Noonan News in Motion

Day 29

In the morning, it was a little foggy and overcast. It was a cool/mild day. Later we experienced a short period of heavy rain with thunder, then gentle rain.

Larry, Michael and Jan at the big nickel in Sudbury

We got up in time to drive to Sudbury and arrive at Dynamic Earth before it opened at 9:00. We went up to the giant nickel, which was built to celebrate 200 years since the discovery of nickel. The dates on the nickel were 1751-1951. The face on the coin was King George VI.

We went into the Dynamic Earth building at 9:00 and got our tickets. We were on the first tour at 10:00. We looked around the gift shop and then went to the theatre for a 9:30 show of stories of Sudbury. This was a 3d holographic show. The theatre had two rows of benches. We sat in the front. A ghost barber came out into a barbershop and talked about memories and stories he has collected. We heard about how Sudbury began as a lumbering town after the railroad came through. Then we learned how nickel was discovered and about the discovery of uses for nickel, especially in stainless steel. As well as the holographic barber, there was an animated man sitting in front and two screens to each side. Unfortunately, one screen was not functioning.

When we left the theatre, we went straight to the mine tour. On the way, I told one of the people working there that the left screen was not functioning. We went in and saw a typical dressing room for mineworkers. All their uniforms and belongings are suspended above the ground in baskets. This done because the mine is so wet, that this is the only way their clothing can dry and stay dry. After a brief movie on the use of the dressing room, we went into the elevator. The far side was a glass window. We went first up and looked through the glass window where we saw the start of a movie on the meteorite that crashed into Sudbury. Then we went down a little and on two other screens, we saw information about the mines, how they function and the layout of the tunnels. If the tunnels were laid out end to end, they would stretch from New Brunswick to British Columbia.

Michael and Larry on the mine tour

After this, we went down into the mine. We all got hard hats and then went into the air lock. Once in the air lock, the door we entered was closed. Then we could open the door on the other end. The air locks separate the different ventilation areas of the mine. We proceeded into the mine. First, we went into an early mine - wooden logs held up the walls and roof . The lighting was by candle. Later we went into a mid-twentieth century mine. Squared timber replaced the logs and electric lighting replaced the candles. In the modern mine, pressure bolts and wire netting held up the walls. Florescent lights provided more light. Cameras were in the mine. They were used to monitor the machinery run remotely. There was a cable that went through the mine that allowed for the transmission of radio signals. It would also allow some cell phone signals.

Michael and Jan in the safety room

Following this, we went into a safety room. It also functioned as a lunchroom and office. This is the room everyone would come to if there was a cave in or an accident in the mine. The miners could come here, shut the door against toxic fumes and turn on their own ventilation. This was the end of our tour. We returned to the upper floor and to the gift shop. However, we went into the gallery where you could try your hand at panning for gold. The pans didn’t have any holes in them because the gold flakes were small. However, because gold is heaver than sand, you fill your pan with sand and water and then swirl it around, allowing sand to go out over the top. Because the gold is heaver, it goes down and stays near the bottom. When there is very little sand left, you can look for your gold. Larry found two pieces, then Michael found a piece and then I found one. We got to keep our gold. The people working there, took it and taped it to a souvenir card.

Michael panning for gold

We went next to the souvenir shop. Here we bought souvenirs for everyone back home. We figured that this was probably our last souvenir stop and our last chance. We managed to find something nice or interesting for everyone. We went next to the café for lunch. Larry and I had chilli while Michael had pizza. The woman working there made the chilli. She usually works at Science North, but she was catering a big event at Dynamic earth, so that is why she was at the café there. It was good chilli.

The Super Stack in Sudbury, Ontario

When we left Dynamic earth, we took a picture of the super stack and of the tailings piles. The piles are being reconditioned. They are being covered with earth and then planted. They will look better than mountains of black cinder. Sudbury started to clean up after being associated with the moon in the sixties.

We drove through Sudbury on our way back to Highway 17. Then we followed Highway 17, the Trans Canada Highway, east toward the Brent Road. We stopped for gas in Sudbury, in Sturgeon Falls and then again in Mattawaska. We arrived at the office for Brent at a little after 4:00. We got our permit, after some confusion. We had reserved site 14, but someone else had also reserved that site. They were on it for a week. We got another site. It doesn’t seem right that we should have to pay a reservation fee, though, as we did not get our reservation. We were a little disappointed when the woman working at the office told us that the tower to see the Brent Crater had been taken down in preparation for a new one that was to be built. Because of the forest, it would not be possible to actually see the crater without the tower.

Larry going into the Brent Campground Park Office

We drove 32 km down the road to the Brent Crater hike. This took a good 45 minutes or so. We got ready for the hike, including using mosquito repellent. There were quite a few mosquitoes there. Surprisingly, this was the first time we had encountered mosquitoes in the whole summer. We started on the trail; however, there was a slight change in the start of the trail, which was not reflected in the trail guide. According to the guide, after starting a post one in the parking lot, hikers would proceed from the parking lot up the road for 50 metres. Then they would see an opening in the trees and go through there to the next post. In fact, the parking lot was moved fifty metres up the road, so the trail now began there. Not knowing this, we walked well more than 50 metres up the road without finding an opening. We decided to try doing the trail backward and returned to the parking lot and entered what we thought was the trail exit. As it turns out, we came to the second post.

Jan and Michael finally at post 2

We proceeded on the hike and went down into the crater. Then, when we were about halfway, we heard thunder. We moved quickly out of the crater and the rest of the way back to our RV. The lookout tower was supposed to be at post 7. The woman at the entrance told us that there was some sort of trail marked to go up a bit on the ground to give a bit of a view of the crater. She said that we would see the remnants of the tower, and it was near that. However, we didn’t see the remnants of the tower or any evidence of a side trail. As it was going to rain immanently, (it was already sprinkling a little, we didn’t bother looking in depth. We came out of the trail at what was the old parking lot – it was covered in with dirt. We continued up the road (about 50 metres) to our RV. It had started to spit by the time we got there. Just as all three of us got inside, it started to pour. As we continued on our way toward the campground, the rain stopped.

The town of Brent in Algonquin Park

We decided to drive to Brent, in case the store closed at 7:00, which it did. We followed this road near the lake, but we had to crawl. It seemed more of a road for an off-road vehicle. We got there just minutes before the store closed. We talked to the clerk about the town of Brent. He said no one lives there in the winter anymore, since the railroad was taken out. They have no way to get supplies. Everyone leaves at Thanksgiving. The houses there are leased from the government. We got some ice cream bars and left. While we were taking pictures of the store, another person came along. He was disappointed that they had closed. He was going to come back later to see if they would open after dinner. He wanted to rent a canoe to go out in the backcountry. He was from Smith Falls near Hamilton.

The view from our campsite

We drove on another road, one that used to be the rail bed, back to the campground. It was in much better condition. Our spot was right on the lake, by where the people going out in the backcountry leave their cars. Other than that, it was very private. We were right on the lake with an unobstructed view. It was our first night without electricity. We made dinner and then relaxed, before going to bed.

It rained on and off during the night, but we never got that big storm that was expected.