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.
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The morning light was perfect. There were no mosquitoes and the air was cool. Perfect for a pug walk.
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The hikers trail helped to contain the fire because over the years, the hikers had stomped out the oxygen from the ground.
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It was now time to snuggle into the back seat and have a nap until we get to Sault Ste Marie.
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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.
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The rocks added just the texture the photo needed. Goodbye Gitchee Gumee.
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Yes, Sault Ste Marie is quite the port city. It is a juncture between Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.
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Look – we found a Poutine Festival!!
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We chose this vendor because he had a water bowl out. He even asked me if the dogs needed more water in the bowl.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A “saltie” ship was passing in the background.
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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.
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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.
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What would a Canada Day weekend be without Poutine and then Beavertails.
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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.
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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.
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A plaque, in Objibway, English and French, explains the importance of the St. Mary’s River system to the opening up of this country.
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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.
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