Spent a good part of the day today travelling along the North shore of Lake Nipissing. Here's something I had not seen for several days. A crop other than hay. There is good agricultural land around Sturgeon Falls and North Bay. Flat and a tail wind - easy going. I stopped in Sturgeon Falls and by chance contacted Marion in Spain on Skype. 
North Bay is a fair sized place and this is one of it's claims to fame - The Dion Quints Museum. It was closed so I didn't get to go in. This whole area is very French Canadien. At one point a young lady jogged by me as I was taking a breather and said Ca va? I did a mental Google of ca va? and came up with the reply that Bernie in Fernie told me thirty some years ago - Pas mal.She then said a whole string of words quite rapidly and I had no clue what she was saying but it sounded encouraging so I just gave the thumbs up sign. She didn't seem too pleased with that. Does any one out there know what the thumbs up sign means in French? Is it something bad?
East of North Bay the land rises back up onto the shield again. The highway is cut through fascinating geological structures and a wide array of rock types. I had to pay attention not to wander off the road staring at it as I cranked by. Had a tail wind today and made pretty good time until hitting the hills at the end of the day. Near the village of Rutherglen I pulled off and found a campsite beside this pretty little lake. Shower and Internet both work here. Amazing! Mosquitos are eating me alive so that's it for now.
East of North Bay the land rises back up onto the shield again. The highway is cut through fascinating geological structures and a wide array of rock types. I had to pay attention not to wander off the road staring at it as I cranked by. Had a tail wind today and made pretty good time until hitting the hills at the end of the day. Near the village of Rutherglen I pulled off and found a campsite beside this pretty little lake. Shower and Internet both work here. Amazing! Mosquitos are eating me alive so that's it for now. 
I e-mail my friend who taught French and asked her the question of the comment and this is what she said"thumbs up" is not (that I know of, a rude jesture) . She asked him "how are you" and he replied "not bad". He did not know what she said so it might have been that "thumbs up" was an inappropriate response to her comment. It is best to know the phrase, "Je ne parle pas francais." " I do not speak french".
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