Blind River

The day started overcast and cool. We have been waking to single digit numbers. When is summer going to begin. Long sleeve tops, pants, socks, sweaters and jackets when we are outside the boat.

Good morning to go for a restaurant breakfast. Found a restaurant about a 1 mile walk from the boat up on the highway just passed the main street.

Peter and Jim had been to the local logging museum the previous afternoon and wanted to show us the old hair machine. Another 1 mile walk out the highway. This old machine had a chair and a whole bunch of wires that hung above, the hair would be rolled onto the ends of these wires and then they would throw a switch to heat the rollers. Looked more like a machine to electrocute someone. Lorna (Peter's Mom) said she remembered doing this.  Then there was also an old X-ray machine with some huge dials. The entire area of the museum for medical, dental care and hair could have been misunderstood for a room of torture. Surely the cure was worse than the medical problem.

The rest of the museum was dedicated more to the logging in the area. Blind River was recognized as the largest logging area in North America I believe is what I read. They had a lengthy video of what a loggers life was like. It was a tough trade and not sure the pay was all that great. They were paid 6 to 30 cents per hour. Worked all day. Only Sundays off. Had to live in camps, and had to pay for their board and Doctor. There was a payroll book on display, outlining each logger. There was not a Webb or a Murray among them.

The video showed the loggers cutting the trees, and then cutting into 16 foot sections, and then the horse teams dragging the logs to the rivers edge. All during the winter months. They had roads that they would clear, then pour water on them to ice them so that it was easier for the horses to drag these huge sleigh loads of logs. For a hill area, they would have a breaking machine at the top, but it still was quite dangerous and horses would have to run to try to keep out of the way of the sleigh that was speeding down the hill. I don't think they could say that no horses were hurt.

Come spring they would let the logs out into the river and float the logs down the river to the Blind River Mill. (About 30 some miles down the river from Camp 41) This looked very dangerous. They would have to try and free the logs from the shoreline, or when they got caught on the rocks. If the logs were too tightly jammed they would dynamite them free.

Where now there is a marina, there once was the mill pond, that would have been full of logs. The big black smokestack still remains. The mill was the first time machinery would handle the logs. Big saws were used to cut the logs, another machine would move huge piles of the planking around in the yard for drying and then onto the railway cars that would then distribute them.

Now we had a couple mile walk back to the boats. We broke the walk up with a stop at Tim Horton's. It apparently is one of the busiest anywhere. Sometimes the traffic will get backed up on the highway waiting to get in, and then they call the police to come and direct traffic. Crazy! The lineup never subsided while we were there, and the parking lot was full, and every table was occupied. Only in Canada you say!

It was getting a little late in the day to head out, so we signed on for another night. The afternoon was filled by doing laundry. Peter got the boat fuelled. Dinner aboard Symmetry. Linda had made "Shrimp Brown" Mmmmmmm, good. Always a favourite.  I brought broccoli and cauliflower, pickled cabbage salad from previous night, and some Tim bits for dessert. We sure don't go hungry. We are all hoping that the walk will offset the meal calories. That is always a battle. Not sure that we are successful every day.

Being as the boats were each on the T-head of different docks, it was decided that we would talk on VHF Channel 8 at 8 a.m. the next morning and decide what we were going to do.

The morning has started out good. Sunshine, no wind, air temperature double digit (12). A great morning to do some boating. We got away shortly after the 8 a.m. call, and are on our way towards Sault Set Marie, that would be about a 75 mile run. There are a number of places we could stop or anchor out if we decide to make a change of plan, but the Soo is our current destination.