Arctic Watershed Divide

Heat wave in the Arctic Watershed

We know that we are not really in the arctic, but entering the arctic watershed divide was a big deal.

Arctic Watershed Divide

Arctic Watershed Sign

It is located in The District of Timiskaming on Highway 11, some 15.5 km north of Highway 66.

Arctic Watershed Divide Ontario

The treeline was changing to mixed bush with mostly birch and black spruce.  It feels a little more sparse and rugged and, well, northern.

Black Spruce

And lichen.  Lots of lichen.

Lichen

We drove through Kirkland Lake and stopped to admire the public art on the main drag.

 Kirkland Lake

The display board stretches along Government Road.

Kirkland Lake

And this, our friends, is how you make French Toast!

French Toast

This town seems to be rather diverse and cosmopolitan despite it’s northern remoteness.

Diversity

We continued on through Swastika.

Swastika, Ontario

Yes, you read it right.  Swastika is a small town in Northern Ontario; named after the Swastika gold mine in 1908, the town folk are sticking with the Sanskrit word for “Good luck” despite the heavy connotation that is associated with this word.

The Mill Market in town of Iroquois Falls was delightful and we splurged on some amazing local cheese and bread.

Sadly, the underhood generator stopped charging our batteries.  We’ll need to figure out what the issue is. Ironically, we may need to find places with shore power so that we can use the air conditioner.  Although we are in the arctic watershed, we have a crazy heat wave  – 36c in the shade!

And continued to Cochrane where we have an appointment with some polar bears!

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11 thoughts on “Heat wave in the Arctic Watershed

  1. Jim Borden says:

    that just sounds cool being in the arctic watershed. And who would have known that swastika means good luck. It’s a shame that is now associated with something so negative.

    I hope your generator is working soon – that is crazy how warm it is so far north!

  2. petespringerauthor says:

    I hope you figure out your problems with the generator. That could be a potential problem down the road. I’ve read that the Arctic is one of those places most affected by global warming. Are the temperatures unusually hot for this time of year?

    • backroadsandotherstories says:

      Yes, the arctic is warming up. I know that from an archaeological perspective a lot of sites are unearthed because of the massive melting . Having said that, it does get warm in the summer in Ontario including the north. This year is perhaps warm for longer periods of time.

  3. Trailers and Cigarettes - YouTube says:

    We’re planning a jont to Pickle Lake in September, to take Trnquility out for her 2nd madden voyage since the modifications (furthest road in Ontario, I beleave?) we might meet up? We still need to cut and split wood for the winter…yah, it’s getting cooler.

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