Living the Dream with Joyce: May 18th & 19th, 2014

I really wanted to get to Sudbury for tonight, but that was totally unrealistic. I started around the top of Lake Superior and stopped in Thunder Bay - almost went to the high school to see if Rowan Seymour was really there, but time was against me. I stopped for gas and was appalled at the price - $4.10 per litre!!! I was also very surprised at the town - mind you, I didn't drive around it very much - but what I saw was extremely poor and rundown and downright depressing. I should probably come back sometime and stay for a few days, just to get a fairer look. Wanting to get out of there, I drove to the Terry Fox monument just on the edge of Thunder Bay, overlooking Lake Superior and the Sleeping Giant rock/island formation. That was impressive - and a breathtaking view of Lake Superior!
From Thunder Bay, I drove to Wawa, where I stopped at the Visitor's Centre and looked at the giant goose for which Wawa is famous - thought there was just the one, but started seeing others as I drove through the town! Another place that might be worth revisiting another time.
So . . . my fantasy was to get all the way around the top of Lake Superior and stop in Sudbury - but as the day went on, I realized that that just wasn't going to happen. I started looking for a place to spend the night around 3:00 p.m., thinking that there might be an ad on my GPS - but nothing. As the Arrogant Worms' song says, it was pretty much rocks and trees and trees and rocks and . . . water. I really didn't want to pull over into the forest and camp overnight - especially after seeing five black bears - individually, over a period of about half an hour. I've heard stories of the damage bears can do to an rv, especially if they smell something tasty inside. With fridge and cupboards full, I figured I must smell like a big bear smorgasbord . . .
So . . . I finally got out of forest and into the tiny village of Iron Bridge - still no campgrounds anywhere - not even a Walmart - so, in desperation, I stopped at a motel, parked my rv across from the door to my room, had dinner in their little restaurant, and settled down to watch tv (a rare entertainment, since I don't have a tv in my rv). At 10:00 p.m., I suddenly fell violently ill, with explosions out of both ends of my body! Eeuuww - what an absolutely horrible night! The next morning was pretty bad, and I definitely couldn't get behind the wheel - could hardly leave the bathroom, actually - so I stayed another night. I really thought I had food poisoning - talked to the owner about what I'd eaten in his restaurant the night before - he was a bit pissed, but came by after a few hours to tell me that his assistant had eaten exactly what I'd eaten, with no ill results. Maybe it was a weird, fast-acting virus - guess I'll never know! I was glad to finally drive out of town, a day later than planned. This will take time off my visit in St. Thomas, damn it!