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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
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
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