Travel Photography in Ontario: From Biker Gangs to Burgers

June 7^th, 2025: Day Three

Distance Traveled: Approx. 500KM

Days in Hotel/Motel VS Campgrounds: 1/1

I wanted to make it all the way to Thunder Bay today, but I got tired pretty quick. About halfway there I stopped in a campground in a small town called Ignace. I actually had to look that up. The camp site is called Davey Lake Campground.

Not much to report on today. I had a burger in Vermillion Bay (Bobby’s Bistro) that actually turned out to be disappointing and probably contributed to my fatigue.

It’s waiting for me to drop my food.

For about 20 KM I had eight biker gang members in my rear-view mirror. It was unnerving. I got video of it when they passed and will check the patches on their jackets, but they had a yellow cross.

POST TRIP NOTES: The MC is known as Bondslaves and is a Christian based gang formed in 1989 near Winnipeg.

When the sun set I sat on a bench and listened to the water.

Kryptatron converted to bed mode.

June 8^th, 2025: Day Four

Distance Traveled: 238.4 KM

Days in Hotel/Motel VS Campgrounds: 1/2

First things first. I was bragging to Sarah last night about how I used a tarp as a doormat and kept my shoes outside so I wouldn’t track any dirt in. What I had failed to anticipate was a heavy downpour in the middle of the night, so when I woke up at 4am because I needed to use the washroom, that’s when I discovered my “door mat” was covered in water. It’s funny because I had slipped into consciousness earlier and heard the rain but didn’t really think much of it. Just “the rain sounds nice”.

Now I had to remove my socks and put on my soaking boots to head to the washroom, then towel off my feet when I got back into the car.

Lesson learned.

My bright idea.

Today was a short trip to Thunder Bay. I entered the eastern time zone part way though and had some bad coffee.

And just like that, two hours added to my trip.

I decided to do the full meal deal and stay in the same motel I had been to twice before. The first time was in 1989, I am guessing in March or April for two reasons. The first is that we watched the series premiere of Quantum Leap, which aired March 26^th, 1989, and it was also close to my brother’s 16^th birthday, which was April 24^th 1989. At that time the hotel was called The Sleeping Giant.

The second time was in 2004. I came with friend and colleague Andy Armstrong as part of a cross-country promo tour for Comatose Rose Magazine. By then it was rebranded as a Super 8.

When I arrived the first thing I noticed was the old restaurant was walled off and the lobby was much smaller. I was booked for a second-floor suite but I asked if I could be moved to the main floor and I got a room with the same layout as we had in ’89.

One of the other things I noticed was the homeless hanging around. So, I made sure to remove just about everything from the car. I knew that Thunder Bay had gone downhill but I was not totally prepared.

After taking a rest, watching Men in Black 1 and 2 while washing my laundry in the bathroom sink, I took a trip to Maudslay Court, an apartment building I lived in. It’s one of the oldest buildings in TBay if I remember right and its definitely showing its age. The area was nice. Lots of old houses. Also in that area was the school I went to: St. James. Their gates were closed but I managed to take some photos.

After that I went to Brant Street to shoot a duplex I lived in as a toddler. The street had seen better days. Lots of junk in people’s yards and the duplex itself looked really run down. I snapped a few pics while trying not to look creepy and headed back.