Road trip to Algoma - Part I

                With the long weekend coming up in August, we wanted to do a road trip to any other province outside Ontario. But the ever-changing travel restrictions made us a bit skeptical about that, which forced us to plan within Ontario itself. Our plan was to book a RV or a van since we were 9 people, but we were too late to go for booking and most of the better and less-expensive RVs had already gone booked weeks, if not months before, by then. At last, we had to rent two SUVs for the trip, for which we had to sacrifice the fun of everyone being together throughout the trip. Finally, on that Friday midnight we began our ride from Mississauga in a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Hyundai Tucson, to our destination - The Algoma District.

        Algoma is a district in the Northeastern part of Ontario along the banks of Lake Huron and parts of Lake Superior. It’s around 700kms away from Mississauga, and is famous for its rugged scenery comprising lakes, hills, waterfalls, forests and many more. So, obviously this place presents lots of opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking and whatnot. Towns in this district are sparsely populated and communities mostly constitute of retired people leading a calm and relaxed lifestyle. The mesmeric nature with ample options for activities and the quiet towns make this a perfect place for a summer gateway, along with the scenic roads to this part of Ontario making it a major road trip destination as well.

         It was just past midnight when we left Mississauga marking the beginning of the 7 plus hours journey. As the early morning sunlight started shining far in the horizon, gorgeous scenes were unfolding in front of our eyes. The Trans   Canada highway with countless number of lakes and waterbodies besides it throughout, looks magical in the early morning sunlight. The fog rising unto a maximum of couple of meters above the ground in the surrounding grasslands and farms made it feel like we were driving amidst thin patches of clouds. This was a phenomenon I was seeing for the first time. 

         There weren’t too many towns on the way, which means our only option for a quick coffee or snack is to wait for the next Tim Hortons or MacDonalds to appear, which happens after every 1 hour if we are lucky. There are literally no OnRoutes(a complex beside the highway with food and gas outlets) as well, after Barrie. By 10.30 in the morning we reached the first destination of the itinerary, the Bruce Mines.

Bruce Mines Museum

          Bruce Mines is a small but beautiful town located in the shores of Lake Huron. This town is well-knows as Canada’s first copper mine, where mining activities lasted till early 1920s. Once mining became less lucrative the focus shifted gradually to agriculture and it still is the prominent activity here. We stopped at a museum at the heart of the town to know more about the town’s history, but unfortunately it was closed due to the Covid pandemic. However, there is a park adjacent to the nearby marina where one can have a look at some of the tools used  for mining, of which the Simpson Mine Shaft is a major attraction to tour. After exploring these attractions and relaxing some time in the shades of the trees at the bay, we left to our next spot.

Bruce Mines Marina

The Simpson's shaft

Exhibits in the The Simpson's shaft Museum

           It was already past noon when we reached St.Joseph’s Island, our second destination. We had lunch that included burger, fries, salads etc from Tilt’n Hilton Steak House, near the Hilton Beach Marina. The food was ‘okay’, but the view of the Marina from the patio was fantastic. We then set out to explore the island. This island is located in the channel between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. This island once had commercial scale logging, has dense tree-growth which include oaks, maples, cedars and many more. The island is also famous for the Maple syrup produced here.

Hilton Beach Marina

           We visited the Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site, where one can find the ruins of the fort and other remains from the war between Americans and British I 1812. This island was once famous for the fur trade, now has a museum which displays pictures, weapons, military uniforms used in the ancient times. The guides here dressed in the traditional attire of the aboriginals, explained in great detail the history and the life once existed here. There was even a demonstration of the various methods those early dwellers used to make fire. The island has plenty of beaches and scenic trails, but we couldn’t visit them due to the time constraints.

Ruins of the St.Joseph's Fort

From the demonstration of fire-making using primitive methods

Exhibits in the National Historic Site Museum

            On the way to the hotel where we gonna stay that night, we stopped at the Loon Dollar Monument situated on the side of Highway 17B. This large structure built in the model of the loonie (one dollar coin) is dedicated to Mr.Robert R. Carmichael, the artist responsible for the design of the actual loon dollar, who also was a resident of this town. After clicking a few mandatory pictures in front of this monument, we left the place.

The Loon Dollar Monument

             It was past 7 in the evening when we reached the hotel at Sault St. Marie where our accommodation for the night was booked. After freshening up, we immediately set out looking for some food options, especially some Asian/Indian cuisine. To our bad luck, most of such restaurants were closed by then. Finally we chose to have some burgers and steaks from the Chuck’s RoadHouse Bar & Grill. The food was fantastic, but we had to wait forever for it to arrive after ordering, which made us drop the plan to explore the city at night. It was past midnight when we were able to leave the restaurant. Without wasting anytime we went to bed, with the body calling for a much essential rest especially after the 700 kms long ride of the day.