Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, August 15, 2008
A few stats
Kilometres driven: 16,368
Nights in parking lots: 3
"Where to Eat in Canada" meals: 14
Pounds gained: 3 (only!)
Money spent on gas: $1918.18
T-shirts bought: 3
Nights in parking lots: 3
"Where to Eat in Canada" meals: 14
Pounds gained: 3 (only!)
Money spent on gas: $1918.18
T-shirts bought: 3
Day 35: Englehart to Toronto, ON
Technically, the day started in Kirkland Lake, which is where our hotel was; thus adding a half-hour on to my day's drive! My Mom insisted that my Dad try driving the bus. She said that otherwise he wouldn't understand just what a feat it had been for me to drive halfway across the country in it. So, Will went with Mom and I went with Dad, and after I started it for him (Bobby does love me best) he drove me as far as North Bay.
We stopped at the Thornloe cheese factory, where we always stopped when I was a kid for cheese curds. The factory had been bought by Parmalat, who then decided to close it. Fortunately for me, it was bought out by area milk farmers, and they're still producing those toothsome, slightly rubbery cheddar cheese curds that I love.
We also made the absolutely obligatory stop at the Highway Book Shop, in Cobalt, ON. They have 350,000 books in a delightful warren of additions to the original building, still presided over by Dr. Pollard, the same gentleman who founded the store in 1957. I'm not sure Will really thought it lived up to all the excitement I'd felt about going there, but I did help him pick out a few books to get him through the final hours of the trip.
Lunch was in Temagami, where we had the worst meal of the trip at a restaurant I won't name for you. We drove on to North Bay, where Mom and Dad were splitting off from our route. There I discovered that I'd left my bag - including my camera - at the restaurant. Driving back to get it would easily put another two hours of driving into my day, getting me home after dark, but Mom and Dad wouldn't hear of it. I'll feel guilty about this for years, I'm sure, but I let them go back and get it, and I drove on! They put in the extra kilometres (thanks, folks), and mailed it express to me the next day.
Will and I got McDonald's, which we hadn't done since the first week of the trip, and cursed the slow road at the top of the 400. It turned out to be a fender-bender that everyone was gawking at, and after that we moved quickly, despite it being a long weekend and tons of people coming back into town. We were home at 8:30pm and had time to unpack a little bit, bathe and shower before going to sleep in beds that had grown unfamiliar after so much time!
Total: 13,638km.
We stopped at the Thornloe cheese factory, where we always stopped when I was a kid for cheese curds. The factory had been bought by Parmalat, who then decided to close it. Fortunately for me, it was bought out by area milk farmers, and they're still producing those toothsome, slightly rubbery cheddar cheese curds that I love.
We also made the absolutely obligatory stop at the Highway Book Shop, in Cobalt, ON. They have 350,000 books in a delightful warren of additions to the original building, still presided over by Dr. Pollard, the same gentleman who founded the store in 1957. I'm not sure Will really thought it lived up to all the excitement I'd felt about going there, but I did help him pick out a few books to get him through the final hours of the trip.Lunch was in Temagami, where we had the worst meal of the trip at a restaurant I won't name for you. We drove on to North Bay, where Mom and Dad were splitting off from our route. There I discovered that I'd left my bag - including my camera - at the restaurant. Driving back to get it would easily put another two hours of driving into my day, getting me home after dark, but Mom and Dad wouldn't hear of it. I'll feel guilty about this for years, I'm sure, but I let them go back and get it, and I drove on! They put in the extra kilometres (thanks, folks), and mailed it express to me the next day.
Will and I got McDonald's, which we hadn't done since the first week of the trip, and cursed the slow road at the top of the 400. It turned out to be a fender-bender that everyone was gawking at, and after that we moved quickly, despite it being a long weekend and tons of people coming back into town. We were home at 8:30pm and had time to unpack a little bit, bathe and shower before going to sleep in beds that had grown unfamiliar after so much time!
Total: 13,638km.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
DCMF writeup on CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/07/25/f-dawson-music-fest.html
CBC has a writeup on the Dawson City Music Festival, with the typical snarky user comments.
CBC has a writeup on the Dawson City Music Festival, with the typical snarky user comments.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Day 34: In Englehart ON, August 3
We started the day at a church service held jointly by all the churches in town, big enough to be held at the arena - mostly my Dad and I wanted to hear the choir! We did meet up with some of our cousins there that we hadn't seen yet, so it was good to catch up with them. In the afternoon we drove out and through all my dad's old stomping grounds; down to the farm, where all the outbuildings are gone, but the house he helped his dad built when he was 12 is still standing; to the cemetery, where I told Will about his great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents that are buried there; and through a bunch of the surrounding countryside.
The evening ended with a drive back down to Charlton, a lovely beach where the fireworks were held. The town of Englehart had gone together with Charlton and Dack (local counties?) and bought a TON of fireworks - I think I heard that they went for a solid 45 minutes! It was certainly long enough that the little girl sitting in the next group lost interest, but I loved it.
The evening ended with a drive back down to Charlton, a lovely beach where the fireworks were held. The town of Englehart had gone together with Charlton and Dack (local counties?) and bought a TON of fireworks - I think I heard that they went for a solid 45 minutes! It was certainly long enough that the little girl sitting in the next group lost interest, but I loved it.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
We're home!
Will and I arrived home at 8:30pm yesterday, Monday August 4, as scheduled.
More later as I get used to being home again...
More later as I get used to being home again...
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Day 33: In Englehart ON, August 2
This isn't supposed to be a blog about the Englehart reunion, so I'm not sure how much to write here. We attended the parade today, which had some really wonderful old cars and tractors, and even snowmachines! The high school was open and my Dad got to meet up with some of his old friends from his youth, and it was neat hearing them reminisce about their families and hijinks. By the time we'd seen everything and everybody there, it was 4pm, and time for Mom and Dad to get ready for tonight's dinner-dance to be held at the Arena. There were only 500 tickets available, and they sold out early; apparently there were 1400 people at last night's event, so there are plenty of attendees here. So, Will and I are hanging out at the hotel in Kirkland Lake, conserving our energy for tomorrow's events, which will wrap up with fireworks at dusk.
Day 32: Hearst to Englehart ON, August 1
Driving the extra distance to Hearst made it reasonably easy to reach Englehart in good time, our destination for this leg of the trip. My father was born and raised on a farm just outside of Englehart, and went to high school in town. The town is celebrating its 100th anniversary this weekend, and with Mom and Dad going, Will and I thought we'd join in the fun if the bus held up and we made it there in time.
As it happened we arrived around 3pm, beating Mom and Dad here! I picked up their registration packages at the town hall for them, so that once we arrived we could just go straight to the hotel. We're actually staying 30km away in Kirkland Lake, since there was nothing available in town.
After a nice prime rib dinner at the dining room at the Howard Johnson's, it was early to bed for all tired drivers and their passengers.
There's a very pretty little church in Val Rita. It's odd for me to be back in a French- speaking area of Ontario again; when you're in Kapuskasing, for instance, you're more likely to hear French spoken around you than English.
Total so far: almost exactly 13000km!
As it happened we arrived around 3pm, beating Mom and Dad here! I picked up their registration packages at the town hall for them, so that once we arrived we could just go straight to the hotel. We're actually staying 30km away in Kirkland Lake, since there was nothing available in town.
After a nice prime rib dinner at the dining room at the Howard Johnson's, it was early to bed for all tired drivers and their passengers.
There's a very pretty little church in Val Rita. It's odd for me to be back in a French- speaking area of Ontario again; when you're in Kapuskasing, for instance, you're more likely to hear French spoken around you than English.Total so far: almost exactly 13000km!
Day 31: Ignace to Hearst ON, July 31
When crossing the provincial border the day before, I still felt a long way from home when I realized we still weren't even in the same time zone as home! When I gassed up in Upsala I was confused by their clock, but they told me they keep Thunder Bay time rather than Winnipeg time. There didn't seem to be much more than a gas station and three houses in the town, so I guess they can feel free to do that.
We got to Thunder Bay a bit after lunch and got to visit again for a couple of hours with Jon and Rebekah, and admire Jon's trophies from his weekend of observed trials biking in Duluth. I think he's there again this weekend, riding in a class up from last time, so I'm eager to hear the results from that. Hot running water has become a bit of a novelty for me, so I also took the opportunity to wash our dishes in their kitchen sink, and by 4pm we were off again; of course, I'd managed to forget my keys again, and Jon had to deliver them to me in the north end of town. (Thanks, bro!)
Will and I stopped in Longlac for pizza and to fill up on gas (brother's orders - it's 200km to the next gas station), and I felt I could still drive for quite a while. I figured if there was a campground, we'd stop, but it's just the same as I remembered it; for 150km there's almost nothing at all, just an art gallery/store that I didn't remember. There aren't even houses, just countless trees on both sides of the road. I watched carefully for moose and deer, but the only wildlife we saw was a rabbit that wisely hopped off the road, and a partridge-like bird that unwisely flew right across our nose, but didn't get hit.
We reached Hearst about midnight, and I thankfully pulled into the Husky parking lot to put down the bed in the back and collapse into sleep. The humming of the refrigerated truck next to us didn't even keep me awake.
Total so far: 12611km.
We got to Thunder Bay a bit after lunch and got to visit again for a couple of hours with Jon and Rebekah, and admire Jon's trophies from his weekend of observed trials biking in Duluth. I think he's there again this weekend, riding in a class up from last time, so I'm eager to hear the results from that. Hot running water has become a bit of a novelty for me, so I also took the opportunity to wash our dishes in their kitchen sink, and by 4pm we were off again; of course, I'd managed to forget my keys again, and Jon had to deliver them to me in the north end of town. (Thanks, bro!)
Will and I stopped in Longlac for pizza and to fill up on gas (brother's orders - it's 200km to the next gas station), and I felt I could still drive for quite a while. I figured if there was a campground, we'd stop, but it's just the same as I remembered it; for 150km there's almost nothing at all, just an art gallery/store that I didn't remember. There aren't even houses, just countless trees on both sides of the road. I watched carefully for moose and deer, but the only wildlife we saw was a rabbit that wisely hopped off the road, and a partridge-like bird that unwisely flew right across our nose, but didn't get hit.
We reached Hearst about midnight, and I thankfully pulled into the Husky parking lot to put down the bed in the back and collapse into sleep. The humming of the refrigerated truck next to us didn't even keep me awake.
Total so far: 12611km.
Day 30: Virden MB to Ignace ON, July 30
After an uneventful morning's drive into Winnipeg, we managed to get to a restaurant close to lunchtime. Will picked the Bistro Dansk from Where to Eat in Canada, and I ended up with a great schnitzel while he ate a chicken and vegetable soup with dumplings. "This is like yours!", he complimented me.
I had a bad case of yellow line fever by then and couldn't seem to stop driving; I pushed us on and we covered a record 750km by the time we stopped for the night in Ignace, stopping just briefly in Dryden for supper at the Husky. Our night's stop at the Davy Lake Campground was one of the nicest we've stayed at; along with a nice new comfort station we had a huge lot with dozens of trees around us. I was sorry to arrive so late, when there was a nice beach too.
Looking at my camera card, I see that I was so busy driving that day I didn't take a single picture. Will took this one of his new woolly mammoth helping to navigate, so I'll have to give you this one instead!
Total so far: 11846km.
I had a bad case of yellow line fever by then and couldn't seem to stop driving; I pushed us on and we covered a record 750km by the time we stopped for the night in Ignace, stopping just briefly in Dryden for supper at the Husky. Our night's stop at the Davy Lake Campground was one of the nicest we've stayed at; along with a nice new comfort station we had a huge lot with dozens of trees around us. I was sorry to arrive so late, when there was a nice beach too.
Looking at my camera card, I see that I was so busy driving that day I didn't take a single picture. Will took this one of his new woolly mammoth helping to navigate, so I'll have to give you this one instead!Total so far: 11846km.
Day 29: Herbert SK to Virden MB, July 29
We've been pushing to get an earlier start to our days, but lost a half-hour looking for my bus keys this morning. I eventually gave up and left a note for the hotel owners, and used my spare keys to drive off with. Fortunately there is a spare fuel cap key too, or we wouldn't have gotten far.
The view of Regina from the west; those buildings in the middle are 20-30 stories tall.
In Regina we stopped for lunch at the Willow, a fancy restaurant on the shores of the Wascana River in town. Everyone there looked like they were on an expense account, so Will and I in our grubby shorts and sandals asked for a table on the patio. I needed coffee, and fortunately theirs was excellent; so was the "land" chowder, the cucumber panzanella (bread salad) and Will's short ribs, which came with a sweet potato and jalapeno salad and swiss chard.
The Science Centre was only a couple of blocks away, so we could hardly pass up the chance to go, even though we'd gone two years ago. That had us leaving Regina pretty late, and we debated whether to stop in Indian Head for another Where to Eat in Canada meal that day. Will convinced me to do it, although I worried when I realized that it was actually at Katepwa Point, 25km off the main highway, adding more than half an hour to my driving day (depending on the condition of the road). To add to that, the restaurant when we found it was closed; their "spring" hours are only on Friday and Saturday.
"Spring"? Is it not the end of July? Is that not summer pretty much anywhere?
Fortunately the view, the scenery, and the beach made up for it. Saskatchewan is flat and a yellowy-browny-green, as you probably know. Fifteen kilometres up the road we found ourselves driving down into the Qu'Appelle River valley, lush and green. It's the same type of valley we were seeing in Alberta, but without the crazy striped layers of rock; it's all grown over with trees and grass. We sat on the beach and ate peanut butter sandwiches, leftovers from lunch, and Fudgee-O's.
I managed to drive for a few hours longer, and we ended up across the border into Manitoba. The night's stop was a Lions campground in the tiny town of Virden, MB. Once again we set up in the dark and didn't end up seeing any of our fellow campers, all of whom seemed to be tucked up in their 30-foot rigs watching satellite TV. You can camp there for $15 a night, or $1550 a year; with flush toilets and free showers, I started wondering why Mike and I didn't just sell the house, retire, and live there. I decided the road was starting to make me crazy.
Total so far: 11096km
The view of Regina from the west; those buildings in the middle are 20-30 stories tall.In Regina we stopped for lunch at the Willow, a fancy restaurant on the shores of the Wascana River in town. Everyone there looked like they were on an expense account, so Will and I in our grubby shorts and sandals asked for a table on the patio. I needed coffee, and fortunately theirs was excellent; so was the "land" chowder, the cucumber panzanella (bread salad) and Will's short ribs, which came with a sweet potato and jalapeno salad and swiss chard.
The Science Centre was only a couple of blocks away, so we could hardly pass up the chance to go, even though we'd gone two years ago. That had us leaving Regina pretty late, and we debated whether to stop in Indian Head for another Where to Eat in Canada meal that day. Will convinced me to do it, although I worried when I realized that it was actually at Katepwa Point, 25km off the main highway, adding more than half an hour to my driving day (depending on the condition of the road). To add to that, the restaurant when we found it was closed; their "spring" hours are only on Friday and Saturday.
"Spring"? Is it not the end of July? Is that not summer pretty much anywhere?Fortunately the view, the scenery, and the beach made up for it. Saskatchewan is flat and a yellowy-browny-green, as you probably know. Fifteen kilometres up the road we found ourselves driving down into the Qu'Appelle River valley, lush and green. It's the same type of valley we were seeing in Alberta, but without the crazy striped layers of rock; it's all grown over with trees and grass. We sat on the beach and ate peanut butter sandwiches, leftovers from lunch, and Fudgee-O's.
I managed to drive for a few hours longer, and we ended up across the border into Manitoba. The night's stop was a Lions campground in the tiny town of Virden, MB. Once again we set up in the dark and didn't end up seeing any of our fellow campers, all of whom seemed to be tucked up in their 30-foot rigs watching satellite TV. You can camp there for $15 a night, or $1550 a year; with flush toilets and free showers, I started wondering why Mike and I didn't just sell the house, retire, and live there. I decided the road was starting to make me crazy.
Total so far: 11096km
Friday, August 1, 2008
Day 28: Drumheller AB to Herbert SK, July 28
We took the scenic route out of Drumheller, stopping at the World's Largest Dinosaur statue at the information centre in town, then at the Hoodoos that aren't too far away. They were smaller than I expected, but still pretty neat formations; pretty quickly I got fed up with the tourists who wouldn't observe the plentiful signs asking us to stay on the path and not touch them, and we took off back for highway 1.We came into Medicine Hat in time for a very late lunch at a place called Zucchini Blossoms, which Where to Eat in Canada describes as "a casual cafe with someone in the kitchen who knows how to cook". We had grilled sandwiches that were delicious (mine had marinated pork tenderloin, Will's was provolone and salami), and since they were closing momentarily, took dessert with us to go on our own plate from the bus. I quite liked Medicine Hat from the quick look at it I got, although I did wonder at first at a city that would choose as its motto "The Gas City".
We made it quite a ways into Saskatchewan and stopped for the night at the Lone Eagle Motel in Herbert, which also has camping out back. We were the only campers there, and had good first-base seats for a baseball game on the diamond on the other side of the fence. The bathroom had the oldest coin-operated controls I've ever seen outside of a museum, but for five minutes of hot water for a quarter, I wasn't going to complain!
Attractions included a playground for Will with entirely homemade toys, and two alpacas in a pen that were receiving special attention from the owners. As well as the motel and campground, they keep a herd of 90 alpacas. They get anywhere from 400 to 500 pounds of wool from the herd each spring when they shear them, the owner said.
Total so far: 10554km
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Solar car
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2008/07/31/solar-car.html
CBC has a story about the solar car we encountered during our trip. We followed it for a while northbound (the bus isn't quite fast enough to easily pass even a solar car on the highway), and even got a photo with both the solar car and a moose in the same shot.
On the way back after the music festival, we encountered them again, at a gas station this time, with us going south and the solar car still headed northbound. Kirsten and Will went over to talk to the driver and crew, and found out that they were headed to Inuvik.
CBC has a story about the solar car we encountered during our trip. We followed it for a while northbound (the bus isn't quite fast enough to easily pass even a solar car on the highway), and even got a photo with both the solar car and a moose in the same shot.
On the way back after the music festival, we encountered them again, at a gas station this time, with us going south and the solar car still headed northbound. Kirsten and Will went over to talk to the driver and crew, and found out that they were headed to Inuvik.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Quick note
We're in Dryden, so we've made it into Ontario!
As we passed the "Welcome to Ontario" sign, Will said "yay! We're home!".
Of course we still have five days and 1800km left before we actually get home...
As we passed the "Welcome to Ontario" sign, Will said "yay! We're home!".
Of course we still have five days and 1800km left before we actually get home...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Location update
Kirsten asked me to post an update tonight so all of our loyal readers know that she and Will are safe and sound. They are in Virden, Manitoba, hopefully making it to around Dryden tomorrow, going through Thunder Bay on Thursday, and arriving in Englehart on Friday.
A fun time was had this afternoon at the science centre in Regina after lunch at another Where to Eat in Canada restaurant, but it's contributing to an ever-increasing "must-drive" distance every day in order to get to Englehart on time!
A fun time was had this afternoon at the science centre in Regina after lunch at another Where to Eat in Canada restaurant, but it's contributing to an ever-increasing "must-drive" distance every day in order to get to Englehart on time!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Day 27: Calgary to Drumheller AB, July 27
Will had specifically wanted to see the science centre in Calgary, so we did that first thing on Sunday morning. I tried hard to like it, but it was all too juvenile (mostly aimed at 3- to 7-year-olds) and mostly too old; lots of exhibits were broken or otherwise not working. They've got a big fund-raising campaign on for a new science centre to be completed in 2011, and even Will ended up asking if we could come back then.
There's big money in Calgary these days, which means lots of good restaurants; unfortunately most of them are still closed on Sundays. We topped up at a grocery store and headed to Drumheller.
As you head up highway 21 from the Transcanada, you suddenly start to see these big (perhaps 20 m tall?) holes in the landscape. The sides are worn away, and the bottoms are flat; I'm still not sure what causes them, although I hope to find out tomorrow. The road started dipping into them, and by the time we were in Drumheller they were spectacular, and we were surrounded by the walls of these crazy formations. The town itself was bigger then I expected, and far too commercial and touristy for me to like. I managed to get us lost on the way to the big museum I wanted to go to, but fortunately it's an absolutely world-class museum and I was happy again moments after walking in. The Royal Tyrrell Museum houses some of the most magnificent specimens of dinosaur bones found in the Canadian Badlands, and they're displayed very well. (I couldn't help but remember the poorly-curated Costume Museum).
Here's Will hamming it up with a Dunkleosteus skull.
I had wanted to stay in Midlands Provincial Park, since it's in the middle of the Badlands, but it's day-use only. Instead we're at the "Dinosaur Trail RV Park"; everything is named about dinosaurs here and has statues of them all about. Will was particularly fond of one painted to look like a robot. He finally managed to find some kids to play with in the playground, and I'm finally up to date on our blog!
Total so far: 10 007 km!
There's big money in Calgary these days, which means lots of good restaurants; unfortunately most of them are still closed on Sundays. We topped up at a grocery store and headed to Drumheller.
As you head up highway 21 from the Transcanada, you suddenly start to see these big (perhaps 20 m tall?) holes in the landscape. The sides are worn away, and the bottoms are flat; I'm still not sure what causes them, although I hope to find out tomorrow. The road started dipping into them, and by the time we were in Drumheller they were spectacular, and we were surrounded by the walls of these crazy formations. The town itself was bigger then I expected, and far too commercial and touristy for me to like. I managed to get us lost on the way to the big museum I wanted to go to, but fortunately it's an absolutely world-class museum and I was happy again moments after walking in. The Royal Tyrrell Museum houses some of the most magnificent specimens of dinosaur bones found in the Canadian Badlands, and they're displayed very well. (I couldn't help but remember the poorly-curated Costume Museum).
Here's Will hamming it up with a Dunkleosteus skull.
I had wanted to stay in Midlands Provincial Park, since it's in the middle of the Badlands, but it's day-use only. Instead we're at the "Dinosaur Trail RV Park"; everything is named about dinosaurs here and has statues of them all about. Will was particularly fond of one painted to look like a robot. He finally managed to find some kids to play with in the playground, and I'm finally up to date on our blog!
Total so far: 10 007 km!
Day 26: Jasper to Calgary AB, July 26
Today was running hot and cold attractions, starting with the hot springs at the north end of Jasper National Park. It was a bit out of our way, but Will desperately wanted to see it, and I figured a hot soak would do me good too. I'm glad we went to the Liard Hotsprings in the Yukon, because there you get to actually go in the natural springs; in Jasper they pipe the hot water into a regular swimming pool, and it's just like going to your local community centre for a swim, except for the 40 degree water. After half an hour we were bored and took off back to Jasper and the "Icefields Parkway", which I had read was the prettiest stretch of roadway in Canada.
It's certainly hard to beat glacier-topped mountains with their icy blue-green creeks. I had carefully not mentioned the Columbia ice field to Will, since I figured things would have changed since I was a kid, and you wouldn't be able to actually go out onto the glacier anymore. And of course you can't; the receding glacier has formed a large lake and river underneath, and the toe is unstable now. Will was disappointed not to have a chance to pelt me with glacier snowballs, but the big graphic poster about a nine-year-old boy who fell in a crevasse and died of hypothermia before they could get him out seemed to convince him he was safer where he was. They have markers showing where the glacier used to be, and there was one for 1982, pretty close to the time I was there. It's amazing how much it has shrank.
For the record, we reached the highest altitude just before the ice field; at 2035m above sea level, it was the highest we'll get on this trip! Bobby did just fine, although there were hills we were climbing at 30 km/hr, and the dipstick for the oil was a bit too hot to comfortably hold, for the first time ever. The cylinder head temperature never got higher than 350, though.
From there it was off to Lake Louise, although by then we were getting a bit saturated with scenery. I didn't attempt to show the lake to Will; he has been converted to the Where to Eat in Canada way, and had picked a restaurant on the "old road" from Banff to Lake Louise. This is probably the road we travelled when I was a kid, so we headed off on it to find the Baker Creek Lodge, which did indeed have marvellous food (I had the lamb, Will had mac'n'cheese, and we split a chocolate paté for dessert). I drank two cups of coffee, which I estimated would get us as far as we needed to go that night.
The road was winding and dark, although there was still light enough to see a confused-looking wolf on the side of the road. We took the first opportunity to get back on the main road, which south of Lake Louise is a major highway, rather than the simple two-lane road we'd been on since Jasper. Most of it is fenced to keep wildlife off, so they've built these crazy wildlife bridges they seem to think will give the deer and what-not a safe way to get across. Perhaps they work, but if I was a deer I think I'd find them a bit too exposed.
I had wanted to get to Calgary before night, and amazingly, we did (it helps that Calgary is so close to Banff). It was late and I was exhausted, though; fortunately it was easy to find the Calgary West Campground, which is inside the city limits and right off the Transcanada. The noisy neighbours (who were all there for a folk festival, coincidentally enough) didn't bother me in the least.
Total so far: 9820 km
It's certainly hard to beat glacier-topped mountains with their icy blue-green creeks. I had carefully not mentioned the Columbia ice field to Will, since I figured things would have changed since I was a kid, and you wouldn't be able to actually go out onto the glacier anymore. And of course you can't; the receding glacier has formed a large lake and river underneath, and the toe is unstable now. Will was disappointed not to have a chance to pelt me with glacier snowballs, but the big graphic poster about a nine-year-old boy who fell in a crevasse and died of hypothermia before they could get him out seemed to convince him he was safer where he was. They have markers showing where the glacier used to be, and there was one for 1982, pretty close to the time I was there. It's amazing how much it has shrank.For the record, we reached the highest altitude just before the ice field; at 2035m above sea level, it was the highest we'll get on this trip! Bobby did just fine, although there were hills we were climbing at 30 km/hr, and the dipstick for the oil was a bit too hot to comfortably hold, for the first time ever. The cylinder head temperature never got higher than 350, though.
From there it was off to Lake Louise, although by then we were getting a bit saturated with scenery. I didn't attempt to show the lake to Will; he has been converted to the Where to Eat in Canada way, and had picked a restaurant on the "old road" from Banff to Lake Louise. This is probably the road we travelled when I was a kid, so we headed off on it to find the Baker Creek Lodge, which did indeed have marvellous food (I had the lamb, Will had mac'n'cheese, and we split a chocolate paté for dessert). I drank two cups of coffee, which I estimated would get us as far as we needed to go that night.
The road was winding and dark, although there was still light enough to see a confused-looking wolf on the side of the road. We took the first opportunity to get back on the main road, which south of Lake Louise is a major highway, rather than the simple two-lane road we'd been on since Jasper. Most of it is fenced to keep wildlife off, so they've built these crazy wildlife bridges they seem to think will give the deer and what-not a safe way to get across. Perhaps they work, but if I was a deer I think I'd find them a bit too exposed.
I had wanted to get to Calgary before night, and amazingly, we did (it helps that Calgary is so close to Banff). It was late and I was exhausted, though; fortunately it was easy to find the Calgary West Campground, which is inside the city limits and right off the Transcanada. The noisy neighbours (who were all there for a folk festival, coincidentally enough) didn't bother me in the least.
Total so far: 9820 km
Day 25: Vanderhoof BC to Jasper AB, July 25
I had planned to send postcards to a few people from Prince George, since I figured it was a recognizable town that people know. From what we saw, it's pretty ugly and populated by drug addicts; we ate at a Where to Eat in Canada restaurant on the corner of a street lined with pawn shops and payday loan providers. Will and I beat a hasty retreat out of town and soon saw the Rockies ahead. Here's our first glimpse, taken by Will through the windshield;
We made it into the actual town of Jasper while it was still light, and found a Where to Eat in Canada restaurant. My oat-crusted salmon was unbelievably good, including the bacon & spinach frittata that came on the side. My enjoyment was blunted a tiny bit by not being sure where we were going to sleep that night, and sure enough we ended up in overflow camping. Unfortunately we did some extra miles driving to a campground we had been told had spaces, which didn't by the time we got there. It was dark by then and I was driving with a white-knuckle grip on the wheel, convinced somehow that this was going to be my night to hit a deer. On the way to the overflow lot I saw an oncoming car suddenly veer off onto the shoulder; I braced myself and sure enough, there was a downed deer in my headlights a second later, sprawled over the centre line. I guess I'm glad it was the other car that actually hit it, but I felt bad nevertheless.
I still haven't gotten used to the fact that when it gets dark, it's actually dark; you can't see to do stuff like back into a parking spot. This made getting set up for the night annoying, and all we really did was put down the bed and collapse onto it. It was a cold night and I regretted not getting out all the sleeping bags later.
Total so far: 9294km (2632 of them by myself)
We made it into the actual town of Jasper while it was still light, and found a Where to Eat in Canada restaurant. My oat-crusted salmon was unbelievably good, including the bacon & spinach frittata that came on the side. My enjoyment was blunted a tiny bit by not being sure where we were going to sleep that night, and sure enough we ended up in overflow camping. Unfortunately we did some extra miles driving to a campground we had been told had spaces, which didn't by the time we got there. It was dark by then and I was driving with a white-knuckle grip on the wheel, convinced somehow that this was going to be my night to hit a deer. On the way to the overflow lot I saw an oncoming car suddenly veer off onto the shoulder; I braced myself and sure enough, there was a downed deer in my headlights a second later, sprawled over the centre line. I guess I'm glad it was the other car that actually hit it, but I felt bad nevertheless.
I still haven't gotten used to the fact that when it gets dark, it's actually dark; you can't see to do stuff like back into a parking spot. This made getting set up for the night annoying, and all we really did was put down the bed and collapse onto it. It was a cold night and I regretted not getting out all the sleeping bags later.
Total so far: 9294km (2632 of them by myself)
Day 24: Meziadin Lake to Vanderhoof BC, July 24
All too soon in the morning we had finished the Cassiar highway and turned back onto 16, the Yellowhead highway, eastbound and away from the coastal mountains. We seemed to be in civilization fairly soon, with small towns and then farms appearing. We tried to find a Where to Eat in Canada restaurant that was supposed to be in the vanishingly tiny town of Telkwa, but had no luck. (We assuaged our disappointment with the A&W in the nice little town of Houston).
At some point around dinnertime I noticed that the coastal mountains were no longer visible behind us, but at the same time, there was no sign of the Rockies up ahead. Clearly central BC was a lot bigger than I'd realized!
Vanderhoof, BC is the home of "Dave's RV Park", and Dave has got to have the newest and nicest facilities I've seen this trip. You pay for laundry on the honour system; give him $4 per load in the office and you get the code for the door, and have the run of the place. The showers and bathrooms looked like he'd just finished grouting them the week before; no rotten wood and cheap vinyl here! It actually got dark enough to see stars, which made me realize that it had been quite a while since I'd seen a proper night sky.
Total so far: 8734km
At some point around dinnertime I noticed that the coastal mountains were no longer visible behind us, but at the same time, there was no sign of the Rockies up ahead. Clearly central BC was a lot bigger than I'd realized!
Vanderhoof, BC is the home of "Dave's RV Park", and Dave has got to have the newest and nicest facilities I've seen this trip. You pay for laundry on the honour system; give him $4 per load in the office and you get the code for the door, and have the run of the place. The showers and bathrooms looked like he'd just finished grouting them the week before; no rotten wood and cheap vinyl here! It actually got dark enough to see stars, which made me realize that it had been quite a while since I'd seen a proper night sky.
Total so far: 8734km
Day 23: Boya Lake to Meziadin Lake BC, July 23
I got to spend the entire day driving the Cassiar Highway, which was a delight. It was rough in spots, but nothing worse than the road to Dawson City. We were driving alongside the Cassiar Mountains, then eventually next to the BC Coastal Mountains, which are also beautiful; pointy and snow-topped.
Our first stop was quite early on, in a community that calls itself "Jade City", but really only has a population of 12 and one business, a jade store. Apparently this one site supplies 90% of the world's supply of jade; up from 75% a few years ago. People expect to buy jade souvenirs when they visit Asia, so now Canada exports jade figurines to Asia for the tourist trade!
We stopped again to see and take pictures of a couple of dozen totem poles that are in a little village whose name I have to look up. There is a museum there, unfortunately closed, but under its porch roof are a huge pile of old totem poles, presumably awaiting restoration.
Dinner was the Bell 2 Lodge (named for the fact that it's the second place the road crosses the Bell River). It's the newest, and possibly the swankiest, spot to stay on the whole Cassiar; their main business is heli-skiing, so the people who come have serious money, I guess. My pan-fried trout would satisfy the pickiest of expensive appetites.
We stopped for the night in another beautiful provincial park, this time Meziadin Lake. The park had pit toilets and no showers, but they had wifi access available! Of course, that was only until 10pm when they turn the generator off for the night. There was a Westfalia from California in the site next to us, and the owner came over to chat and discuss routes with us, since they were considering going to Whitehorse. I was able to point out where the gas stations were (two that were listed in the Milepost were closed, causing me some slight worry earlier that day). They carry an extra 10 gallons of gasoline with them, which seems excessive to me, but I guess services must seem far apart to them up here.
Total so far: 8185km
Our first stop was quite early on, in a community that calls itself "Jade City", but really only has a population of 12 and one business, a jade store. Apparently this one site supplies 90% of the world's supply of jade; up from 75% a few years ago. People expect to buy jade souvenirs when they visit Asia, so now Canada exports jade figurines to Asia for the tourist trade!
We stopped again to see and take pictures of a couple of dozen totem poles that are in a little village whose name I have to look up. There is a museum there, unfortunately closed, but under its porch roof are a huge pile of old totem poles, presumably awaiting restoration.Dinner was the Bell 2 Lodge (named for the fact that it's the second place the road crosses the Bell River). It's the newest, and possibly the swankiest, spot to stay on the whole Cassiar; their main business is heli-skiing, so the people who come have serious money, I guess. My pan-fried trout would satisfy the pickiest of expensive appetites.
We stopped for the night in another beautiful provincial park, this time Meziadin Lake. The park had pit toilets and no showers, but they had wifi access available! Of course, that was only until 10pm when they turn the generator off for the night. There was a Westfalia from California in the site next to us, and the owner came over to chat and discuss routes with us, since they were considering going to Whitehorse. I was able to point out where the gas stations were (two that were listed in the Milepost were closed, causing me some slight worry earlier that day). They carry an extra 10 gallons of gasoline with them, which seems excessive to me, but I guess services must seem far apart to them up here.
Total so far: 8185km
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)