Day 80: Neys Provincial Park to Obatanga Provincial Park

August 23, 2010

There were lots of rolling hills today, but nothing major. The shoulder seemed fine for the volume of traffic. There is lots of new pavement - the roads have probably improved over the last few years. I think that most of the problems north of Superior for cyclists is west of Nipigon where highways 11 and 17 come together.

I made a mistake on the way into White River. While going through a construction site, I crossed over some tar. This was followed by some loose gravel, so the pebbles stuck to the tire. I tried to remove it as best I could, but it looks like it will have to wear off.

When I passed through White River, I stopped off to take the obligatory photo with the Winnie the Pooh statue. (For those of you who were not aware, White River is the home of the Winnie the Pooh. Sadly, I just missed the Winnie the Pooh festival this year.) I also stopped off in the tourist information centre to inquire about camping there. It seems you can set up your tent for free after 6:00 PM anywhere except near the Winnie the Pooh statue. It is close to a small plaza with an A&W and a grocery store, so it would be a good set up.

I continued on to Obatanga Provincial Park ($31.50). I asked the lady at reception about the name - it apparently means 'Quiet Place' in Ojibway. It is well named. The campground is well forested and secluded. I was in the non-electric area and I may have been the only one here. What I remember from the last time here in 2001 was picking wild blueberries. I didn't see any this time.

End point:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=48.34967,-85.02307&ll=48.34967,-85.02307&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1