Finding the Roaring Spirit of Adventure in Thunder Bay

We arrived in Thunder Bay close to 10 on Sunday evening. T screamed, “Why does it look like this? Where’s the thunder?!”

The scenic adventures that unfolded over the following three days of our Summer 2020 family roadtrip more than made up for his initial lack of enthusiasm.

First stop on Monday: Beautiful Kakabeka Falls, the second tallest falls in Ontario, behind Niagara. The scenic views out into the canyon and the roaring water were so calming.

And we spotted a bald eagle! And these aren’t the kind of birds who get scared and fly off by a hyperactive screaming child!

After lunch, we visited the Terry Fox Memorial. I learned that Thunder Bay was the last stop in his unfinished Marathon of Hope and the memorial was created near where he took his last steps.

What an inspiring story. As I previously posted, every child needs and deserves a hero, like the wonderful Terry Fox.

As the hubby and I took in the views, T and an eight-year-old boy played chase and hide and go seek with each other for 20 minutes. It was nice to watch them play with abandon.

After dinner, we enjoyed a sunset hike at nearby Mount McKay and took in panoramic views of Thunder Bay below and Lake Superior in the distance.

On Tuesday, thanks to a colleague’s recommendation, we did an early afternoon hike to Ouimet Canyon, a 30 minute drive outside of Thunder Bay. The view is stunning!

We then hiked at nearby Eagle Canyon and crossed Canada’s longest suspension bridge – 600 feet long.

If you ever need a cure for constipation, this is it. And T crossed it like a champ!

On Wednesday, we spent our last day in Thunder Bay at beautiful Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.

The highlight of our visit was a scenic hike to view the Sea Lion rock formation. If you ask me, it kinda looks like a Sleeping Giant!

It was a moderate hike – not difficult but challenging enough to give T a workout.

There were many gorgeous lookouts, including a pebbled beach with blue water and the soothing sound of big waves.

T could’ve thrown every rock into that water.

I hope to come back to Sleeping Giant when T is older so we can do the difficult 22 km Kabeyun Trail and enjoy the stunning view from atop the giant.

I’ve written numerous times about wanting to instill a love of the outdoors and nature within T and to encourage a love of adventure and to step outside of his comfort zone.

It’s been pure joy to see him get out of his shell and to embrace adventure during this trip.

We left Thunder Bay bright and early on Thursday for an 11+ hour drive back to Sudbury.

The adventure continues…