Nipigon to Rossport

It was a much hillier ride today, giving us great views of Lake Superior, even in the rain and mist. The shoulder remained narrow or non-existent, but was less of a problem today as the weekend traffic was lighter. We had some very long climbs, some of which were on a long stretch of highway which had been stripped for resurfacing. The corrugated surface was like riding on one continual rumble strip! At the top of one long hill, we drove a short way off the road to a picnic site, where we thought we might make espresso and look at the view, but no-see-ums (midges to the English readers) descended upon us in droves and literally drove us away!
It rained on and off all day and the average temperature was only 12C. We also had a headwind at times. We hoped to stop for lunch at Gravel River, but the motel and cafe was closed, with a “for sale” sign in the window. We sat outside at a picnic table and had a quick snack before fleeing the bugs again. After 75 kms we came to Rossport. At this point, it was raining heavily. We pulled into the Serendipity Gardens Cafe and Guesthouse for a late lunch. i think we were both thinking the same thing as we hung up our dripping jackets. Given the hills still to come, we decided to call it a day and spend the night here, rather than carry on to Terrace Bay. We had a great lunch of homemade veggie burgers and salad, chocolate cake and chocolate cheesecake and then checked in to our room at the guesthouse, which is a delightful second floor suite with a gothic arched ceiling and lots of light – serendipity!

Rossport was the site of the First Nations village of Bawgawashinge. The Pays Plat First Nations is now located just west of Rossport.