Day 38 Fort Frances to Antikokan 147 km

This was one of those days of riding through a desolate area. Once I left Fort Frances there was one gas station where I picked up a couple of things and then nothing until Antikokan. My map indicates that I would be passing through Mine Centre, which had two buildings with no signs or signs of life, and Seine River Village which I never saw.
If you plan on riding this route be sure to stock up on food. My lunch consisted on what I usually snack on, bananas, pretzels, granola bars and licorice. And take along at least 4 litres of water. I have 3 with me and had to ration it. Today was a mostly cloudy and cool day so my water consumption was low.
I'm still riding the same terrain. Gradual hills. Up and down. It felt like there was an actual auditor making sure that for every hill I climbed I would be credited with and equal descent. There are lots of beautiful lakes and resorts everywhere.
Tomorrow before leaving Antikokan (the "Canoeing Capital of Canada") I'll stock up my food. I head into the Eastern Time Zone so I'll lose an hour of riding time.

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Day 37 Caliper Lake Prov. Park to Fort Frances 98 km.

If you stay at Caliper Lake Provincial Park watch out for the squirrels. Always camp in pairs. They had me surrounded and were trying to get in my panniers. They were climbing on my bike and leaving muddy paw prints all over it. These squirrels have gone beyond cute and are now scary. Kind of funny and kind of not.
I almost felt that there would be squirrels chasing me down the road as I left the campground.
The road was pretty good. No shoulder most of the time but the traffic was light and the drivers courteous. The terrain is hilly. More of a rolling hill. There are many lakes like I mentioned previously and many marshy areas too filled with cattails, waterlilies and scraggling shrubs. Once in a while I'd see a beaver pond with it's telltale "house" sitting in the middle.
The weather started out cloudy but it cleared by noon and was a nice warm summer day. Perfect for a bike ride. There are not many places to stop at along the way. The town of Emo was the first, and only, before Fort Frances.
Emo sits right on the banks of Rainy River and is a very nice looking town. Too bad it was Sunday when everything is closed.
So I just peddled my way to Fort Frances. The main industry here is pulp and paper owned by AbitibiBowater. This is also a fishing mecca where the Canadian Bass Championships are held.
And for some real trivia. This is the town where the cartoon series Rocky and Bulwinkle was based. The American side, International Falls, which in the series is nicknamed Frost-Bite Falls, is where the notorious Boris and Natasha were along with the dastardly Snidley Whiplash. The RCMP officer, Dudley Do-Right was stationed at Fort Frances.
The cell service is not very good in this area so there may be a couple of days with later postings.