Wednesday July 31 ... Did someone say trees?

Woke this morning but neither of us had a very good sleep so we decided to have a more "down" day today and took our time over breakfast.  Then headed out by foot from our hotel to explore a little bit.  There is a HUGE pulp and paper mill smack dab in the middle of the town!  Not the most appealing tourist attraction as any of you who have smelled a pulp and paper factory will know!  However, we did manage to find a couple of fun things...an 18 foot moose, a very pretty mosaic the town's artists did in 2010 as a Centennial Art project, made from old pieces of china that people donated and a suspension bridge that was quite cool over the Wabigoon River. 

 

Left Dryden about 12:30 and for the next few hours it was bush and rock and bush and rock and oh yes, bush and rock! :) The scenery was interspersed occasionally with a glimpse of a body of water off to one side, just to break the monotony.  We passed through a few small hamlets but everything was pretty run down and not too prosperous looking.  We happily arrived at Kakabeka Falls (128 feet high) just outside of Thunder Bay - a beautiful spot where we spent some time stretching our legs, walking around and taking photos.  

 

Thirty minutes later we were in Thunder Bay, where we have settled for the night.  Even though we were both really tired today we enjoyed getting back on the bike - so that's good news!

 

Just returned from a delicious Greek supper - souvlaki, Greek salad, spanakopita and baklava....the final item we definitely did NOT need but it was yummy!  :)  Tomorrow we head towards Sault St. Marie but it's a long haul from here to there so we'll likely have to find a motel in a small town along the way....more later!

Tuesday July 30 ... Sunshine at last!

Woke up this morning in Minnendosa, Manitoba to sunshine!  Yahoo!!!  After breakfast took a walk around the very cute downtown.  

We read some historical placques, one of which said the town was part of the Carlton Trail, the same trail that passed by Edam and Turtleford in Saskatchewan, close to Harry's home farm!  Imagine that!!!  

Here is some interesting trivia for you about the Carlton Trail:  This info was published originally in Manitoba Pageant by the Manitoba Historical Society. The Carlton Trail, the first highway west of Winnipeg, was the only overland route between Upper Fort Garry and Fort Edmonton during the latter days of the fur trade and the early days of settlement. It was a long and busy trail, but its life was cut short in its heyday by that snorting intruder, the railroad, which thrust its main line across the prairies in the 1880s and shot out its branch lines in the 1890s.  Long before the Carlton Trail was used by fur traders, explorers, missionaries, settlers, soldiers, and surveyors, it was an Indian trail, and long before it was an Indian trail, it was the migration path of aboriginal hunters who tracked wild game along its primal contours. These first became established some 6,000 years ago when the waters of Lake Agassiz slowly drained away and the highlands became the runways of wild game and the stalking paths of primitive men.At certain places along this ancient trail, usually on high wooded land beside a lake or stream, the Indians and their ancestors pitched their camps and left behind the remnants of their occupancy. Many artifacts of various periods have been unearthed at such places as Upper Fort Garry, Deer Lodge, Whitehorse Plain, Portage la Prairie, Neepawa, Minnedosa, Shoal Lake, and Fort Ellice—all on the Carlton Trail.

Every time I come to one of these small towns I get a romanticized notion that I would like to move
there and buy a little heritage house and live a slower pace of life.  Harry figures I'd last a week - and he's probably right! :)   At any rate, the town in the morning sunlight, nestled in a beautiful valley, was very picturesque.  It seems to be a bustling little centre, likely because of the huge Husky ethanol plant that has replaced the railroad as the main employer in the area.

After a yummy breakfast at a local eatery we were on the road again heading east yet again.  We passed through many lovely little villages, one of which was Neepawa ...some more trivia for you - there is a breed of wheat called Neepawa (developed here in 1969 by Agriculture Canada), the town is the author Margaret Laurence's birthplace and apparently according to a sign I saw, the town also boasts of being the purple marten capital of Canada.

We stopped again when we arrived at Portage La Prairie.  We headed for the centre of town and Horseshoe Lake, which is true to its namesake and curves around in the shape of a huge horseshoe...so very, very pretty!  Again, houses lining the lake, a park, swimming pool, playground, an old airplane, a windmill, towering oak trees, beautiful gardens, a big fountain spewing water high in the middle of the lake - a beautiful slice of paradise in the middle of a city. 

We walked around and started to take some photos and after one,  the camera died!  Turns out we hadn't noticed the battery needed recharging.  So Harry decided to bring the charger on the walk in case we found an outlet (something I scoffed at a bit...mostly internally....at the time)!  Low and behold I noticed a huge power box almost in front of us right away - so Harry plugged in the charger and away we went for a walk.  Gotta love having an electrician around! When we returned some 15 minutes or so later the battery was charged up enough for us to take the remaining photos.  

Back on the bike again and heading through lush farmland...huge fields, bigger than anything either of us have seen back home...wheat, canola, barley and what we thought were soy beans...we actually looked up online what a soybean plant looked like and though we were barrelling down the highway when we saw them, we think they might indeed have been soybeans.

Just outside Winnipeg we stopped for lunch.  We actually bypassed the city on the ring road so don't have much to report about the city itself.  I was there years ago when Heather was synchronized swimming and mostly I remember it as a regular type city....apologies to those of you who are now going to tell me all we missed seeing there!!!  One can only do so much! :)

The land around Winnipeg and further east didn't seem as lush or fertile.  Most of the farmlands disappeared and the landscape became more forest than anything else....miles and miles of it it seemed!  When we happened on Kenora we were impressed with what a pretty town it was...on Lake of the Woods.  Lots of cottages and a real touristy feel to the town.  By now it was getting late so we just took a quick drive through the town, phoned to book a room for the night in Dryden, filled up with gas and were on the highway again.

Arrived in Dryden at the end of a long day on the back of the bike...over 600 km.  Our butts were sore and we were tired and a bit cranky (did I say that out loud?:)) so took it easy for the evening, watched a bit of tv and tried to get a good night's sleep.

Monday July 29 ... On the road east

Left Edmonton on Sunday July 28 heading east.  At Turtleford we stopped to take our picture with the town's mascot ... a giant green turtle!  

Stopped in Edam, SK to visit Harry's sister, Barb, and her family.  Had hoped, too, to see Bill and Bev, Harry's brother and sister-in-law, but they weren't home.  Headed to Saskatoon for supper (yummy quesedillas) and an overnight visit with Heather, Eli and Easton.  It was fun seeing their new house. They are well settled and have already made lots of improvements.  Spending time with Easton was such fun....he is rolling over and moving around and he never sits still...loves to be kicking his legs and flailing his arms all the time...and always with a big grin on his face.  He was fascinated with Grampa Harry's wiggling toes :).  He is SO adorable!!!  

Left Saskatoon about 9 a.m. This morning heading east.  The scenery was beautiful...rolling hills and lush crops and blue sky filled with puffy white clouds. We saw five potash mines off the side of the road...huge operations from the looks of it.  We stopped in Lannigan and went into the little museum located in the old train station.  We watched a short video on potash mining and were stunned to find out that in the mine outside Lannigan there are five hundred miles of underground tunnels!

We passed through lots of pretty little towns along the way.  At Churchbridge we stopped to put on our rain gear as it had started spitting.  We were intrigued to see a point of interest with a large replica of the loonie...turns out a local artist from the town was the one whose art was chosen from hundreds of entries as the one that would be stamped on the face of the loonie.  

We also noticed at several towns along the way signs announcing that a number of NHL hockey players called the towns home!

It started to rain in earnest at Langenburg, just before the Manitoba border. We kept going ... Both in hopes it would just blow over, as well as in hopes that we would find a motel along the way as we were pretty sure we were not going to be able to make it to Portage la Prairie, which had been our original destination.  At Shoal Lake we stopped but discovered the only motel in town was full, so it was back on the bike to Minnendosa, where we found a room for the night.  Just back from supper and a visit with the owner of the motor inn.  He and his wife are bikers too and are heading to the states tomorrow so it was fun swapping stories with him about some good rides.

We were disappointed to find we had missed the latest episode of The Amazing Race Canada as we have been enjoying seeing different parts of the country in yet another way.  Seems we are on central time not mountain time now! :)

All in all another great day on the bike in spite of the rain!  It is clearing now so will keep our fingers crossed that blue sky will greet us in the morning.

Cheers to all....Janice and Harry 

Sunday June 9 2013

Hi everyone:

Just wanted to let you know that we arrived home safe and sound about 7 pm tonight.  It was a very long, cold, damp day on the bike...from Golden to Edmonton.  About a third of the trip we encountered rain and for most of the trip the temps were between 5' to 10', so very chilly and cool on a bike!  Harry did an amazing job of driving.  We were sure cold and tired when we arrived in our back alley...a hot toddy and hot shower helped tremendously.

Even though we encountered weather that was less than desirable, we have still been impressed and awestruck many times by the extraordinary beauty we have seen.  It certainly gives one a different perspective to see the land from the vantage point a motorcycle affords. 

Though we're tired tonight we are still excited about the next leg of our Cross Canada Motorcycle Adventure...from Edmonton to Newfoundland and the final mile of The Trans Canada Highway.

We move July 8 and will be taking off for part two of our journey sometime after that....and will continue having a blast and keep you updated ...

Warmest thoughts from Janice and Harry

Friday June 7 2013 ... Heading to Mile 0 of the TransCanada Highway

Friday, June 7

Up and on our way this morning headed for Victoria and "Mile 0" of the Trans Canada Highway.  As soon as we arrived in Victoria, and before we were hardly off the bike, a group of Japanese men (from a tour bus), were upon us wanting to get their pictures taken with the bike.  We sure got a chuckle from it...now we know how people in countries we visit must feel when tourists like us want to take their pictures!  It was actually a lot of fun...we felt like quite the celebrities!:).   

It was very busy and congested in downtown Victoria so after a brief walk along the ocean we hopped on the bike and headed for the ferry at Schwartz Bay.  Talk about luck....we arrived just before the 1 pm ferry was starting to board and since we were driving a motorcycle, we were ushered to the front of the line...as there is special parking on the boat for motorcycles...but ended up being the last vehicle on the boat because they had already started to load the cars....normally bikes go on first.  Scrambled a bit to secure the bike with blocks before the ferry pulled away but were delighted we didn't have to wait another hour for the next departure.

Upon arrival in Vancouver, Harry's gps girlfriend took us on what appeared to be a very circuitous route to get us to the highway headed for Hope.  Lots of lights and stops and starts and construction...a real mess to get through the city. It took us over an hour to get from the ferry to the highway.  Lots and lots of traffic for the first little while...started thinning out once we got near Abbottsford.  

We arrived in Hope around 5 pm and decided to press on to Boston Bar, a little town about an hour from Hope on the Trans Canada...gorgeous scenery again, the Fraser River mightily carving its way through the rock.  Cloudy and cool but the views were still beautiful!  Stopped at a little motel on the highway where we have settled for the night...the Alpine Motel...basic but clean and with the best little restaurant right on the premises.  For supper we had the freshest salad ever, a bowl of delicious chili and for dessert an apple crumble with ice cream that was pure deliciousness!  After dinner Harry washed the bike while I caught up on emails.  I'm going to read for awhile and Harry is now watching weird screamy, yelly rock videos....who knew!?! :). Now he is channel surfing so who knows what we will end up with on the tube! :)

Hope all is well in your world...

Janice and Harry

Thursday June 6 2013 ... On the road again...

Thursday June 6 2013

Began our day with a breakfast which was included with our room at the Best Western. Onto the bike at 9 am but it took us a bit of time as Harry's gps girlfriend wanted to take us to the ferry instead of to Tofino.  We finally got her straightened around and were on our way north by 9:30 am.

Our first stop was at the Coombs Market where there are goats who live on the grass roof...such a fun, funky place.  We had coffee and a cookie and wandered around looking at all the neat foodstuff and crafts and gifts they had for sale...a very hippyish fun place.  We even did a bit of fancy jive footwork to a tune that was playing on the old juke box.

Highway 4 took us north through Port Alberni and more gorgeous scenery, lakes and mountains and stands of huge trees.  We can sure understand why people chose to retire in BC...it's a truly beautiful place.  At the junction...8 km to Ucelet to the left and 33 km to Tofino to the right we stopped for a picnic lunch at the visitor centre.  Then it was left into Ucelet for a drive around and a look at the wooden lighthouse that was in operation until 1988 when it, along with many others in the country, was automated.

Back on the road to Tofino...where we toured around the town a bit but found it mostly tourist shopping so headed back and stopped at Long Beach so Harry could dip his toes in the ocean and we could walk on the beach for awhile.  It was wild and wonderful...quite a few surfers were out enjoying the waves, along with kayakers and wind surfers.  

On our way back to Nanaimo we stopped at an old growth forest called Cathedral forest...and it did feel like a very spiritual place...complete with a tree that was over 800 years old...a massive beauty!

Ten hours later we were back at the hotel...tired but happy.  Most of the driving today was done at very low speeds because of the twisty roads...about 440 km on the odometer but it took us almost 8 hours to go that far.  Definitely a lot of time sitting....our butts were sore!  But...what a glorious way to see things...the smells in particular in the rain forest areas and at the ocean assault the senses in a way you don't get in a car.

Delicious supper at the hotel...our chef prepared Butter Chicken with basmati rice and homemade nan bread...scrumptious.  We topped the evening off with a game of pool in the pub and now are back in the room getting organized for our day tomorrow...heading for Victoria.

Love to all....Janice and  Harry 

June 3 2013 ... Western leg of our cross Canada motorcycle adventure begins

Hi everyone...here's a little travel diary if you're interested in keeping up with our adventures re our cross Canada motorcycle adventure...hope all is well in your respective worlds.

Monday, June 3, 2013
Left Edmonton under slightly cloudy skies about 11 a.m.  Cool riding to Edson but manageable.  In Edson light rain started and followed us to Hinton.  Stopped to have a hot chocolate at the McDonald's and get our bearings in terms of needing to make a decision to keep heading west hoping the weather would improve, or hole up in Hinton.  Decided to head west and the weather did improve.  Luckily we didn't get too wet on the bike...for one thing it wasn't a downpour and for another the gold wing seems to deflect the wind and rain around the bike much better than the shadow did.  

Made it as far as Valemount and checked in to a beautiful Best Western.  Were a bit chilled so thought a hot tub was the answer but the water was tepid so we opted for nice long hot showers instead.  Definitely the bikers way to take the chill off after a cool day of riding.  Figured we did 530 km day one...our butts are getting toughened up!


Tuesday, June 4 2013
After a yummy full breakfast at the Best Western we were on the road heading west.  The morning was bright and sunny and the scenery breathtaking.  Temps starting out were about 13' but each mile it semed to warm up!  We stopped for gas and to check out the tourist info in Clearwater and decided to take a 47 km detour up the mountain to see Helmican Falls, the third highest falls in Canada, in Wells Grey Provincial Park.  A wonderfully twisty, turny road...always such fun on a bike!  It was definitely worth the extra two hours it added to our trip...breathtakingly beautiful.  We had a picnic at the falls and it was a lovely way to spend some time in nature.  
Back down the mountain headed south on the Yellowhead ...  a boring few miles. 

At Little Fort we turned off onto highway 24, called the Highway of 100 lakes and we sure knew why...mile after mile of beautiful lakes, both large and small.  Thought of Liz and Rick (Harry's sister and brother in law) as they love fishing so much.   We turned off this onto the Caribou highway 97 heading south.  Out of  nowhere we came to the Fraser River and a gorge that was so deep we were stunned!  It seemed to go on forever and we were struck by its rugged beauty.  It kept taking our breath away.  

We had hoped to make more time this day but stopped lots and were sure happy we did...it is, after all, supposed to be about the journey and not the destination. :) Long story short, :), we ended up staying at the Pines Motel in Lillooet...used to be a booming logging town but now is one of those little towns that seems a bit down on its luck.  Kinda sad to see but when there are no jobs it's hard for people to make a commitment to stay.  Made about 600 km day two.


Wednesday June 5
We were up early this morning and on the road before 9 ... onto highway 99, called the Duffy Highway.  More and more wows and holy cow moments!!!  Another biker's dream of a road with lots of turns and twists...and the scenery...our photos will never do it justice.  We even got some photos of snow banks!  We stopped in Pemberton for coffee and continued on our way on the Sea to Sky highway (or highway 99 or many other names it's called by!) through grassy areas for quite some time and about the time we hit the Whistler area it became mountainous again. Stopped briefly for a quick tour around Whistler...to see how the other half lives...very luxuriously it turns out! :) 

Arrived in Vancouver and thanks to the bike's great gps system made it to the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal easily.  However, once there we had a couple of challenges, whereby the navigator Janice had Harry going up a do not enter ramp, but we finally managed to figure things out and got onto the ferry heading for Nanaimo at 3:15 pm.  Janice's navigator status was originally in some question, but it turns out it wasn't her fault, but rather the fault of poor signage and a missing ferry terminal staffer who was supposed to be directing traffic... :)  But I digress... We found our hotel easily thanks to the bike's gps....I am now a big fan of the thing!  

Did some laundry in the hotel's laundry room (really loving the Best Western hotel experience) and then we popped across the street to Superstore and picked up some salad for a lazy and simple dinner in our hotel room.  We were tired of all the heavy food we've been eating the last few days so really enjoyed the greens!  

We are doing some reading and research for our day tomorrow (and I'm typing this email to send you :)) and will spend the rest of the evening just relaxing...with a stop in the pub downstairs shortly for a change of scenery and a Black Russian for me and a glass of wine for Harry. :) 

Our plan is to be up and out of here early tomorrow to spend the day touring in the area...heading Tofino way, then back here to the same hotel in Nanaimo tomorrow evening.  

More later...warmest thoughts and love to all...Janice and Harry