Nipigon to Thunder Bay

So many times today we rounded a bend and went ‘wow’ as the scenery on the TransCanada Highway to Thunder Bay is spectacular. Unfortunately the places to stop and enjoy the view are far from the best vantage points, so I really don’t have any pictures that do it justice.

At Nipigon the TransCanada highway crosses the Nipigon River over a magnificent cable bridge built only a few years ago. It is very impressive to see, but is perhaps best know for a catastrophic failure shortly after opening that shut down the only land link across the country. But it was in fine form today, and there is a tower built nearby that provides a viewing platform for the bridge and the river.

The geology in this area is quite remarkable and we have seen very impressive rock formations along the highway, but also took excursions today to Ouimet Canyon, Eagle Canyon and Diamond Willow amethyst mine.

Ouimet Canyon is a provincial park and has a nicely groomed trail out to 2 viewing platforms. The canyon is spectacular, and the base is protected as it has flora usually only found in the sub-arctic tundra.

Eagle Canyon is similar to Ouimet but has two cable suspension bridges that span the canyon, including the longest suspension bridge in Canada. Part way along the shorter of the two it occurred to me that the way back was across the longer bridge and perhaps given my fear of heights this may have been a bad choice. However the view was spectacular and I even managed to let go of the cables long enough to take pictures, despite the swaying of the bridge.

On arrival at Thunder Bay there is a memorial to Terry Fox and a view over the Trans Canada Highway towards Lake Superior. A very fitting tribute to a great Canadian. Welcome to Thunder Bay.