Hello folks. As of yesterday, all the Highway signs on the roads we travelled said Trans Canada Hwy West. Yes, yesterday morning we left Twillingate on the eastern shore of Newfoundland and started heading west. Tomorrow, August 23d, we take the ferry back across Cabot Strait (a 6-hour trip) to North Sydney. The next day we are headed to Fredericton, then Montreal, Ottawa, and Prince Edward County in Ontario, then 3 days across Ontario and the Great Lakes, then to Estevan and Dilke Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Jasper, the Okanogan if smoke is ok, and then back down to the coast. Estimated ETA to Gibsons, September 7th.

Well, I’m three weeks behind in my blog. But that’s the time we have been in Newfoundland. Finding adequate cell and internet service especially up north was impossible. I decided I would cover this wonderful land all in one go when I had access to adequate internet access. Today, we are at JT Cheeseman Provincial Park campsite at Cape Ray near Port Aux Basques on the southwest coast of Newfoundland. As I said, tomorrow we leave Newfoundland. Today we have set aside for me to catch up on the blog and for Guy to finish off his paintings. Later we will have a hike through the tucamore  forest here and up to a viewpoint that overlooks the sea.

We have done and seen so much here since we arrived on August 1st. I am not doing my typical day by day entries in this blog post.  I’m  just going to write and let the pictures do the talking. This great land needs a more general and generous overview.

My last blog entry left off on July 30, 2018 with us sitting by the fire with Guy’s son Brenden on our last night together before he flew back with his aunt and uncle to Vancouver. With a little sadness, the next day, we dropped Brenden, Caroline and Alex off at the airport. After saying goodbye, we set off to North Sydney where we were staying the night before we caught the ferry the next day to Newfoundland.

The trip across the Cabot Strait was uneventful. The ocean was as flat as a pancake the day we sailed. On the ferry, I occupied myself with writing while Guy started and finished his painting “Joy of Green Gables”.

This painting is inspired by a photo of me walking in the Haunted Woods wearing my orange sari when suddenly I felt the need to lift it up behind me and let it blow in the wind.  When we looked at the picture later, we realized that would have been something the dramatic Anne would have done.   Guy superimposed the image of me onto a painting with Green Gables in the corner.

On the Marine Atlantic Ferry, we also occupied ourselves with talking to the people who stopped by to see what Guy was painting.  He had literally taken over a table in the little cafe and sat there all day.  People did rounds of the ferry and often came back to see how his progress was.  It was a lot of fun.

 

 

When we saw the shores of Newfoundland in the distance for the first time, we were gobsmacked. We couldn’t believe we had made it this far. The harbor welcomed us, much like we imagined it. Small colorful houses dotted the cliffs as we came into the misty port.

 

As we drove the short distance to our campsite, Guy and I couldn’t stop saying to each other “Wow, I can’t believe we are in Newfoundland”. We spent the first night at JT Cheeseman Provincial Park near Port Aux Basques. The next morning, we had beach time before heading north with our friends Bill and Joka. Guy and Joka braved the cold Cabot Strait for a swim. This would be one of the few swims in this part of the country. The water is just to cold and wild most of the time.

 

 

We spent the next three weeks traversing the island, up to the northern peninsula and across to Labrador, then over to St. Anthony on the northeast tip, back down to Gros Morne, then southeast to St. Johns, back the same way but east,  and then south to Port Aux Basques. I’ve attached a picture of our route on a map below.

A highlight of our three weeks on Newfoundland was our time at Blow Me Down Provincial Park, not an hour away from the pleasant town of Cornerbrook. What a gem out on the Humber Arm. The campsite itself had wonderful trails and a nice beach where we had a very quick and cold swim the first afternoon.

 

The next day, we hiked the Cedar Grove trail nearby that took us through an enchanting forest and down to a beautiful cove. It felt like you were millions of miles away from everything.  Guy was inspired by my random yoga pose near the cliffs on our trek.  He took a photo and planned to do a painting based on it later.

 

One of the small seaside fishing villages near Blow Me Down Provincial Park was Lark Harbor. This town and the area around it felt like the true Newfoundland; fishing boats, little houses, lobster traps, friendly folk.

 

 

We really enjoyed our couple of days here. We met tons of great people travelling around the Maritimes too at our campsite including some from Canada and the States.  The general greeting when someone introduced themselves from the states was “Don’t hold it against me”.  They were fed up generally with “Orangy” and couldn’t wait for change.   We plan to keep in touch with a few folks. While we were at Blow Me Down, Guy finished his painting, “Moon, Man and Mist”.

 

This painting is a tribute to the 3 or 4  moose we’ve seen on our journey.   Apparently there are 10, 000 moose on Newfoundland.  Moose were introduced to Newfoundland in the 1950’s.  Four moose were brought over from New Brunswick and the rest is history.

We ultimately made our way further up the coast and by August 6th, our 2nd wedding anniversary, we were on the ferry crossing the Strait of Belle Isle from St. Barbe to Labrador. Going to Labrador was on Guy’s bucket list and I was along for the ride.  I’m so glad we went. What an incredible place.  You get of the ferry at Blanc Sablon in Quebec and drive the short distance into Labrador.  As soon as we got off the ferry on to the pot hole laden roads, with the big barren landscape cradling us, we knew we had arrived somewhere very different and special.

 

 

Enroute to our campsite at Pinware Provincial Park, we stopped at a historic site of the gravesite of a young child from 7500 years ago from the Maritime Archaic peoples.   The child was laid under a round stone burial mound 1.5 metres below the surface.  It raises the question, are there more undiscovered burial sites nearby?  And why was this girl special?

 

 

Then we went on to Point Amour Lighthouse, operating since the 1850’s and still operating to this day.  It is the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada and the second tallest in Canada.   We got a tour all the way up the 132 steps to an incredible view of the Strait of Belle Island and across back to Newfoundland.  As we made our way up, our guide  also gave us some history about the lighthouse keepers and their lives that involved contending with the harsh conditions of this lighthouse on the Strait of Belle Isle.

 

 

 

Then we made our way to our campsite where we toasted our anniversary with a bottle of champagne on the beach.  It was lovely.

 

 

After dinner, the fellow in the campsite next to us,  from Ontario, invited us over for some planet viewing.  He had the big telescopes for looking at the  sky. That night we saw Mars, Saturn and Venus.

The next day, we drove up to Red Bay, the farthest you can go apparently before the roads really deteriorate. The landscape enroute was awe inspiring, rockscapes with mini trees, actual subarctic terrain.  In Red Bay, we saw around a Whaling Museum and then were dropped off by boat across the harbor to look around Saddle Island, an old Basque Whaling Station. It was an incredibly interesting spot and we could have stayed there for hours.

 

 

In the evening, Guy finished his painting “Confederation Bridge”.

This is based picture of Guy and I taken the day we left PEI on the New Brunswick side of the bridge.  Here we are wearing our hats, a very integral part of our travelling uniform this summer.

After a wild weather night of wind and rain, we awoke on August 8th, our travelling companion Joka’s birthday, and headed back to Blanc Sablon to the ferry along the pot hole filled, foggy and rainy roads and got a true taste of Labrador weather after two lucky days of sunshine.

Once off the ferry, we headed directly up the Northern Peninsula to L’Anse Aux Meadows and the St. Anthony Area. We had a terrific day at L’Anse Aux Meadows which is an archaeological site of a Viking Settlement from the year 1000, predating Christopher Columbus,  and discovered in the 1960’s.  One of the first artifacts found was a small bronze cloak pin indicative of Greenland and Iceland people at that time.   It should be noted too that the native peoples of the area occupied, at least part of the time, the same subarctic terrain on the Strait of Belle Isle dating back to 6,000 years ago.   It looks as though this group of Norse/sVikings were there for 3-10 years, some call a failed Viking Settlement.  Hundreds of small artifacts were found but so were the actual foundations of longhouses and other buildings.  The Vikings came to this foreboding land likely to repair boats, do some trade, and look for other resources.  Much of the impetus to find the settlement and others like it in the region were based on Sagas passed down orally and then written down that spoke of travels to this land.   We went through the museum and then on a tour which was very informative.   L’Anse Aux Meadows was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1978.

 

 

Afterwards, we walked along the ocean path and met a woman named Mandy and she walked with us. She was very interested in the plants and berries in the area. We had lunch with her later and found out she was thinking about moving to Newfoundland from Quebec. We said goodbye to her after lunch but would ultimately meet up with her later in St. John’s.

 

 

That night it poured. It was actually torrential. We could not leave our popup the next morning until after 9am. The rain was too intense and wouldn’t stop. We spent a couple of hours that day in a museum to stay out of the weather.  The museum featured Dr. Grenfell, a doctor who travelled the coast by boat around the Northern Peninsula and Labrador beginning in 1892.  He administered medical care to isolated communities and set up nursing stations in different communities.  He was truly a champion of the people and did a lot to buoy people up in the fishing communities where life was extremely tough.  It was interesting to learn about Dr. Grenfell because his history is so wrapped up in the History of  Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula and Labrador.

Later in the day when the sun came out, we had a walk up to a point with a lighthouse and a nice walk at St. Anthony.

 

 

That night Guy finished his painting “Exuberance”. I maintain that it looks like a porcupine attacked my head, but the “artiste” sees differently.

 

We spent the next couple of days in the Gros Morne National Park area.  We camped for two nights at Shallow Bay Provincial Park near a town called Cows Head on the west coast.  That first afternoon, we had a fantastic hike out to the lighthouse at Cows Head and then further out to the head of the bay.

 

The next day we went for a walk out to Western Brook Pond and the fjords.  That night, we went for dinner and to a play in Cows Head at their community theatre.  The play was about 17 men in the area who were in the first world war.  Some of them died and some of them made it back to Newfoundland to live out there lives there.  The four male actors portrayed each of the 17 men’s experiences in little vignettes.  It was very moving.

The next morning we wandered the gorgeous beach and sand dunes before we set out for Tablelands.

 

 

 

Later, we had lunch at a place in Woody Point. I was glad to go to Woody Point because it has a writer’s festival there every year that Shelagh Rogers hosts. I would have liked to have stay the week and joined in on the writer’s festival but we couldn’t afford the time. After lunch, Guy had a nap underneath Woody Point lighthouse and I read.  A tour boat came across the bay toward the lighthouse.   I stood up and waved and the whole boat of people started waving at me. A ferry funny moment.

Guy and I pushed on that day and drove late until we reached Gander. The next day, we pushed on to St. Johns. Our plan with our last week, until the ferry back to Nova Scotia, was to make it to St. John’s and tour around and then stop off at points of interest on our way back to the west coast.

St. John’s was great. We stayed at Pippy Municipal Park in the city. It was a reasonably nice campground and was near all the sights. Mandy, our new friend who we had met up on the Northern Peninsula, was there and acted as our tour guide for a couple of days. She had been to Newfoundland and St. John’s 10 years ago so she knew her way around. She took us up to Cape Spear Lighthouse, the most eastern point in Canada.  Did you know Portugal is due east from Cape Spear right across the Atlantic?

 

 

Then Mandy showed us around St. John’s and Guy was able to get his Atlantic water off the shores of St. John’s. The bottle is now full!!!   We also got to say hello to the big Newfoundland and Labrador dog statues in the harbor.  Such good boys!!!  Back at the campsite, we had dinner and a very fun evening of crib in our camper.   Guy won.

 

 

The next day we went to Signal Hill and spent a few hours there hiking around and seeing the sights. Yikes. There are lots of steep hills and cliffs at Signal Hill.  Signal Hill, “With its summit 167 metres above sea level …….. offers a commanding view of the Atlantic Ocean, St. John’s, and the Narrows, a channel through which all ships must pass when entering St. John’s Harbour. This site was important for communications and defence. Its fortifications defended St. John’s harbour for centuries and it was at the summit of Signal Hill on December 12th, 1901 that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless transmission ushering in the era of wireless communications” (Wikipaedia”).  The views there and the trails are really tremendous.  Yikes, height phobia pushed to the limit!!!!!!

 

 

 

We continued our day out on a little excursion to the quaint little village of Quidi Vidi.  We looked around and saw some Artisans at work in a local gallery and then took a few photo opps.

 

We topped the day off with dinner out to a restaurant in Peddy Harbor called Chafe’s Landing.  In Anthony Bourdain’s show “Parts Unknown”, he highlighted this area in his episode on Newfoundland.  Its a very popular place with great affordable food in a great setting.  Even before Anthony Bourdain’s nod to Chafe’s Landing, it was very popular and doing a booming business.   I had the codcakes and they were to die for.  Just an aside, Alan Doyle from the Newfoundland band Great Big Sea is from Peddy Harbor.

 

 

What a lovely city St. John’s is. It’s pretty with the Jelly Bean colored houses and the seascapes. It looks to be a very liveable city with lots of art and culture and an active citizenry.   And  the Battery Café owned by an Australian guy from Melbourne, makes a great Americano.

 

 

After St. Johns, Guy and I headed up to Bonavista Peninsula just  4 hours north of St. Johns.  Mandy decided to join us. We were going to see the sights and look for Puffins. What a beautiful part of the world. More potholes of course off the main highways but the most precious little fishing villages dotted the landscape all the way out to Bonavista which is a bigger picturesque old fishing village sitting on the Atlantic.

 

 

We stopped in Bonavista at the info centre and then hit a sweet little bakery and picked up Bakeapple Cheesecake and Coconut Cream Pie. Bakeapples are a small berry found in Newfoundland that are delicious and are used in preserves and baking.  Their  latin name, if anyone is interested, is Rubus chamaemorus and they are native to cooler climates.  It has an incredibly different flavor to other berries.  Partridge berry or lignon berry is another berry I enjoyed while in Newfoundland.  It is similar to a small cranberry and is tart.  Yum.  Newfoundlanders are big on foraging berries just like we are on the west coast.  Hope the blackberries wait for me!!!!

We found our very basic campsite at Elliston Municipal Campsite with the most beautiful view of the Atlantic and the cliffs.  It was $15.00 for the night for the 3 of us including two vehicles.  Once we set up, we headed a mile down the road to the cliffs where the puffins hang out. It’s a very pretty walk over huge rocks out to ocean. We sat on one of the rocks and looked across to where the puffins were living on another big rock island. It was so cool to be able to watch these cute little orange footed birds hunt.  Life is tough for them though. As they hunt, they have to fight off the seagulls to keep their catch. The seagulls just sit there lazily on the rocks waiting for the puffins to come in with their catch so they can steal it.

 

 

The next day we went and saw our puffin buddies again and then saw around Bonavista and went up to the lighthouse at the point. We had no idea it was International Lighthouse Day so getting in the lighthouse was free. Bonavista is the spot on Newfoundland where Giovanni Cabato (John Cabot) first hit land in 1497 and name it Bonavista, “beautiful view”. We walked out to the statue of John Cabot and then had a quick picnic nearby.

 

 

Afterwards, Mandy took us to the Dungeons, some huge rock structures along the ocean worn away over time. They and the landscape around them were striking.  On the way, we said hi to some cows.

 

Afterwards, we walked around Bonavista.  We were just walking along the ocean and a guy yelled at us from his boat if we wanted to go cod fishing.  We declined but asked him where we could get some cod and he said he’d bring some back to us if he caught anything.  Of course, by the time he came back we had moved on but this just demonstrates how friendly the Newfoundland people are.  We ended up back at the tea house in town, our new favorite spot only how many miles away from Gibsons, where we had an afternoon snack of coconut cream pie as the bakeapple cheesecake was sadly sold out.

Aftetwards, we hunted down some cod and I made curried cod and rice for dinner.   While I was cooking, Guy finished his painting “Sand Eagle”.

Then after dinner, the cribbage match continued.

Mandy set off back to St. Johns the next morning. We headed up the east coast further, a 4 hour drive again,  to Twillingate.   Before we left the Elliston area, we drove a mile or two down the way from Elliston to the little hamlet of Maberly.  Maberly used to be a busy little fishing village back in the day with fishing and gardening.    People occupy the houses that are left but it is quiet.   Maberly is so typical of many little towns in Newfoundland that have seen their ultimate demise after the end of the cod fishery.

 

 

Its so pretty here on the wild Atlantic. You can almost feel the ghosts of the people of the past.

Oh, I forgot to say that Elliston advertises itself as the root cellar capital.  Even Maberly has some decent root cellars.   When I first read that before coming, I laughed. But it’s true. Everywhere in the hills, you see little doors to root cellars.

 

 

At Twillingate we stayed at Dildo Run Provincial Park. They  might think about changing the name.  It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous place in spite of the name.

 

 

The next day we toured around Twillingate including the local lighthouse.  We also were treated to a humpback whale display, 6 of them,  just off some random cliffs we walked up.  In the second picture on the right, you can see the spray.

 

 

That night Guy finished his painting “Ellliston” based on a picture of a simple little white house with a colorful door and window panes.  In front was a puffin inspired outdoor chair.    The painting is a tribute to these most interesting birds prolific in this area.

 

 

The next day,  we had an early morning and were on the road by 7am.  We stopped in Cornerbrook for groceries and some more canvasses for Guy. We got to the campsite about 5pm, set up and went on a nice one hour hike on some trails near the campsite with some incredible views of Cabot Strait and the coastline.

 

 

When we got back, we had dinner and a fire and Guy finished his painting called “Tabletop” based on our hike around Tabletop in Gros Morne.

 

 

This morning Guy painted and I blogged. Then this afternoon, we had a gorgeous hike through the magical hills around here that ended up at the beautiful sandy beach. We had a swim in Cabot Strait and dried off in the sun on the beach. We both felt like we properly said goodbye today to this incredible place called Newfoundland.

 

 

These are the words that in my mind remind me of Newfoundland and Labrador:

Mysterious, Daunting, Desolate, Beautiful, Isolated, Lonely, Wild, Moose, Whales, Puffins, Foggy, Woodpiles, Lobster Traps, Tucamoor Forests, Sand Dunes, Erratics ( big rocks left over from when the ice receded), Mist, Wind, Waves, Friendly, Welcoming,, Laughter, Lightheartedness, Rocky, Hilly, Cliffs, Graveyards, Cod, Wild blueberries, Bakeapples, Fish and Chips, Pea Soup.

 

Bye Bye Newfoundland!!!!  May we see your shores again!!

July 25, 2018 – Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island

Before we left Cape Breton Island for PEI,  we made a quick trip down to the docks in Louisburg and walked the decks of the Bluenose II. The original Bluenose has an interesting history. It was launched in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  It was originally a fishing boat and also used for racing in fishermen’s’ sailing races.  The captain of this schooner had a competitive spirit and won many international races.    In 1946, the vessel hit a reef and the Bluenose 1 was lost.  In 1963. the pride for the original Bluenose propelled the original shipyard to build Bluenose II.  It now sails around the Maritimes and beyond serving as an ambassador and educating people on Nova Scotia’s sailing and racing history.

The boat was incredibly beautiful and well kept.  A work of art.

 

 

After seeing the Bluenose II, we pointed ourselves in the direction of the PEI ferry that leaves Nova Scotia at Caribou. We had a quick picnic before we got on the ferry. During the ride over, we were entertained by an talented twin sister duo Ava and Lily Rashed.  With lovely, strong voices and great musicianship, I’m sure that won’t be the last time we here of these two.

 

We finally arrived at Greens Roofs Cottage in Mt. Stewart just east of Charlottetown. It was lovely to have a break from the camper. But boy was that old house hot inside. Thankfully here was a screened porch with a big dining table.  We were able to have all our meals out there and Guy could paint happily without being massacred by the mosquitos. Even so, the mosquitos and the no see ems got in somehow.  They were ruthless.

 

 

July 26, 2018 – Prince Edward Island

In the morning, Brenden, Phil and I had a bike ride along the red roads near the Cottage. PEI is known for its clay roads which are full of iron oxide.

 

 

Shortly after getting back, the rains came on intensely and they stayed for most of the day. Brenden, Guy and I took it easy until early afternoon. Guy painted, and I did some writing and caught up on our laundry. Then we met Heather in Charlottetown and had a walk around downtown and a cup of tea.

Unfortunately Guy’s sister Caroline had to go to emergency that day. She hadn’t been feeling well for some time and things progressed so that she needed to see a doctor on PEI.   It turned out she had pneumonia. She stayed in the hospital all day and was given antibiotics. We were all happy to see her at the musical that night, “Anne and Gilbert”.

The musical was based on Anne of Green Gables and the time from when Anne goes off to college to become a teacher, to the time she and Gilbert finally mend fences and become a couple. It was a touching look at love, sacrifice and forgiveness with excellent singing and dancing. There were a couple of times where I could bet there wasn’t a totally dry eye in the audience, myself included. It was very well done.

 

July 27, 2018 – Prince Edward Island

Guess we hadn’t had enough Anne yet. We visited all things Anne this day. First, we started at Green Gables, the house near where Lucy Maude Montgomery grew up that inspired the Anne books. We walked through Green Gables, then walked the Haunted Woods.  Then we had a picnic and finished off with a walk down Lovers’ Lane. Even though it was all quite touristy, we had a lot of fun.

 

We topped off the day with a terrific swim at Cavendish Beach.  It is a very popular beach near all the Anne of Green Gables tourist attractions.  PEI has the most wonderful beaches with incredible sand dunes everywhere that they are working to protect.   It’s great if you have little kids because there are so many sandbars and the bottom is sandy.  It is hard though to get a swim in any deep water.

 

 

July 28, 2018 – Prince Edward Island

We journeyed out to Basin Provincial Park on the most northeastern tip of Prince Edward Island.  We had a great day swimming in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  Then we had a potluck picnic followed by a visit to the Lighthouse.  We have seen so many lighthouses.

 

 

In the later afternoon, Guy, Brenden and I went for another swim at Blooming Pt. Rd. Beach near where we were staying.  What a gem of a beach.  It was like the other wonderful beaches but without all the crowds.  It was glorious and the water was so warm.  We enjoyed it so much, we were almost late for dinner.

 

 

July 29, 2018 – Prince Edward Island

This was our final full day before leaving the island.  It was time to learn a little bit about Confederation since Charlottetown was the place where the original talks regarding Confederation, referred to as the Charlottetown Conference,  occurred for a week in 1864. We went downtown and saw a very informative film that covered the history of Confederation.  Then we had lunch out and then walk around the old town and down to the water where there was lots of information along the way on the history of the harbor.  In the afternoon we went to a Ceilidh at a local pub.  We ordered some pints and spent a couple of hours listening to the fine traditional music of some local artists.  It was a blast.

 

 

July 30, 2018 – Prince Edward Island back to Halifax, Nova Scotia
We lollygagged our way off of the Island that day. We really didn’t want to leave after such a great few days with everyone including great swimming. We were up early to pack up and then tidy the B and B. Then Guy, Brenden and I headed to the South Shore of PEI to Argyle Provincial Park, positioning ourselves for the trip over the Confederation Bridge later.  The rest of the group headed back into Charlottetown for some more sightseeing and to pick up some PEI swag. They would meet us later. By 10 am, the 3 of us were bobbing around in Northumberland Strait. It was a very picturesque spot with the dramatic red cliffs, red sand and even reddish tinted ocean.  I noticed that it seemed easier to float in this water.  Maybe it was something in the water or maybe just something in my imagination.   The rest of the gang joined us later for a swim and a picnic.

 

 

Afterwards, we headed over the Confederation Bridge and bid PEI adieu.  It was exciting to go over this 12.9 mile “feat of engineering”.  It takes about 12 minutes to cross the tolled bridge depending on weather conditions.  The period of construction of the bridge was from October 1993 to May 1997, at a cost of  1.3 billion dollars.  The bridge is curved and is 40 metres (131 ft) above water except for a 60 m (197 ft) navigation span for ship traffic (Wikipedia).

 

 

Some feel the bridge has affected the slower pace way of life. But, apparently, it has also helped the economy on PEI. They are selling more potatoes!!! Seems change is inevitable, for better or for worse……………..

And what about the abundance on PEI of those gems of goodness that we all so love. The iron in the soil that gives it its color is great to grow potatoes in and “….it retains just the right amount of moisture during the growing season but is then effectively cleansed over the winter. Warm summers, cold winters and adequate annual rainfall result in excellent growing conditions with the right balance of heat, light, and water to maximize yields and tuber quality. Additionally, being an island provides a distinct advantage to PEI when it comes to growing potatoes. The ocean acts as a natural barrier against airborne or insect-borne diseases. As well, this easy access to the ocean facilitates transportation of the crop, while limited points of entry allow us to control the movement of potatoes into and out of the province. Island growers also practice environmentally sustainable farming practices and follow the most stringent environmental standards in Canada” (Wikipedia). Just a little tater info for you readers.

We topped off the afternoon with a visit to an old French Fort just over the border from New Brunswick into Nova Scotia and then we all had dinner together in Truro.

We went back to Schubie Campground in Dartmouth for another night with Brenden.  The rest of the gang went and booked into their respective B and B’s for the night near the airport. They were all leaving the next day after spending 2 weeks with us in Nova Scotia and PEI.

Back at the campsite, we set up camp, lit a fire, roasted some marshmallows and had a few s’mores and a cup of tea. It was good to just sit around and talk and be together in the quiet of the evening of our last night together.

 

 

July 21, 2018 – Fun near Halifax

Guy,  Brenden and I arrived at Hope for Wildlife a little earlier than Caroline and Alex so we had a quick tail gate lunch and then ventured onto the shores of  the Atlantic across the street. Guy was able to add some Atlantic water to the Tim Hortons bottle that was 1/2 full of Pacific Ocean water.  He left it ¼ empty for the Atlantic water that he will get at Cape Spear near St. John’s.  Cape Spear is the most easternmost point in Canada so it was important to get that water!!

We spent a couple of hours at Hope for Wildlife, a rescue centre for all variety of  animals. Caroline is a fan of the TV show , as is my mom I recently found out, and Brenden and Guy and I  too love animals.  We saw all varieties of animals there and got to touch a few of them. The workers were extremely  knowledgeable and informative and super kind to the animals that they take care of.  It was a lovely couple of hours. My favorites were the snowy owl and the seal pup.

 

 

After Hope for Wildlife, we went into Halifax to get more canvasses for Guy.  Then we hiked up Citadel Hill and explored it for an hour or so before it closed. Citadel Hill is a fortress that was erected in 1749 to protect Halifax during the warring and building of Canada.  It was never attacked but was always an important part of Halifax harbor’s defense operations.

 

 

July 22, 2018 – Dartmouoth, NS to Cape Breton Island, NS

We left Schubie campground in Dartmouth early in the morning and drove the Trans Canada through the fog and rain. Our first stop enroute was Antigonish where I went to school 12 years ago. We visited Saint Francis Xavier University (STFX) and took some photos. I loved my few weeks at STFX and wanted to visit the beautiful grounds of the university again.

 

 

We also visited a drug store where we got a new epi pin. Guy was stung at the campsite the evening before and I wanted to be armed with a nice fresh epi kit in case we needed it. We didn’t.

We met the rest of the gang at Antigonish and then convoyed out together to Cape Breton Island over the Canso Causeway.  This piece of road connecting the main part of Nova Scotia to the Island of Cape Breton was built in the 1950’s.  Before that, people got to the island by ferry.

 

We stopped for a late lunch at a cute farmhouse café and then went to the Alexander Graham Bell museum in Baddeck. That was a fascinating stop. After Bell invented the telephone and became quite famous in the States, he desired a refuge, a place where he could go away from the hurly burly of city life. He chose Baddeck and bought a huge acreage, the tip of peninsula really.  Much of his creativity was inspired by the landscape and quiet of the area. It was interesting to learn about the man who was Alexander Graham Bell.  He was prolific in his inventions, and loved children, the land and nature and his wife Mabel Gardiner Hubbard who was a deaf person.

Afterward, we found our campsite at Mira River Provincial Campground. We set up camp and then Guy and Brenden went for a swim while I got dinner together.  Those two love swimming together. They wrestle and have handstand competitions. It’s wonderful to watch and listen to them having a great time in the water.

July 23, 2018 – Cape Breton Island, NS

We got up and it was so hot already. Brenden was cooking in his tent. The three of us went for an early swim and it was glorious, It was just us, the lake, and the ducks.

Then we went back to the campsite, had breakfast, and made our way to meet the rest of the clan at Fort Louisberg. We had a great few hours there. What a historical gem. Fort Louisburg was a French Fortress that was ultimately lost to the British in 1756.  1/5 of the Fort was rebuilt 20 years ago by unemployed miners who were retrained in construction skills and then involved in the rebuilding of the fort. Wow, you would swear you were walking into a town in the 1700’s. It was so well done. The workers in costume were all so friendly and informative. Visiting Fort Louisburg was truly a highlight for us.

 

 

 

When you are in downtown Louisberg away from the Fort full of tourists, you can see the old fort off in the distance and can imagine what the whole area looked like back in the 1700’s.

 

After the Fort, we took a drive to Sydney to the Miner’s Museum. The museum gave us a look at the mining in Nova Scotia through the years. Guy, Brenden, Alex and Phil went on a tour underground.

 

Caroline and I went around the museum and saw a good little film about Cape Breton mining history. All I can say is, those men who went underground were tough and courageous and self sacrificing.  Imagine living most of your life underground. But this was a main form of employment on the island, next to fishing.

After our visit to the miner’s museum, we all had dinner together in Sydney.  Lobster was at the top of the menu for a few at our table.

 

July 24, 2018 – The Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

We were on the road by about 7:30 am to meet the rest of the gang in Sydney at their B and B. We left in convoy by 8:30am. Our goal this day was to get around the entire Cabot Trail.  It is a very scenic coastal route around Cape Breton Island.   If you are doing the Cabot Trail, it is best to have a few days for it, that way you can stop along the way at all the viewpoints and campsites in the most gorgeous spots on the ocean and do some of the many hiking trails available. But we only had the day so we made the most of it. We travelled the trail counter clockwise, which is advised by most books, the idea being that this direction puts you on the cliff side and offers better views.  It is likely written by a person not scared to death of heights.  The road is very hilly, incredibly steep in spots but yes, with some really spectacular views.

 

 

At the top end of the Island on the east side in the Highlands, we picnicked at Pleasant Bay on a beautiful sandy beach. Brenden and Phil were able to get in an epic swim in some wild Gulf of St. Lawrence water. The rest of us beachcombed and enjoy some time out of our vehicles.

 

 

The best part of the Cabot Trail was the West Coast. Any commercials or adds you see about the Cabot Trail are likely taken or inspired by this side of the island. We took advantage of the photo opportunities here too.

 

We were back at the campsite about 6pm. We went for a swim and were in bed early.  The next day, we were going to see the Bluenose II that had just sailed in to Louisburg Harbor.  Then we were off to get the ferry to PEI.

 

 July 13 = Perce Provincial Park, Quebec to Campbellton, New Brunswick

We had breakfast out on the main strip in Perce then we headed out together in the direction of New Brunswick.  We stopped in the town of  Bonaventure on Chaleur Bay and visited their Acadian Museum.  It was really interesting learning about the plight of the Acadians in the 1700’s in this area and through the Maritimes.  The first settlers of this town were Acadian refugees who avoided the expulsion of Acadians.  If you don’t know, “Acadians are the descendants of French Colonists who settled in Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries, some of whom are also descended from the Indigenous peoples of the region”.   Acadia, was basically a colony of New France that included Quebec, the Maritime Provinces, and a portion of Maine.  The Acadians faced much persecution and expulsion as the British and French and other European countries and their Native allies duked it out for territory in eastern Canada and beyond.

One observation we had while travelling along the coast was the propensity of the locals especially in the south part of the Gaspe Peninsula to use beautiful waterfront property to erect gas stations, industry and whatever else is needed right along the St. Lawrence.  We guess that there is so much waterfront here that there is  not yet the market needed to push the prices up high like on the Sunshine Coast.  We wonder too if the weather along the coast here is prohibitive in the winter.  The price of land and houses are so cheap here.  As we made our way down, we saw some old heritage houses for sale and googled the listings  to see what places were going for.  A three bedroom, two bathroom old timer was going for an unbelievable price of $140,000.00.

In the later part of the day, we said goodbye to the Gaspe Bay Peninsula as we drove over the bridge that was on one side still Quebec and mid-span turned to New Brunswick.  The interesting part here is that in the middle of the bridge, the time moved ahead by one hour.  A while before we hit the bridge and still in Quebec, I checked the time.  Then we went over the bridge, excited to be in the Maritimes,  and did some shopping before we set up at our campsite.  A little bit later I checked the time and a couple of hours had flown by.  I commented to Guy that this day was going really fast.  I didn’t know about the time change and our I phones had changed automatically when we went over into a new zone.

We got into our campsite at Campbelltown, ate dinner and then made our way over to hear some music at the campfire.  What a treat.  A duo from across the river Sammy and Nadine treated us to an evening of Acadian/Cajun music.

 

 

July 14 – Campbellton, New Brunswick to Richibutco, New Brunswick
I got up early and had an hour walk along the Restigouche River trail near our campsite.  Then Guy and I drove to the Miscou Lighthouse on the top North east end of New Brunswick.  On the way, we saw a moose on the side of the road.  That was exciting.  I fumbled to get the camera out in time and take a shot but missed it.

Miscou lighthouse was on a really interesting beach on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  We took artistic photos of lobster traps in the sand and interesting cloud formations.

 

After a quick picnic,  we made our way down the east coast of New Brunswick to our campsite in Richibutco.  After a simple dinner of beans on toast, I attempted to give Guy a haircut.  I pretended I was a hair stylist and we ended up having a good laugh.

Oops!!

 

July 15 – Richibutco, New Brunswick to Hopewell Rocks, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick
In the morning we drove south to and through Moncton to the Bay of Fundy.  What a lovely pastoral area along the Bay.   We bee lined to Hopewell Rocks.  We wanted to see the tide change which was said to be spectacular.  We arrived when the tide was out and watched it come in filling the bay with water quite quickly.  The tidal range for this area was approximately 48ft between low tide and high tide.   They had people patrolling the beach who made sure everyone was out before the tide came in.  The Hopewell flowerpots as they call them were very much like the hoodoos in the badlands but on the water and made out of different material.  There were so many people there to see the rocks.  We decided we would come back in the morning and play on the flats before the tide came in including getting Guy set up for his next painting.

 

 

After Hopewell Rocks, we drove along the water up to Cape Enrage too see the lighthouse and then that evening, Guy finished his painting, “New Hat, Old City”.

It’s a painting of of me in Quebec City with my new hat on.  I like it.

 

July 16 – Hopewell Rocks, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick to Halifax, Nova Scotia

We got up early that day to make our way back to Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy to beat the crowds.  Our other goal was to get Guy started on his painting “Muddy Fundy”.  They let us down to the rocks at 8am.  We were some of the first people there.  Then we hiked down with Guy’s easel, brushes and paints.  He set up his easel on the flats and started a painting of them with the actual mud from the Bay of Fundy.  My job was to shoot pictures of this and then he would choose a picture and paint from it later.

 

 

Guy and his sisters were born in a small town close to the Bay of Fundy called Middletown in Nova Scotia.  Guy’s parents, Anne and Hugh, came from England to Nova Scotia as Hugh was working for the Royal Canadian Air Force at Greenwood.  It was significant for Guy to come back to the region of his birth and to the area from his parents first started their family.

We spent the morning and early afternoon making our way to Halifax.  Our first stop that day was the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.  I wanted to see the Maud Lewis exhibition again and I knew Guy would enjoy it.  I visited the gallery 12 years ago but wanted to refamiliarize myself with her work after seeing the movie “Maudie”.  Maud Lewis was a Nova Scotian folk artist from the Digby area.  She had a tough life between losing her mother early and having to deal with tremendous physical difficulties herself.  What everyone notes about Maud’s art is that even through all the physical pain and heartache in her life, her paintings are colorful, playful and hopeful.  Art obviously transported her to another lovely world of birds, flowers, seashores, fishing boats, pastures and cozy farmhouses and churches in the snow.

 

Afterwards, we had a walk around Halifax and had a meal before we headed to our Bed and Breakfast.  This was our first night out of the camper in weeks since staying with our friends in Calgary.  Joan, our host, was amazing.  As soon as we arrived, she invited us into her living room for tea.  We chatted for a couple of hours with her.  She was a very interesting person.  The old heritage house she lived in and owned had be in her Irish family for over a hundred years.  Her mother had it in later years as a B and B and Joan has carried on the tradition of lovely hospitality.     She was also a painter so she and Guy had lots to talk about.

 

July 17 – Halifax, Nova Scotia

We woke up in the morning and were treated to a most incredible and fortifying breakfast and the best part, good coffee.  We chatted more with Joan and then off we went to see more of  Halifax before meeting family arriving later in the day.  We took a photo with Joan and promised we would come back if ever in Halifax.

Guy wanted to work on the painting “Muddy Fundy” and I hoped to work on the blog and catch up on some correspondence.  So we went to Halifax Municipal Gardens downtown and sat there for hours on a park bench near a pond and a fountain.  People kept stopping by to look at Guy’s work and soon realized he wasn’t painting pleine air of the scene in front of him but working on a painting from a photograph of the Bay of Fundy.

 

In the afternoon, we met family who had flew in to spend a couple of weeks with us in the Maritimes.  We were happy to see Guy’s youngest Brenden, his sister Caroline and brother in law Alex, and Alex’s brother Phil and wife Heather.  They were all exhausted from a long flight so we took Brenden with us and headed to our campsite in Dartmouth and set up camp, had dinner and an early night.

 

July 18 – Halifax, Nova Scotia

The next morning, we met up with the rellies who were staying in a B and B in Halifax.  We started our day out at Pier 21.  It was my second time there but fascinating to learn about the people that came through the port to start new lives in Canada from all parts of this big, big world.

Afterwards, we walked the Harbor to a pub near Alexander Keiths and lunched then spent the afternoon at the Maritime Museum learning about the Halifax Explosion and the Titanic Disaster. It was a great day hanging out with the family.

 

 

July 19 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Daytrip to Peggys Cove,  Malone Bay and Lunenberg

We set off early to Halifax and made our way to Peggy’s Cove.  It is a major tourist stop and it was full of people when we got there.  But we still enjoyed walking the rocks around the lighthouse close to the Atlantic.  The ocean was a little wild that day but maybe that’s the way it always is???  We got some great family photos.

 

 

Afterwards, we drove along the coast a ways and stopped at a memorial for the Swiss Air disaster, flight 111.  It went down off of Peggy’s Cove on Sept 2nd, 1998 at 10:30 in the evening.  229 people died, including the crew, in the disaster.   People from Peggy’s Cove were involved in the recovery and support of family members who came to the site.  The memorial is beautiful.

Afterwards, we picnicked at Malone Bay, a small town near Lunenburg.   Then we saw around the seaside town of Lunenberg and headed back to the campsite for a swim and dinner.  It was a full day.

 

July 20 –  Halifax Nova Scotia – Daytrip to Middleton and Lawrenceton

We were up early for a trip down memory lane for Guy and his sister.  We headed up to the North coast of Nova Scotia in the direction of Middleton and Lawrenceton.  Enroute, we made a pit stop at CFB Greenwood to see where Guy and Caroline’s dad worked for 5 years as an aircraft technician.  They had a air force museum to look around and outside there were old planes that people could walk around.  One of the planes was similar to one Hugh worked on.  A highlight for us was a little plane with a flight simulator that you could play at landing the plane.  I crashed it!!!

We picnicked at the CFB Greenwood in one of their mess rooms.  Then we headed on to Middleton and visited the old Soldiers Memorial Hospital (that is now an apartment) where Guy was born.

 

When we were taking pictures of Guy outside the hospital (apartment), there were some women sitting outside smoking and keeping cool.  Guy chatted them up and it turned out one of the ladies was born the same year as Guy at that hospital and she now lives there in the apartment.

Then we went on and took a look at the newer hospital where Caroline and her younger sisters Diana and Christine were born.

Afterward we spent a long time trying to find the swimming hole at Trout Lake where Guy first swam and almost drowned.  We couldn’t find public beach access so we sadly gave up.  Then we followed the crew to Digby where we were all treated to a wonderful dinner by our friend Phil.  Then we made the long drive home back to the campsite.

 

July 10 – Levis, Quebec to Bic Provincial Park, Bas Saint-Laurent, Quebec

This morning we headed out along the familiar 132 Hwy.  Our destination that day was Bic Provincial Park with stops along the way.  This intriguing landscape along the south shore of the St. Lawrence scattered with simple weather worn houses was starting to foreshadow the Maritimes.

En route, we picked up some local cheese and then had a windy picnic on  the shores of the St. Lawrence.  We stayed the night at Bic Provincial Park.  I had a wonderful walk along one of the parks many trails and Guy worked on a painting .

 

 

July 11, Bic Provincial Park, Bas Saint Laurent,  Quebec to Perce, Gaspésie, Quebec

We started this day off with a walk on the beach near the campsite at Bic.  It was a great way to start the day.

 

 

Then we made a trip to the Metis Gardens in the Quebec Region of Gaspésie.  The gardens were beautiful and the horticultural therapy was welcome since I personally have been missing my garden this year.   The Gardens were created in the early 1900’s by a lady named Elsie Redford.  She was a Montreal woman who inherited her uncles fishing lodge and at the age of 54 began turning the acres of property into gorgeous gardens.  The property was inherited by one of Elsie son’s while she was still alive but he could not take care of it properly.  After many transitions in stewardship, the gardens are now taken care of by  the Quebec Government and are designated a National Historic Site.

 

 

We topped our little visit to the gardens with a picnic in a meadow on the garden property.  It was lovely and included Quebec brie, crackers, pickles, salami, baguette, olives, avocado, cucumber and homous.  Wonderful!!  Then Guy had a wee nap while I just rested under the trees.

 

 

We had a long but most picturesque drive along the Gaspésie that afternoon and early evening.  Every turn uncovered the most breathtaking landscape along the shores of the St. Lawrence.  We kept to the ocean road instead of the highway.  We didn’t want to miss this coast and it didn’t disappoint.

 

 

July 12 – Perce, Gaspésie, Quebec

This sunny day was one of the highlights of the trip.  We got a boat out to Bonaventure Island to the migratory bird sanctuary and spent the day walking the trails and viewing over 200,000 gannuts, the largest sea birds in the North Atlantic.  We also got a chance to view Perce Rock up close too.  The pictures really do say more than I could describe.

 

 

We topped off the day with a trip to the local pub for some local beer.  Awesome!!!  One of the beers on my flight tasted like jujubes.  Really, it did.

 

July 9th – Longueil, Quebec (near Montreal) to Levis, Quebec (near Quebec City)  

It was a lovely drive along the south side of the  St. Lawrence on Highway 132, a  charming pastoral landscape of corn fields and farm houses.  We stopped enroute for a picnic at a park on the river straight across from Trois Rivieres.  Trois Rivieres was founded in 1634 by French colonists.  It was the second permanent French Settlement after Quebec City.

It was a long day of driving.  We made it to our campsite “Camping du fort de la  Martiniere” just outside of Levis in the early evening.   This campsite turned out to be a great spot with a really wonderful view up the St. Lawrence.

It was also close to Levis, the town where the ferry is, so we planned to take the boat back and forth to Quebec City.

July 10th – Quebec City, Quebec

We had a terrific day in Quebec City with our friends Joka and Bill.  We took the 10 am ferry to Old Quebec  from Levis.   We walked around and saw the sights.  The crowds were heavy.  It is tourist season afterall.  We had a great lunch of crepes at an outdoor café.  We were serenaded by a fellow with a French accent who knew tunes from Neil Young, the Mamas and the Papas and other musicians of that era.  We all enjoyed the music.  The next day I walked by the café and he was there playing the same set.

 

 

 

After lunch, we parted with Bill and Joka.  We visited the Chateau Frontenac and walked into the front doors “like we owned the place” (a term one of my good friends likes to use), and we proceeded to visit their toilets.  They were some of the most beautiful washrooms I have seen.   I say this with a smirk as this is the closest we will ever get to staying at the Chateau Frontenac.  Rooms per night start at about $600.00.  We wandered around the reception area and looked at the architecture and caught the vibe of the grand old hotel, built by the CPR in in 1893.  We also spent some time browsing the photo collection they had on the walls on the lower floor of the hotel which chronicled the history of the Frontenac.

Then we headed up to visit the Plains of Abraham and the Fine Art Gallery.  We had to curtail our mission after Guy realized he was missing his cell phone.  Well,  to cut a long story short, it turns out he left it in the restaurant we ate at.  Someone picked it up there and since they were staying at the Frotenac, they took the phone back there.  So Forrest received a call as he said,  “from some French guy” from the Frontenac saying they had Guy’s phone.   I think Forrest was the last person Guy had talked to so that’s why they contacted him.  We got the phone back thankfully.  It’s the third scare Guy has had with his phone.  The first time he lost it was in Banff.  The second time was on the ferry going across from Longueil to Montreal, and then in Quebec City.    I wonder where the 4th phone misplacement will occur.  Exciting times.  🙂

We walked around for a couple of hours and then got the ferry back to Levis and the bus back to Longueil.  Guy can tell you a story about that.  In essence, my French is not that great but I try constantly to communicate in French.  And sometimes I get a little passionate and embarrass Guy.  Well, when the bus came, I had notes written out with the question I wanted to ask in French.  So I read it and I got passionate and I embarrassed Guy.  He couldn’t stop laughing.  But the bus driver did understand and he let us off at our stop.

Old Quebec City is beautiful. You can imagine that you are in Europe when you traipse around the cobblestone streets lined with wonderful old buildings, some painted in delightful colors with flower boxes hanging under the brightly colored window panes. It is a feast for the eyes. But it is definitely another world, a world of people with money and time, enjoying the old buildings and views and sites and sounds and nice food. But it is not really where the Quebecers are, except for all the nice people serving the hoards.  Likely, one needs to go out of the gates of the old city to get a more accurate impression of Quebec City and Quebecers.

July 11th – Quebec City, Quebec

Guy and I walked to the bus stop and took the bus to Levis to the ferry and then over to Quebec City.  We knew the route so there was no speaking broken bad French to the bus driver.  We had a wonderful day together wandering the city.  We meandered the streets near the St. Lawrence then up the hill and had a late breakfast at a sweet café.

 

Then we wandered the Citadel and the Plains of Abraham.

 

We ultimately made our way to the Fine Arts Museum featuring some modern art of early to mid 20th century Quebecois artists. The Art Museum was in an old jail, a beautiful old brick building with lots of atmosphere.

Afterwards, we headed out to find the Bed and Breakfast  I had stayed at years ago.  We tried to get in for a night this trip but they had no availabilities.  I have fond memories of my 3 nights at B and B  l ‘Augustine in 2006.  It’s the building with the red awning below.  Afterwards, we took a recommendation from a woman we queried on the street as to the best Lebanese Restaurant around.  She directed us to a great place with great food.

Then we walked back to the Old City, spent a little time looking out to the St. Lawrence, took lots of pics, and said our goodbye to Quebec City.

 

Monday July 2, 2018 – Recovery and Heat Wave Avoidance Day 

Guy and I decided to lie low on Monday after our wonderful Canada Day in the city.  Another very hot day was predicted and we just couldn’t face the long walk to the bus stop and hanging out downtown in the heat again.  So we stayed at the campsite.  Guy of course painted and I did laundry and worked on the blog.

So we rode the heat out under the trees in our campsite. We were having truck problems again. This time the starter was beginning to go and Guy thought it best that we get it fixed before we carry on with the trip. We had to wait until Tuesday.

Tuesday July 3 – Ottawa Cousins – we spent the day with cousin Nelson and his wife Karen.  They kindly picked us up at the campsite in their air conditioned vehicle for a day out.  We started off with coffee and chatting at a coffee shop over town. Guy and Nelson really hit it off. They are both interested in painting and art It was nice to get to know Nelson better as we didn’t see him much growing up. He’s actually my mom’s cousin.  My great grandmother Campbell had 10 kids.  His mom Jean and my mom’s mom Vel were sisters.  Everyone from my grandmothers generation is gone now except for the youngest sister Anna.

Karen and Nelsons’ plan was to give us a tour around the Governor General’s neighborhood including her house and gardens and then get on to the Musee de Civilzation but we run out of time for the museum.  The photos below are outside the Governor General’s residence.   The middle photo on the right in the group below is the room that you see used for swearing in ceremonies and Canadian citizenship ceremonies that are often on the news.  That was cool to see.  And the pink room is the reception room that is decked out for ceremonies with food and beverage and a place for people to mingle.  I love that room.  It is so French!!!  But back in the early days, the pink stripe walls used to be draperies and would be rolled up when functions were not on and the room would be made into a tennis court.

 

Afterwards we went for lunch on the Ottawa River.  They took us to the part of the River that freezes over in the winter and where people skate.  It would sure be nice to come back in the winter and skate on the canal.

Then Nelson and Karen drove us back to our campsite to pick up our truck.  Thankfully it started.  They followed us to the dealership where the starter was fixed.  After saying goodbye to our wonderful hosts, we went to my other cousin Renee’s place.  She took us for a swim at her in-laws pool.  It was a welcome treat and great to cool off before bed.  Such hospitality from the family meant a lot to us.  I was so happy to have spent time with Renee and Scott and Nelson and Karen.  It was great to meet Scott’s parents too and see two of Renee and Scotts’ boys, or should I say men,  Cody and Tristan.  If we go by Ottawa on our way home, we can see their middle boy Jaiden.

Wednesday July 4th- Ottawa to Montreal

This day we took the rode less travelled from Ottawa to Montreal.  Google maps wanted us on the Trans Canada badly.  We had to fight her the whole way to stay on highway 132, a lesser sometimes 2 lane highway.  Thanks to the direction of our saavy travel companion Bill, our goal was to stay on 132.  We wanted to avoid the vortex of downtown Montreal and come into Longuille where our campsite was on the south side of the St. Lawrence relatively unscathed.  We  were able to pull it off with only a few glitches that left us going off in the wrong direction.  We have learned in these instances to just stay calm, pull over, reroute google maps and carry on.    Driving in Montreal or anywhere in cities in this region is not for the faint of heart at the best of times.

 

We had a campsite just off highway 132 at Longeuille for 3 nights.  It was a private campsite right on the St. Lawrence but it was a little noisy and it lacked trees too which would have been welcome in the heatwave.

Once we had our campsite organized, we headed into Montreal for a few hours.  There was a little walk on ferry near the campsite that was very handy for the few days we were in Montreal.  It meant we could go back and forth each day without the truck and without the traffic hassles.

 

 

We explored Old Montreal for awhile and then had a wonderful dinner in a sweet little café.

 

 

Guy had chicken crepes and I had Caesar Salad.  We enjoyed chocolate crepes and coffee for desert.  Stuffed and happy, we made our way back through Old Montreal to the dock and got our little ferry back to the campsite.  It was nice to cool off somewhat on the deck of the boat and see the sites of the harbor in the evening.

 

 

 

Thursday July 5th – Montreal – This was the hottest day I personally have ever experienced in my life.  We were hot and sweating, dripping really , before we even moved.  I prepared a bunch of bottles of Gatorade and water so we would have plenty to drink.   We went into the city with Bill and Joka on the ferry.

 

 

The plan was to take the taxi to the Museum of Fine Arts.   Bill hailed a cab and we got in.  It had air conditioning but it wasn’t working well and it was stuffy and I felt overheated and couldn’t breath and thought I would have to bolt from the taxi.  It was an very uncomfortable 15 minutes.  The others were not affected and I’m sure wondered about me.  Guy pointed out that I was in the sunshine in the cab and it was intense.  It took me an hour at the fine arts museum to recover. When we left the doors of  the museum, we were all whammed with a thick wall of heat.  It was absolutely intense.   It was apparently  45 with the humidity.  I wondered if we could even walk a few blocks down the street to a place for lunch safely.  I kept gasping for a fresh breath of air but all you got was intense heat going into your lungs.   After lunch,  Bill and Joka headed back to the campsite.  I told Guy I’d rather walk in the intense heat than be stuck in an idling taxi in traffic on such a hot day. So we walked slowly, very slowly,  on the shady side of the streets of Montreal  all the way back to Old Montreal and got the ferry.    That night there was a big wind and rainstorm and the heat wave was broken.

Friday July 6th – Montreal –   Since it was a more temperate day, and my heel had fully healed from the rubber boots in the grasslands incident, I decided to take a good 4 mile  power walk up the St. Lawrence bicycle path.  While I was gone, Guy worked on a painting.  Then we got the 11:30am ferry to Montreal and traipsed around for the day, just the two of us.  We hoofed it up St. Laurent to Place de St. Louis and I showed him where I stayed 12 years ago on my way back from Nova Scotia on the train.

 

Then we went back to St. Laurent and had Lebanese food, falafels and chicken shawarma. Then we meandered through the neighborhoods of colorful old row houses and parks, and then up through McGill Campus and on to Mount Royal.

 

When we came down from Mount Royal, we were way off course and ended up in a totally different area from where we intended.  We had to take a bus back to the neighborhood we came to the mountain from.  We hightailed it back to the old town and had a lovely boat ride back to the campsite.

 

 

 

Saturday June 23, 2018 – Rabbit Blanket Provincial Park, Ontario to Chutes Provincial Park, Ontario

We travelled from Rabbit Blanket Provincial Park, adjacent to Lake Superior, to Chutes Provincial Park just up from Lake Huron and near the town of Massey. On the way, we stopped at some Ojibwe Petroglyphs on Lake Superior. We had a wee hike down to them through a narly and craggy rock scape. It is quite the precarious location to have petroglyphs, for the creator of the art and for the viewers. They are on a slippery piece of rock within metres from the cold Superior so we only managed to see a couple.

 

 

We picnicked enroute and then stopped at a farmer’s market at the town of Bruce Mines and bought a cherry pie, some kale and zucchini relish off Amish farmers who were selling produce at the market. I thought they were part of a historical theme and asked them if it was so. Oops! The girl graciously said that they were Amish and lived this way of life. It was fascinating to see them, decked out in their traditional clothing. They travel by horse and buggy to market with their goods. On the highway in this area, there were signs indicating to watch out for horse and buggy.

There are several Amish communities in Ontario. This group was Dutch Pennsylvanian and they had a Dutch accent. As we were leaving, I asked if I could take their picture with horse and buggy. A very forthright young Amish women gave me an adamant “No”. I said I understood and to be honest, I was a little bit embarrassed. It got me thinking afterward, as we drove away, that these folks chose or were born into this way of life. To many, it might seem an antiquated and old-fashioned way of life, something from the past to be captured in a photograph, but it was their life and so should be respected. It was a good reminder to me that there are many ways to be in this world.

When we got to our campsite, we had a great afternoon swim at the bottom of the falls at Chutes Provincial Park. The water was surprisingly warm with shallow pools to bob around in.

This area is relatively isolated. I once or twice referred to it as Barkerville (a BC ghost town) as we drove around the town with our stomachs grumbling. We wanted a break from cooking that evening but finding a restaurant proved to be a chore. Four out of four restaurants were closed in Massey, so we drove to the next town over called Walford and found a great little diner with friendly service. We met another customer having dinner there, Carolyn, who was quite chatty. She told us she had spent her whole life in the area. As a youngster, she was an orphan who was placed with foster parents in Massey and then later married and moved to Walford. Her husband had died a few years ago. She told us that she took his passing hard and dealt with her grief by trying various activities to heal and move on. Nothing did the trick until she got involved with a group of people that jam together every week. Now she is jamming and singing with a bunch of locals weekly and music has become her thing at over 70 years old. She was inspiring, and I took the message that its never too late to start or try something new.

 

Sunday June 24, 2018 – Chutes Provincial Park, Ontario to Oastler Lake Provincial Park Ontario

We travelled from Chutes Provincial Park to Oastler Lake Provincial Park near Parry Sound in Georgian Bay. Bill and Joka spent the afternoon in Parry Sound. Guy and I stayed back and took a walk up the decommissioned railway line nearby then he settled into his painting while I rustled up the vittles and did some writing. Our campsite was stellar and right on the lake. The sunsets were gorgeous.

 

 

Monday June 25, 2018 – Oastler Lake Provincial Park,Ontario  

We spent the morning doing laundry and shopping then we had a 3-hour boat ride around Georgian Bay, a treat from Bill and Joka. It was a lovely time. We stopped at Huckleberry Island for a picnic. The sun was out, and we were on the water. Glorious. There are 30,000 islands in Georgian Bay. We managed to see a fraction.

 

 

 

When we got back at about 4:30, we had an awesome swim in the lake just below our campsite. The water was warm but refreshing. Then we laid on the rocks to dry off and took it all in. I like swimming in the lake but I kind of miss the salt of the sea. I know some people don’t like the salt and the seaweed and the imaginings of what creatures are lurking down below. But it’s what I grew up with and what I know. But lakes are good too!!

Tuesday June 26, 2018 – Oastler Lake Provincial Park Ontario to Stratford, Ontario

We took the Highway from Oastler Lake down the east side of Georgian Bay. Then we got on lesser highways 22 and 26 if I remember right, to avoid the roads getting closer to the Toronto madness. We continued to jig-saw our way through the landscape along country roads dotted with little hamlets of old red brick houses. We went through picturesque downtown Stratford and on to our campsite outside of town in the country. We only did a couple of hundred miles this day, but it took hours because of the speed limit and the country roads and a few little stops along the way. I had Loreena McKennit playing on the ipod to set the mood, as I believe she is from around these parts.

Joka described this landscape near Stratford as “bucolic”. After looking the word up in the dictionary, I see it is indeed the right word to describe this landscape that conveys “the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life “. It is very quaint here, lots of red brick houses, gardens and farms that seem beautifully cared for. It is a huge farming a area, likely one of the bread baskets of the Metro Toronto area and likely does well due to its close proximity to the bigger cities.

 

 

 

 

We spent a couple of hours wandering the ever so delightful little town of Stratford, visited the Stratford Festival shop to find out where the venue for our play was the next night, and then had a pleasant walk along the Avon River.

 

 

 

In the evening, we had Bill and Joka over for tacos. We went to bed early and were woken up in the night by the heat and then torrential rain showers. Thunder and lightning were forecasted as a possibility but never manifested.

Wednesday June 27, 2018 – Stratford, Ontario

Today, we slept late and had a morning of painting and writing. Guy worked on his painting, “Pitch Pines”. Then in the afternoon, we left our campsite for a looky-loo around Stratford. We started out at the local museum. It had lots of interesting exhibits about the history of Perth county of which Stratford is part of. The major industry of the earlier years was locomotive repair for the trains of the Grand Trunk Railway, which later became the CNR or Canadian National Railway. From roughly the mid 1850’s to the mid 1950’s, this was the main industry of the area until diesel came along and changed everything. Individuals with the kind of skills to fix steam engines were no longer needed after diesel arrived and so there were huge layoffs. Finally, in the mid 50’s the industry shutdown and so it was a huge hit for the area. The museum covered this history well.

Surprisingly, the Stratford Festival was a savior for the town at about the time the locomotive repair shops closed. A man from Stratford named Tom Patterson saw the need for a new industry and pushed for the development of the Stratford festival. It was a trying process, but the city of Stratford got on board and in 1953, the first stage production Richard III was presented with Alec Guinness in the lead role. By all accounts, the hard work of all the players in the early days set the stage for what seems to be the flourishing Stratford that people visit now.

The museum also had an area devoted to Justin Bieber (Biebs). Now normally I wouldn’t seek out such an exhibit about Justin Bieber. But because I was in his hometown and because, part of the mandate of this trip for me is to honor Canadian music, I was open. Like many, I felt mildly irritated by the Biebs, by his perceived instantaneous success, by the fact he was found on you tube. I’ve had the mindset that he got in easy and never paid his dues. This is far from the truth. The exhibit showed how the Biebs started out with humble beginnings being raised by his mother in Stratford. His natural talent was very clear from an early age to everyone around him. He was a talented drummer, and pianist and singer from an early age. He spent his teenage years busking on the streets around Stratford. And then his mom posted a video on you tube and Biebs got discovered and things moved very fast. He cut albums and had concerts and the young girls shrieked and cried and fainted around him. He made it big. But in the last few years he’s been acting up a bit, no doubt the pressure and fame and money have had their effects. But I’ve changed my attitude a bit about the Biebs. Why? Because young people like him need our support. Because young people like him can fold under pressure and do bad things to themselves. I wish the Biebs well.

Needless to say, Guy and I both really enjoyed the museum and learned a lot about the area and the town of Stratford.

After the museum, we checked out the Stratford “Festival Theatre” and walk around the most beautiful gardens followed by a walk along the Avon River. Yes, the Avon River. They have really got into the whole Shakespeare thing here. It doesn’t feel phony though. It is an old town, built by sweat and toil and tenacity and vision and a bit of creativity thrown in for good measure.

On our walk, we got caught in a rain shower and hid under a big old tree to keep dry. Then we had a wonderful gourmet dinner for not gourmet prices at a great restaurant recommended to us by the campsite manager.  Afterwards, we met our friends Bill and Joka at the Festival Theatre and saw William Shakespeare’s, “The Tempest”. The play was very well done and unfortunately the great actors played to a small audience that night with the theatre half full. The whole thing was worth it including seeing the beautiful traditional gardens around the Festival Theatre.

 

 

 

 

Thursday June 28, 2018 – Stratford to Niagara Fall to Stratford
Guy finished his painting “Pitch Pines “this morning.  On our journey along Lake Superior, Guy noticed this particular tree, poking up defiantly above all the other trees.  Our friend Bill determined it was a Pitch Pine.

Then the two of us took the long drive out to Niagara Falls. We got a late start and drove 2.5 hours each way to see the falls for 2 hours.   We wanted to just get in and out and try and keep exposure time to the tourist craziness short. The falls were indeed stunning and the long drive out was well worth it.  We took some nice pictures of ourselves (selfies) with the falls in behind.  Just an aside, I didn’t know that the Niagara Falls were shared with the US.  On the other side, you can see Buffalo New York.

 

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After the long drive back on the crazy Ontario Highways, we had a swim in the pool at our campsite. Hallelujah.

 

Friday June 29, 2018 – Stratford to Ottawa

I have forgot to mention that we had a kitty friend at our campsite near Stratford.  She came over every time she saw we were back from our daily outings.  She lived in a site nearby but spent all her evenings with us.  We called her Windy after Windmill Family Campground.

We said goodbye to the Stratford area and little Windy that morning.  I will miss her.  I hope she has a good life.

That’s one of the things that has dawned on me a lot these days. We meet great people and the occasional cat and I know that I will probably never see them again. We’ve come so far and the chance of running into somebody again is highly unlikely. I’ve been saying to people when I say goodbye “Have a nice life”. I mean it. But Guy thinks it is off-putting to say that. I realized this when I said it to Rick, the manager at our campsite and he seemed sobered by the statement. They are words that get you thinking for sure. But maybe there is no value in reminding people that we are here for a good-time, not a long-time. Just a rumination………….

Back to the drive……… It was a long day on the 401 and 417 and then the 7.  I think I got the highways right. We were in the car from 9 am – 6:00 pm with just a short break for some shopping.  The 401 through Toronto was a crazy show of traffic madness. We pondered whether we could buy t-shirts that said we survived the 401.  Its not the number of cars so much as the speed they all move along on 3 lane highways in each direction darting in and out like nuts.

 

Later, the Trans Canada Hwy that google maps rerouted us on, because it was the faster route, turned out to be a parking lot. Everyone else was following google maps and we think maybe made the problem on the 7 a bigger problem for the mostly two-lane Trans Canada to Ottawa.  Anyway, we made it. And we are in a beautiful inner-city campsite called Wesley-Clover just up from the banks of the Ontario River. Its wooded and spacious and the people that run it are great.

Saturday June 30 – Ottawa

Well we’ve had two stellar days in Ottawa. Saturday, we left our vehicle at the campsite and had an hour walk down to the bus stop (so much for the advertising on the campsite website that it’s close to transit) and took the bus into downtown Ottawa. Our truck is having starter problems, so we didn’t want to use it more than we had to. More on that later. Once in the heart of the capital, we walked by the parliament buildings and took some photos, then had breakfast at a cool diner in Byward Market, a popular outdoor market with all the great restaurants and pubs and stores. Then we spend a couple of hours at the National Gallery of Canada. We saw the Impressionists, Native Canadian Art and The Group of Seven and their associates. It was a interesting couple of hours.

 

 

 

 

We had to cut things short because we had been invited to my cousin Renee’s for an early dinner at 4pm in Nepean, a suburb of Ottawa. We took the 50-minute bus ride to her place and were greeted at the bus stop by Renee and her husband Scott. By this time, we were hot and exhausted, so it was nice to see their familiar faces waiting. Its very hot in Ottawa right now.

We had a great visit with Renee and Scott, their oldest son Cody who is 22 and my second cousin, as well as my second cousin Nelson and his wife Karen and their daughter Celine and her family.  I guess we were so hot and tired that we forgot to take pictures.   I will post later.  After the get together, Scott gave us a ride back to the campsite which is 10 minutes away from their house

Did I mention there is a heat wave going on in Ottawa right now?  Its been so hot, you have a shower and you are instantly dripping again.  I think next to being in Queensland Australia, this is the hottest I have ever been.

Sunday July 1 – Canada Day – Ottawa

Happy Canada Day! Here’s hoping everyone had a great day. It was so exciting to spend our country’s birthday in the capital.  I should preface in saying that the weather forecast for Canada Day was a little extreme. 34 degrees and humidity so in the mid 40’s. We were daunted by this as we sat in the morning under the trees in our campsite. Should we go into downtown? We were worried about the heat and how we would handle it. But we both knew that if we didn’t go downtown, we would always feel we missed out. So, we brought lots of water and some electrolyte drinks, dressed in loose lightweight clothing, donned our hats and sunglasses and hopped on the 11 am shuttle bus here at the campsite that was offered to the campers for Canada Day. And it was hot. Dripping hot. But we just took it slow.

 

We were just in time for the festivities at Parliament Hill. There were hoards flag waving people dressed in red and white. We saw the Prime Minister’s wife Sophie Gregoire and their kids in the receiving line as well as the Governor General Julie Payette. Later, the Governor General made a symbolic bike ride with body guards on bikes around her back up to the parliament buildings.

We sang our National Anthem with the crowd and that was very moving and exciting. And then we started to get hot. It was stifling, and so we beelined back to the National Gallery of Canada and spent 4 more hours there, from 12-4 in its air conditioning. We thought it would be incredibly crowded because of the heat and because it was free on Canada Day, but it wasn’t too bad. We spent a lot more time with the Group of Seven and painters close to the group and then a variety of other exhibitions including the Italian Masters. We finished off our time there by dropping in to the gallery store where I bought a couple of magnets for my fridge of Tom Thomson’s paintings. I stick to magnets and such souvenirs as they are small and easy to transport without getting wrecked.  Here are some Group of Seven works including the more stark painting of winter by Lawren Harris.  My favorite below is the Tangled Garden by J.E.H. MacDonald on the middle right.

 

 

 

Afterwards, we made our way to Confederation Park, had an ice cream and relaxed in the shade with everyone else seeking respite from the sun and heat as the Snowbirds did their aero acrobats overhead.

 

 

Then we went back to Byward Market area and had a light dinner and cider at an outdoor café. The celebratory vibe was palpable and infectious. But the Ontario police were out everywhere in full force. Clusters of police, all carrying guns and some with machine guns were wandering the streets. There were tractors and huge trucks parked in the middle of the streets to keep anyone one from potentially mowing down the crowd. It was a sobering sight on some level that this is how things are now. But the party went on in spite of this.

 

We followed the red and white hoards back up to Parliament Hill. We decided to make the effort and join everyone on the lawn in front of the stage. It was quite a process getting in there. Security was huge at this event. The siphoning process was at least a ½ mile long to get in with ultimately a bag check before getting on to the hill.

It was all worth it. Imagine, a clear night, no need for coats of course (or barely any clothing for that matter), sitting on the grass, the sun going down behind the Parliament Buildings and offering up a pink backdrop, a large but very friendly crowd and great music, followed by fireworks at 10pm.

 

Afterwards, we made our way out of the grounds. Even at 10:30pm, once the crowds converged and filter out the small entrances, you really felt the heat of all the bodies and I must admit, I felt a bit faint at that point. Once out and into less crowds, I felt better. We made our way to Ottawa City Hall and met the shuttle bus that took us back to our campsite. What a great day!

 

 

I know it’s been over a week since I posted.  The reasons include internet access troubles, charging phone and computer challenges, truck troubles, having fun,  and just being worn out from the heat.  It has been hot.  Did I mention that yet?  Ha Ha.

PS – I apologize in advance for any typos or grammatical errors.  I need to get this post off to you and we are off to Montreal shortly.  Enjoy the read.  Enjoy the day.  More shortly, I promise.

 

 

 

 

 

Hello. We are on the road right now from Neys Provincial Park on Lake Superior just passed Thunder Bay,  to Lake Superior Provincial Park just passed Wawa, Ontario. We are getting some Great Lake time at the wonderful parks Ontario has to offer. Ontario Parks, by the way, is celebrating their 125th Anniversary this year.

We are still pushing ahead with the mileage since we have to be in Halifax on July 17th to meet family joining us for a couple of weeks.  We have a lot to see and do before then.  The saving grace is having breaks along the way and arriving at these gorgeous campsites at a reasonable hour to enjoy them and have a walk or time to paint or read, or write.

Today marks the end of our third week away.  We hope this installment finds everyone doing well and enjoying the summer weather.

I’ll do a brief catch up with some photos.  Here is the latest news.

Monday June 18 – Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan to Moose Mountain, Saskatchewan
We made an early start and said goodbye, with a little sadness, to Grasslands National Park. It truly was a once and a lifetime experience and I wondered if I would ever return in my lifetime. What a wonderful thing it is to know that there are folks out there working to keep some part of the earth as it should be.

Instead of Highway 1, we were advised by a very friendly gas station owner in the small town of Cadillac, Saskatchewan to stay off Highway 1 and take Highway 13 across. He said it would save time and it would be a nicer route and take us all the way through to Winnipeg. We heeded his advice and had a big driving day all the way to southeastern Saskatchewan through very typical Saskatchewan countryside and farm towns. We saw a few antelope on the side of the road but I was too late for a picture.

 

 

We ended up at a campsite in the south-east corner of Saskatchewan called Moose Mountain. Guy started his new painting that evening, “Prairie Dog”,  inspired at Grasslands National Park. We ate and showered and had an early night. We managed to get a total of 5 ticks at Moose Mountain.  Only one adhered to Guy and had to be taken out with the tick implement. We are in tick country, likely all the way to east coast so we have to be vigilant from now on.

Tuesday June 19th-Moose Mountain, Saskatchewan to Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba
We got on Highway 1 and went through Brandon and on past Winnipeg.  I put on the Guess Who to honor Winnipeg and the band. We will try to stop there on our way back. We noticed the greening of the landscape the farther east we went. Manitoba looks more like B.C. the closer we got to Ontario, but of course the trees are different and smaller.  The landscape looked a bit more like home.

 

 

After a long day in the car, we were rewarded by the super campground at Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba,  close to the border of Ontario.  It was a hot day and it was nice to cool off with a swim in Falcon Lake.

 

 

In the evening, I took a walk with Joka and Guy finished his painting “Prairie Dog”.

 

Wednesday June 20th to Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba to Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario

We left Whiteshell at a reasonable hour and made our way into Ontario through Kenora and Lake of the Woods country along Hwy 17. What a gorgeous, wooded, vast, lake-filled province Ontario is. We spent the night at Quetico Provincial Park on French Lake.  We had a beautiful campsite that night right on the shore.  I’ve included the bigger bottom photo because it has someone canoeing off in the distance.  Ontario is big on canoeing in their beautiful lake studded wilderness.

 

 

Thursday June 21st – Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario to Neys Provincial Park, Ontario

We set out in the direction of Thunder Bay that morning and stopped in at Kakabeka Falls, the 2nd highest falls in Ontario . You can guess what the 1st highest falls are.  They were well worth seeing.  We had a nice walk around the area to stretch our legs and then a quick picnic in the park there before continuing on.

 

 

As we came down into Thunder Bay, we had the first peekaboo view of Lake Superior and it was so exciting. I felt the same way I did when I saw the Atlantic for the first time. After all those years of learning about it at school, and there it was, Lake Superior.  We stopped at a viewpoint passed Thunder Bay to look out across it as far as the eye could see.

 

 

 

If you didn’t know it,  you would think you were looking at the ocean.  Lake Superior is massive.  It is the largest of the 5 Great Lakes in Canada.  It is 406.3 metres deep and  it’s surface area is 82,100 km² (31,700 sq miles).  It borders Ontario and Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.   “It is generally considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It is the world’s third-largest freshwater lake by volume and the largest by volume in North America”(Wikipedia).

At Neys campground, our tent site was just off the beach of Lake Superior.  As soon as we arrived, Guy and I went down to the beach to dip our toes in the water and then we had a nap on the sand in the sun.  Later,  Guy continued with painting “Contemplating Life”  based on a photo of me looking out to the water at Falcon Lake at Whiteshell Provincial Park.

 

That evening, we had to put up the bug tent that Dude and Janet lent us. We are so grateful to have it.  It’s BUGMANIA or even BUGAGGEDON in Ontario.  The Bug Tent is our FRIEND!!!

 

 

Friday June 22nd  – Neys Provincial Park, Ontario to Rabbit Blanket Lake Campground, Ontario 

We slept in today and so had a late start and only did about 200k.  We arrived at Rabbit Blanket Lake Campground around 3pm.  I took a walk and worked on the blog and Guy finished his 8th painting.  Ta Da!!

 

Here are some pictures of the nature around the campsite and our travelling companion Joka out for a row.

 

Tommorrow we say goodbye to our friend Lake Superior as we point ourselves in the direction of Stratford Ontario.  The theatre calls for our presence at next Wednesday’s evening performance of  Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”.  And I hope to run into my buddy Peter Mansbridge and maybe even the Biebs in Stratford.

Saturday June 16

We had a great day on Saturday. We made our way into Saskatchewan, and got on Highway 1 for awhile and then turned off onto a country road called Highway 13.   Its interesting to note that Highway 13 was also long ago known as the Red Coat Trail which is “a 1,300-kilometre (810 mi) route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their quest to bring law and order to the Canadian West” (Wikipedia).  We were headed to Grasslands National Park but decided to make a stop at the small ghost town of Scotsguard just off Highway 13 to see some old cars.  It was an incredible find. There must have been at least 60 old cars from the 1930’s rusting in the field, including Model A’s, Oldsmobile’s  and Chevs, and even a Morris Minor.

 

Inside, we were shown beautiful resurrected and refurbished cars from that same field. Guy was over the moon.  We all enjoyed a chat with Keith, the fellow who owns the cars and who did all the work to make them into these beauties.

 

 

We were literally out in the middle of no where.  The wind was howling and just standing there in the middle of a big field, you got the sense of what it means to be someone from Saskatchewan.  The vastness, the flatness, the openness, felt different and invigorating and maybe a little bit overwhelming to us west coasters used to our mountains.  This same field was also main street of the old town of Scotsguard.

We had a good chat with Keith’s wife and she gave of some of the history of Scotsgard.  Years ago, the property that they own was part of this thriving town of about 350 people, created after the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) was established.  Our hosts back yard used to be the main street lined with all the shops and business of the old town.  There are a couple of old buildings that withstood the fire in 1941 which nailed Scotsguard’s fate after a gradual decline over the years.  There was also a museum that contained photos and artifacts collected by the owners. We managed to get a sense about how things used to be in this small town out on the prairie.

We arrived at Grasslands National Park about 4pm and set up camp.  Guy started a new painting right away.  I got my big boots on to ward off the creepy crawlies and promptly created a blister on one of my heals from the rubbing of rubber in the heat on skin.

 

 

Grasslands National Park is an area set aside by Parks Canada in 1981 to protect 1000 square kilometres of prairie in its natural unfarmed and un-ranched state.  This swath of land covers a large part of  Southern Saskatchewan.  Parks Canada  has been buying up ranches as they become available and are at 90% of their land base goal.  They are working  to preserve the natural flora and fauna of the area, some of which are endangered including black tailed prairie dogs and prairie rattlesnakes.  They have also reintroduced a heard of 350 Bison to the land, since they were once part of the ecological balance before they were overhunted .  We actually saw some on our way out of the park when we were leaving.

 

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Sunday June 17

Guy finished “Fallen Farmers” in the morning, a painting of two old cars in a field just outside the small town of Wayne near Drumheller.  Fallen farmers is Guy’s tribute to the farmers who drove those cars.  You see these “Fallen Farmers” everywhere on the prairies.  He sees them as the tombstones of the farmers long gone from the land.

 

While Guy was painting, the rest of us joined in on a 9am coffee and cowboy story session at the firepit.  We met lots of people from all over the country and beyond and learned some history of the area from the camp ranger.

The rest of the day, we spent venturing onto the land in all its prairie beauty.   What incredible scenery we saw.

 

 

 

The wide expanse of the plain made you think of  the indigenous people and the tough life they must have lived out here.  And then later, the ranchers bringing up families here in what is a very hot summers and very cold winters far away from any major town.

The sunset was sublime that night and everyone at the campsite was up on the hill looking into the next valley to the west to witness the pink and red fiery sky. We ran up to catch the tail end of sunset and take some pictures.