Day 39, Fri. July 4, Mine Centre, 103km.

At Emo we camped on the beside Rainy River. On the other shore, some 400 metres away, was Wisconsin. Therefore, when we left our campsites today we were as close to the U.S. as we will get on this trip and, as luck would have it, just in time for its fourth of July celebrations.

We cruised 30km into Fort Frances where Dave 3 finally found a Starbucks. The caffeine in his chai latte kept him on a high for the rest of the day. Most of the others ate our now usual second breakfast at a real restaurant.

On a roll with a tailwind we headed out to the causeway over Rainy Lake only to be stopped by the OPP who said there had been an accident and the road would likely be closed for an hour and a half. After an hour baking in the sun we set off once again and, helped by our faithful tailwind, mosquitoes and horseflies, we arrived in Mine Centre by 2:30 p.m.

We are on a beautiful lake (perhaps Seine Lake) at a campground called Bliss. It is a bit rustic, with one co-ed toilet and two co-ed showers. Nothing went amiss, however, until Dave 2 was showering in his stall and someone minced into the second stall announcing herself as Rita. To Dave's complete credit, he kept his eyes firmly averted and his embarrasment to himself. This was witnessed to be absolutely true by Dave 3 (aka Rita).

Another exciting moment happened when Serge and Stephan were cooking their first dinner - a fine fettuccini alfredo - when Serge used an oily rag as a pot holder and nearly set the R.V. on fire. Luck was on our side once again and the R.V. is hardly worse for the mishap.