Thursday, October 10, 2019

Sault Ste Marie Ontario to Sudbury Ontario

We didn't leave the hotel this morning until 9:20 AM. After negotiating our way through the construction morass that was Bay Street, we stopped at McDonald's for some breakfast to go and hit the road.

Bay Street

Don't think this will be finished before the snow flies


Mennonite wagon near Thessalon


Mississagi River across from MacIver's Motel

Another angle of the same bridge


Blind River is getting more fast food

Still mostly green here


Memories of my youth

The skyline will be bare when the stack is gone....

We arrived back in town after 1:00. The weather was nice enough that I called Leo and we headed out to the golf course to squeeze in nine holes.

Today's Route (202 Equinox miles):

Wednesday, October 09, 2019

Agawa Canyon Tour Train

The breakfast room at the hotel was huge. It opened at 6:30 AM and was immediately inundated with tourists ready for a day on the train. We met a nice couple from Northern Kentucky who were in town just for the ride.

Arriving in the parking lot at 7:00 AM, we were just in time to see the train pull in. Nineteen cars and not an empty seat in any of them. This was a lucrative business for the Algoma Central and all the hotels and restaurants nearby.


Agawa Canyon Tour Train Map

Dawn comes late this time of year

But the train was right on time

We boarded Coach 3, as counted from the front of the train. They had changed our assignment a while back but the ticket agent said we had come out ahead. This car did not have two double rows of seats. Rather, it had one double row and one single plus a non-operational bar in the middle of the car.

Sandy getting aboard

The two opposite seats were taken by two very nice retired school teachers from southern Ontario, Carol and Janice.

The train pulled out at 7:30 sharp. I had my Canon Rebel with the Sigma 18-250 lens, which allowed me more flexibility in getting the shots I wanted. But one I missed right at the beginning was a bald eagle flying through a valley below us. We did have coupons for lunch sandwiches that we picked up in the "dining" car along the way. Our view was out the west facing windows looking towards Lake Superior.






Screen in car shows the engineer view







Montreal River






Once we reached Agawa Canyon, we got off the train with the warning to be back on time or it was a long walk home. We had two choices. Walk to the waterfalls or climb 250 feet of stairs to the overlook. Carol and I chose the stairs while Sandy and Janice decided to stay on level ground.

Carol, Janice and Sandy




The start of the climb

Let's do it

I can see our train from here




At the top

Looking remarkably unstressed after the climb



Back on the ground, Carol and I decided we had enough time to see some waterfalls. We saw them all before getting back to the train just in in time. I lost some pictures because the camera setting wheel got bumped from my programmed automatic setting to aperture priority, which was set too open. This resulted in some severe over-exposures before I realized and corrected the error.







The train started the return trip on time. We did not switch sides so got another view of the same scenery on the way back.


This is a cool scene


Loggers still ship via ACR









We arrived back in the Soo about 5:30, ahead of the posted time.



It was tricky getting out of the parking lot. I called Rabbi and we met him back at the casino for another supper. Then it was back to the Days Inn to relax and get ready to head home tomorrow.