WaWa, ON

We left Marathon on Tuesday, 7/9, and drove to WaWa, ON. about 120 miles east.  Population around 3,000.  We found our campground and got all checked in.  Nice back-in site but you can't see our site because we didn't take a picture!

Got all settled in and then drove into WaWa to the Visitor Center.  Nice pics of "Gitchee Gumee ."  Gitchee Gumee - meaning of. This is an Ojibwe Indian name for Lake Superior - also called "Kitchi gami" (or "Kitchi-gummi"). According to many, It means "the shiningblue sea water," but has also been translated as "great water."

WaWa is also known for its 'Goose.'  Here is the official photo from the website.

And our pictures.

The story behind the goose is this:

Why is this huge monument of a Canada Goose standing poised over the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 101? Well, way back in 1960, the last link of the Trans-Canada Highway was finally completed linking Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie and Western Canada. The folks in Wawa fought long and hard to see the road completed and although they were glad to see it reach their front doors, local businessmen were a bit disappointed that the highway actually by-passed the downtown core of the community.

So one of Wawa’s local entrepreneurs of the day, Mr. Al Turcott, a very creative and ingenious man, felt that Wawa needed something that would stop highway travelers and invite them to come into town. You can imagine the reaction of some of the townsfolk to his idea of a huge statue of a Canada Goose made of plaster. Well, the fact is that this has become Wawa’s “Claim to Fame” and our famous goose has welcomed millions of visitors.

The visitor center was good - had a couple of hanging planters outside.

The official emblem for WaWa.

Judy liked the angle of this birch tree.

In town we found "Youngs General Store."  If you can't find it here, you don't need it!
Old tractor outside.

And, guess what?  Another goose!

They also had this 'Inukshuk' near the store.

And a couple of outhouses!  If you click on the photo, you will see what is written above them.

On the porch...

And, a coke machine - no longer operable at 7 cents per bottle!!

At the north end of town is WaWa Lake where they boat, fish, and swim.

And, another goose!

We drove south of town to find this falls.

It's actually a dam that was erected to so that when they were harvesting trees and floating them, the dam would keep the water levels high.  The logs would be floated down the river all the way to Sault Ste Marie, ON some 100 miles downstream.
Some logs came over the dam and were washed ashore.

Here's one stuck on the dam.

It was supposed to rain most of the afternoon and evening yesterday, but it was mostly sunny all day.  Then about 9 PM the skies broke loose and we had lightning, thunder and a torrential downpour.  Fortunately, we did not float away!
Today we spend a little time in town and the local grocery, dry goods, etc. store looking for something unique to buy.  All we came away with was a box of maple cookies!!  And are they ever good!

Tomorrow we head south to Sault Ste Marie, MI (USA) for the weekend...