Tuesday From Lake Louise to Salmon Arm BC

Today I reluctantly packed up and departed the ever changing world of Lake Louise and drove through the mountains to the head of Lake Shuswap and Salmon Arm BC.
First some pictures from dynamic Lake Louise

Yes, I fulfilled one of my bucket list items and went canoeing on Lake Louise. This is a picture of the Mt. Victoria glacier and the end of Lake Louise.

In the distance is the Chateau, I have hiked to the delta of the Glaciers and behind me is the glacial plaine and the 6 glaciers that feed Lake Louise.

Staying at the Chateau was a real treat and certainly something I wouldn't do every day. It was nice to be in such an international place. There were people from every where! It was nice to re-meet some folks at the breakfast spot too and we had a chance to share stories. I liked that part. Also the staff here are just outstanding as they are expected to be. I did get to know some of the staff too, as a multi-night guest. Everyone was great.

Yesterday I took a "day off". After breakfast I took my crossword puzzle out to one of the benches that overlooked the lake and sat for at least an hour watching people, the lake, the mountains and having a great time. The clouds gathered and I decided that it was time to head inside. There is a spectacular (and huge) reading lounge above the main lobby that had comfy chairs, quiet music playing and a great view of the Lake Louise ski slopes in the distance. Finding a comfy place to sit I continued with the puzzle, dozed a bit and just enjoyed life! At the deli (oh yeah, they have everything) I had grabbed some chicken rice and dill soup (this isn't your run of the mill deli) and enjoyed lunch overlooking the changing view of Lake Louise. Alas it was time to venture down to the spa for my massage. Oh yeah, baby if you're gonna do this all, you're going to do it all! So, scented with bergamot (think Earl Grey Tea) and ylang ylang (I have no comparison for this) I wafted back to my room to rest. Having an aromatherapy massage can be exhausting!

Dinner in the Glacier Saloon (yeah, I liked this place) watching Monday Night Football on a gigantic screen I was a happy camper. Relaxed and content I enjoyed my last night in Lake Louise listening to the odd rumble of the glacier letting some of it's ice go (sounds kind of like thunder but in a different way).

Staying at a place as large as the Chateau (over 500 rooms with an average of 800 people staying each night and 400 staff) it can be a little overwhelming with the sheer number of humanity wandering around. Everyone was nice, don't get me wrong, but I did feel like I was living in a little town. I was geared up to venture out again and continue west. The Pacific coast is so near!

There was some construction on the Trans-Canada that kept the speed down and there weren't too many trucks but the rain that hit every so often did make it a little challenging. I did keep my eye on the temperature but it never ventured below 6 C. Driving through Roger's Pass is interesting because the mountains are so high and really bank the highway on both sides. There are so many avalanches there that they have built tunnels to drive through where the snow can slide over the built tunnel and not close the road. There are many barricades that I can tell are used during the winter to close off the road. The clouds were right down on the road it seemed and the rain came and went. It was certainly a different drive than when I was in Saskatchewan! Man, that seems like an eternity ago!

I stopped in Revelstoke for a pit stop and heard thunder as I got out of the truck. Hmmm. Black to the right of me, rain enveloping the mountain to the front of me and I had just come from the other way. Oh dear.
So I hung out in the Equinox for a bit and watched the different storms decide what they were going to do.
In true mountain fashion they seemed to move off in different directions than I was going so I headed back on the Trans-Canada and made my way to Salmon Arm.

The clouds disappeared, the mountains got smaller, the temperature went up and I was "through" the Rockies, for the most part. Salmon Arm is named after a portion of Lake Shuswap that the First Nations used to fish for salmon (natch) and other fish because it becomes very shallow and good for their way of trapping fish. The lake is huge and has many wings to it. Salmon Arm is at the most southernly portion of it. The town, like many along the Trans-canada is built right beside the railway and the main street (highway) parallels the railway. By the way I did not stop in Craigellachie, where the last spike was pounded into the transcanada railway because it was a MONSOON out and I had a pesky cube van on my tail. I do remember stopping there many years ago when we travelled through on my Guiding trip. So, alas, one touristy thing missed.

I arrived at the Best Western in Salmon Arm to find a lovely accommodation (actually the room is bigger than the one at the Chateau but alas, no view at all. Ho Hum) with a pool and hot tub too. I may change my allegiance to Best Western motels. There was a little strip mall within walking distance where I could fill up on some fruit and granola bars for my travel bag and Kool-a-tron and grab a light snack. Perfect!

What I'm finding with accommodations is the bonus of having a little fridge and even a microwave is really nice. Everywhere has internet these days so that's not a decision maker but a pool is nice. I'm certainly getting good at picking some nice places to stay.

I haven't looked at anything in the US yet, that will come. I do have a route though and that's half the battle, then I can plan where I'll stay. I'm looking forward to being near the ocean again. Weird, I've been in the mountains for a while now I'm looking forward to the ocean. There is so much to see, so much to do. What a great trip!
What a great pilgrimage!

Lake Louise and the Chateau-Saturday to Monday

Well folks I've reached the pinnacle of accommodations in Canada.
I am staying at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. I have a lake view room that is so spectacular. The lake is green then pale green then dark green. The sun sets over the mountains and the glaciers are dark against the dark rock. This is a truly special place on earth.

 

I left 3 Bars Guest ranch with tons of memories, lots of new skills and friends. I said good bye to Bailey the donkey and the rest of the animals that I had befriended, shared email addresses with the 3 other girls I met there and said so long to the staff that had been so good and patient with me. In a way it was hard to leave but on the other hand it was time to get back on the road. The last night at the ranch was a campfire and sing song night where one of the guests plays guitar and we had a great time singing silly songs. There was a large contingent of Irish who were in Canada for golf and the rocky mountains. They asked to hear O Canada since some of them had never heard it in person. So, I fired up my pipes and off I went. Alas, it was a solo as the other Canadians in the crowd stated they were tone deaf. Yeah right. Then they asked if I knew the American anthem, so off I went again. The guests were so impressed and so thankful to hear such a beautiful song in the rockies. The american one they thought was rather war oriented and liked the Canadian one better. It was a fun night and the stars were something to see too. I forgot that I was in the middle of a place that had really no artificial light. What a sky!!

 

Everything packed into the Equinox and it was a nice drive up to Golden then across to Lake Louise. The weather was fantastic and even a little warm at 27 C.

 

Emerald Lake really is emerald colour and the rockies in the back ground are awesome too.
Okay, I know you're all looking for pictures but I've run into the same old snag again with my posts and this system will not allow me to post pictures. The Chateau is quite fancy but their internet has a lot of blocks on it. One of these days I'll make a post of my favourite pictures. I'll just have to remember to do that.

 

Anyway, I arrived in Lake Louise and it was so hot and I was so road weary from the mountains, looking around, the construction on the trans-canada and the heat I was so glad to arrive at the Chateau. What a place!!
They give you a map of the chateau along with your room key. That's a great idea!
My room is on the fourth floor overlooking the lake with a beautiful view. A spectacular view. A postcard view. No a view from a jigsaw puzzle. It's unbelievable how much it changes too.

 

I moved into my room and found all the things around me (the pool, the spa, the 5 restaurants) and what was in my room (coffee maker and kettle and refridgerator) and what was outside (outstanding views). I needed to find out when breakfast was (I had that included in my room charge) and what the canoes cost to rent. I  ventured off to the Glacier Saloon to watch some CFL football and have an early dinner.

 

This morning I awoke to see the sun hitting Mt. Victoria and the glaciers. What a sight! I decided that an early morning start would be in order because the weather was supposed to change this afternoon. After breakfast I hiked the 5 km round trip to the end of the lake, where the glacier pours in, and back. So neat to see the Chateau from the other end of the lake. It looked soooo small. The water coming from the glacier is quite milky from the disolved rock, or rock flour, in it. The lake is 70 meters deep and the rock flour is diluted by the vast quantity of cold, cold water in the lake that the whole thing doesn't appear milky. The very fine particles of rock flour reflect the light in certain ways to make the lake appear green or blue or deep emerald as it is now.

 

As I glance out my window the sun has set but there are big clouds coming over the mountains and it's snowing at the higher elevations. It's neat to see it falling on the peaks. Kind of like strings connecting the cloud to the peak. We had a thunderstorm go through this afternoon and the sound of the thunder going through the canyons around here was really something. So deep and booming and then it would echo around the area. Again, all a neat experience.

 

Closer to the lunch hour I rented a canoe for an hour. I so wanted to take a canoe out and just paddle around. So I did! It was so special to canoe to the other side of the lake (where there isn't a hiking path) and look around and then to be in the middle of the lake and take some pictures and just float around and let the breezes push me around and look at the majestic mountains all around me. Something that I won't forget for a long time. It was just starting to rain really hard when my hour was up and I walked away from the boat house all satisfied that I had crossed another thing off my list.

 

On this tour I have:

• ridden a horse and become rather proficient
• fly fished
• skeet shooted
• fired a 22 calibre shot gun
• fired a 12 guage shot gun
• fired a 20 guage shot gun
• stayed at the Chateau Lake Louise with a lake view
• driven through the rockies safely
• met new people
• canoed on Lake Louise

and.....
tomorrow's another day!

Cheers from beautiful Lake Louise, Alberta

Thursday Sept 22-Back in the Saddle or Champ rides again

Howdy folks!
My boots are parked on the mat by the door and Champ is out grazing on a forward paddock after hauling this lovely traveller around the hills and dales of the Kootenay Rockies. He's worked hard and deserves a little time off. Tomorrow we have an all day ride to the top of the nearby mountain so he better have some down time!

I am currently at the 3 Bars Guest Ranch outside of Cranbrook British Columbia. It is owned by the Beckley family and it is truly a family place to be. The whole family is involved in the operation of the ranch, the reining horses (more on that later) and the guest ranch part. It is truly a fun place to be and I am learning so much. From the horse riding to the skeet shooting to the flyfishing and then there's the animal friends in the petting corral. All awesome.

We are housed in beautiful log cabins and there are 3 square meals a day that are not to be missed. There are rides in the morning for sure then the afternoons are different activities if you want. Or another ride if you want! They are all so accommodating here and want to make your time the best ever. They certainly succeed in that part.
My horse is Champ and he is a 20 year old guy that is so used to having some newbie on his back that he is very forgiving and adaptable. He waits to for you to figure out what the command should be then acts on it. If he gets confused he just stands and kind of looks at you with the "have you decided what you want yet?" look. We have come up with a group of signals that work for us and he spends a lot of time listening to me. I even got him to back up today! Yee haw!
Below is a picture of our wrangler Reagan leading me and Champ through the river. Below that picture is the entrance way into the main compound.

There is a great hot tub to wind the muscles down after a day in the saddle and I can tell you it really helps too. There are 3 other ladies I have met that are all here on their own. E, from England, has been sent by her work as she works for a horsey magazine; C, from Kelowna, is here for her 50th birthday celebration; B, from Kingston, is a great rider and loves the guest ranch experience and wanted to try this one. E and B are great riders and have much to chat about. C and I are just in it for the experience and are all having a blast. We all clicked from the first time we met, it's been fun.

The ranch is a cattle ranch as well as a barn that trains and rears reining horses. Reining is a form of western dressage and these horses (most quarter horses or type there of) are trained like athletes and treated with great care. Reining is a very difficult and athletic type of riding and it has garnered many awards for the Beckley family and they also train for other people. It's fascinating to watch a horse and rider go through their paces. The rider appears to make no motion or word to the horse and he or she knows exactly what is needed to be done from a set series of moves. Really something to watch.

I really wanted to try fly fishing and today I got a chance to. After a lesson from Tyler we were off to the St. Mary's river and some real trials. Okay so we didn't catch any fish we did get quite proficient at the casting manoevers.

There are lots of animals here, besides the horses. Many dogs; Marley, Max, Wiz, Tig, Bo Bo and Bruman all have jobs as greeters and moochers and are lovely. There is the petting corral with Bailey the donkey, two goats, two sheep, a bunch of chickens and some kittens. Bailey now greets me with a great long bray as I come along (feeding her fallen pears has helped with this). She is very huggable!

The lodge is a meeting place, bar, dining room, laundry and store. It is an amazing log structure that must have been something to watch being constructed. The logs for this and all the buildings came from the area. Really something and so solid. The accommodations are lovely and so comfy. There is a front porch with two chairs and a table on it and it's great to sit in the afternoon sun there.

What I've found here in the west is the large number of Australians that have come to work. Two of the wranglers, Rob and Matt, are Aussies and they are great fun. Both have loads of experience in all parts of the world and Matt came from a cattle station that had 40,000 cattle on it. This is pretty small potatoes for him but he's really enjoying his time here and is an expert horseman. Oh yeah, he races camels in Australia! What??? I guess there are over 1 million wild camels in Australia and people train them to race. Right......

There is another wrangler, Don, who is a retired dentist. Really he's had more crazy experiences that I have fingers and toes. From ski jumping to champion horsemanship and owning his own business in Lake Louise.  He's a hoot and is really good at telling really bad jokes and trying to pull our legs on things but he's such an asset for the ranch and I know he really loves what he gets to do here. Don always takes the newbies under his wing and is able to make them comfortable with what ever they're doing. He doesn't live on the ranch but in nearby Kimberly and comes in every day. Even retired he loves to get out and do stuff with his horse Wally and a group of guests.

Well folks. I think that's all I can think of for now. Surprisingly the internet connection has stayed okay for this go round. I'll see if I can post this. I know there's more stories in my little brain but I'll just have to sort them all out before I write again.

So I'll giddee up and get dressed for bar time before dinner.

G'day mates!

A weekend in Banff, Albertaaaahhhhh

I write this on Sunday morning.
Breakfast is done and I'm packed up again but the nice people here say there's no rush to check out and I can even leave the Equinox here while I do some last minute visiting to a favourite tea shop I've found down town.

I'm relaxed, it's such a different pace here. Once I saw the mountains, I think that's what did it.
The prairies were neat, something I think everyone needs to see at least once in their life. I bet it looks so different in the spring. At this time of year it's just so.... gold! The fields are gold, the sky is gold at sunset and the buildings reflect the gold sun. Wild.

This beautiful town of Banff is filled with visitors. I don't just mean the tourists that come through it's the people working here. There are predominantly Aussies, Koreans, and some Brits. It's neat to hear all the accents as I wander in and out of the stores.
Yesterday I treated myself to a massage at the sister hotel, the Delta. Wow, was it ever good. Kelly mashed the muscles in my back and made me feel so relaxed and great. She actually comes from Sauble Beach ! Wow, what a shrinking universe!!

When I shop it's because I'm in a mood to shop and there is such a friendly feeling here that you feel so comfortable and I had a blast going in and out of the stores.
I found Crocs!!! Oh how exciting is this. For those that know my favourite footwear at work is Crocs and I have been having challenges finding them. So I bought a green and red pair. They are sooo comfy. I think I'll use them as slippers for the rest of the trip.

One of the jewelry things around here is Ammolite. It is a fossilized sea snail like thing. Think a cross section of a multisectioned snail shell and that's what it looks like in structure but the colours on the inside are very irridescent. I liked the stones but what intrigued me was a cross section cut of the fossil, polished and put on a necklace. Not expensive but rather dramatic. I found a couple of stores with them and picked through to find one that "spoke to me".

In Alberta now I had to have bison or beef or something like that so I ventured to a pub and enjoyed Bison Kabobs! They were soooo good. Really flavourful and yummy (okay I was a little hungry for lunch) I'm sure we'll have something along those lines at Three Bars ranch.

Worn out from travelling in and out of what seemed like each store I wandered back to the motel for a rest and plan the rest of the day. The Man had gone to see the movie The Help and said it was really good and if I had a chance I needed to see it. I know the book was awesome. There was also the Hot Springs to go to. Hmmm. I packed up my suit and towel and headed out to see what movies were playing at the little cinema. No "The Help" so plan B was in play. The Hot Springs.

There is a bus line in Banff that is really two routes, one to Sulfur mountain and the other to Thunder mountain. So, for $2 I took the little bus up to the Springs. The Springs pool was pretty busy but not as busy as when I left, this was at 6:45 pm!! Wow! I'm also glad I took the bus because the spring water just exhausted me. I was pooped! I hopped back on the bus back to my lodging just as the skies opened up with a hard, cold rain.

After a long, hot shower (you smell a little rotten eggy after the sulfur spring dip) I made myself some of my new fancy tea and relaxed in the comfy chair in front of the TV .

What an awesome day that was.

Today (Sunday) I've reviewed my route and directions to Three Bars near Cranbrooke and had a great chat with the ladies in the breakfast area. One was so amazed I was travelling alone the other one understood completely! Everyone is so nice here and are very used to tourists. Banff is a 4 season place. Someone yesterday said that down time is really just the last week of October. The colours in the trees are gone and the snow isn't quite good enough yet. No wonder the house prices are crazy (half a million for a DUPLEX!!) and even the rents are nuts ($1,500 for a basement apartment). But there is work all year round and there seems to be openings. Interesting.

Well, I've typed a while here and I don't know if it will post so I'll give it a try.

On to my next adventure!
The Three Bars Guest Ranch!!

September 15th-600 km to Swift Current, SK

Another new province today! I've never been to Saskatchewan before!
Wow it's still really flat, I mean REALLY flat.
Before I left Brandon I hit the nearby mall and found Jersey City store that would provide me with the Winnipeg Jets stuff I need! Again, this whole province is so excited that there is an NHL team here. There is still some challenge over a new logo for the team or use the old logo. The nice guy in the jersey shop thought that the new logo was pretty cool but the girl in the luggage shop where I was buying a new bum bag really liked the old logo! No matter where you go in this area there is team stuff, whether the Jets, the Bombers, the Wheat Kings or the Roughriders (okay, Saskatchewan is only an hour and a half away) there is logo stuff all over the place. It's fun to see! I love team spirit.

Back on the Transcanada again, heading due west on the right hand lanes I settled in for a good long drive. The time has changed and I'm in Central time right now but I think it's going to change again, usually there is sign telling me so but the local radio station mentioned the time for Saskatchewan as well as western Manitoba. Hmmmm Okay, now I'm 2 hours different.

At this time of year the tourist information places here are closed for the season so it is really necessary to be prepared for the trip. I still have the Koolatron packed with 2 lunches and bottles of water, fruit and yogourt. I think being prepared is really a wise idea and it's made the trip better. Many of the towns have signs a couple of kilometers out that indicate what's available in the next part of the trip. This was helpful!

There were signs warning of deer danger at night, at least it's not moose this time. I didn't see any deer (alive that is) but I did see a fox, a coyote, many eagles and hawks and an owl sitting on a fence. This landscape is so perfectly suited for the flying preditor, flat and clear for the most part as the crops are continuing to be pulled in and there's lots of morsels for them to catch.

I always thought that the prairies would be very dry, which it is as the plumes of dust kicked up by a truck can be seen for miles and miles, but there are so many ponds or "pot holes" of water. This is interesting! Is it because of all the rain and flooding that they had in the spring? Perhaps. I could tell some of the potholes were made by bulldozers to help when there was some rain to make it pool in a specific area but there were a lot of them! The cattle must be very happy. Acres and acres to roam on, water, good grasses and a nice sun, I wonder if they are happy?

Along the way I could see some abandoned homes, they appeared very old too. I wonder if the families that toiled so hard on this barren land just up and left. I wonder why? I wonder how the first people that came to this land saw it. I saw it as so flat and "Big Sky" country that they must have wondered what they signed up for. I was so amazed at how far you you see! If you wanted to send a message to someone, just send up a smoke signal. Someone would see it for miles!

I did drive past one of the most gigantic piles of potash that I've ever seen in my life. Or pile of anything for that matter. Saskatchewan exports tons and tons of this stuff. It is just hanging out in the ground and sometimes it's right on the surface looking like a whole pile of white talcum powder. Very weird. The potash plant was so huge and the land so flat that it looked like a hill in the distance.

Though the drive wasn't as long as yesterday it was difficult, no really just tiring I guess. The sun was in my driver's window for quite a while and the land was so....arresting, I think is the best way to say it. So much to see as it changed a bit before Swift Current and I began to dream of the buffalo that roamed around these lands. No really! I know this area was used by the First Nations to follow the buffalo around to better pastures.
viewing tower at a cut off and I decided to take a look.

A lake appeared to the south of the highway and the map said it was Reed Lake. It was really large! There was a pull off spot with a viewing tower so I headed to that. The lake is about 3 feet deep in the middle and it is a favourite stopping spot for migrating birds. Though the season is early for that I did see some pelicans! what?? Pelicans?? Yup, there were three up in the sky and they were meeting up with three others. They are HUGE birds (wing span nearly 9 feet, or so the interpretive plaque told me.

The strong wind blowing, the ducks and shore birds making noise below me and the lapping of the waves on the lake made it seem surreal that it was in the prairies that I was witness to all of this. It was neat. I tried to take a picture but it didn't work out. Hu hum....

Swift Current has two service roads that parallel the Transcanada and on both sides are hotels and food places and on the north side the Big Sky Casino. I think that's why there are so many motels. The actual town is to the south of the highway. This place is really an oasis in a huge flat piece of countryside, once you reach the town limits there is nothing but grass land again.

I am looking forward to getting to Alberta and staying two nights in one place. I'm also looking forward to wandering through the town where I'm staying but I haven't been comfortable enough to do that in these pit stops on the journey.

Few more sleeps until the Guest Ranch!! Right on!

Wednesday Sept 14-650 km to Brandon, Manitoba

I am in a whole new province today! Woohoo!
I've never been to Manitoba before...
Bring on the Buffalo!
Well, maybe not on the road or anything...
We'll see.

I was on the road at 9 am Central Time and I noted that Dryden is a very blue collar place and the hotel was practically vacant when I went to the breakfast nook to get my cereal and egg. I noted that someone was coming in after night shift and staying over. I guess they accommodate everyone.

The temperature was a whopping 4 C and I actually had to leave the shorts in the bag and put pants on! Oh my. I did keep my Keen sandal shoes on though. I'm not giving up yet...
The drive was more rocks and trees and yes, wet SNOW was falling in parts of the drive in the higher altitudes. YIKES! This is WAY too soon. Oh well, I am in the "north" so it's not surprising really.

I decided that a gas stop would be in Kenora as I didn't know what was up in Manitoba for stopping so it's best to top up. Kenora is a lovely town spread over a few kilometers with lakes interlaced with roads. It's really a cottage country feel and it was a nice place to drive through. The home prices made me sure it was more of a cottage place as the signs posted showed numbers similar to Southampton. Oh well. But if I did have a choice to live in this part of the province I'd vote for Kenora. Very pretty.

As I travel I enjoy listening to local radio and there are signs along the roadside advertising what station is playing what type of music. The news is fun to listen to as well. As I travelled closer to Winnipeg the stations were filled with news of the Winnipeg Jets. This new (old?) team has injected some real energy into all fans here. Everyone is talking about them and who is going to be trying out for them and the new uniforms and some are even giving tickets to the Jets and Leafs game as a prize. Fun!
Ah, a quest. I need to find some Winnipeg Jets stuff. They'll have some in Brandon I'm sure.

The road in Manitoba is flat and straight, the terrain is flat and straight and the horizon is flat and straight. Wow, if it's like this in Manitoba what's it going to be like in Saskatchewan?

Okay, before you all yell at me (I can't hear you!!) Yes, I'm driving but I can see why people get bored. I had the cruise on. The Trans-Canada is a 4 lane, divided highway and there was NO ONE around me. Soooo I took a couple of pictures. This is looking out the front window and this field has not yet been threshed. Really this scene typifies what the prairies are to me from what all I've read.
You'll note that the sky is blue. After another couple of fronts that I drove through (actually streamers coming off of Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba at Portage La Prairie) everything cleared up and the temperature rose to a whopping 12 C. Break the shorts back out.

When I arrived in Brandon I had noted that the city is to the south of the Trans-Canada and in typical prairie fashion built in a grid. I figured I'd find my Days Inn without putting the address in the nav system. Yeah, welllllll
I had a nice tour of the town, saw the Assiniboine River (again) and many supportive signs of the Brandon Wheat Kings (local CHL team) and home made GO Jets signs. But, no hotel...
So I relented and looked up the hotel in my CAA book. In hind sight I also noted that there weren't any signs on the highway directing me to the Brandon Days Inn....

Well a good sign is that the navigation system took the address (I've found if the address isn't right it can't be properly inputted) so off I went.

Aha!
It's brand new, in the south end of town beyond where you would usually travel and very, very nice. Seems this hotel caters to the business types and is quite nice. The room is great and everything is so comfy and the little pool isn't filled with kids! The bowling alley/restaurant next door was a nice diversion (boy are there some good bowlers in Brandon!)

So, settled in for the night, the Equinox and me resting our bones before the next leg of the journey which is a little shorter than todays by about 50 km. This will give me time to find the store with the Jets stuff in it. Even the girls at the front desk here knew where I might get some things! What a place! So helpful! 

Notes on travel stuff....

• Days Inn-if it's a larger one the breakfast is really good (eggs, bacon etc) and a nice sized eating area, if smaller it's the usual continental breakfast and a "nook" to eat in, I usually take a tray up to my room and watch Canada AM (I went to school with Beverly Thompson at LPCI but she was a cheer leader and wouldn't know me from a hole in the ground).
• Comfort Inn-very predictable continental breakfast (2 juices, coffee, milk, 3 cereals and various breads to toast and hard boiled eggs) and very small nook.
• Days Inn has better WiFi
• Comfort Inn uses some internet valet program and it drives me crazy.
• Days Inn always calls about 30 minutes after I get to my room and ask how I like it and they always have the extra pouffy beds. AAAHHHH
• Gas was $1.41 outside of Wawa, it's $1.15 here in Brandon. Right on. Driving in the mountainous area has been a little expensive, not so much in the prairies!
• Having the Kool-a-tron has saved me lots in lunches on this tour as the Trans-Canada has really nice picnic places (with washrooms). With the cold night temperatures I'm not hauling it into the hotel room (though they've all had fridges too).

So folks that's all for now. Not much in the way of pictures, sorry, I really wanted to take pictures of the combines working but I never found a good scene. More tomorrow I'm sure.

Later!

September 13-840 km to Dryden Ontario

Okay, I always knew Ontario was really big but after today's drive I know absolutely! I drove for nearly 9 hours and I'm still not at the border with Manitoba. Wow!

Last night the weather took a wild turn. It was very humid and there was thunder in the distance after dinner so I knew something was up. Around 9 pm the wind really picked up and the thunder and lightening were constant. The power went out at 9:30 pm. I was ready for bed anyway but this just capped it off. I began to think though.
When I'm in a familiar setting I am prepared for a power outage. When away I had to think more about the situation. I had to get my flashlight (I have 3 with me in various bags) and keep it beside me, then I had to think about how the place I was in worked. Was the water on a pump? If so then we wouldn't have flushing abilities. The Girl Guide in me came out and I had it all figured out how I'd work through it.
I must have drifted off to sleep because the TV and lamp came on around 11:30 and all seemed well.
Nice to know I was prepared.

The storm caused the temperature to change drastically and the thermometer in the car noted a whopping 8 C in the morning! I'm in the north now!

Hwy 17 was my route today and I set my navigation system to take me to the hotel in Dryden.  Not that I'd need any directing because the route is pretty simple but it gave me the time left in the journey. That's always nice to know after driving for so long.

The Trans-Canada is a well maintained road and there was some construction but nothing really time consuming. The road was flat-ish to begin then it became nearly mountainous outside of White River and toward Marathon.

The road climbed hills that went around mountains (okay bigger hills) and in the picture above the train tracks are winding along the hills on the Superior shore. That would be a train ride I think!

Thankful for cruise control, passing lanes (there are many transports on the route) and nice tourist information and picnic places along the transcanada.
I don't know that I've ever driven as long as I have on these journeys so it's these little things that make the drive so comfortable.

I realized that once I turned north towards Dryden I would not see Lake Superior any longer so I stopped at a lovely picnic site for lunch.

As you can see the sun is shining and it's really quite warm. I actually waded in the water for a little bit after my lunch. It was great!

The weather report noted that there would be again, a drastic change in the temperature and it was time to head out. I still had 4 hours of driving ahead of me and I wanted to stop in Thunder Bay at the Terry Fox memorial.

Outside of Terrace Bay there are signs that say "Terry Fox Courage Highway" as you travel west, the signs start 100 km from the last step he made in his Marathon of Hope. This started to make me think a lot about my friends and family members that have battled cancer and how Terry's challenge united a whole country to see that cancer is something to be fought and fought hard. It made the drive go by a little faster and soon I was at the memorial erected to Terry just off the Transcanada with the haze and acrid smell of a forest fire off in the distance (to the southwest of Thunder Bay caused by a lightening strike the night before). There was something mournful about the smoke, the dim light, the gathering storm in the distance that made it all such a very meaningful experience for me.

I am really, really glad I visited this spot, though the smoke is not visible in the above pictures it was really quite thick and I couldn't stay too long (breathing was an issue here). The memorial is very fitting, and is facing west I noticed, as though he is continuing his journey. I think his spirit was made the journey a hundred fold as the Marathon of Hope has meant billions for cancer research. What a legacy...

The road from Thunder Bay was clear of smoke as the wind had switched but there was still an alert sign up indicating that visibility was reduced in smoke. Interesting!
The cruise control set (the speed limit is 90 km/h here) and Dryden was the next destination.
The time zone changed and now in Central time I will have to change my watch but can't be bothered with the clock in the Equinox. That will keep me calculating! Mind games I call them.

Anyway, it's been an interesting day, both in weather and the travel. Tomorrow I finally leave Ontario!
Oh yeah and there are potential snow flurries forecast for the early morning....
Ho hum....

Going West now....Sept 12

Well folks after a couple of weeks of down time in Ontario between Southampton and a couple of visits to Toronto I am happily (tiredly) posting this from the metropolis of Wawa, Ontario.

After 694 km (which included a ride on the Chi-cheemaun) I am officially in "the north" now. I left Southampton this morning at 6:15 am and arrived here 11 1/2 hours later.

And yes, I got a picture of The Goose.

This monument is to commemorate the completion of this section of the trans-canada highway. If you go to Sudbury you take a picture of the nickel. As I missed Sudbury because of the ferry I knew I had to take a picture of the goose.

Backtracking...
The ferry ride was lovely and really with the price of gas it is so much better taking the boat. For $51.00 I missed about 5 hours of travel driving. The passage was calm and the sun was shining the whole way. I think I actually napped on the upper stern deck. There were some seagulls that were following along with the ship the whole way. I think the just glided the whole way, I never saw them flap their wings once!

We passed Cove Island lighthouse and it is the same type as the one on Chantry Island. When you find a template that works, don't mess with it. You could see this light for miles after we passed it. Good thing. It would be very challenging to find your way into Tobermory without it.

Highway 6 on Manitoulin is under construction so there was some challenge there but it didn't slow me up too much. I knew it would be a 6 hour drive from Espanola  to Wawa, I only needed to get to Espanola to start my "clock". With sandwiches packed in the Koolatron there was little need to stop for lunch, only a pit stop and I was gone again. I didn't see much of Sault Ste. Marie as the highway takes you around the main drag and that was just as well. The city is quite busy but the roads into and out of it are not. I think, for the most part, I was pretty much alone on the road. Just me the rocks, trees (which are starting to change up here) and Lake Superior. Really pretty country side and the area around Lake Superior National Park is spectacular and I can see why people come here to hike.
Time marching on, the clouds gathering (thunderstorms are forecast) and a little fatigue setting in too I travelled on.

I found my little motel set in a valley off the highway. It's owned and run by a Polish couple. Yup, they had perogies on the menu! YUM! It's a nice little place and the price is right and the restaurant attached is very neat and tidy. Not much to see around but that's okay, I've been sight seeing all day.

When I think about how far I've travelled today and how far it was from Kingston to Southampton and I'm still not out of the province it shows how huge Ontario is. It's so different too. Up here there are no fields, no cattle, no grain, only rocks, more rocks and trees and more trees. Really pretty no matter where you are I think.

So, the western swing of my pilgrimage has begun.
Yippee-i-ay!

September 1-Only 2 months have passed!

Well folks, caving to peer pressure I am posting a "post eastern trip" blog as some readers are mightily upset that I haven't drawn this whole deal to a close. So here I am.

After 9,105 km, gazzilions of litres of fuel and tons of pictures later I escaped the outer rim of hurricane Irene and arrived in Southampton to The Man's newly painted house, balloon decorations in the trees and a nice cold beer in the hand of The Man who was waiting patiently (or not). It was a lovely home coming and really made me so glad I was back in familiar territory. It's weird what you miss. I was now going to be able to have breakfast on my time, not when the hotel decided it was time, I found things in the truck I hadn't remembered I had even packed and I could spend my evening not looking at a map or planning my next day.

It was quite the tour and I was happy to have left the States when I did as the news reports now show areas I had been in completely flooded or ruined. Again something was directing me to leave when I did and I didn't run into any problems. I guess getting up on the Sunday morning and seeing the trees blowing and the drizzle coming down made me leave Kingston, ON in a hurry.

Right now I'm in Toronto and completing all my tasks here before heading up north again. Really one day is all I need. I like it closer to the water. The humidity is killing me here! I am taking a few more days to just hang out before looking at maps again and planning the next part. I am so much more experienced in the  booking and seeking of lodging and what I can drive through to make it to my next destination. I have certainly learned that things will happen in time and they will happen for a reason. I find myself much less stressed about anything. (Now, that's weird...) I'll get there when I get there and things will work out when they decide to.

6 weeks was long enough to be away I think and in my future travels I think I'll have more "destination" stays, meaning I won't be packing up each morning and travelling to another destination, except when travelling to the west or back to Ontario. My instincts with the weather were pretty good and even though I had no idea what direction I was facing I was keen to keep an eye on what might be coming my way.
The Equinox was a star and carried me safely through all the parts of the journey. Even after one car wash I see it hasn't got the shine yet that it once did, I think I need to do a little more work on that! I did just pour out the PEI sand that was in the driver side car mat.

My little netbook is in the shop as it has a malfunction that will be covered by warranty and I'll be on the road blogging again. It's strange how caught up in the technology you get that when it's not working as well as it should it gets frustrating. I find that I'm not as frustrated as I was. Again, things will work as they're supposed to and it will all be fine. I guess I really needed to get a way. Didn't know I did but I'm finding that I can't believe I have 10 more months to go! Wow, that is really something!!!

The weekend is coming up and it will be a chance to hang out with the friends at the cottage and catch up with everyone there as well. It's really been a great time! I'm so thankful to everyone who has given me this opportunity.

Until later!
"Tentanda Via"