9/04/08 -Pancake Bay

Captain’s Blog

We drove the 40 miles to Pancake Bay this morning and were able to get a great site on the shores of Lake Superior at Pancake Bay Provincial Park. As mentioned Pancake Bay is about 40 miles from Sault St. Marie and got its name in the era of fur traders, who travelled back and forth each year between Fort William and Montreal. On the downward journey the traders would camp on the bay; by this time they would be running low on food and often nothing but flour remained. They would make pancakes for their dinner, knowing that they would be able to replenish their supplies the next day at Sault, hence the name Pancake Bay.

The Provincial parks in Canada are much like the state parks in Michigan – very expensive with no amenities. The charge was $37.50 for just an electric hook-up. Of course it took us forever to find sites with electric hook-ups because they hide the electrical outlets in the bushes. The parks are not set up for big rigs and it was a challenge getting the RV down the entrance road. In fact Ron could not drive into the drive-thru site because there were too many trees in the way. He had to drive around to the next road and back in – no easy feat.

After settling in and taking a nap – we were very tired from that long 40-mile drive we headed out on a 3-mile nature hike along the shores of Superior. It was very beautiful and a fairly easy hike. One section of the trail crosses a cedar swamp with a variety of wetland vegetation. The main attraction on the trail is a huge erratic boulder that was carried from some distance place more then 10,000 years ago by receding glaciers.

About 2/3 of the way into our hike it started to rain giving the forest a very eerie look and feel. We did get soaked but enjoyed the hike anyway. Jewel was covered in mud and required a bath upon arrival back to the RV. She wasn’t pleased but survived the ordeal and smelled quite nice after the bath. She has been a fun travel companion and loves to hike without complaint.

I did manage to come away from that hike with three huge, painful bites on my left neck. Hopefully, I will not be infected with some dread mosquito virus.

As we watched the light recede over Lake Superior a gray cast developed that disappeared as the sky and water finally became one. There were no moon or stars for light making it pitch black and making one feel like we were in a deep dark tunnel. It was great for sleeping though.