Leaving Atikokan, we eventually joined up Hwy 17 and continued on into Thunder Bay.Once again, a drive through, around, up and down just to get a flavour of the place, but, as we had no intention of stopping there, we didn't linger. Actually quite depressing..the turn down in the economy is very evident in Ontario, so many empty buildings, for sale signs and a sense of dreariness seams to pervade some of the towns.

We were now following along the shore line of Lake Superior and enjoying the many stunning views; tempting to stop at every one but you would need years to travel this route to do that. This night we turned into another small town called Marathon. It was a few KMs off the highway so we knew it should be quiet. One thing I cannot get over is how small the houses are in these towns. Squat, square and two stories high and all the same design. The only thing that seems to change is the colour and maintenance. And, appears they were all built at the same time. New construction is a little different in design, but not in the size.

We parked in another Lions Club run park and this time had the benefit of 50AMP power, plus water and sewer. This was a beautiful little park, on a small lake (Lake Superior was on the other side of town) and only two other rigs in the whole park. Quiet and peaceful and no lights to shine in the bedroom windows! We were able to get out the BBQ and enjoy a very lazy evening. The young gal attendant came over to us before she went off shift to adivse a Tornado warning had been given for the area and advised where we should go if the storm hit. It was quite breezy so we were concerned of course, but it turned out to be a non even..thanks goodness and had a very good night.

In the a.m., we took advantage of our spot and washed the bus. Up to this point it was still covered in SK & MB gumbo and muck and looked quite unloved. Even with our washing it, the gumbo has left markes on the finish. It will take some heavy scrubbing to get those off so will have to wait until we are settled somewhere for a few days before we can tackle that.

It was 1:45 before we hit the road again. Deliberated whether to stay put as it was a late time to be going, but figured we could make Sault Ste Marie by dinner time. Another breathtaking drive of stunning vistas and now we were seeing lots of campgrounds, lodges, resorts..obviously getting into popular tourists areas. We did arrive at the KOA just north of "SOO" and still had enough time to park the bus and take the car to see the city. Lots of history here and just love the old brick buildings. Our main goal was to find a drug store and load up on cough medicine again..this is really getting to be a pain!!

We had thought of whether or not to drive the bridge over to the USA side but the views from Soo were quite good so decided not to waste one of our allotment of 182 days. Soo is another city that is showing signs of a depressed economy with many empty buildings showing the signs of lack of attendance.

Back at the bus, threw some pre-cooked ribs in the oven (which we had picked up at M&M in Marathon) so that, with a salad made a nice later dinner. It was a lovely evening and we were able to sit outside until well after dark..no mosquitoes!

Both Dale and I had coughing fits throughout the night so when we finally quieted down and got back to sleep it was around 5:30 a.m., this resulted in both of us sleeping in quite late. Don't know what time Dale got up but know it was (9:30 a.m. for me!). Made porridge for him and we got the bus ready to travel, finally on the road at 11:00.

We are now only 45 KMs out of Sudbury. We will be stopping here for fuel at the Flying J; our last fill was just before we got into Winnipeg so this one will be an expensive one. From Sudbury we will turn due south; not sure where we will stop but will start looking for a spot around 4:30 or is. Something will turn up but if not, it won't be the first time we've slept on the side of the road. That's one good thing about being totally self sufficient.

Till next time.....