Halifax: August 27, 1912 <<< >>> Victoria: October 17, 1912
| Today's Statistics: | Travelling from Wawa, Ontario, to Rossport, Ontario | |||
| Distance: 310 km | Driving Hours: 5.5 h | Fuel: 76 l | Weather: Sunny | Temperature: Min. 8 Max. 18 |
Today's lunch stop was at White River which is known for two reasons. For many years it has been thought of as one of the coldest places in Canada. One day, in 1935, the temperature fell to -58 degrees celsius (-72 degrees fahrenheit). In recent years White River has been known as the birthplace of Winnie the Pooh. In 1914, Captain Harry Colebourne, a Canadian soldier, bought a small black bear cub here on his way from Winnipeg. He named the cub Winnie and kept it as a pet. A short time later, when he went overseas to fight in the First World War, he gave Winnie to the London Zoo where the bear was a favourite for many years. Among the people who loved Winnie was a boy named Christopher, the son of A. A. Milne. Milne created the character Winnie the Pooh for Christopher, based on the bear at the zoo.
The afternoon was spent driving aroound part of the huge Lake Superior. The land north of Superior, up to Hudson Bay, is part of The Canadian Shield. It is one of the oldest sections of the earth's crust. Ancient Precambrian rocks line the surface of the shield; it has very little soil content. It is an area rich with mineral resources - gold, uranium, iron ore, nickel, and more. It is also rich in water and timber resources. Wildlife is abundant, although on this day none of the many moose along this stretch of highway was interested enough to come out and watch a 1912 Reo drive by. The road through this section is very hilly and winds around many beautiful lakes.
Lake Superior is a beautiful sight, covering more than 84000 square kilometres. Its rugged shoreline stretches over 2000 kilometres. Its waters are deep and are home to over 350 shipwrecks, including the Edmund Fitzgerald which was the subject of a song by folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. Superior has been the subject of many native legends and was referred to as "Gitche Gumie."
The long day's drive ended at the small town of Rossport, where the Reo ran out of gas. It had used a tankful plus an extra 25 litre spare jug in covering the distance from Wawa. Peter Findlay had a short wait on the side of the road while some extra gas was brought in so that the Reo could travel 5 more kilometres to complete the twentieth day of its journey..
The Trans-Canada Highway is cut right into the Canadian Shield
... When the RV battery is dead, call a Reo!
On this day in 1912 ...