within view of our final landing spot when we had taken a 10 day canoe trip from here 45+ years ago. Seems fitting. It’s a beautiful day and our room has a balcony overlooking the lake. A drink and some Carlos Nakai playing the flute is a perfect way to end the day’s driving.

Need to go for a walk….

By the way, we are now officially out of Southern Ontario and into Northern Ontario. More about Northern Ontario as we continue the trip.

We still have a LOT of Ontario to drive through. It’s a huge province. We have barely gotten out of Southern Ontario. Lots of water to get around. Ontario borders 5 Great Lakes.

We ordered take out from the restaurant and sat outside till almost dark. It is a beautiful evening. The loons are out on the lake.