Thoughts From Places - Day Eleven: There and Back Again

Home sweet home.  For some reason the last two hour drive home seemed to take forever!

I am glad to be home but I am also a little sad that it is over already.   It seemed to fly by in a blink of an eye.  Time very well spent though.

Thank you to everyone who has followed this blog over the last week or so.  I enjoyed sharing this journey with all of you.  This blog will return to its "hobby" theme now.

However, stay tuned to my new blog "Greenhorn Stories".  I really enjoyed writing every night.  I am going to continue to do it.  I will update this new blog with some rough short stories I penned.

I am feeling a little drained tonight, so it is time to sit in my recliner with a nice whisky, reflect, and watch the  Blue Jays.

I save my "Royal Route" whisky to toast to a successful trip

I will leave you with something I heard on a podcast once,  "Be an explorer and not a tourist".


Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places - Day Ten: Homeward Bound

Powerful rainstorm last night. At one point I touched the bottom of the tent and it felt like a water bed.  Nothing like a midnight tent move to complete our camping experience.

The morning was kinda nice.  With it being the last long drive, we did not feel the pressure to get on the road.  We let the tent dry out.  Made a hot breakfast and a nice cup of tea, then sat on the beach for a while and watched the waves.

It was a good morning.

We made it to my sister-in-law's cottage right as dinner was served.  Perfect timing or what?  We went from solitude for a week to a house full of kids, 4 boys under the age of 4.

It was a good evening.

Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places - Day Nine: There is always time for Pooh.

On trips, especially road trips, we have a tendency to focus on the destination and less on the journey itself.  Take today for instance.  We left Quetico, about an hour north of Thunder Bay, and drove to Pancake Bay near Sault Ste Marie.  It was about a 10 hour drive without stops.

That is a daunting drive.  We just wanted to get there, no distractions.  It also did not help that is rained all morning so I wanted to get the tent up and aired out/dried before we went to bed (by the way, it has only rained twice throughout this whole trip and both times in Ontario, not feeling the weather love here).

In this situation, does this make the destination more important?  I guess that it is  dealers choice.  So we missed out on a few scenic lookouts we probably should have stopped for.  But on the other hand, we got here and set up our tent in the light and even got a bit of a sun over the bay.

We did make sure to stop in a small town of White River to check out a Winnie the Pooh statue.  The loved animated character was named after a bear from the London zoo.  That bear was adopted in White River in the early 1900 and named Winnie after the city where the Captain was from, Winnipeg.  Another interesting fact about Canada's history I did not know.

Tomorrow, family reunion.

Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places - Day Eight: Up North

We crossed into Ontario today, heading for Quetico Provincial park.  It was a good drive.  There is always good driving scenery in the north.

We were worried about some bad weather in the area.  There was even a snow warning where we stayed last night.   So far so good.  Nice and warm with a chance of rain now.

The highlight of the drive today (and one of the trip so far) was seeing a mom black bear and her two cubs running down the street.  It was on a nice quiet highway off the trans Canada, no one was around.  It was awesome.  Sadly they scampered into the woods before we could get the good camera out.

The trip is almost over.  It has flown past.  I am looking forward to getting home, but I am definitely going to miss the journey.  

Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places - Day Seven: The Lone Prairie

When I was really young, my family would drive out to Winnipeg, Manitoba.  My maternal Great Grandmother lived there.  She was a school teacher in a "one room" school house.  She passed away when she was 96.

I have several clear memories of the house.  I remember the layout; the only bedroom adjacent to the living room.  The kitchen was a hallway that attached the living room to the dinning room.  And of course the oddly smelling basement which I was terrified of.

I wanted to try and find the house as we drove through Winnipeg.  The landmark that I was looking for was a large statue of a white horse.  That horse always indicated we were almost at great grandma's house.  We found that horse.

We drove down the road toward her old house.  So much has changed in the two decades since I have been here last.  My mother told me what drive way to look out for.  Nothing looked familiar.

Now I don't know if this was a good thing or not.  My mom had always been on the side of never going back to old houses.  She wants the memories of that house to remain as she remembers them.  She does not want to see what other people have done to it.

I totally get that.  I have no interest in going back to my old house.  On the other hand I do get some joy from seeing how someone else has taken a home that we loved and shared as a family, and changed it into something that they love and share with their family.

This was a day for reflection.  We set up our tent (our mobile home as it were) in Whiteshell provincial park in Manitoba.

Tomorrow, Ontario.

Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places - Day six: Middle of Canada

Today we left the badlands behind us.   I hate leaving Dinosaur Provincial park.  There is always another hike or another Hoodoo to see.  I was very happy that I was able to share this special place with Helen.

We are now staying in Regina.  I always associate my family history with Manitoba, but it is actually from Saskatchewan.   My maternal grandmother was born here.  However she moved to Winnipeg with my Grandfather.

Downtown Regina at 7pm is a ghost town.  It was really odd.  We have now been from ocean, mountains, desert and now prairies.  

Tomorrow we try and find my Great Grandmother's old house.

Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places - Day Five: DINOSAURS!

We had a nice light day of driving today.  Only about two hours.  The rest of the time was spent Dino hunting.

I love dinosaurs.  It was the first true passion that I can remember.  My mom used to say that if there was one thing in a store with dinosaurs on it, I would find it.

Drumheller is awesome.  There are dinosaur statues out front most businesses.  Plus there is the Royal Tyrrell Museum.   It is an incredible collection of prehistoric life!  I could never get tired of it.

We are now in Dinosaur provincial park.  My favorite park!  Nice camp sites (which remind me of old Clint Eastwood movies).  The red deer river runs along it.  There are even partially excavated dinosaurs along the hiking trails!

I must really thank my fiancée Helen.  She has indulged my Dino fascination.  When planning this trip she made sure there was ample time to spend in Drumheller and Dinosaur Provincial park. I think she has even caught a bit of the Dino fever.

Kevin and Helen 

Thoughts from Places - Day Four: Why is everything on the Rockies closed?!

We woke up this morning in our tent to a nice crisp -2 degrees.  I  can say with confidence that MEC sleeping bags work pretty well.  Today's trip was a drive through the rockies, from Golden all the way to Drumheller.  In three days we have gone from ocean coast line to snow topped mountains and now badlands desert.  Times like this I realize how unbelievably awesome Canada is!

We had a nice stop at Lake Louise, a beautiful mountain lake.  Still frozen with snow on the ground.  This was followed by lunch in Banff and a little shopping.

I love driving through the mountains.   I don't think I could ever get tired of it.  I do have one bone to pick though.  Why is everything closed!?  We make good time driving because there is no place to stop.  All the rest stops are closed, all the hiking trails are closed, and to top it off even Moraine Lake was closed.  I had the same problem last time I drove through.  Do they ever open?

On the bright side we are now in Drumheller.  This is easily one of my favorite places in  Canada (second only to Dinosaur provincial park).  We got here late so we are going to do the Royal Tyrrell Museum tomorrow.  I am like a kid on Christmas Eve.

I am going to keep an eye on this guy...

Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places - Day Three: What's Golden

We hit the road a little before 9am.  We had a long drive through the mountains to do today.  Our original plan was to leave Vancouver and stay in Revelstoke for the night.  However when we got to Revelstoke we where a little more ambitious and pushed on for another hour or two.  Finial we pitched our first tent of the trip in Golden.  In the shadow of the mountains behind us.

All I could think about during the drive was how un forgiving the terrain was.  Steep mountains, rocky cliffs and rushing white water was in abundance.   We at least had a nicely paved trans-Canada highway; how in the hell did the settlers manage it?  The land scape really made me want to play "Red Dead Redemption" again.

I love westerns (as you can probably guess from my hat).  I love the hollywood image as well as the historical fact.  Trying to cross the rockies by foot, wagon or horse seems to me to be next to impossible.  Canada defiantly must have had some trail blazers in her past.  I should find out more about it.

For now I am going to enjoy a beer, sit in front of the fire and gaze out over the mountains.

Kevin and Helen

Thoughts from Places: Vancouver Aquarium

We spent the day picking up supplies for the road trip tomorrow.  We did stop  by "Japadog" for lunch.  It is Japanese style hot dogs, it was interesting...not sure how I liked the seaweed.  We then proceeded to the Vancouver aquarium for the afternoon .

I have mixed emotions for places like aquariums and zoos.  On one hand I feel that wild animals should stay wild.  Keeping animals locked up only for our entertainment is wrong (especially if the animals preform trick type shows).

On the other hand, these places can also be great locations for learning.  These animals and echo systems need to be protect from human progression.  By seeing them up front I find it helps make it more real and tangible.

Zoos and aquariums also heal injured animals and release those that can survive in the wild.

We then returned to my sisters house to help pack up (she is about to move back to ontario with her faimly).  The driving starts tomorrow...

Thoughts from Places: Vancouver

I really like Vancouver.   I always have.  Every time I come here I feel comfortable and at home.  Perhaps it is the city life combined with crazy tall trees everywhere.

First stop of the morning, Stanley Park.  Helen and I rented bikes and rode around the ocean wall.  Helen remarked that it surprisingly reminds her of Jamaica.  It is the sight of the ocean, the smell of the water,  and the giant trees along the shore line.

A lot of our daily lives are the same, regardless of where we live.   The difference is in the details.  Walking around downtown Vancouver is similar (if not a bit more hilly) to walking around downtown Toronto.   The detail is the juxtaposition of the city against the mountainous backdrop.

Helen has now been coast to coast

Love where you live and keep exploring.  

Thoughts from Places: The Plane

It is so easy to fall into our day to day routines.  We get up, go to work, come home and get some stuff done around the house, spend what time remains with loved ones, then repeat.   Now this is  not a bad thing.  We like our jobs (at least I do).  Things need to get done around the house.  I quality time with loved ones is the icing.  We don't know what we are missing out there.

However,  sitting here in a new fangled flying machine, I can't stop imagining the possibilities.  Anywhere in the world is a possible destination.  If we have the imagination.  We are living in a time where we are so connect with the whole world and at the same time anything out of the ordinary seems so far away.  

To quote the late but still great Terry Pratchett.  "Humans are a remarkable creature.  In a world with so much possiblities , they have  created 'boredom'"

This is the first day of Helen and my newest adventure.  We are heading out to see what wonders Canada has in store for us.  This Country is so big and has such a  variety of landscapes.  

First up the beaches, forests and mountains of Vancouver.

It looks like space

snow covered mounmountians

We made it to Vancouver


Kevin and Helen