RV Trip 11 covers our visit to Winnipeg, attending the Winkler RV Rally, returning from Winnipeg via Highway 11 through Northern Ontario and lastly going into Wiarton for the Ontario Sunrisers rally. The total distance covered over the month of travel was 4664 kms and here is a link showing the full map of this RV trip (RV Trip 11 Full Map). We started the trip off driving to Tobermory in order to take the Chi-Cheemaun ferry to Manitoulin Island and we had a sunny calm day for the crossing. This time we took the 1:30 pm departure which worked much better as we had time in the morning to finalize packing and it meant we arrived in Chutes PP at a much better time of day (the last time we got there in the dark).

The following day we decided to take a side road to go to a restaurant named Lucey Loo’s for lunch and it turned out it was right beside the world’s largest Loonie😉 A local artist named Robert Ralph Carmichael had designed the loonie which launched in 1987 and he was from this area, Echo Bay. He also designed the statue which was erected in 1993. It was surprising to us with all the trips we’ve taken to Winnipeg that we had never ventured off the road to see this statue. I guess that shows you it’s always beneficial to take the road less travelled. Right beside the statue was a short boardwalk trail to see the Lake George Coastal Wetland with lots of birds and flower species.

After the Loonie stop, we got ripped off for Diesel in Sault Ste. Marie (Gas Buddy was very wrong) and then headed north with our usual stop at Chippewa Falls (the halfway point of the Trans Canada Highway) and the water was barely running in comparison to usual. That evening we camped at Lake Superior PP Agawa Bay campground and unfortunately all we could get was a back row site which was right beside the Trans Canada Highway, so you hear the trucks all night. Also we didn’t get a sunset as a rain front was coming in and it rained through the night and into the next day. In the morning we stopped at the museum (which we have seen before) and got lucky as we timed it to hear a ranger presentation on the Luna Moth.  A few years ago, we had a Luna Moth come down our fireplace and didn’t get back out so we had a connection to the Moth of the Day.

It was unfortunate that we had rain that day as we were driving through one of the prettiest sections of the Lake Superior shoreline.  Once we reached Rainbow Falls Whitesand campground we pulled into empty our tanks and get fresh water, the sun was coming back out so the hike down to the bridge and back was quite enjoyable. Then we proceeded to Rossport campground where we had site 12 which was directly on the water of Lake Superior😉 We did a hike south along the rocky shore as far as we could go and then after dinner went to our usual spot to see another great Lake Superior sunset.

The next day was our longest driving day on our way to Winnipeg at 650 kms (Rainbow Falls PP to Rushing River PP) so Sharon did part of the driving. We did our usual stop for lunch at the Terry Fox Memorial since we would be doing the event in a couple of weeks. In Rushing River PP, we tried a new section of the campground at the far end since this section had not been open when we had come here in the past, usually in September. It was an unserviced site but had a nice trail down to the water with no campsites anywhere around. The site was very unlevel though so even with all our blocks we couldn’t reach level. The sky was hazy from some of the forest fire smoke.

We found out our friend Kyle Daun was at his family cottage on Caddy Lake in Whiteshell PP so after a quick stop by Rushing River (the park’s namesake) headed to Kyle’s. He had rented a small aluminium boat so we could go around Caddy Lake and in turn go through the 2 tunnels. The tunnels were constructed when the railway lines (both CPR and CN) came through the area, the tunnels restored the drainage flow between the lakes. Many people canoe or kayak through the tunnels, so you blow a whistle before entering to make sure you don’t encounter anyone else within the tunnels. The first tunnel was quite high and relatively short, but the second tunnel was quite a challenge getting through with the boat, you really had to watch your head (as you will see in the video)! After we got through the tunnels we stopped on shore for some lunch and watched the loons on the lake. Kyle tried to take us further north, but we hit some rocks and he cut the engine and then we had some trouble getting it restarted. We started to think we might have to camp overnight but eventually we got it going again. As we went back through the tunnels the wind really started to pick up and the lakes were getting choppy. We were sure glad we hadn’t decided to paddle with canoes or kayaks! In fact, we found out later that several kayaker’s we had seen had to be rescued as they could not paddle back against the wind. It was great to see Kyle and see the cottage we had heard him talk about many times before.

On our way to Winnipeg, we stopped in New Bothwell to get our favourite cheese at the Bothwell cheese factory (we spent over $200 on cheese😉). That evening Brian and Susan came over, so we got to return to sender the Elvis panel. Then we went out for a nice dinner at Santa Anna Pizzeria for dinner. On Saturday night we had a Birthday celebration for me at Brian and Susan’s.

From September 6 to 9^th, we attended the Leisure Travel Van RV Rally in Winkler Manitoba. This year they increased the number of RV’s allowed by 50% to 120 total. Consequently, they had staggered check in times so the RV’s wouldn’t back up onto the highway. We ended up with an excellent campsite right beside the lake and just had one other RV parked by us. The couple was from Arizona but they had a cottage (and driveway host location) in Barry’s Bay Ontario so we might visit them when we’re heading towards Ottawa. At the rally it turned out there were 10 couples from our Ontario Sunrisers Travel Club so we had lots of meals with this group. We always say going to the Winkler rally is like going to adult camp. They have tons of activities for you to do and the Bible Camp where it is held puts on great meals 3 times per day. During the rally we attended some technical presentations, had a popsicle social on the beach, had an excellent presentation on coffee roasting, went to the Dead Horse Cider Company, did some Mountain Bike riding, zip lining, and archery, and were entertained by a band named the Supersonic Hearts. We had a fantastic time meeting people and enjoying the activities.

If you would like to watch a 4 minute video that LTV did for the rally where Sharon and I both got interviewed here is the link: 2023 Leisure Travel Vans Rally – YouTube

Once we were back in Winnipeg, we did several family things for the next week which included: watching the deer in Edie’s yard, attending a classic car show, celebrating Sharon’s birthday at the Bonfire Bistro, visiting with Sue and Rob, going out to lunch with John and Christine at Gather Craft Kitchen and seeing The Leaf Arboretum at Assiniboine Park, and doing the Terry Fox ride at the St. Norbert MTB loop.

We also had the pleasure of attending Elsa and Patrick’s lovely wedding at the Scandinavian Cultural Centre.

For the trip home we decided to do an extra 1,000 kms so we could see some new areas and Provincial Parks along Highway 11. On the first day we went from Winnipeg down to Fort Frances and on to Quetico PP where we had booked our favourite unserviced site #14. We like this site because you are directly on French Lake and there aren’t any other campsites close by. I even took the opportunity to go for a quite chilling swim in order to take a picture of the shoreline.

The next day we were heading to MacLeod PP near Geraldton Ontario on Highway 11. However, in keeping with our theme of seeing new things we detoured off the Trans Canada Highway to see the small town of Red Rock. This town was known for it’s second world war German POW camp from July 1940 to October 1941. Sharon’s grandfather on her mom’s side was stationed as a guard at this camp. We had lunch by the harbour and then went into the museum to learn more about the POW camp. We also found out that they let you camp for free right by the harbour, so we’ll likely take advantage of this on a future trip to Winnipeg. In the museum they also had a cool video, it was like you were inside a submarine exploring the fish species in the Nipigon River Basin. We carried on through Nipigon and turned onto Highway 11 which we had never done before. The scenery at the beginning of the drive was quite beautiful but we were totally shocked how many transport trucks were driving the other direction. By the time we reached Macleod PP I had counted 192 transport trucks in a 160 km section of the road!!! We filled up on diesel in Geraldton and then MacLeod PP was just a few kms down the road. We had a campsite by the water, and we hiked around all the areas of the park to check it out since it was our first time here.

Leaving MacLeod PP, we were heading for Rene Brunelle PP. We stopped in Longlac to learn about its history and in Mattice-Val Cote to learn about the Missinaibi Waterway PP (mainly a canoe route PP). This park includes the Missinaibi, Moose, and Michipicoten rivers and terminates in James Bay at Moose Factory. If we had more time, it would have been interesting to take the day train up and back to Moose Factory, we’ll save that for another time. Further along Highway 11 we stopped at the Reesor Siding monument (although the train track crossing wasn’t really designed to handle an RV). This was the site of the one of the bloodiest clashes in Canadian Labour history in 1963 with 3 strikers being killed and 8 more wounded. In Kapuskasing we stopped to see the railroad museum and learn about the development of the town and the pulp and paper industry. We had a quick stop in Moonbeam to see the flying saucer and then went to Rene Brunelle PP. When Sharon went to check in the ranger asked if we wanted to move to a better site that was right beside the site we had booked, so of course we said sure. What an amazing site right on the lake! It turned out that the seasonal campers from that site had left a few days before, so it was now open. What we found in most of the parks along Highway 11 was that the Provincial Parks seemed to be about 70% seasonal leaving fewer sites for transient guests like us. I went for a swim in the lake and then we had a Prosecco celebration while watching the sunset😉

The next morning before leaving we did the La Vigilance trail which had sign boards commemorating the early bush pilots who flew HS-2L Flying Boats in this area for forest fire or aerial timber patrols. We drove to the other end of the park to do the Spruce Lowland trail and saw a Bear Den, a black ash stand and a spruce bog. We had a stop in Smooth Rock Falls to see the bridge and then in Cochrane to see the Polar Bear at the visitor centre. Sharon had read that there was a Tim Horton’s Museum in the community centre in Cochrane but when we arrived there we couldn’t find it. We asked someone and she said it had been closed due to a city worker strike but she would turn the lights on for us so we could go through. It was a small museum but told Tim’s full life story, so we found it interesting. Our destination was Kettle Lakes PP but, we stopped in Porquis Junction to see the 23’ Guy-Paul Treefall sculpture. The main reason I wanted to go to Kettle Lakes PP was because it had MTB trails. After we got setup in our site we went and completed all of the trails which was just over 10 kms. On the yellow trail there were signs saying watch out for bears and we actually saw 3 black bears (couldn’t get a photo) checking us out and running off into the bush. The red trail was listed as advanced, but I think that was just because of a large hill where I reached a speed of 46 kph. At the end we learned about why it was called Kettle Lakes and saw one of the lakes.

The next morning before leaving Kettle Lakes we did the short Oh-Say-Yah-Wah-Kaw trail through the forest and along the shore of some more of the Kettle Lakes. It was very rolling terrain so a good work out before carrying on with our drive. Along the drive we went through Thornloe and stopped at the cheese factory for lunch and to buy some more cheese. As we headed south towards North Bay we started to see lots more fall colours along the highway. At one point the police were directing us off the highway due to an accident so we had to take a dirt road to bypass and then rejoin Highway 11. Our destination was Mikisew PP and we had booked a campsite right beside Eagle Lake so naturally I had to go for another swim. After supper we did the short Lakeview Trail.

Before leaving the next day we decided to do a 5 km hike on the Beaver Meadow and Old Dog trails. At one point 2 young girls asked us for directions so I told them which way the trail went but they didn’t seem to believe me, and they didn’t follow us so not sure if they ever got out😉 We cleaned our tanks as we left the park and returned home.

We were home for a couple of days and then we headed into Bluewater Park Campground in Wiarton so I could host my last Ontario Sunrisers rally. We had fantastic weather for the rally, although a bit windy the first night. We had 60 people in attendance, so we pretty well took all the transient sites in the park. We had a check-in process the first day followed by potluck appetizers and then a campfire. The next day we took 34 people on a hike to the Corran at Spirit Rock Conservation area. We found out later that the conservation area was actually closed to visitors as they were fixing the mortar on the ruins but since we had walked from the campground we had no idea. That evening we had a great roast beef dinner at the legion followed by a local area history talk by a retired schoolteacher. On Thursday we had a show and tell discussion, an afternoon craft making a Welcome Stake at the local scrapbooking store and finished off the day with a question and answer discussion and another campfire. Luckily one of the first-time attendees agreed to step up as the new club leader so I will just stay on for the transition and as a communications coordinator for the club. Here are a few pictures from that rally.

RV Trip 11 was another great adventure with lots of new places to visit, special times with family, and the camaraderie of fellow LTV owners at the rallies. Now time to start planning the next big adventure.