It was BBQ ribs for everyone. I figured I had no alternative -- all of Thunder Bay was there, standing in line in front of the four barbecue joints set up in a giant parking lot in the middle of town. The band was playing Dire Straits. Kawasaki had a stand showing off its cycles alongside a stand selling Goth wear. The lines moved very slowly, as we waited while the sauce caramelized on the ribs being finished over the open fire. Everyone knew everyone else. There was no-one that didn't have a tattoo. I think Mike Parker would have enjoyed the scene. I needed him with me to help me blend in. And a tattoo.  

What I found out later was that the festival was put on by the Thunder Bay Business Improvement District -- shades of Rosslyn, Virginia !! They were running a free movie in the park at the same time -- just like back home .

The setting for Thunder Bay is beautiful -- I could feel a shock as I went over a hill and there it lay spread out below -- the bay at the end of the Lake, with islands out on the horizon, and a Table Rock bounding it to the South. Port Arthur and Fort William, two 19th century towns, were joined to make the current Thunder Bay, but each retains its own character. Fort William is where the railroad across the plains ends in monster grain silos by the waters edge. Port Arthur is a port for smaller vessels, and has an old world town center and shopping district. They are separated by a low lying section of tacky shops and neon -- the auto parts stores and discount clothing stores, and my motel. What I found out later was that the grain terminal is getting less use than it used to. I went to visit on Saturday morning, and it was dead. The guy who took care of it said he thought it had to do with the deregulation of grain trade in Canada, and the demise of the Wheat Board . Now the grains could go out directly to China via Vancouver or Prince Rupert, without having to take a turn around the American continent. It could also be a little early in the harvest.

The trip down from Kenora was smooth. I met someone at the guest house in Minnedosa and asked whether I should spend the night at Kenora or Dryden -- the next village along the way towards Thunder Bay. She made a big argument for Kenora (which I found out was her home town). In her Canadian kindness, she never revealed the killer feature for Dryden -- that it is the site of a huge pulp mill which gives the air that tangy sewer taste. Glad I ended up in Kenora ! The forests are interminable, which makes pulping inevitable -- if only they could find a way to do it without contaminating everything in the vicinity.  

Internet access is weak -- pictures will be uploaded this evening.