{"id":224,"date":"2018-04-03T15:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T19:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/?p=224"},"modified":"2018-04-03T15:00:37","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T19:00:37","slug":"agawa-canyon-traintour-our-first-alphabet-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/03\/agawa-canyon-traintour-our-first-alphabet-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"A is for Agawa Train Tour-Sault Saint Marie, Ontario, Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our mission for the first alphabet adventure was to begin working our way through the alphabet, from A-Z, in order.\u00a0 Unintentionally, we seemed to be starting with the letter “B” for blizzard!\u00a0 As our windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the storm, I was concerned that we would have to turn around and forfeit our tickets for the “Agawa Canyon Train Tour”<\/span><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 We didn’t have this luxury though, because during the winter, there is only a single trip each week, which takes place on Saturdays.\u00a0 Since it was Friday, we decided to press on, hoping to make our pre-arranged departure time, scheduled for the following day.\u00a0 Alan is an excellent driver and conditions like this are not unusual for those of us that reside in Michigan. \u00a0Thankfully, it was a brief and localized storm which “abated” about an hour out-of-town.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally we began utilizing our “A” themed words!<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A challenging start to our adventure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Usually a four hour journey,\u00a0we took our time getting up to Sault Saint Marie, Michigan.<\/span>\u00a0 Normally we do not frequent “antique stores”, but since we were on our “A” themed date, we\u00a0stopped at an interesting looking place, which we discovered along the way.\u00a0 The store was full of a huge variety of American history.\u00a0 There were items such as carousel horses, ancient farm equipment, Native American artifacts, glassware and more.\u00a0 Tucked among the shelves was a fascinating\u00a0glimpse into the past, leaving me to wonder why we don’t\u00a0frequent more places like this, if only to marvel at the richness of life.\u00a0 I think that is the first lesson to learn about ABC dating.\u00a0 We will be pushed to do and see more<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

After arriving at the border,\u00a0w<\/span>e crossed the International Bridge into Canada. <\/span>\u00a0 It is interesting to note that both cities go by the name Sault St. Marie.\u00a0\u00a0 The Canadian side is populated with 79,000 people.\u00a0 A little over 14,000 people call\u00a0the American side home.\u00a0 The St Mary’s river is all that divides the two cities.\u00a0 Originally , the settlement was\u00a0a single community.\u00a0\u00a0In 1817, the two governments chose to use the river as a boundary\u00a0to divide the countries.\u00a0 Once a Native American settlement for the Ojibway tribe, it soon grew to become a major fur trading location.\u00a0 Eventually\u00a0\u00a0the canal became one of the world’s largest shipping channels.\u00a0 People now flock from around the world, to observe the large cargo ships passing through\u00a0the famous “Soo” locks, making tourism the major industry\u00a0in this area.<\/p>\n

\"signs\"<\/a>
The tale of two cities.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We had come for an entirely different reason though.\u00a0 Our goal was to\u00a0take a trip on\u00a0 “The Snow Train <\/em>“aptly renamed during the months of January-March!\u00a0 We enjoy train travel and we were excited to view the advertised, “towering trestles, pristine lakes and rivers, granite rock formations and the forests of the Canadian Shield.”\u00a0 After our long drive, we enjoyed dinner and a walk around the mall (which sits on an island).\u00a0 There was a beautiful sunset, but as you will soon notice, my camera was acting up.\u00a0 It had already been a long day and we\u00a0were scheduled\u00a0to be at the train station early the next morning, so we made our way to the hotel to get some rest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"goodies\"<\/a>
A Gift of Goodies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

This adventure had been a gift from my mother and her husband.\u00a0 Arriving at the hotel, we found an “awesome” gift basket of snacks to fill our “appetites”.\u00a0 Now we were on a role for A themed words!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"We're<\/a>
We’re off!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Agawa Canyon Train!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Entering the train station the next morning, we were like little children.\u00a0 The diesel powered engine was impressive as it pulled\u00a0up near the center of town.\u00a0\u00a0Ready to settle,\u00a0we chose a large picture window on the right side of the\u00a0train, as had been suggested for the best view of the scenery.\u00a0\u00a0I had been warned that this winter train could be cold, so I had\u00a0brought along a\u00a0blanket to cuddle under and a thermos of hot tea to keep us warm.\u00a0\u00a0I am so glad to have done this, as we would quickly\u00a0discover that the heaters\u00a0were barely working!\u00a0 It might have been a miserable eight hour, 228 mile trip otherwise!<\/p>\n

The weather is markedly different in this area.\u00a0 Surprisingly, this location only averages about 30 inches of snow a year, compared to our 180 plus!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At 9:00 a.m,\u00a0the whistle blew and we were on our way.\u00a0 We quickly travel through a busy industrial area, which gives way to more rural scenery.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Traveling out of town.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tour is narrated. \u00a0 As we pass various landmarks, we hear stories of local history, the original Ojibway residents, fur traders and the explorers who settled this area.\u00a0 Considering the tracks were laid from 1911-1912, I am interested to learn that tours didn’t begin here until 1971.\u00a0 I soon begin to see why this is called the snow train.\u00a0 Most of the scenery is covered in a blanket of snow.\u00a0 Lakes and waterfalls are frozen solid.\u00a0 I marvel at how close the train passes to many of the ice formations!<\/p>\n

\"Frozen<\/a>
Frozen water!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the 102 mile mark, the train begins a 500 foot decent into the Agawa Canyon.\u00a0 It will take about ten miles for us to reach the canyon floor.\u00a0 During the summer, passengers are allowed to disembark the train for about one hour to explore the forests and waterfalls that surround this area.\u00a0 In the winter, it is simply a frozen wonderland\u00a0and too dangerous for hikers,\u00a0so the train doesn’t stop, but\u00a0rather re-positions to head back to the city.\u00a0 The attached dining car offers lunch and many passengers head that way.\u00a0 Alan and I have brought a box lunch, a picnic prepared by our hotel.\u00a0 We flip our seat over, as advised by the crew.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We pass time, on the four hour return journey, by watching monitors positioned throughout the coaches.\u00a0 They are connected to a camera that has been mounted on the front of the engine.\u00a0We will now enjoy the scenery in reverse of the way we saw it on our approach.\u00a0 With full bellies from lunch, most people sleep through this part of the adventure.\u00a0 At the end of our “A” themed date, we declared it\u00a0 to have been an “awesome adventure.”\u00a0 Our first exploration of the alphabet, was now in the books!<\/p>\n

\"Agawa<\/a>
Agawa Canyon Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our mission for the first alphabet adventure was to begin working our way through the alphabet, from A-Z, in order.\u00a0 Unintentionally, we seemed to be starting with the letter “B” for blizzard!\u00a0 As our windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the storm, I was concerned that we would have to turn around and forfeit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[95,102,141,149,214,252,254,279,306,323,337,341],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures","tag-a","tag-adventure","tag-canada","tag-cities","tag-hotel","tag-michigan","tag-months","tag-picnic","tag-ship","tag-summer","tag-tours","tag-train"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}