This blog is about part 1 of my 20,000+ mile car-camping trip with my dogs from DC to Alaska via Labrador. Part 1, in 2011, was to the end of the road in northeastern North America in Labrador and then on to Quebec and Ontario, 7609 miles. Part 2, which took place in 2012, picked up where Part 1 left off in Ontario and was supposed to extend to Banff and Jasper National Parks in the Canadian Rockies, but Leben, my male German shepherd, became paralyzed on the trip so we cut it short. We will finish the journey in 2013, when we will return to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Day 28, Friday, September17, Kettle Lake Provincial Park, near Timmns, Ontario

Day 28, Friday, September17, Kettle Lake Provincial Park, near Timmins,, Ontario

Oh, how I hated to leave that wonderful campsite #2 at Brent Camp (Algonquin Park), despite the freezing temperature, morning frost and howling wolves during he night, but the road beckoned.  But it is not so much the road that beckons these days.  It's the campsites and places unknown getting there.  We got a late start today (11:00) and suspected we would hav some difficulty making our next destination, Kettle Lake camp, 300 miles away, but my goal was to reach it by 6:15 if all worked in our favor.

It took us almost an hour to navigate the 24 mile dirt road  out of Brent, but the remaining 274 miles were on a paved essentially two-LAN highway with few cars, and two traffic lights, and lots of interesting views.  I was constantly watching  the sun lowering in the sky and computing my estimated time of arrival so that I did not end up having to bivouac in some boring RV campsite.  Fortunately, all the cars do at least 70mph around here with no fear of being stopped, si I joined in the local tradition and pulled into Kettle camp at precisely 6:30, 15 minutes behind my target, and had daylight until 8:15, plenty of time for my evening chores.  The dogs had time for their chores, too, i,e., sniffing all the new smells, looking for food someone might have dropped before, rolling around in some weird stuff they found on the ground.  The campsite itself was quite nice, overlooking a small lake in a heavily wooded area, with plenty of fallen wood to build a good fire.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we have.  200 mike drive to Fushimi Park, a wonderful setting where Sonntag and I camped 11 years ago.  From there, we travel 300 to Thunder Bau (Sleeping Giant Park) and then 157 miles  onto world-famous Lake Bukemige, which is at the end of the road north in Ontario.  After a few days there, we head for home, about 1300 miles southeast.

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