Day 1 - September 7th

The trip from White Bear Lake, MN to Temagami, Ontario, Canada is about 830 miles with two days of travel.  I spent the overnight in Newbury, MI and passed through Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury on the way.  The drive was uneventful but enjoyable with beautiful sunny weather all the way.

Temagami Region 
(NOTE: Click to enlarge pictures)

I arrived in Temagami an hour before my allowed boarding of 4 pm to allow time to visit and get itinerary suggestions from the owners of Leisure Island Houseboats.  At 4 pm I began boarding while the owners added more water (3-6 gallon jugs) and changed the large propane bottle to ensure I had enough for two weeks.

I'm very pleased with the boat and its layout. Very comfortable! It took about an hour to load the boat, secure the kayak, and get ready to depart.  I was off around 4:30 pm which gave me about 2 hours at most to get to a site before dusk.  I motored about 3/4 throttle to conserve fuel which gave me about 4 mph. Slow but steady!

I was heading SW in the NE Arm of the Lake and planned to go about 6 miles before stopping for the night.  I headed into the site recommended for the night on the N side of the Arm, near the Tetapaga River. Unfortunately, this site was taken! I had the feeling that might be the case!  So I turned a 180 and went back across to the S. Tetapaga River entrance and a site, though available, was quite exposed. I had no choice since it was late, so I went in.

Leg 1-Leisure Island Houseboats to first campsite
(About 7 miles and 2 hours)

I was pushing daylight by the time I got pulled into the alternative campsite which was exposed to wave action from boats moving up and down the lake, not very desirable.  Fortunately, that ceased soon after dark.

The wind was blowing on the starboard stern so I had to put out an extra stern line (guy) to hold the boat in position.  It was very dark by the time I finished my burger, chips, and cold beer. Wine and chocolate covered almonds are my usual desert.  I sat on the fore deck for awhile and looked at the myriad of stars.  It reminded me of the passage from Psalms 147:4 "He (God) determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." Difficult to wrap your mind around that as you look at all those stars!

 I was exhausted so hit the sack soon after, probably around 10 pm.  (No pictures today)

For videos about the houseboat interior, features, and how to tie up to shore, see the following YouTube link:

                                Temagami Houseboats - Informational Videos