Hearst to Dryden

The drive from Hearst to Dryden has its moments, but is mainly boring.  I'll just add a few things about yesterday.

First of all, I forgot to mention spotting two Sandhill Cranes by the side of the road near North Bay.  I also didn't make any pictures of the many lupines that were in the road ditches, usually near houses...

At supper last night, I spoke with an Ottawa chap who was finishing the achievement of a life-long dream: he drove from Ottawa to Seatle and was on his way back to Ottawa: I think he said 1800 kms in 16 days on a motorcycle.  He did sport a weird tan: just the part not covered by his padded helmet.  I should have asked to make a picture.  Turns out he also went to Ottawa U and we have some mutual acquaintances.  Even stranger, he worked in the federal government and knew of my Dad!  Small world sometimes.

As I looked out this morning, the noisy passenger touring train was gone, I could even hear the air conditioning! Yea!  There was another train, the one full of wood that you just see pulling out.  The rent-me container makes me wonder how many of these things are just paid automatically and never really serve a useful purpose... but I digress.

This might be a better shot to give you an idea of the size of that gantry that picks up long poles like they were toothpicks.

The day on the road started with the spotting of another sandhill crane foraging along the highway; quite impressive.  I had hoped to see and possibly shoot some Bald Eagles today, but didn't spot a single one!  Maybe it's not quite the right season, since we did see many when we drove through in late summer a few years back.

I did manage to see three black bears, and signs of beaver damage.  Unfortunately, there were no moose at the crossings, so I couldn't shoot them either.

Towards mid-afternoon I pulled off at a look-out that overlooked Ignace, a mere blip in the middle of nowhere on the Trans-Canada.

One good thing about today was the presence of puffy white clouds that graced the sky almost all day.  I'm sure they have a more proper name, but puffy white will have to do for now.

In case you couldn't see where all the action is, even after clicking on the picture to see it larger, here's a close-up. I agree, it isn't much...  ... pretty wild neighbourhood though.

Of course, there can be a few losers, in this case, a few blobs of dried meat in assorted colours.  I'm sure these critters will get their revenge by sticking on tightly when I get around to washing the car.  Mind you, they're getting some help from the 30ºC baking all day.

For those interested, gas in Ottawa was about $1.26 when I left, in North Bay it was $1.17, in Thunder Bay [at the head of Lake Superior] it was $1.39, and here in Dryden it's $1.43.  At this rate it will be over $2 when I get to Alberta where they get the stuff...  Jeezz

Oh well, you don't travel to save money, and so far it's working.