Saturday, June 22nd

Sometime it's a challenge to write up the blog at night. No Wifi, late arrival, cooking dinner, that sort of thing. It's morning at the Birchland RV Park & Golf (haven't seen any golf yet), near Two Mile Corner on the Trans Canada Highway. 

The sun is shining and there's a lovely breeze keeping things fresh and cool. Last evening was a bit muggy.  When I look at the map of the area, the larger area, it seems as if we're in a lake dotted with islands and peninsulae rather than on land surrounded by lakes. I suspect all the lakes and marshes add to the humidity and the bug population.  

It's an interesting transition between prairie flatland and the Canadian shield. Once past the geographical centre of Canada, clumps of trees appear more often. Their makeup shifts from poplar and birch to pine and spruce. Before long patches of trees join together and we find ourselves in the huge, temperate boreal forest. The bluffs and rock of the Shield poke up through the forest, cradling increasing numbers of lakes. Our highway has hills again, things we've not encountered since entering Alberta through the Crows Nest Pass. 

So far we've fared well against the mosquitoes though there were a few out last night. More interesting by far was our first sighting of fireflies. Sitting by the fire in the dark I was staring off into the woods and saw lights.  Assuming they were cars I was trying to figure out how the highway could be so high in the air in this flatish country when it dawned on me that I was seeing fireflies. These were not flashing like an incandescent light bulb but were bright and crisp like an LED. We grow so accustomed to our surroundings that after a while things are taken for granted. I imagine that folks in Ontario think little about their fireflies. Coming from the west coast where there aren't any these amazing little creatures, they seem a miracle.  I wish I could have captured their flashes on camera so I could share their dance with you but it is one of the many marvels of nature that you will have to experience first hand. 

Our goal today is Thunder Bay. We'll pass by Max the Moose near Dryden. I know there will be other giant replicas of pickles and geese on our way.  I guess in BC we tend toward first nations' totems while the rest of Canada tends towards symbols of local produce or animals. We all mark our territory.

For some reason Blogger won't let me put in photos today. C'est la vie.