The Transition from Superior to Huron

Thursday, June 28th – Sault Ste. Marie to Oliphant, Ontario - Day 166 

The alarm went at 8am which wasn’t appreciated. No breakfast or coffee in the trailer today, we had a date with the Breakfast Pig, an eatery Gen found recommended on ioverlander. We were in the parking lot beside the visitor centre, so the Jo-Ce took the kids to visit while we packed up. The Breakfast Pig was fantastic; the fried chicken eggs benedict on waffles was delicious. 

The day started to speed up a little bit. We mapped in our trip to the Manitoulin ferry and found out it was a 4.5-hour drive. This left us with three hours to spare. We went to the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site where a lock transitions boats from the higher Lake Superior, past the St. Marys River rapids, to the lower Lake Huron. We were able to walk across the locks and over two islands to get a view of the rapids. 

 Hurrying back to the car, we drove through the downtown towards Algoma University where a former residential school has been transformed to a school building with an exhibit on the first floor. We didn’t have that much time, we read some powerful statements on the process of forced assimilation endorsed by the Canadian government and the hurt done to Indigenous people by the residential school system. 

We were left with forty minutes available to spend between Sault Ste. Marie and Manitoulin Island, so we started to drive. Our stops featured the giant Loonie in Echo Bay, a stop in Thessalon where Jo-Ce had spent some time in her youth as a junior ranger, a bathroom break in Serpent River and ice cream cones in Espanola. We had to drive straight to the ferry terminal and arrived with seven minutes to spare. 

The Chi-Cheemaun ferry is a beautiful boat. The native artwork on the boat is very colourful and the sight of it entering the harbour was powerful. We spent most of the hour and three-quarter ride on the deck admiring the sunset on Lake Huron on a lovely warm day. 

 When we reached Tobermory at 9:30pm, we drove the hour to Oliphant to set-up the camper at the cottage. Mary and Mary Catherine were there to welcome us after our long trip. We had a great night hanging out with each other.