Wawa RV Resort and Campground, Wawa, Ontario, Canada
Happy Birthday!
Hi everyone. Blaine here for my yearly post. Happy Birthday to my sweetheart! She sure looks like a happy girl, I guess she’s enjoying this life we are so blessed to spend together. I love you Terri!
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, Who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17
Good morning!
That white smudge is because I forgot to watch out for the shower dome reflection.
Last night I was up until 1:30am doing battle with mosquitoes! How in the world they got in is beyond our knowledge or imagination! There were none – and I mean not a single, solitary one – all evening. And then, once it was time to settle down, they attacked! And continued to attack! And even after I thought I’d finally finished off the last (and ninth) one, there must have been more, because I woke up with bites all over me – including one on the tip of my finger! Which really hurts, by the way. So, they were able to enact their revenge after I fell, slumped over into an exhausted sleep.
But there’s good news! Actually, great news, to be shared today!
Blaine found the bacon! It was in the right place, on the refrigerator door, but had somehow fallen behind/under the applesauce cups. We didn’t actually take that stuff out, but I had looked under the clear shelf and didn’t see it. Anyway, it’s gone now. Discovered just in time for breakfast this morning. An unexpected additional treat to go with the pancakes and strawberries Blaine made for my birthday.
I think he should consider opening a pancake house!
A profuse and grateful thank you to everyone who took the time to make contact with me today!
Before breakfast, there was a rush on the dump station. I guess someone signaled that it was time to check out, and everyone made a mad dash to leave at the same time. They were lined up passed our coach! It’s a good thing we weren’t wanting to make an early start with the Jeep today, because we never would have been able to get out!
We visited two local waterfalls – High Falls and Silver Springs. And we picked up a little history along the way as well!
High Falls was pretty wide and is a controlled falls, which means that sometimes, they allow extra water to come over. It looked similar to the secret Mink Creek Falls we saw the other day, only wider.
This is the road to High Falls.
I don’t know about you, but I really wouldn’t want to drive my car here.
It’d be nice to see it like the one on the right!
High Falls
These were unusual leaves!
They looked like they were made from poster board or heavy scrap-booking paper or something.
No, he didn’t climb the fence to get here.
He walked up the ledge.
Those bumpers are to keep boats from going over the falls.
This is what we had to look through.
Many of these pictures were made possible only by pressing our phones to the fence.
Unfortunately, the city (or whomever) hasn’t been keeping the area maintained very well. Things were really grown up around the upper viewing area, making it hard (if not impossible) to see.
But we didn’t let that stop us! We found a hole in the fence, and Blaine tried it out to see if he’d fit. He did, so I did.
There’s the hole!
And there’s the view!
Once upon a time, this was a viewing area.
There’s bars all over.
The way out.
Ready or not, here I come!
Made it! Now if I can just stand up . . .
I am older now . . .
Back to the parking lot.
They have these “life-size” poster-type things up all over town.
There’s always been someone on each side, so you have to walk around to see them.
A totem pole caricature.
Not sure you’d see one of these in the States . . .
Then it was off to find Silver Springs. I have to tell you, the first viewing spot was not impressive at all.
I don’t expect we’ll be visiting any of these places. : )
It was at the parking lot.
Our first view of Silver Falls.
Zoomed in.
Fortunately, there was large signage pointing us to a trail. We took it from there, using our vast exploring expertise to maneuver our way up-close and personal, and then seeking out even more.
This is the trail.
A bit more rugged than we were expecting, but it was okay.
We made it to the Falls!
Much better close up!
I took the high road . . .
Blaine stayed low.
For a bit anyway.
My vantage point.
From my vantage point in the middle of the river, I could see there was more to be discovered, so we went on, and then off-trail just a bit, and came across five more waterfalls!
Well, well, well! Look at that!
Here’s some of those pink buds that are open.
Pretty!
I really like this picture!
The best view we could find in our search for a way to cross the river.
Back to the Jeep and then we continued up the dirt and gravel road, and stopped at . . .
A Lake Superior overlook . . .
These comparison pictures were a nice addition to the overlook.
A sandy beach (named Sandy Beach) where I painted the best landscape (worth millions, by the way) of my illustrious career . . .
Watch out for those wasps!
There’s my easel, waiting for me. . . .
According to an information board, these are evening primrose, “so called because they bloom in the evening or in low light “.
It was neither evening, nor overcast . . .
Hmmmm . . . . .
This is my completed masterpiece!
I think it looks just like my “model”!
Whadayathink?
This was my inspiration!
Remember we talked about the Group of Seven a while back?
They have dunes here!
Small, but still . . . it seemed a bit strange in a place with all these rocks.
I just love old pictures!
Imagine! Dressing like that to go to the beach!
. . . and a cemetery. We’ve not visited one of those for a while! (the quick stop on the outside of the Ojibwe one doesn’t count) There wasn’t much left of this one. Sad that so many are forgotten.
Sharing the road . . . : )
We had to walk this trail to get to the cemetery!
There were three markers here, and all had these jars with spent candles in them.
Don’t know what they are for.
Here she is – Louisa McKenzie/Bethune
Well, at least this is her marker. It seems it broke and they mounted on wood at some point.
These two guys were posted at the cemetery.
I don’t really know why here . . .
I can’t imagine that very many people come by.
He’s standing on Pebble Beach!
We also stopped by downtown Wawa to see what was happening. Not much, but here’s a couple of pictures.
I took this picture to show the town of Wawa.
One place you can make out is the red drilling rig along the lake shore.
One of the drills
That’s a real wrench on there!
They dug for gold and then, when that led to iron ore, they did that.
The mine closed in the 1990’s.
I imagine this town’s seen a lot!
Wawa Lake
Hey! It’s Chief Wahoo!
The Lakeview Hotel
You know it’s seen better days, but it seemed like they were renovating it on the inside.
An actual working phone booth!
Another stop in town, was the General Store.
A real stuffed moose!
(he had seams up the backs of his legs)
Look at the moose, not how fat my arm looks in this picture!
An old-fashioned pickle barrel!
This is a silver fox pelt.
We remember from our fur trading days that it was the most sought after pelt.
This one can be yours for said number of beaver pelts – or $250.
This was so interesting, I zoomed in and made a copy so you can try to read the labels.
It was about 2:30pm and about time to eat. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there’s a nice restaurant in this little town, so that’s where we were headed. It’s called Kinniwabi Pines. We stopped at home for a quick clean up, and then took off again. There was no one there, but that was fine. We were given our choice of table, and I took the one by the window with the best view.
We were given lunch menus, which consisted of salads and sandwiches. Not what I wanted. We asked when dinner was, and she (one of the owners – it’s a family-owned place) said not till five. We got up, glanced at a dinner menu (because there’s no menu on-line for this place), and as we were glancing over it, Blaine mentioned, “It’s her birthday and she really doesn’t want a sandwich.” Then we told her we’d be back at five.
But that didn’t solve our hunger problem. A spur of the moment decision, and we found ourselves at a roadside stand called “Krazy Fries”. Fresh, cooked on the spot, French fries! They were sooooo yummy!!
They managed to get their own customized totem pole! : )
Krazy fries!
Yummmyyy!
At home, we laid around and relaxed. I even took a short nap, a bit exhausted after my ordeal last night.
Then we Skyped with one of our sons and his family, and before we knew it, it was after 6pm. By the time we got re-dressed for dinner and drove there, it was almost 7pm and the parking lot was packed full. Well, as full as a place this small could hold. We were pretty sure we’d be making another trip to Krazy Fries.
But God is sooooo good to us! There was one table left. And lo and behold, it was the exact one I’d chosen earlier! Jokingly, I thanked the woman for holding our table for us, even though we were two hours late, and she said, “For the birthday girl!”.
We had read on Tripadvisor that service was very slow and as long as you didn’t mind waiting, the food was excellent. They were right – on both accounts!
Oh my gosh! Everything was homemade – including the bread! The couple who own this place are originally from Trinidad and have been in business for 20 years and after seeing all the things that are closed up around here, I’d say that’s pretty remarkable! But if the food’s always been this good, it’s not really a surprise!
Everyone gets bread and soup (vegetable today), but the menu didn’t say that anywhere. Pleasant surprise! And everything is served on china! Even the little dish for the real whipped butter!
Blaine ordered Rouladen. It’s a German beef dish and was supremely delicious! Thin beef filled with onion, bacon and diced pickle, rolled up and served with spaetzle and gravy. I may have to try finding a recipe for this! And it also came with cooked fresh veggies. Almost all of the offerings did.
I chose the Lake Superior Trout. A light coating and fried, but it wasn’t a bit greasy, so I’m not sure how they did it, but it was mmmmm . . . moaningly good! I also had potato chunks that I think had been put in cream at some point and then sprinkled with fresh dill. Oh my! My veggies were the same as Blaine’s. And I have to tell you, they were probably the best fresh vegetables we’ve ever eaten! When I asked if they’d been cooked in sesame oil, I learned the secret from our hostess. The sesame oil was drizzled on after cooking! I’ve never heard of that before, but I will absolutely try that process the next time I make a stir fry!
Blaine ordered a shrimp cocktail for us to share, due to the occasion, but it never materialized. Which was just fine with us, since there was so much other food to eat.
Dinner took over an hour to receive and eat. And yes, it was served with plenty of time in between each item – the order, the drinks (water and tea), the soup, the bread, and finally the dinner.
But then . . . .
A totally unexpected surprise!
Our hostess, came over, looked at me and said, “Chocolate or coconut?” And then waited for my response. “Umm . . .Chocolate?”
A few moments later, she returns, singing “Happy Birthday” as she walked through the tables, carrying a piece of cake with a candle in it, and two forks. The other patrons joined in and everyone stumbled when it came time to say my name, because no one except Blaine knew it, and he wasn’t singing very loud. 😊
How very sweet! And may I say, their “cream cheese chocolate cake” topped with homemade mousse and whipping cream was stupendous as well!
I couldn’t possibly ask or imagine a better birthday dinner!
Of course, that meant that the Boston Cream Blaine slaved over yesterday, will have to wait another day. We didn’t even get home until after 9pm.
Thus marks the end of another wonderful day on the road!