Another Day in Sudbury!

We woke up to a view of the waterfront and soon we were on the waterfront trail with the dogs heading toward Science North. The waterfront here is gorgeous! Actually Sudbury has really surprised me! I remember Sudbury as a desolate place with lots of bare rocks and craters. I remember thinking that this must be what Mars is like. Now Sudbury has lots of greenery, mature trees and an amazing waterfront park with several little beach areas, an amphitheatre, a gorgeous gazebo (perfect for a wedding) and a big playground. We walked up to Science North and Michael held the dogs while I went in to see when the latest IMAX showing was. It would have been nice to do the science centre but it was far too hot to leave the dogs for too long. Instead we went back to the bus to relax. We did one more walk along the water (to let the dogs swim) and then we headed to Dynamic Earth to see the big nickel. We have both been to Dynamic Earth in the past and have been down the mineshaft so we really just came to take a picture of the giant nickel but when we saw the parking fees we decided to turn around and go downtown to look for Imagination Theatre instead. We found the perfect shady place to park and then went to see the new Al Gore documentary. It was good, I was expecting more but I'm still happy I got to see it. It was one of those theatres with lazy boy chairs. It was super comfy! We headed back to Bell Park because someone had told us this morning that there is another free concert tonight. We parked and I made something to eat before we headed back to the waterfront. While I was cooking a lady from a nearby RV came over and asked us if we thought it was a safe place to park for the night. We got talking and it turns out she has been travelling around for the past three years! She ended up joining us when we were ready to go check out the band. This time it was locals who played jazz. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves but to be honest I was too busy talking with my new friend to notice. When we got back to the parking lot there were a few police cars there and I was a little worried we would have to move. It wouldn't have been a big deal but I had told my new friend that this was a safe place to park and really didn't want her to have to move this late at night. It's all good though the police have all pulled away and its way past bedtime! Good night World!

Sudbury

I barely slept last night! Although it looked like we were secluded and surrounded by forest, highway 69 was too close and it turns out so was an actively used railway. Several cars came into the parking lot during the night most of them filled with loud inhabitants and then finally in the morning when we really should have been getting up the workers for the Visitor Centre arrived. When we finally got up the parking lot had more cars in it than I expected and as we had our coffees it continued to fill. By the time we had something to eat and were ready to explore the parking lot was almost full and several motorcycles were here waiting to check in for a bike rally raising funds for a sick girl with a rare illness. First we explored the gift shop and museum where we learned about how important the French River was as a mode of transportation for the natives and later the French. We also learned about the local fish and abundant rattlesnakes in the area. Next we collected the dogs from the bus and headed down the trail. It was awesome trail! It kind of reminded me of hiking in Maine with all the rocks and roots. It lead us to Recollet Falls where we found a watersnake that I mistakenly thought was a rattlesnake. After a break and several pictures we headed back up the trail and to the overfilled parking lot. I noticed an old westy VW right away and asked Michael to gues who the van belonged to. My guess was a couple we met on the trail with their young daughter who was hoisted up on her dads shoulders when we met. While I made us a bite to eat a man approached and asked if he could take take pictures of the bus and then the owners of the VW returned and I was right! The happy people with keens owned it! Anyway, it was time for us to move on. I wanted to go to Killarney Provincial Park but as we took the exit off of highway 69 I noticed the gas tank was on empty and I knew we were about to take a road that might not have gas. We pulled over and sure enough we needed to get back on 69 for gas. After filling up we decided to just head to Sudbury and skip Killarney for now (we can always come back tomorrow). In Sudbury we found Bell's Park and parked in a big parking lot across the street with a perfect view of both the park and the waterfront! Hmmm, looks like the perfect place to spend the night! The first thing we saw when we entered the park was an empty amphitheatre with two guys onstage playing Bob Marley music. The theatre gates were locked so we took a seat on the grassy hill and listened for a few minutes. As we were there a worker came over and told us that there was a free concert tonight with five bands and the gates would open at 6pm. Awesome! We took the dogs for a walk in the park and then made a quick trip back to the bus for a snack and then headed back to the amphitheatre. Because we had the dogs with us we brought our chairs and just set up where we could see everything. Soon the place was packed and even as the first band started playing more people kept arriving. Stef Paquette kicked off with french folk music, then Jonathan Roy (who we had heard practicing came out with some Bob Marley. Mia Martina was late and played techno style (I didn't enjoy it and most of her stuff seemed lip synced) but then Coleman Hell came out and was awesome! And of course Serena Ryder sounded amazing! It was a fun free night!