Sam & Jen just moved into their first home — in Gatineau, Quebec. Both work for the Canadian Parliament, just across the river in Ottawa, Ontario. It made sense to deliver Sam’s many boxes of personal equipment and fishing poles sooner rather than later. He’d been missing his stuff for several years already — thanks to the pandemic border closings — and Accuweather confirmed that we could make this trip of at least 1,770 miles before the snow started flying. U-Haul wisely requires a towing speed no higher than 55 m.p.h. — so we did the math: that’s at least 35 hours on the road, plus rest stops.
We had never driven the route through the north country. There are definitely fewer cities and gas stations, particularly along the western section of Canada’s Transcontinental Highway, which was the final 500 miles of our route. We were glad we planned our stops. We drove up to ten hours in a single day. At first the scenery was identical to Montana’s high desert with views toward distant mountains — except for the uniquely colorful badlands adjacent to I-94: Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We promised ourselves that we would explore it in on the return trip. Our first overnight stop was Bismarck ND.
The scenery began to change on our second day. We were driving through an endless forest. The trees were so tall on either side that it felt as if we were driving through a tunnel of trees. We stayed overnight in the Spirit Mountain neighborhood of Duluth MN. We left our excess fruits and veggies for the cleaning staff, realizing that this was the day we would cross the border. It was thrilling to catch our first glimpse of Lake Superior the next morning. The fall colors were at their peak, accentuated by the gorgeous blue of the Great Lakes. The views were spectacular, possibly even improved because of our slower speed. We received a text from Sam: he and Jen were suddenly confirmed to have the covid virus! We would have to wear masks, and we would not be able to have any fun outings with them — unlike our visit in 2021. This was no laughing matter: Drive 35 hours, deliver the load, and head right back to Montana? Not AT ALL the trip we had planned! But, life is full of ups and downs. At least the trailer was not giving us any trouble. We changed drivers frequently, and stayed alert.
After a long day traversing Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, we crossed the international bridge at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario as the sun set. We waited as the Canadian authorities inspected the contents of the trailer. We were grateful not to be asked to pull out and open each and every box! The two guards debated between them whether Sam must pay import duties to receive his own household goods. The air was getting colder, and we were now standing off to the side, in the dark. The one guard talked to Sam on our phone, and then confirmed the facts indoors on their own computer. The guards graciously forgave the lack of some particular piece of paper, because Sam’s immigration attorney had, in fact, handled paperwork correctly, and fortunately Sam had only recently received his full residency permit.
The next morning we walked the boardwalk along the Ste. Marie river, viewing the minor rapids which gave this city its name. (The “sault” is an ancient spelling related to the French “sauter” or jump. But on both sides of this border, “sault” is pronounced the English way: “Sue.”) Throughout Ontario and Quebec, merchants were happy to take our U.S. dollars, which was most helpful to us.
We had arranged to have international data on our phone, but in actual practice on this “premier transcontinental route,” cell phone coverage was spotty and unreliable. We had planned to tour the nickel mineral museum in Sudbury, Ontario but our phone was unable to direct us. I found myself driving a car with trailer, at rush hour, through road construction projects in an unfamiliar city, randomly turning corners to try to find this museum. Helpful Canadians directed us to the Costco store, where we could replenish the fruit and veggies we could not bring across the border. Fortunately our motel was just a few kilometers east of Sudbury, and right on the main highway.
Of course that evening in the motel, we wrote down the directions to Sam’s house, in case the cell phone map failed again. It was the fifth LONG day of driving, but the scenery was overwhelmingly beautiful, the weather perfect, and it was the LAST day with the trailer. We made it to Sam & Jen’s by 4:00, so of course we exerted ourselves to unload, so we could return the trailer, two miles away in the heart of Gatineau, Quebec. It’s a good thing that Sam gave us verbal directions, because the cell phone lost its signal before we got down the hill. It’s also a good thing that U-Haul has bright orange signs! We were so glad to unhook that trailer, and be finished with trailering — and even return the trailer a day early. Driverless U-Haul vans were lined up, so I went into the office, expecting to have to use my rusty French. A young man handled two returns simultaneously and efficiently. We found our way to Walmart, but it had closed at 5:00, and after phoning Sam, we found our way to a supermarket and then back to Sam’s.
By the time we returned, Sam had hauled all the boxes to the basement, although he was on his 6th day with covid. We oohed and ahhed at their lovely home, plugged in our blow-up bed, and warmed up our dinner. We had arrived!
The plan was for Sam & Jen to stay upstairs (bedrooms and bath), as we slept in the basement, using the main floor bathroom, and departing in the morning before they got up. We only spent a couple of hours together in the same room, playing Shanghai and Scrabble. As you can see, we were all in masks. And that turned out to be enough to keep us from getting covid! As the weeks have gone by, Sam has been happy to discover stuff he had forgotten in his boxes. We’ve received extra texts and phone calls as his “Christmas” came early this year. Of course, we are equally happy to have all this stuff out of our garage… This trip was definitely worth it.
The photos I did not lose are from the return trip. Another five days of driving… We by-passed Ottawa on the return trip, stopping at a scenic lake in North Bay — a much better place for tourists to stop than Sudbury.
The next day we stopped for lunch right along beautiful Lake Huron at Blind River:
(Click on a photo to make it big.) There was a sandy beach and playground, the typical bear-proof trash can, and an interesting historical sign. It boggles the mind to realize that ocean-going ships travel all the way through the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Beautiful fall colors…
We continued on to stay overnight again in Sault Ste. Marie. Ontario, getting more exercise on the boardwalk and inside the shopping mall. Next morning, without a trailer, it was perfectly easy to cross back into the United States.
There are so many interesting, touristy spots along the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We stopped at Munising MI, 45 minutes east of Marquette. There were boats waiting to take tourists to view the cliffs of the Pictured Rocks, even glass-bottomed boats to ride above the old shipwrecks. Instead we did a quick tour of the local museum, which featured large photos of the the Pictured Rocks.
We stopped for lunch along Lake Superior, just east of Marquette MI. It was slightly rainy, but we could hear the lapping of the waves from inside our car:
We kept our eyes open for Grizz Works in Maple WI. You can see why it caught my attention on the way to Quebec, and why I wanted to stop on the return trip:
Marty was relieved to know that I did not want a ten-foot-tall grizzly bear. He chose an eagle, which I imagined would suit our small backyard. The proprietor told us to coat it regularly with spar varnish. She actually seemed disappointed that this beautiful eagle was destined to be outdoors…
This eagle has grown on us. We realized it was truly a work of art! It now sits where a barstool would belong (if we had a barstool), in the heart of our great room. The rug allows me to position it differently from one day to the next. The photo does not do it justice…
We returned to the same reliable hotel in Duluth MN that night, but found a better one to try the next night, in Bismarck ND. Almost home! We stopped, as planned, at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but there was not time to see very much. It is a vast park with quite a variety of natural wonders to see. It tickled us to drive past a field of prairie dogs on display — because our own home is next to the prairie dogs, and we know them well! I would surely like to know what happened to all the photographs I took so carefully.
Ten days of driving, a few hours with our kids. Was it worth it? Sam obviously needed his stuff, sooner rather than later. Marty and I had a truly memorable trip, truly once in a lifetime — through the north woods at the peak of the fall season — with scarcely a photo to remember it by…
Next time we see Sam & Jen, they’ll look healthy again:
I am so glad I stayed up to play games with the sick kids. Jen is a jewel!
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