From Pukaskwa National Park to Sault Ste Marie.
This was a short drive so we had one last walk on the fire trail. Later I stopped to take one last photo of Lake Superior.
It was a very hot day when we got to the Soo so the pugs did intermittent cool downs in the hotel room. Sault Ste Marie is a wonderful city and very dog friendly. We saw many dogs on walks on the boardwalk throughout the day.
Driving music: The birthday made me feel nostalgic so listened to the Woodstock playlist on Spotify – the music of my tender, rebellious youth.
Because we didn’t have a long drive, we did a morning walk before leaving. Part of the Coastal trail shows an area where they did a controlled burn. It was partly done as a training excercise for the fire department.
The morning light was perfect. There were no mosquitoes and the air was cool. Perfect for a pug walk.
The hikers trail helped to contain the fire because over the years, the hikers had stomped out the oxygen from the ground.
It was now time to snuggle into the back seat and have a nap until we get to Sault Ste Marie.
Well, we just couldn’t leave without one more view of Lake Superior. I dont’ exactly know where this was – about an hour from the Soo. Didn’t realize it was a pebble beach because we hiked down from the road.
The rocks added just the texture the photo needed. Goodbye Gitchee Gumee.
Yes, Sault Ste Marie is quite the port city. It is a juncture between Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.
Look – we found a Poutine Festival!!
We chose this vendor because he had a water bowl out. He even asked me if the dogs needed more water in the bowl.
There weren’t that many trees around and it was a hot day. But French fries and gravy made it okay. We found a shady grassy spot beside a building.
We got back and they had a bath. The bottom of the bathtub had sand from Grasslands to Tofino to Lake Superior. Decided to not show a photo of that. It quickly cooled them down.
While the pugs were napping I went down for a pint. It’s the Delta hotel and they specialize in local craft beer. This is from Manitoulin Brewery which I hope to catch when we visit Manitoulin Island.
After their nap we went along the river boardwalk. There is both a wooden boardwalk for pedestrians and a separate paved trail for bicycles and joggers. The Roberta Bondar Park is in the back along with a Beavertails shop. And Eve may have spotted a hot dog cart.
A “saltie” ship was passing in the background.
A statue dedicated to William Orazietti, a dog sled musher from the Sault. He died while trying to save his 9 dogs in the icy water.
The trail has some interesting signage along the way. Here is a plaque to Anna Jameson – a author who travelled to Sault Ste Marie in 1837 on her own. She later wrote about her travels.
What would a Canada Day weekend be without Poutine and then Beavertails.
Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut into space was from Sault Ste Marie. Behind the park is Roberta Bondar Place – an Ontario government building.
On stage at the Roberta Bondar tent. They have a big Canada Day planned but it does not start until 2 and we will be gone by then.
A plaque, in Objibway, English and French, explains the importance of the St. Mary’s River system to the opening up of this country.
Back at the hotel to cool down. Hanging out in the lobby. The Delta desk person said it was fine for them to sit on the couch – as I say, a very friendly dog city.
