A People Day

People are as much a part of this journey across Canada as the places we visit, and today was “people day.” It started this morning at the camper’s lounge when a local man popped into the room and announced, “A little frost like this’ll sweeten the turnips.” We smiled and agreed as if we knew exactly what he meant. He wore a baseball cap on his head, a North Country plaid wool jacket, and had a face that has seen a few years. He sat down next to us and gave us the lowdown on the fall color. “This isn’t the best year for color. We had a dry summer – actually we’ve had a three-year drought – the trees started changing color in August, just kind of brown rather than the bright reds, then rain came and they brightened up a bit before a windstorm came and blew the top leaves off.”

Then as we left Sault Ste. Marie I saw a young woman walking rapidly along the sidewalk. There was nothing unusual about her… just an ordinary person wearing jeans and a faded blue sweatshirt. It was what she held in her arms that caught my attention… a very large orange tabby cat. His front paws rested on her left shoulder and she bent her head to snuggle against his fur. I said to Bob, “There is a picture of love.” We stopped for a red light and the woman caught up with us, waiting for the light to change to cross the street. Though he did not try to get away, the cat seemed unsettled by all the traffic noise and when a big truck started up his eyes widened and he threw his head back and cried out – in fear, anger, or maybe pain – it is hard to know. The woman clutched the orange tabby gently to her chest, her arms wrapped protectively around him, and again she laid her head on his fur, comforting him. I could not hear her but I am sure she was whispering to him that everything would be all right. The light changed and we drove off. A half-block away we spotted an Animal Health Clinic. There is no question where she was headed with her cat.

Then there was Mom’s Café on St. Joseph Island (population 200), the second largest fresh water island in the world, and one of the biggest producers of maple syrup in Canada. We were looking forward to having pancakes and maple syrup at Gilbertson’s Pancake House. Our taste buds were ready for it! But as with so many tourist attractions in this part of Canada, we found everything shut down for the season. This called for Plan B, which turned out to be Mom’s Café where the parking lot was full of cars. “Just sit anywhere you want,” the harried waitress said to us as she carried plates of food to a table of “good old boys” dressed in dungarees and wool shirts. There were no tourists on this island that we could see, so the busy lunch hour was due to local traffic. No pancakes and maple syrup on the menu, so we settled for sandwiches. I ordered the grilled cheese and it turned out to be just like home-cooking… two slices of buttered bread and melted Velveeta cheese, with a slice of dill pickle on the side… $3.95. We were almost finished when a woman came out of the kitchen carrying a dish full of what looked like sweets. She went to the table of guys, and each took a piece. Some people were leaving and she held out the plate to them too. Then she came to our table. There were Nanaimo bars, fudge brownies, carrot cake squares, and peanut butter bars. This must be Mom.

More about the Stone People

I have learned that the Stone People cairns I photographed yesterday are called Inuksuk. They were used by the Inuit People of Northern Canada as a directional marker that signified safety, hope and friendship. The Inuksuk was nominated for the Seven Wonders of Canada, a recent promotion on CBC’s Sounds Like Canada radio program. Here is what one of the nominators wrote:

“My nomination is for a simple pile of rocks. So simple that almost everyone has assembled one for the sole purpose of letting others know that someone has been there before them. … This symbol, so Canadian, was adopted by Vancouver as the official logo for the 2010 Olympics and immediately became a point of distraction in that some thought it represented only a portion of the country. In fact, it is almost impossible to travel any distance, on any highway in Canada without seeing an intentionally assembled pile of rocks. What better symbol to represent a country that is depicted around the world as one of the best places to live. A true Canadian Wonder!’

Tonight we are nestled in a grove of sugar maple at the Ratter Lake Campground near Sudbury, Ontario. Believe it or not we are enjoying the benefits of WiFi while sitting at a table in our trailer. This campground was written up in the Globe and Mail for operating such a far reaching hi-speed internet connection. Sometimes progress is wonderful.

... P. L. Morningstar