June 20th, 2008 Thunder Bay to Balmerton, Ontario – 351 miles

1. Sunrise over Thunder Bay......................................2. Sculpture at Ear Falls



3. Typical Fishing/ Hunting Lodge Road Sign....... 4. Entering Red Lake



5. Gene Crystal and Jay

It was a beautiful morning driving out of Thunder Bay with sunny skies and there was the occasional farm. We headed toward Kenora, away from Lake Superior. I am amazed at the number of people we have seen bicycling across the country. Over the last four days we have seen over 30 people!

As you drive through this untamed country, with its’ incredible resources, you cannot help but reflect that with all the poverty in the world, there is space in Canada for another 50 to 100 million people. The highway parallels the railway tracks, and the Canadian Government and the railways played major roles in the last 150 years promoting immigration. When Canada was being explored, if it was not for the lakes and river systems utilized by the voyageurs, the development westward hiking through the bush would have delayed development for decades due to the impenetrable nature of the bush.

Just past Dryden, Vermillion Bay, we headed north toward Balmertown to visit with Gene’s cousin and some of his relatives. The number of fishing and hunting lodges was absolutely amazing, there seemed to be one every kilometer. On this 180 kilometer stretch of road Gene saw a black ear, moose deer and several bald eagles! At Ear Falls, there is a large hydro electric dam built on Lac Seul, to provide power in the mid 1930’s to the the Red Lake gold mining region. For the last 30 miles into Balmertown, there were menacing thunderclouds overhead, but we managed to get into town just as it started to pour.Gene’s cousin Levi’s son Lee was home and he had two coolers full of beer waiting. When Levi arrived home, we set up for a typical Newfoundland house party.

The Red Lake region is a driven by gold mining. The major player is Goldcorp who purchased the Campbell Mine from Placer Dome and amalgamated it with their Red Lake Mine. Apparently, the mine manager just resigned (or was pushed out the door) and they are 30,000 ounces of gold behind budget for 2008. It was fascinating to listen to the talk about gold mining, since every one other than Gene and I are involved in the industry. Local scuttlebutt has the Golden Eagle play as perhaps over-hyped while Rubicon Minerals has major upside potential, with the largest landholdings in the area and their Phenoix play.