Hello again!

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days.  I've been through portions of northern Ontario that contain more Moose than people, so internet is nonexistent.  But oh what a beautiful drive it was.  After my last post I headed out of Algonquin to the west, slowly making my way north to Sudbury Ontario, along the way stopping at Killbear Provincial Park.  I had spent the previous night in a crappy little park and paid $35 bucks for it.  Not happy about that, I drove into Killbear without paying for a permit to tour the place.  Of course I got away with it.  The place was nice, albeit a bit cloudy for viewing the Georgian Bay.

Killbear PP view of Georgian Bay

Porcupine.  He was showing off his spikes for me.  He's cute from a distance.

I headed north to Sudbury, and then west on route 17, camping for the night in Chutes Provincial Park, an area that was used by loggers to help transport logs down the river.  Here's a picture of the chutes that the camp is named for...

Rapids used as logging chutes at Chutes PP

Saturday was the start of two days of lots of driving.  From Chutes PP, I continued on to Sault St. Marie, near the upper peninsula of Michigan.  I thought about crossing back into the states here and heading west via the Upper Peninsula.  But I wanted to check out Lake Superior PP, on the shores of Lake Superior, which was another 2 hour drive north into Ontario.  And am I ever glad I did.  I was so awed by the scenery of the Lake Superior shoreline that I decided to just drive all the way around the huge freaking lake.  As a reference for those of you that have never seen this part of Lake Superior, think the coast of Maine, only better, because its so unexpected.

Just north of Sault St. Marie.  Typical scene for the next 200 miles

A little piece of Lake Superior shoreline

Nothing but blue Lake Superior

Lake Superior Provincial Park

50mpg savior

Sandhill Crane seen in a field east of Sault St. Marie.  This bird is at the northeastern edge of its range here

Bald Eagle flying along cliffs of Lake Superior

The section of highway from Sault St. Marie is nothing but rugged coastline and boreal forests- so no more maple and oak trees.  It's all birch and pines, mainly tamarack and spruce.  And people are few and far between, as are gas stations.  At one point, I drove nearly 180 miles without a chance to fill up the tank.  Kind of scary when youre driving a car that has an 8 gallon tank. 

If you can't read English or French I guess youre screwed.

Wildlife along this drive from Sault St. Marie to Thunder Bay is bountiful.  Lots of cool birds, moose, and I even had a young black bear cross the highway in front of me.  And the best part was, because there really is nobody around, you can simply park your car on the side of the highway, and walk into the woods, without worrying about private property.  I did a lot of this.  It was quite fun, and fortunately never crossed paths with any moose or bear.

Boreal bog just off the highway

Hard to tell, but this is all regenerating forest as far as you can see from logging.  Logging companies own a lot of this land.  This was an area heavily impacted.  Other locations along the highway have a veil of trees along the road, with cleared forests just 30 yards off the road, giving the appearance of an undisturbed wilderness while you drive.

Highway 17W.  Not very busy. At all.

I spent the night (sunday night) in Neys PP on the north shore of Lake Superior.  If anyone ever makes their way up to these parts, I highly recommend this location.  It's situated on the longest stretch of sand beach on the lake, and my camp site was literally 30 paces from the driftwood covered beach.  It was an amazing location, and I arrived just in time to see the sun go down around 945 at night (there was light in the sky until nearly 1030 when youre this far north).  It's almost upsetting that I had to travel this far north to find such a beautiful area, but it was definitely worth the drive.

Sunset at Neys PP on the shores of Lake Superior.

Not a bad place to camp

10pm and im still just chillin on the beach

Shot out to the Pa state bird!  Ruffed Grouse drumming on his log. 

After some morning birding, I continued on to Thunder Bay, driving with relatively few interruptions in terms of bird stops.  I wanted to check out Sleeping Giant PP, a huge cliff face that stretches for nearly 30 miles along the shores of Lake Superior just north of Thunder Bay.  The drive down to the lookout was a bit tedious, being dirt roads for a good ten miles and driving at a snails pace to avoid potholes and deer which enjoyed playing games jumping out in front of my car.  But the view from the top was phenomenal, of course.  It was a cloudy afternoon, but I could see Thunder Bay in the distance, with its ominous looking smokestacks from the local power plants.  Otherwise, all you could see was lake superior in all directions, with jagged cliffed islands a few miles out.  Not too much going on bird-wise up here, but I finally was able to photograph one of the many Common Ravens I saw, a true northern resident.

View atop the sleeping giant.

2 inches of metal between me and a 200 foot drop

Worth the view?  Sleeping Giant PP

Common Raven

The rest of the day, I drove to Thunder Bay, which in the words of a friend whose been here before, "is kind of a shitty place".  I would have to agree with this statement.  For having a population of over 100,000 people, its not the prettiest looking place, and the gloomy gray skies I saw while traveling through it didn't help.  I'd been doing a lot of driving, so I went for a run through a town park to stretch my legs out.  I still felt kind of crappy and tired, but decided to try to make a dent in the driving I would have the next day to get to Fort Francis, 190 miles away.

Yup, that about sums up Thunder Bay.

I drove about an hour or so to Quetico PP, in the heart of the boreal forest just north of Minnesota.  This section of Ontario is part of an international wilderness area shared with Minnesota, in which the most common form of travel is by canoe in surrounding parks such as Voyageurs National Park and Boundary Waters Canoe Area, both in Northern Minnesota.  But the remoteness held another unexpected surprises.  I'd seen about 800 signs on my trip telling me to beware of Moose crossing at night.  It began to get dark and rain on the way there, and I hit a bird with my car:  NEVER a good omen as a birder.  Well wouldnt you know it, I almost hit a squirrel, and then a huge MOOSE jumped out in front of my car, and I had to swerve doing 60 to avoid it.  Another second and things wouldnt have been so pretty.  But I made it to my campsite on the edge of Quetico, and quickly set up my tent before things got too soggy, and went to sleep to the sound of Loons calling on the lake below me. 

Thanks for the warning.

Today, I made it to Fort Francis, and am about to cross into Minnesota at International Falls for a day and a night, before crossing back into Canada in Manitoba.  It's been an amazing trip so far, a little tiring, but I'm holding fast to my plan of travels for the most part.  Once I get to Manitoba, I plan on slowing down a bit on the driving, to give myself a chance to rest and just birdwatch for the enjoyment, and not worry so much about the driving.  Again, sorry for the delay in the posting. but finding wifi in Canada is not as easy as it is in the states.  I hope to report back again in a day or two.  And one other thing:  I made it to the central time zone!  Thats one check off the bucket list.

Mizzy Lake Trail, Algonquin

Wow, what a difference a night can make.  Expecting rain all day again today, I woke up to find the sun and blue skies!  I couldnt sleep much past 5:45 with all the birds already calling.  Their day had already started, so I figured mine might as well too.  Calling right outside my tent was an Alder Flycatcher, a bird I have heard quite a few times, but never been able to glimpse.  I found the little guy singing from the top of an Alder bush (appropriately named bird, huh?).  He sang once, then flitted off out of sight.  

This morning my goal was to walk through the bogs along the Mizzy Lake trail, an 11km trail that passes through two soggy ponds which host lots of cool and interesting birds and other wildlife.  From this trail, I've seen Moose, Otter, and even Black Bear.  Although I didnt see any of these, the birds were fantastic.  I walked along the dike that passes through the marshes for nearly 4 hours, turning up boreal gems like the Boreal Chickadee, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and a pair of Gray Jays, birds notorious for eating food out of the hands of hikers (not surprisingly, they have been nicknamed Camp Robbers).  I happened to have a bit of powerbar on me, and broke it into pieces, and sure enough, down they came, eating right out of my hand.  Such cool birds.  I know youre not supposed to feed wild animals, but its hard to pass up these guys.  Again, uploading problems, but pictures will follow.  Lots of other great birds around too, including Blackburian Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Ring-necked Ducks, and Wilson's Snipe to name a few.  And the beauty of this trail is its isolation:  I saw 2 people the entire time!  In fact, there aren't too many people in the park at all.  My campsite is a hundred yards from the nearest camper.  I guess the busy season doesn't start for a few more weeks. 

A gorgeous day on the Mizzy Lake Trail

He ate half my lunch

  My original plan was to stay in Algonquin one more night, but with the cost of a single overnight ($40), and the desire to explore the unexplored further north, I'm heading out today, heading northwest to the Georgian Bay where Ill camp for the night!  Until next time...

Black-throated Blue Warbler

It's all down hill from here...

Well, I made it through my first night alone.  Left dad behind yesterday, and except for one wrong turn that ended up just being a scenic detour, I made it to Algonquin.  Unfortunately, the sunny and 70 that I saw yesterday was nowhere to be seen today.  It was just plain miserable out.  48 and rainy.  And it stayed that way all day.  This was not the Algonquin that I was hoping to find, and it was especially inconvenient when trying to set up my tent without getting everything soaked.  But I did it!  Tent up, tarp up for cooking under.

home sweet home

Despite the poor whether, I tried my best to do some birding, along Opeongo Rd and the Spruce Bog Boardwalk.  The boardwalk was awful...the wind was blowing the rain sideways, and nobody wanted to be out singing, except for the Red-winged Blackbirds, which are always singing.  Opeongo Road was a bit better, lots of warblers, including Nashville, Chestnut-sided, and Yellow-rumped.  I also spotted two Moose along the highway!  Got pictures of both of them, unfortunately I'm having trouble uploading photos at the moment, so I'll post them later.  Dinner tonight consisted of 3 eggs scrambled and two hot dogs.  Simple meal that took an hour to cook under the tarp in the rain.  By the end of this trip, I expect to be a camping cook phenom.  After a cold and wet day, I showered up at the provided facilities, put on my pajama pants and jumped into my tent for the night.  I was out like a light.  Mother nature certainly had it in for me today.

young bull moose having a picnic

At the cabin

I arrived Tuesday afternoon at our cabin in Elgin, Ontario.  A relatively easy drive, except for the border patrol officer who pulled me over and made me wait 45 minutes at customs.  I guess my story of driving across country for the sake of sight seeing sounds a little far-fetched for a kid just graduated driving a car that doesnt belong to him.  They eventually let me pass.  Now I'm in Canada!  Spent the rest of the day figuring out camping equipment and whatnot.  Went to the local diner in Elgin and got a nice pizza with dad.
  Wednesday was gorgeous!  The lake was as calm as could be and the sun was shining.  I went bird watching back to the beaver pond and found the Great Blue Heron on her nest with at least one chick in it.  I also found the nests of a Tree Swallow and Common Grackle.  The water levels around the area are extremely high.  I eventually walked so far around the beaver pond that I couldn't get back the way I had planned due to a swamp that stood in my way.  So I had to hike out to the main road (Davis Lock Road), and trudge the 2 or so miles back to the cabin that way.  It ended up being a great decision, because I found 2 singing male Golden-winged Warblers, a bird that is threatened in North American, with only isolated breeding populations, one of which is in the Rideau region where I'm staying. 

The beaver pond

Great Blue Heron on nest at the beaver pond

 Dad and I later went to the locks at Jones Falls where the high water has created somewhat of a mini Niagara Falls spewing from Sand Lake down into Whitefish Lake.  Let's just say that if you got caught in these rapids, you'd be smashed to bits.  It was quite impressive.  After dinner at a lobster house in Gananoque, we drove back to the cabin, where I finished up packing for the rest of the trip all on my own. 

Now I'm off to Algonquin Provincial Park, one of the larger parks in Ontario with a more northern feel to it.  Lots of bogs and spruce trees and great scenery.  Lions and tigers and bears oh my!  Not quite... but bears and wolves are residents within the park.  I only hope any interactions with these animals are from a distance.  Not sure about internet access up there, so I'll report back when I can! 

Here We GO!

So this summer, I am doing a road trip....across the country...by myself.  I know to some this may seem a little crazy, and perhaps it is.  But this is an adventure that I have been looking forward to for nearly 8 years.  I originally came up with the idea to travel around our great nation in 8th grade.  I thought it would be the best way to see all of the natural beauty of the United States, as well as a great opportunity to see some really cool birds (in case some of you following this didn't know, bird watching is a huge hobby of mine). 
  So I told myself that as soon as I graduated from high school, I would hit the road.  Then I wised up and realized the importance of getting a college education, so decided to postpone my trip.  As the years went by in college, I began to realize that it might just be possible to make this trip happen come graduation from Ithaca.
  And that's where I stand now.  I'm heading out today, leaving Ithaca and driving north to our cabin in Elgin, Ontario, which is about 3 hours north of here in Canada.  Ill be picking up all of our camping equipment, going over some of the logistics of the trip with my dad, and then hitting the road westward a day or two later. 
I don't have a strict schedule for this grand trip, and thats how I want it to be.  I plan on traveling on my own time, slowly making my way across Canada and the US, eventually reaching the California coast before heading home again in early August. 
I will continue posting throughout the summer, whenever I can find a wifi location.  I hope all of you enjoy this blog, as I am definitely looking forward to letting you all know what I am up to.  A big thanks to everyone who supported me in my dream to make this trip a reality.  This is going to be exciting!