Last Day in Canada

We spent a bit more time in Sudbury than we intended to. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it did lead to a relatively late arrival in Michigan Saturday night. It's hard to imagine that we'll ever get back to Sudbury, though if we do we know the two spots of pride that didn't make it onto this year's itinerary (Dynamic Earth and a monument to miners). It was a quirky stay, and I availed myself of every chance I had to speak to locals, all of whom were surprised anyone from Pennsylvania would come up there.

On our evening in Sudbury we visited the famous nickel, an enormous tribute to the 5-cent Canadian piece. It was built 50 years ago, hence the somewhat outdated design. The kids were not as interested in the nickel given the difficult meal that preceded it. 

Only two of us available for this photo. Kids were enjoying a break from us down the hill. 

We saw Sudbury's bigger pride and joy on Saturday, Science North. It's a pretty big facility. My feelings on it are mixed. There weren't as many things for us to do at it as at some science museums, but some of the experiences there were pretty unique. 

Sam and I created a river in an exhibit that was pretty neat, but whose plumbing worked erratically. 

I'm so glad I could meet the weight requirements of the thingy that let me spin all over the place. I'm sure this is just the photo Science North wants in its promotional materials. 

Here I am on a bed of nails. Sam, also, braved the bed. 

Our favorite part of Science North, however, were the animals. There was a beaver named Drifter. He stunk. But late in the day, Sherry got to fulfill a long-held dream of petting him. 

Drifter. As one other visitor said, "I've seen beavers before. That's not a beaver. That's a beast."

Sherry pets Drifter. 

 There was a skunk, too, named Saunders. All four of us had a chance to pet him. He did not stink.

A bluecoat was taking Quillan, the resident grouchy porcupine for a stroll.

The last photo I got to take before the bluecoat said "You might want to take a step back, sir."

Sherry and I were getting a bit irresponsible with our impersonation of Canadian accents by the end of our visit to Science North, so I guess that was a sign it was time for us to go.

The center itself was built around a couple of rocky outcrops, which led to some interesting architectural features, such as tunnel between two areas of the museum and rocks as we climbed the levels.

Caroline poses on the ramp leading to level 3 and by an enormous whale skeleton. 

The kids enjoyed the stop, and we found enough there to keep us moving until after 2 pm when we departed for the U.S. With the exception of a brief stop at Soo Locks, a coffee break at Tim Horton's, and dinner in the Soo, this was our last time in Canada for 2014.