Day Twenty-Four Thompson Manitoba to Kenora Ontario

Day twenty-four for us begins with us waking up in our tiny one person private room on the VIA Rail train from Churchill to Thompson Manitoba. With the train still about four hours from arrival at the station we decided to take in the views afforded from our window. We also talked about where we were going to head to next and we decided upon Kenora Ontario. We knew we were in for a long drive ahead and were hoping for good weather.

As the train came into the station we both looked at one-another and remembered the words of some of the people we had asked about the safeness of Thompson and if our car would still be there. The train station is in an industrial area that in later hours is very dark and quiet – a perfect place for thieves to work. The locals had said it was 50/50 that our vehicle would be untouched. So as we mentioned in the previous day’s post – if doing the same trip and if you need to leave a vehicle behind – leave it at a local hotel and take a taxi to the station!

From where the train stopped we couldn’t immediately see the car but we could see a crowd of people around it. It was either their curiosity in our odd looking car or that it was vandalized and they were wondering who the poor buggers were that were due to come back to see it in such a condition. To our great satisfaction and relief, the car was just as we left it. We took some pictures with people who wanted them with us and the vehicle before loading everything back in for the long drive ahead.

Our drive through Manitoba towards Ontario was fairly uneventful. We considered staying for a night or two in Winnipeg but found the gps unit had guided us away from the city before we took notice. Not wanting to backtrack too much we continued on.

We hit periods of sun, rain, snow and mixtures of all at the same time on our drive to Kenora. As we approached the town itself we passed four hotels that were all booked up. This gave us a bit of a sinking feeling as we didn’t want to drive any further and sleeping in the car was not something we wanted to do that night. But just as we were having great doubts we turned a corner and before us was a Travelodge. The hotel staff was very friendly and welcoming and before we knew it we were in our room and dozing off for the night.

Kenora is located on the Lake of the Woods in Northwestern Ontario and is a beautiful smaller-sized town. It is a major tourist destination and features fishing, hiking, swimming, camping, hunting and many more recreational activities almost year-round. With over 14,500 islands, the Lake of the Woods is an unique area that must be seen to be really appreciated. At the time of our visit the main tourist season was already over and the cottage goers had already long left, but as mentioned earlier, the hotels were still heavily booked – so plan ahead!

Tyler says of day 24 – I was relieved to not only see the car still there and the headaches that would have brought on if it wasn’t averted, I was also relieved to be off that train. Train travel for that length of time with the limited viewing opportunities was not my cup of tea to say the least. I would rather drive or fly than do that again any time soon. Train fans will obviously feel different. Kenora was a welcome surprise as it was stunningly beautiful being situated right on the Lake of the Woods. I had heard about this region many times but seeing it first hand was a real pleasure. We will have to come back during the summer months so that we can partake in more of the local offerings. So many of the attractions, tour operators etc were already closed for the season in mid-October.

Catherine says of day 24 – I was happy to see the clown car in one piece. I was worried after Thompson residents said it might not be there, though, I tried to remain optimistic. Kenora was a nice small town surrounded by the scenic views of the Lake of the Woods. The people in Kenora were very helpful and welcoming. I would consider living in Kenora because of its location and all it offers people for outdoor activities, though come summertime it might be a tad too busy.

Tags: camping, Canada, catherine, churchill, fishing, hiking, hunting, islands, kenora, lake of the woods, manitoba, ontario, thompson, tourist season, tyler, via rail