Having spent a week in Manitoba, it was time for Donald and I to take the long drive back to Chatham-Kent and we were coming back the Canadian way, which, with no ferry as an option thanks to the end of the season, it’s basically three and a bit days of driving, if an eight-hour drive is all you can handle anymore. 

And, thanks to the luxury of time, we were able to do that, as opposed to previous 10- to 14-hour drives we have done. 

Of course, when you’re making the trip the Canadian way, there aren’t a multitude of places to stay along the way, especially in the off-season, so we basically did our initial trip in reverse: Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay to Sault Ste. Marie and Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto (thankfully as it was pouring rain and dark by the time we arrived there). 

I had taken a lot of photos on the way up, mostly through the passenger side window as we didn’t end up making many extracurricular (read non-bio-break) stops along the way. 

However, along the road from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay, we spotted something neither of us had noticed on the way out and it was a “must be photographed” opportunity. 

Not too far off the road is the Church of St. Claire in a little place called Upsala. Now abandoned, it is at the visual height of its decline with peeling paint and weathered wood........

© Sarnia Observer