The Locks at Sault Ste. Marie

We took a tour of the locks here. It's amazing descending in the boat as the water level lowers from the level in Lake Superior to the lower level of the St. Lawrence River, allowing access to the Atlantic Ocean more than 2,000 miles away.

Clarification on bear siting

Actually, this was our first bear siting, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Note the parent on the right is videotaping the others who caught a fish. Very cute.

The price of amethyst

The amethyst cost $3 a pound, but the real price was the damage to Rich's ear and Luis' leg from the giant black flies that were all over the place. We didn't realize how bad it was until later. When we told an employee we got bit by mosquitoes, he said, "Those aren't mosquitoes. Those are black flies."

Luis searching for Amethyst at the Panorama Mine in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He found a beautiful big piece of amethyst. It was $3 a pound, not bad for this beautiful piece.

Our First Bear

Here's a pic of the first wild bear we've seen on our trip.
We were driving along the Trans Canada Highway in southwestern Ontario when Luis spotted this.
It looked like a small cub. We guessed that its parents weren't far away.

Our Wedding Announcement in Newsday

Here is a copy of our wedding announcement in Newsday. Click on it to see it close up.

Almost out of Ontario

Sorry for the delay in posting but we were on the road all day yesterday and we were searching for amethyst and getting eaten by big black flies today. We survived but I literally had blood dripping down my right earlobe. It formed a big piece of dried-up blood. Luis has about a dozen red bite marks on his ankle. Yuck!)
Anyway, we're at a KOA in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Tomorrow, we'll drive at least seven hours to finally get out of Ontario -- three days of driving at least seven hours a day, with a day of enjoyment in between each driving day, just to get out of Ontario. And that doesn't include the trip from Niagara Falls to Toronto.
We plan to stay at Falcon Lake tomorrow night, just across the border in Manitoba.

More photos from CN Tower in Toronto

CN Tower's glass floor

Here are some photos taken on the 114-story-high glass floor of the CN Tower in Toronto.

Our first campsite in Canada

We have arrived at a KOA campground in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, at about 9 p.m. tonight. It was a long trip because there was a lot of construction on the road from Toronto as they're rebuilding the highway.
When we arrived, the mosquitoes were very happy. They are HUGE here. A camping neighbor said the mosquitoes are so big that people say they could rape a cat.
I asked for a site with good WiFi reception. So here we are in our gazebo with the lantern and WiFi on our laptop, updating the blog.
We miss everyone. I can't believe we are on our way back to Vancouver. We expect to arrive there by about Aug. 1. Gay pride is the first weekend in August.
Tomorrow, we're going to check out the locks for the canals and check out the downtown.