Le Voyage

The map shows ~ 10,600 km traveled ... but I had to fudge it in google as there's apparently a limit on the number of waypoints you can use ... the odometer shows that I did 13,500 km over 25 days.

What a drive

I visited 8 (of 10) provinces and 2 (of 3) territories ... Canada is beautiful ... and HUGE.  There's still so much of it that I haven't seen!  I met some amazing people on the trip and saw some incredible things.  I don't know if I could name a favorite ... but I do know that I never want to drive along Lake Superior again (except the section from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie ... that was gorgeous).

I am very happy to be home ... even though it's rained every day except 1 since I've been back.  Most of my plants survived my absence!  Dwight did a great job of keeping them (mostly) alive.  

I don't know if I found what I needed to on my adventure ... but I do feel some stillness where there used to be restlessness.  Maybe I'm not quite so lost anymore.

And, I have a new job!  I start on the 17th!  I'm staying in renewable energy, working on another tidal turbine project in the Bay of Fundy.  Exciting!

Thanks for keeping up with my wander about Canada.  I hope you enjoyed the photos and random musings of this American as I explored my adopted home.

Day 25 -- The Road Home

Summary:

• get to Halifax!
• Distance Traveled: 800 kms
• Time on the road:  10 hrs

Photo by D

How is it that the last two nights on the road are the worst AirBnB experiences!?!  We stayed the night in a very eclectic place ... that smelled like it hadn't been aired out in a few years, had a toilet less than a foot from the bed without a functioning door and had such a soft mattress that even now, 4 days later, my back still isn't right.  But, Denis, the proprietor, made some delicious homemade bread for us for breakfast.  So that was something.

We got on our way early given the poor sleeping conditions and the noisy neighbors that were also staying at the BnB.  Northward to Sainte-Flavie and the weird art!

"the gathering", stylized by google

 You thought I was kidding, didn't you ... I don't know why this is a thing ... these statues started in the late 80s ... and more continue to be placed here over time ...  Some of the statues have faces ... some don't.  Some are very phallic looking ... others not so much ...   We were there close to low tide ... at high tide, some of these are "emerging" out of the Saint Lawrence ...

photo by D ... 

After enjoying this piece of art, we continued on our way ... onward to New Brunswick and then home.  I suppose it says something about Atlantic Canada ... but the worst weather I had on the entire trip was on the last day ... dreary, drizzling rain almost the entire drive.  Summer will arrive in Halifax eventually,  right?

A colorful boat

A random barn ... pretty countryside

Along the way, we did have a couple more stops to make.  We couldn't drive right past a giant lobster or huge blueberry and not stop, could we?!?

Shediac, NB, stylized by google

Oxford, NS

We did try to see the sinkhole in Oxford too, but it's blocked off (safety, shmafety ... grr!)

Day 24 -- Rural Quebec

Summary:

• Distance Traveled: 950 km
• Time on the Road: 13 hrs
• Random things seen:  A LOT

After a terrible night on a very hard mattress (one of the worst AirBnB experiences of the trip), I at least got to have coffee in a nice garden before getting on the road.  With a goal of getting some kilometers behind us, D and I got on the road early and made tracks toward Quebec.  We drove almost 1000 kilometers from Ottawa up to the Gaspé peninsula.

typical church of rural Quebec

Rural Quebec is quite beautiful.  It was weird though; every little town we drove through (and it was a lot ... I'll get to that later) had a huge, ornate, relatively new church.  Almost all of them had a shiny silver spire (or two or three) on top ...

We were on the scenic route so that I could try to track down another lake ... I don't know what my deal is with lakes on this trip ... this one took some hunting because, again, no signs.  It was in an old quarry that I was hoping to be able to get a peek at.  It took us a while (and maybe 50 kms of back tracking) but finally we found it.  Sadly, the road had been blocked off so we couldn't get a great look.  This was one of those times were I wished I had more than just my cell phone camera to take pictures ... quelle dommage, non?

Quarry Lake, photo by D

Along the drive, in some little town

After our little walk about (or drive about, I suppose), we pushed agian to make tracks toward Halifax.  I wanted to be home by Sunday evening ... I guess I reached the point where I was ready to be done and off the road.  The drive along the Saint Lawrence was really beautiful.  Again again, I am amazed at how gorgeous (and different) Canada is.  I had an art installation that I wanted to go see in Sainte Falvie so were weren't going to take the TransCanada into New Brunswick and on back to Halifax ... so a slight detour was necessary in order to get a few photos.  The first being ... Saint-Louise-du-Ha!Ha!.  This is the actual name of a town ...

Ha! Ha!

As is ...

I prefer to say "Piss-toll-es"

A pretty sunset

 After some more photos of the gorgeous sunset, I realized it was way later than is polite to check into an AirBnB and we hurried to Saint-Fabien, were we holed up for the night.

From the pier in Trois-Pistoles, stylized by google

Day 23 -- Ottawa River Valley

Friday's drive took me from St Joseph Island (outside Sault Ste. Marie) to outside of Ottawa.  I got a late start to the day because I was up late Thursday night to watch the Raptors win!!!!!  My AirBnB hosts had been super nice and let me watch the game with them on the big screen instead of on the tiny TV in my room.  Nancy and Benn were very sweet and sent me on my way Friday morning with a vegan blueberry muffin (suprisingly very good) and well wishes for my last few days on the road.

Giant Nickel in Sudbury, ON stylized by google

It was a long, long boring drive ... I had a few stops along the way ... but I mostly just kept driving.  Of course, I had to stop outside of Sudbury to get a photo of the Giant Nickel.  I mean, I was almost driving right by.  They've actually built a mock mine and geological centre geared for kids at the site, which is kind of cool.  There were a bunch of munchkins running around and having a good time.  I stopped long enough to get a photo and then got back on my way ... I needed to keep driving!

I did, in a moment of weakness, as D to fly out and meet me to help with the last days of driving ... after 22 days on the road, I wanted to be done.  Luckily, things worked out and D was able to fly into Ottawa Friday night.  I wanted to be home by Sunday evening and he was confident that we could make it. 


One of the trading posts along Route 17 had a great weather report for me ...

The rock was "cool" on Friday

As I neared Ottawa, I did actually start to realize that the Ottawa River Valley is a very pretty area.  Had I not been so tired of the road trip, I probably would have enjoyed this portion of the drive more.  I spent a lot of time in Ottawa itself during my first few years in Canada ... but I never actually got out of the city and explored the trails, etc.  At least now I know, if I ever end up back there, right?

Along the drive.

Stylized by Google

Update -- Back in Halifax

Hi all ... I've had spotty-to-no internet the last two evenings.  After two horrible AirBnB experiences and a whole lot of driving, I'm finally home in Halifax.  I'll get posts up from the last few days tomorrow, hopefully.  Thanks for keeping up with me and check back in a day or two for the final posts.

Day 22 -- Lake Superior goes one forever ... and ever

Continuing eastward

Summary:

• Continue Eastward along Lake Superior ... the largest freshwater lake in the world
• Distance Traveled: 750 km
• Time on the Road: 12 hrs
• Random Oddities Seen: (3)
• Wawa Goose
• Huge Dinner Table & Chairs
• Giant Loonie

Today was a long day on the road ... the first few hours from Thunder Bay were incredibly boring.  Ontario, what's the deal with the 90 km/h speed limit ... on a 4-lane highway?!?!  There were a few scenic stops along the way ... but they were few and far between.

Aguasabon Falls

Once I got past the Goose at Wawa, things got a lot better.  

Could this be more Canadian?  Wawa, ON

Shortly after I entered the Lake Superior Provincial Park, I actually saw a moose ... at 2:30 in the afternoon.  Just chilling by the highway.  A semi scared him away before I could get a picture.  Oh well.

I have to say, hearing waves lapping on the shore when I'm in the middle of Ontario is a bit disorienting ... if it wasn't quite so cold out (~ 55℉; an adjustment after my 75℉ degree day yesterday), I could have mistaken this for the Pacific Coast Highway Drive.

Katherine Cove

I had a good dinner and respite in Sault Ste. Marie ... a brief stroll around town was much needed after my Miuo dinner.

Any idea why there's a giant dinner table and chairs in Sault Ste. Marie?

On my way to my AirBnB for the night, I saw a sign for Echo Bay ... and had to go see the giant Loonie.

Giant Loonie in Echo Bay, ON

Day 21 -- The Scenic Route

Made it to Ontario (and the Eastern time zone!)

Summary:

• Drive from outside Winnipeg, MB to Thunder Bay, ON
• Distance Traveled: 850 km
• Time on the Road: 11 hrs

a lake in Minnesota

Lake Superior, Susie Islands

In an effort to avoid what everyone warned me was a forever, boring drive along the trans-Canada, I decided to take the scenic route through Northern Minnesota today.  I'm not 100% sure it was worth the extra 2 hours as the views weren't breathtaking ... but I am sure that it was a more interesting drive than the main highway.  The drive was mostly fields and forests ... I was along the Rainy River (US-Canada border) for a while, which was pretty.  The last bit of the drive in Minnesota was along Lake Superior, which was really amazing.  

Along Lake Superior

For a bit of the drive today, the only radio I could get was a comedy show on CBC radio called "The Debaters" ... as comedy isn't normally my thing (one must have a sense of humor for that), I wasn't sure if I could tolerate it and was about ready to break out a new audio book ... but to my surprise, I found myself laughing out loud ... does this get me closer to Citizenship?!?

I don't really have too many thoughts today ... it was basically just a day of driving.  While in Minnesota, I was surprised, and then angry, at how cheap gas is in the states.  And how expensive it is in Ontario!  Seriously, 30 cents more than Manitoba (which is still almost twice as much as the states) ... what gives?!?!

along Lake Superior

Tomorrow will be more driving ... mostly along the lake all day.  Hopefully there's a bit more scenery than today.

Day 20 -- you can't drive over a lake

Not much progress Eastward

Summary:

• Drove south from Northern Manitoba
• Distance Traveled: 640.5 km
• Time on the road: 9 hrs

This morning, I realized that I'd drive not quite 8000 km since picking up the CRV, which meant I was due for an oil change.  Funny thing about Northern Manitoba ... there aren't a lot of car garages and the few that are around are booked solid for weeks.  So, I gave up on going to Gimli (site of a miracle plane crash and an old Icelandic settlement) for finding a garage that could take my car today.  The google gods smiled upon me and recommended a small shop outside of Winnipeg.  One quick call and they said they could take me this afternoon ... time to make tracks south!

seriously, this is Northern Manitoba, NOT the Caribbean

But first ... I wanted to visit Little Limestone Lake ... literally the only reason I drove northward in Manitoba.  I drove 45 minutes north of Grand Rapids to take a peek, eat my breakfast of yogurt and an apple and enjoy the peacefulness before turning around and driving south.

Why don't you need a hot pink Hummer

Get your kicks ...

Hwy 6 South is a rather boring drive with alternating views of lakes and marshes with water fowl and trees and farmland, where I played the always-fun-game of trying to pass farm machinery on the highway.  

Tony, me and Darryl

They were EVERYWHERE

But I finally got to the Route 66 Auto Repair in Rosser, MB.  Darryl and Tony had been kind enough to shift things around and promised to get me on my way as soon as they could.  This auto shop was the quintessential garage with posters of half-naked women, gone fishin' signs and all of the Route 66 paraphernalia that ever existed.  But Darryl and Tony were great.  They gave me a heads up on a few issues for my upcoming safety inspection (once I finally get to Halifax), a new air filter, oil change, tried to fix a bad wire connection in my bright beams and topped off all the fluids ... for $70.  If you're ever near Winnipeg and have car trouble, reach out to Darryl!

I couldn't be this close to Winnipeg and not visit the Winnie-the-Pooh statue (sadly, the museum was closed by the time I got to town).  Because I know you are all wondering, Eeyore has been, and will always be, my favorite.  He always makes me think of my Grandpa Sam.  If you don't know, the character Winnie the Pooh was based on a bear named Winnie (after Winnipeg) that was owned by a Canadian solider in World War I; he bought the bear (as a cub) in Ontario and took it to the UK with him ... while he was away fighting (you know, in a war), the London Zoo took care of Winnie and he (the solider) eventually donated her to the zoo instead of bringing her back to Canada with him ... So, there's a very nice statue in Winnipeg ... that I just HAD to track down.  Given that there are no signs about the statue anywhere in the giant park that houses it, this was a bit harder than I imagined.  But it did give me a good stretch of the legs, much needed after the day's drive.

half way?!

I'm spending the night in a quaint little farmhouse in the middle of Manitoba farm country ... in case you were wondering, the farm smells the same up here as it does back in Iowa ... pungently of manure.  On the way here, I crossed this line ... the longitudinal center of Canada.  I wasn't sure whether to be happy or depressed that I was *only* half way done.

A country sun set

Day 19 -- The Plains

Almost 3 weeks in ... not even half way 😢

Summary:

• Moose Jaw, SK to Grand Prairie, MB
• Distance Traveled: ~ 850 km
• Time on the Road: ~ 11.5 hrs (way too long)
• Random Oddities Seen: keep on reading to find out

Taken from the safety of the CRV

Okay, so I was wrong (mark this date in the calendar ... it's a rare occurrence) ... bears are back!  Or, more correctly, I'm further north again so black bears are out and about.  I saw 5 or 6 on today's drive.  2 of which were little cubs darting across the highway.  They certainly hadn't been taught how to cross a road ... neither one looked either direction before darting out in front of me.  They were quick (and scared of cars) so it was difficult to get a decent photo.

I arrived too late last night in Moose Jaw to really explore the town, which is unfortunate.  By all accounts, it's a beautiful little town and worth a day or two.  I did make my way out to visit the Mac, the giant moose.  Apparently he's currently the second largest moose in the world but after an antler overhaul this summer, he'll overtake the Norwegian moose and have the record ... There's such a sense of pride about this in Moose Jaw ... it's quite amazing.

Mac the Moose in Moose Jaw, SK

Just outside of Moose Jaw, there's a tiny museum that houses the remnants of perhaps the most tragic story I've ever heard ... There once was a man that walked from Minnesota to Saskatchewan to visit his brother.  After staying a few years, he walked back to Minnesota to visit his family only to discover that his wife had died and his children had been put in foster care.  After tracking down his son, they tried to walk back to Saskatchewan, but the son was turned away (and the man was deported from the US) ... and then the man went a bit off the rails.

Tom's route to open water

Tom Sukanen discovered a water route that he was certain could take him back to his native Finland ... so, in the middle of the Saskatchewan prairies, he built a ship that would take him home.  Sadly, he died in an asylum in SK.  Read more here (the ship isn't really that large; 43' long; 26' tall; 12' draft fully laden).

That's his cabin atop his ship

I left Moose Jaw and starting making tracks to Manitoba ... I'm zigzagging across the Prairies, trying to see as much as I can.  Turns out, the prairies all look very similar ... lots of little towns with grain elevators.  Lots of Ukrainian (and a few Russian) churches.  Lots of fields and old buildings.  I did, however, come across a GIANT Swan ...

Somewhere along the drive

Swan River, MB

I can't believe that I've been on the road for almost 3 weeks ... time has flown by.  But I should probably pitter patter and head towards Halifax soon.  Over/under from 2 on how many days it takes me to get through Ontario, anyone?

Day 18 -- Saskatchewan

Summary:

Progress ... slowly but surely

• Explore rural Saskatchewan
• Distance Traveled: 666.5 km
• Time on the Road: 10 hrs

Lighthouse in Cochin, SK

Today was an adventurous day of exploring.  I spent more time on gravel roads that ever planned ... but the CRV held up well, other than it is now in DESPERATE need of a wash.  

The day started with a stop off to visit a lighthouse in the middle of the Prairies ... I don't know why a lighthouse was put on top of a hill in Cochin, SK but it was ... it was good to get the blood flowing as I climbed up the steps ... it was only 153 steps.

Unfortunately the mosquitoes were not going to let me through unscathed.  I swarm descended and blackened the sky around me as soon as I turned into the parking lot (must buy even MORE potent bug spray!).

I was surprised at how pretty I found the countryside today (gravel dust aside).  Old grain storage facilities seem to be in every little town (or remnants of towns).  And old buildings populate the fields, making me ponder who used to live there so many years ago.

I spent probably 3 hours on gravel today trying to find a "Wonder of Canada" (as determined by CBC) ... the Twisted Trees of Saskatchewan.  They're really quite amazing ... no one knows why these Aspen trees grow in every direction instead of straight, like the other Aspens not 10' away.  

Twisted Trees/Crooked Bush 

Random Statue, Manitou Beach

A little shack

Did you know that there's a mineral lake and resort in the middle of Saskatchewan?!  Manitou Beach is a beautiful with lots of fun sculptures.

other random old buildings

Random Fairy Tree in a field, somewhere in SK

I'm tucked away in Moose Jaw, SK for the evening.  I'll visit Mac the Moose on my way out of town.  Tomorrow will take me into Manitoba.  Halifax, here I come (in like 2 weeks).