Parc National and Lake Superior

Last night, as we embarked on our lengthy (1,000 mile) journey from Montreal to Bemidji, Minnesota, we stopped in Plaisance near Ottowa, Ontario to camp. The camp sites at Parc National de Plaisance resemble those on Falls Lake; small gravel lots stacked strategically beside each other to provide some sort of privacy, the obligatory picnic table, the metal fire pit. Instead of tall pines and the lake as your backdrop, imagine rolling hills of farmland (mostly corn and soy beans) and marshes covered with lily pads and tall grasses. The campground rents canoes and kayaks by the hour and seems like a fun place to go with family for the weekend. Oh, and one final difference; instead of the nearby sound of ‘the race’ on a battery operated radio and a family’s chatter around the picnic tables, it is all en francais!


Pic: Amber walking through these beautiful pathways that ran through the park. Pretty little flowers, lots of bugs!


The next day, we packed up our site, ate a little breakfast and headed toward Michigan. Just so you know: the roadsides in Canada are littered with Frittes stands. I mean covered in them. (also Subways and Tim Hortons’—a doughnut place. Oh and Canadian flags everywhere, especially as we got closer to the border. Lots of patriotism in Canada.) Little fry shacks on the road; as soon as you pass one and say to yourself, “hey, there’s another fr…” Bam. There’s another one.
As we drove through Ontario, we decided to stop for lunch on the Ottowa River. We pulled off the highway in a town called Mottowa to a little park right on the water. They gave helicopter tours there and had picnic tables and docks. It was a beautiful day, so, of course, we had a swim. We have found that a swimming hole is the perfect place to stop and refresh yourself for a long drive.
Later that evening after we crossed back into the US, we found our way to Monocle Lake Campground on Lake Superior in Michigan, just outside of Sault St. Marie.
Because we arrived so late, we didn’t get to spend much time there. We did, however, get a chance to grab coffee at an awesome coffee shop up the road before heading to Minnesota.


On the way through Michigan, we stopped again for another swim in Munising, the snowmobile capitol of the world. That’s right; the WORLD.

Here, the waters of Lake Superior are crystal blue and green and the beaches are sandy. It’s almost like a little freshwater Caribbean rest stop on the highway. This is our favorite “swimming hole” so far.

On wildlife: We’ve seen signs everywhere for moose but, to our dismay, have yet to see one. We have however seen the enormous cranes that live in the Midwest. They are almost Jurrasic. They are rust-colored and make a bizarre sound, almost like gurgling. We first encountered the cranes crossing the highway in Canada, then flying above the fields at the Northern Light Farm.