Day 31 – Saturday, July 25 (Thunder Bay to Sudbury)

It was 20 C (68F) when I left Thunder Bay and the temperature reached 28 C (82F) by the time I reached the outskirts of Sudbury.

I left Thunder Bay at 8 am because I didn’t know what was in store for me as I continued my travels. I was still contemplating my route as I travelled down highway 17 and I approached the turn for highway 11 which goes northeast from Thunder Bay to Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Timmins and Sudbury. I considered my options, while listening to the low hum of my wheel bearing. Would it last until I got home? The northeast route is a little longer but not by much. When I finally reached highway 11, I turned onto it and my choice was made.

Highway 11 is slightly less travelled than highway 17 but it is in relatively good shape. I was surprised at how many small towns there were on this route, particularly near the east end. There were plenty of opportunities to stop for food or gas.

Lake Nipigon, which is a very large lake is next to the intersection of Highway 17 and Highway 11.

One of the first towns, I encountered was Beardmore and what intrigued me about this town was the statue of a snowman with a fishing pole.

I drove through Longlac, Hearst, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls until I finally stopped in Timmins, for a bite to eat and to decide where I would spend the night. I checked the internet and it appeared that there were some provincial parks on my way to Sudbury, so I decided to continue driving until I found a campsite. It was almost 300 km to Sudbury and it was already 7 pm when I left Timmins, but I was hoping that I could find a campsite near Timmins.

Along the way I saw something running about 10 feet from the road. I thought it was a wolf at first because of the long hair but as I got closer I noticed it was a black bear. As soon as I got close, the bear darted into the woods so I wasn’t able to get a picture.

The hum of the wheel bearing was much louder than it had been before and I was getting difficult to hear anything else, but I continued to drive southward until I finally found a provincial park , about 90 km north of Sudbury, where I stopped for the night and acquired a campsite.