I got a call from my cousin, Sue Ann, last week. She said to me, "Remember the train tour you were talking about? I've seen the commercial on tv so many times since you mentioned it. Do you think it would be crazy to go next Wednesday?"
"Crazy?" I said."No way. Sounds good."
So that is how I ended up in Sault Ste. Marie. The train tour that Sue Ann was questioning me about is the Agawa Canyon Train Tour that leaves from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. I have seen the advertisement for this train tour for the past couple of years on tv and thought that I would love to do that one day. I guess that I mentioned it to Sue one day but she had never heard of it. And, as has often happened to me, once someone mentions something unknown to you, it becomes present very often in your life. Since I had some business in Kitchener, I visited with Sue last Wednesday and we booked our train tour and hotel. We planned the hotel for three nights the next week (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday) and booked our train tour for the Thursday.
Sue Ann and I decided to drive through Michigan in order to get to The Sault. This would be a bit of a shorter route and a bit more direct. So we set off at 9 on Wednesday morning. Within 10 minutes of driving on the 401 we saw a bald eagle fly over head. I think that was a good omen for our trip.
I have always wanted to visit "north" Ontario. I use the quotation marks since, really, Sault Ste. Marie is basically only halfway through the northward stretch of Ontario. But I was definitely farther north than I ever have been in this province. When we were travelling through Michigan, we passed a marker that let us know we were halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.
Wednesday was a very long day of driving. We arrived in The Sault at 5:30 after two boarder crossings and a few pit stops. Michigan has some excellent rest stops about every 40 miles. We stopped for our picnic lunch at one of these rest stops and sat under the beautiful tall trees that covered our picnic table.
After arriving in Sault Ste. Marie and checking into the Sleep Inn we decided to take a walk along the water's edge. The city has a wonderful boardwalk that travels all along the St. Mary's River. St. Mary's River flows from Lake Superior and drains into Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Georgian Bay through Lake George and Lake Nicolet. It is a really interesting place to be situated at the meeting of three of our Great Lakes. We grabbed a Tim's and as we were leaving the store we heard bagpipes in the distance. So we thought we would follow the music. We were led to a park on the water where two guys were playing bagpipes and a guy and gal were playing drums. Apparently they get together and practice once a week in the park. Sue Ann and I sat an enjoyed our coffee and the music.
Thursday morning started bright and early as we had to be at the train station for 7:30. We got ready and enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the hotel. The train station was fairly close to the hotel. We got a Tim's and then got our tickets at the station. That took all of 2 minutes so we waited for the 28 remaining minutes for the train to arrive.
The Agawa Canyon Train arrived close to 8 and we were able to board car 1 for our 114 mile adventure north. Sue and I settled in next to a large picture window. Prior to leaving the station we were informed that throughout the journey, there would be an audio and visual presentation to point out various spots and interesting information along the way. There were a number of tvs hanging in the car. The tv changed from a live view of the track ahead of us to the images that corresponded with the audio commentary when appropriate.
Sault Ste. Marie is a steel town. Historically, The Sault was a strategic spot for the fur trade. The meeting of the Waters of Superior and Huron provided an excellent meeting spot for voyageurs and First Nations. When the fur trade was no longer profitable, an enterprising man named Clergue arrived in Sault Ste. Marie and began its industrialization. He opened a pulp and paper mill, an iron plant, and revitalized the hydro generated power station. As we travelled through the town, many of these places were pointed out. It did not take too long for the scenery to change from a habited area to a natural scene. The journey to the canyon took about 4 and a half hours. Along both sides of the train we were treated to beautiful scenery which included lakes, rivers, trees, plants, and rocks. At various points along the journey there were little benches that apparently acted as a train stop for the passenger train that also travels along the same tracks. I would assume that anyone who requested to get off at these "train stations" would expect a pretty rugged adventure as there was not much civilization around at all.
You can understand how and why The Group of Seven were inspired by the vast and natural beauty of the area around Lake Superior. Although I have always been a fan of the art of The Group of Seven, I gained a new appreciation for their work by being in the area that inspired them so. I was easily able to see the pine trees, lakes, plants, and rockst in nature that were painted in their works.
The train slowed down at one point on our way to the canyon, confusing the train attendants, until they looked at the screen and saw a moose on the tracks. Alas, the moose remains an elusive creature for me as I missed it. Sue, on the other hand, caught the tail end of the moose.
We travelled over a couple of tressle bridges. Unfortunately, as we passed over the highly anticipated Montreal River, with beautiful vistas, we were told. But the fog had settled in and our view was fairly close to our faces.
We arrived at Agawa Canyon. There were a number of trails to follow and a few waterfalls. We were advised on the train that a beaver dam had stopped one of the waterfalls from flowing so we did not head that way. Out first stop off of the train was a 312 stair climb to a look out point. Fortunately the fog had cleared and the look out point gave us beautiful views of the surrounding area. Definitely picture worthy.
After the descent, we hiked on a trail that led us us to Black Beaver Waterfalls. The falls were beautiful and were located close to the train tracks. Sue and I followed the tracks back to the train as it was time to return to The Sault. We switched sides with a couple of fellow travellers for the ride back so that we could experience the views on the other side of the train. We arrived back at the train station around 5:30 that afternoon. A long and picturresque ride was complete Sue and I had packed food from home since we had a fridge in the hotel room so we enjoyed dinner in. We thought it best if we head out for a walk after all of the sitting of the day. Sault Ste. Marie has a wonderful boardwalk that runs along St. Mary's River and we walked along it until we reached Fluids where we stopped on the patio for a beer. A great way to end a beautiful day.
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