We were on the road by about 9:00 today and planned to move at a slower pace....  we crossed the long bridge into Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, going through Canadian customs.   A surprise as they informed me that all shotguns (and other weapons) were now required to be registered in Canada.    A new rule beginning 4 months ago.  They ensured me that all Canadians were being required to register (and they were not just harrassing US tourists).    They sent us off to a "special" line..  a customs agent took the shotgun out of the trailer and examined it (I was not allowed to touch it).  Told me that there was a $50 CDN registration fee or else I would have to leave it with them and pick it up later.  We had no plans of returning here, so I registered.     The $50 fee is good for a year, but the registration was only good for 2 months.  After that I would have to look up a customs agent and re-register it.   The registration took about a half an hour due to a fellow in front of me trying to explain why half of the serial number on his rifle was missing.

We then passed into Canada and stopped at the Information Center where there was a bank branch doing money exchange.   We had been reading the rate running about 1.51 to 1.54 Canadian dollars per 1 US, but found they were only offering about 1.475 at the exchange, plus a service charge.   We estimated how much cash we might need (planning to use credit cards whenever possible as I had learned to do on my Alaska trip) and did the exchange.  

Then we were on route 17E toward Ottawa.  As we had started later, we decided on stopping earlier and as I drove Suzanne checked out possible camping locations.    The traffic was fairly busy on the road, and the surface wavy and bumpy.    The warning signs were little squiggly waves, after which we would bump over a bulge in the road.   Traffic moved along at about 100 to 110 kph, with the speed limit being 90 kph  most places.   It sprinkled on and off, but overall was a much better day for driving.   And the scenery vastly improved as we went east.   We spotted what appeared to be a good campsite at Matawa, highly rated in the Good Sam guide, and advertising a modem connection.   We got there about 4:00, ready to kick back and relax... we were informed there that they no longer had the modem connection... it also looked very run down from high activity in the summer... disappointed we decided to push on to Pembroke which had several interesting campsites listed.   We arrived at Pine Ridge Park Campground, at Petawawa (we have had a lot of fun with that name) which is next to Pembroke.  This turned out to be a scenic and friendly campground with an Antique shop for an office, so by 7:00 we were backed in and setup.  

Suzanne sent me off siteseeing and taking photos so that she could do some organization...  I returned about 20 minutes later and found her busy giving tours of the Aliner to other campers...  I took over so she could finally get some work done...  nice to see all the excitement still created by the Aliner.  

Tomorrow we push on into Quebec... crossing Ontario has allowed us to study up on our French so we would be ready... we plan to skirt Montreal to the North and then head toward Quebec City...  not sure where we will stop, but we are  hoping for shorter  days on the road.... 

Another lesson learned today.... don't fill your gas tank on the way to the campground...  while setting up camp we have been noticing gas vapors...    ugh....  I think I will have a talk with Chrysler when I get back home....