First day: Toronto to Wawa
We left the house about 8 a.m., made a last stop for a few more groceries, then headed on our way. Traffic was slow getting out of Toronto, but after that it was smooth going. The sky became progressively clearer. By the time we reached Muskoka there was not a cloud in sight. When we stopped for gas we stepped into summer. The day had turned uncommonly warm.
We pulled into a marina near French River for a bit of lunch. The air was fragrant with wild cherry blossoms and full of birdsong. There was a persistent phoebe. We strolled onto a suspension bridge for snowmobiles. It swayed slightly. The granite rockface along the shore was coated with rock tripe and other lichens. You could smell them in the heat. Danny said it reminded him of his uncle's farm.
On the approach to Sudbury, huge smokestacks loomed up like obelisks. A thunderstorm approached. Silver gulls circled in beams of sunlight before the dark veil. When the rain came, the smell of hot, wet pavement filled the car.
The next two hours seemed slow, but once we passed Sault Ste. Marie, my excitment grew. As we crested a hill, I caught my first glimpse of Lake Superior glimmering in the distance. The Trans-Canada highway running up to Wawa is one of the most scenic roads I have driven. It follows the lakeshore for most of the way. We stopped at an outlook where I took this photo. The air was still, the water utterly serene. I doubt this stretch of shoreline is often so peaceful. A cherry tree was full of butterflies, many red admirals and one big swallowtail. Once the highway turns inland, it roams around forested hillsides. The sun, lowering among spruce trees, flickered against my cheek.
We had reserved a cabin at High Falls Motel and Cabins. It is delightful. A Polish woman named Anna is the hostess, her chatty personality perfectly suited to her work. The cabin is equipped with a full kitchenette. We are only a few minutes drive from the north end of Lake Superior Provincial Park. We agree, we could spend a week here, and it's only $79 a night. The "free internet" was impossibly slow until this morning, when I moved onto the deck and reached a smooth connection.
I woke at 4 a.m. after four hours of sleep and my brain was on. Not restless or worried, just awake. I'm very concerned about this, as I just staged down my dose of mirtazapine. On arrival in Toronto I discovered I had forgotten my new prescription, but I had just enough pills to get through the trip at the lower dose. I can't switch back. I'll see how tonight goes. If I sleep poorly again, I'll have to find a walk-in clinic in Winnipeg and see whether they can prescribe more pills.
I don't feel like I slept poorly. I got up at 4:45 and played on the computer, hoping I would start to feel dozy. At 6:30 I decided to go for a walk. 30 minutes of exercise, remember? Hopefully it will make me sleep tonight.
The motel is located at the entrance to a winding gravel road that descends a long hill through mixed forest. I don't know where it goes. I kept a brisk pace, but stopped to take photographs and listen to birds: robins, chickadees, a red-breasted nuthatch, a Swainson's thrush, ravens, crows, white-throated sparrows, northern parulas and other warblers: black-throated green, chestnut-sided, Blackburnian and Nashville.