Day 6: Out of the Forest, Into the Prairie

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One hour into the day 6 drive we reached central time, and ended up at the same time that we started out at!

We crossed the continental divide just north of Thunder Bay. People don't often think of it that way, and in fact, the sign only meekly described it as, “Arctic Watershed”. From here on in to the BC-Alberta border, all the water flows north to the Arctic and splits our continent into the southern and northern pieces.

Landscape changed again, from frequent turns and elevation changes, to straighter stretches of road with fewer hills. The forests continue, with occasional grassy patches, suggesting the Shield is loosening its grip on the terrain. Lakes and meadows appear more frequently than before.

Near Dryden, the landscape appeared different from back in 1986 (photo 1). I was hoping to see some of the residual effects from the massive forest fire that burned this area down back then. Carol and I saw it just after the fire. It is all reforested now with no evidence of the conflagration. A very different place from 29 years ago.

Approaching Kenora, we opted for the city by-pass. I thought for sure we would see at least something of the town, even if it were just the massive, beautiful bridge and lakes in town. Unfortunately, this by-pass showed us more rocks and trees.

Two days ago, I noticed an inconspicuous sign stating:

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8
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but didn't register it as a distance marker until today, when we finally got below the 500's. Did you know that Ontario highway 17 is nearly 2,000 km long?

Once into eastern Manitoba (photo 2), the landscape changed again to forested flat lands, which also gave way to the first signs of factory farming. We crossed the longitudinal centre of Canada without so much as a by-your-leave. We have passed the 50%!m(MISSING)ark in time and distance.

The cat is still in the window (photo 3). In town, I found a memory of Mom (photo 4).

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