Anyway, I was able to get into the park for a mere $3, so who could pass that up? The park was typical of everything in Canada, very clean, very well-laid-out, and pretty impressive. The falls drop a hundred feet or so on the Kakabeka River and they have nice viewing areas that overlook the falls. Anyway, take a look at these pics:
Highway 17 runs clear across southern Ontario to the border with Manitoba, a distance of close to 1,000 miles. There are a few sizable towns along the route (Thunder Bay, Kenora, and that's about it) and a few small wide spots in the road, not all of which even have a gas station. I've re-learned the lessons from the Alaska Highway..."Never Pass Gas!" There's no telling how far the next gas station is.
Along the highway near Upsala I stopped at one of the many picnic areas and took a couple pictures of one of the myriad of lakes in the area, some very small and several quite large:
And further along at Jackfish Lake, I found this guy in a pretty fancy canoe:
I have been seeing quite a few motorcycles all along Hwy 17, some singles, some in groups of two or three, and several groups of 20 or so riders. I stopped in Ignace for gas and there was a group of about 15 bikers standing around talking to each other when one of them came up to me to tell me about some construction delays up the road in Dryden. About the time he was talking to me, his buddies hopped on their bikes and took off. Off guard, the guy talking to me turned, ran over to his bike, hopped on, started it up, and promptly ran into the ice bag freezer. It was then that I noticed the back of his (leather, of course) jacket. He had "colors" on the back, "Hells Angels Ontario." I decided not to laugh at his predicament and instead helped him get his bike picked up and be on his way.
Anyway, I finished gassing up and rode about a mile down the road and stopped to get some coffee. I sat out front on a picnic table and started talking to an older guy who had his bike parked next to the road. I told him about my new friend and he said to look across the street, there were about 50 or so of them in a gas station. He said they'd been coming through town for two days now in groups of anywhere from 20 to 100, all headed west.
I looked at these guys and I swear, it looked like a convention of accountants. It reminded my of John Travolta and his buddies in "Wild Hogs". I've seen some of the Hells Angels in the states, and believe me, those are some nasty, mean, criminals. These guys looked like a bunch of motorcycle novices who had taken a week-long holiday with a bunch of their buddies. Maybe I'd fit in?
Tomorrow it's off to Winnipeg, Manitoba and points west.
Miles today: 318
Total: 2,217
