Day 7

We started the day in Fernie and ended in Hope (literally and figuratively).  After 7 days and 6500 km we are done. 

Today we really should have stayed in Fernie and gone white water rafting or zip-lining.  But after 6 days of travelling fast it is hard to stop and smell the flowers.  Today felt like the last day of camp. It is a bit depressing to be returning to the real world.  So today’s blog lacks a little zip.

Today was also the first day on our trip that didn't feel like summer.  We had rain or heavy cloud most of the way to Hope.  It wasn't until Kelowna (about 4 pm) that we got some sun and had to wear sunglasses.

Sites of interest today

1. Skookumchuck – love the name but did not stop and take a picture of the sign.
2. Canal Flats where William Adolf Baillie Grohman dug a canal across the flats to connect the Kootenay River to the head waters of the Columbia River.  Originally he wanted to use the canal to lower the level of Kootenay Lake and recover farmland. But there were too many objections. In the end only 2 boats used the canal.
3. Saw our first campsite that advertised WI-FI.  That is quite the sight in the wilds of the Rockies. Of course the Kootenay Valley is not really the wilds anymore. It is the playground for Calgary.
4. Stopped at Craigellachie site of the ‘Last Spike’ in the CPR.
5. We stopped in Enderby and looked at Grandma Hannah’s old house.
6. In Kelowna we were able to take advantage of the high occupancy vehicle lane and get though town very quickly.  We're not quite sure how 2 occupants counts as high occupancy, but we weren't going to argue. 

We have enjoying writing this blog. It has provided purpose and spark to our long days on the road. We thank you all for providing us with an audience and hope you have enjoyed our expedition.

The town of Bugaboo.  Couldn't resist getting one last silly name sign picture.

Roger's pass.  The line through Canada is the trans-Canada highway, we mostly followed it...except when we didn't.

A plaque from when the highway was officially opened in 1962.

A plaque for the last spike.  It completed the 'iron ribbon' through Canada in 1885 - a few years before the highway.

The monument for 100 years of the CPR railway.  Lower down there was rock from each province...we'd never heard of the place in Nova Scotia the rock was reported to be from.  Anyone know of Wine Harbour?

Grandma Hannah's old house in Enderby.  We were big fans of the flowers out front.

Day 6

We decided to enter BC via the southern route – the Crows Nest Pass.  We plan to make it to Fernie for the night. Our superb travel agent made us a hotel reservation so that there would be a room at the inn.

The highlight of the day has getting to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump. We arrived 5 minutes after the interpretive centre closed.  But our luck held. We are able to walk a path along the lower cliff – where the dead buffalo would have been.  It turns out that the first part of the name commemorates an early scientist. In the early 1800s a young buck wanted to see the event close up and experience the falling buffalo. So he found a protected ledge on the cliff and waited there.  Unfortunately for him it was a good year with a lot of buffalo. The pile of dead and dying buffalo buried him and when they found him his head was smashed in.

The site is impressive and worth a short visit. We are not sure how they got the buffalo to the top of the hill. But I am sure the geography would be clear when one tours the upper part of the site.  Elizabeth explained the difficulties of having an archaeological site declared a world heritage site. It means the first guy’s interpretations can not be contradicted because no one can dig there any more (or something close to that).

Other events of the day

1)      We drove by Dog River SK. I think that is the name of the town in Corner Gas. But we did not see a gas station or anything -just a grain elevator.

2)      Wilcox SK home of the Notre Dame Hounds hockey team.

3)      Alberta’s roads are better than Saskatchewan’s.  But all the roads are poor compared to the US ones.

4)      We got to see the Rockies rise out of the prairie. Last time smoke from forest fires obscured the mountains and we could not see peaks even as we drove through Banff.  ‘Hey kids the mountains are right there. You would be impressed if you could see them’.  That went over well.

5)      Alberta only welcomes you if you drive into the tourist info area at the border. Otherwise you cannot see the sign.

6)      We looked for the University of Lethbridge – Elizabeth looked into going there. But we did not see it. Worse we drove through Lethbridge without seeing a gas station. Weird. We might have missed one at the very beginning but that was it.

7)      Elizabeth was very impressed with southern Alberta when the horses started to appear.  So Lethbridge has its attractions.

8)      I think of Medicine Hat as a small dusty cow town. Well not anymore. Apparently it is the centre for gas development in southern Alberta.

9)      Elizabeth was impressed by the magnitude of the Frank Slide. We did not stop to read the signs.

10)  It was noted that Charles does the cross Canada drive about every decade: 1992, 2003, 2012.  Maybe one day he will take more than 7 to 10 days to do the trip.  The red motorcycle from yesterday looks good.

A final note. Our travel agent did an exceptional job. We have two queen beds, a view of the mountains, sauna, pool, free laundry facilities, and we can go white water rafting tomorrow. We may stay here for a while.

It is good to back in BC where the roads curve and dip and you cannot see an hour ahead.

The Notre Dame Hounds sign. Lots of hockey players from here.

Prairie lighthouse. We were lacking in water and decided this could be nothing but a lighthouse.

Welcome to Alberta.  The sign we had to search for to make sure we'd crossed the border.

If you look closely you can see the McCains sign.  McCains in Alberta – the potatoes are here somewhere.

 The Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump sign.  They're just missing the scientist at the bottom.

The cliff the buffalo fell off.  We don't think many buffalo got up and walked away after.

The first view of the Rockies.  From Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump.

 

 The awesome view from our inn.

The nice, spacious room at the inn.

License plate list

List of USA license plates so far:

Indiana             Tennessee         Connecticut  

Maine               Michigan          Nebraska        

Texas               Vermont           Wisconsin

 

From ND

Illinois             Colorado         West Virginia

Alabama         New York        Idaho

Oklahoma      Oregon              Utah

Washington    New Mexico

Day 5 of our westward trek

Our goal today is Weyburn SK.  We will drive across MN and part way across North Dakato before turning north, It is about 270 miles from Duluth to Grand Forks on the other side on MN.  We started at 7:30 am.  The road is wide, flat, and straight.  Lots of marshes for awhile and then farm fields.  A Porsche would be good.

Elizabeth has noticed that there are lots of Manitoba licence plates on the road. At one point we were told, maybe by a waitress, that a lot of the traffic on our route is people from Manitoba taking their kids to school in Ontario.  Maybe some of the Manitoba plates are the parents coming home.

Our plan (I am writing while Elizabeth is driving at 65 mph – the posted speed) is to continue along Highway 2 into North Dakota. At Minot we will turn north and head for Saskatchewan.  The traffic is light this morning as befits a holiday Monday. We do wonder what the border crossing will be like.

Things noticed in Minnesota which may have pictures later: we crossed the Mississippi River at Bemijdi MN which is the home of Bemidji Beaver Hockey (Bemidji State U) who has some interest in Theodore; we also saw a large statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe; Hannah Ave, NW; Play It Again Sports is an international chain.

Went through Grand Forks ND at noonish. Stopped for gas.  Grand Forks in the home of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, one of the dominant US college hockey teams. It is also the site of one of Canada’s great world junior hockey triumphs when Canadians fans made Grand Forks part of Canada and the Canadian Jr team the home team.

We notice that after Duluth we have lost many of the national chain hotels (EconoLodge, Country Inn, etc). In fact we left holiday land and entered farm country. Even when we crossed the interstate there were only two no-name hotels.  We did not see any national coffee chains (Starbucks, etc) for our entire drive in the US. But we did not go into the couple of cities.

The clouds have rolled in and the wind has come up. It could be a tough afternoon for driving.  [added later] It rained and the wind blew for a while as Elizabeth drove.

Before this trip I had heard that there was no recession in ND. It was booming.  Well, during the six hours we spent in ND we added more out of state licence plates than during the entire rest of the trip.  Minot seems to be a supply centre for the oil and gas industry – it was booming.

There was a very abrupt change in the climate in a very short distance. We seemed to from farmland to ranchland in a few kms. The land around Minot is similar to Kamloops.

A very cool signs was the high school grad class signs for Kenmare High School.  The year signs are done with white stones on the hill sides. Some were very impressive and many appear to have been renewed over the years. We saw most years back to 1963.

We also noticed Hannah ND on the map.  It was too far to get it. But close enough to Canada that we could invade.

One of the important places we went to was Rugby ND. Elizabeth and I now have objective evidence below that we are at the center and the world does revolve around us.

While driving across the northern US I am struck by 2 things: 1) the ruralness of it all; and 2) the large number of universities.

While pondering this it occurs that Obama is the first urban US President: his core sensibility is big city – Chicago. He plays basketball not baseball, football or golf. He probably does play golf but it is not part of who he is.   I think that one could argue that all previous presidents were rural or suburban. Does this matter? While driving around Massachusetts I realized that Boston extends half way across the state. However while we would claim that these people lived in an urban (as opposed to a rural) environment, the people probably think of themselves as small town folks. They would not think of themselves as urban.  I expect that the people at the Republican national convention also think of themselves as small town people even though they live and work in large cities like Washington DC, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver etc. Living in the suburbs and beyond allows people to continue to think of themselves as small town people who have more in common with folks in northern Michigan and Wisconsin than with city people.   Please notice that I have provided an emotional link between big business people and rural religious conservatives.  Nevertheless it is hard to imagine the two parts of the Republican Party sitting down and having a beer.

While driving around New England over the years and driving across northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota on this trip, I have been struck by the large number of universities in small out of the way places.  It is hard to imagine that there is sufficient number of local people to provide the enrolment.  Either they should be closing down or they are bringing people in from elsewhere. Perhaps this is a second source of small town sensibility. Lots of city kids move to the country to go to university and make the transition from children to adults. Perhaps they carry the small town with them the rest of their lives.  I would like to argue that Canadian universities have tended to be in large urban centres.  But that may not be true and it is getting less true as universities are opening in small cities across Canada.

John Ralston Saul argued in one of his books that Canadians should make sure that their children do their undergraduate degrees in Canada and not go to the US until graduate school. He was concerned about the cultural imprinting that goes on during the college years.

My overall theme here is that a large number of Americans think of themselves as small town people. This minds set would make one uncomfortable with the big city sensibilities of Obama.  When various Republicans state that ‘Obama is not a real American’ I think they are saying that he is not a small town guy.  For them small town is the real America.  While the United States is clearly not a small town place anymore, the myth lives on.

 

Saw this motorcycle and thought the colour was perfect for Charles' retirement...next way to drive across the country?

The largest (we think) statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe. Note the height of the person.

The oldest (maybe) beetle around.

Bemidji State University...a possibility for Theodore.  How could you not want to be a beaver?

Found James' new home.

Charles being the center of North America, in Rugby. Evidence that the Charles and Elizabeth are at the centre of it all and the world does revolve around us.

Another trouble picture...if you tilt your head to the right, you can see an owl in the rock.  This is also in Rugby.

Coal mining near Estevan SK. 

Day 5 start

Our goal today is Saskatchewan. Maybe as far a Regina. We will likely take a route through North Dakota. Expect to see a change from forest and lakes to high plains and desert.
Charles

Day four of our westward trek.

We discovered today that the motel we found last night was the last one along our route for at least 60 miles. We are very happy that Elizabeth noticed the badly lit sign at the last moment and saved us an uncomfortable night sleeping in the Echo.

Today we chase our Finnish heritage on the Keweenow Peninsula. Our goal is Copper Harbour at the very end. This is typically Hannah. Pick a remote spot on a map and drive there. You don’t need a good reason.  This heritage detour will take about 5 or 6 hours. Our westward goal is now Duluth MN.

The Keweenow Peninsula seems like the ragged edge of nowhere. But that bias is caused by our car based transportation. History suggests it is on the main routes if you travel by boat.  The link to Nova Scotia and BC is light houses. There are lots of them (OK we saw 3 or 4). 

The entire Peninsula was settled in the 1840’s, primarily for the copper.  The old copper mines start at Houghton/Hancock and continue all the way north.  Some are museums and one offered underground tour – pets welcome. 

Finlandia University in Hancock was founded in 1896. 

We had lunch in Copper Harbour – think Tofino on the Superior. Mountain bikes, kayaks, beaches and sand dunes.

The history is written in the place names and other signs. While English dominates there are Indian and a few French place names. The Finnish presence is signalled in some of the street/road names, a few political campaign posters (re-elect Matt Huuki), and a store advertising ‘Sauna Stuff.’ There was Touch of Finland’ store in Marquette last night. But we did not see any Finnish memorabilia stores during our Hannah tour of the Peninsula.

Dad. We did see the sign to Copper City but did not take that detour.  Calumet was an important little town.  The downtown core contains more than 3 or 4 streets (maybe a 3x4 grid) and consists of substantial buildings (3-4 stories) made of stone.  The high school seemed huge and most of it seemed older – also made of stone.

According to our map, Americans think any road through the forest is ‘scenic.’ Well … maybe.  Driving down a wide, flat, highway with walls of trees on both sides is NOT scenic. On the other hand, driving along a narrower windy (but well paved) road where the trees arch over the road IS. 

Elizabeth and I now better understand Lucas Davenport (fictional police detective).  Whenever he has to travel outside Minneapolis he takes his Porsche and drives 100 miles per hour (with official permission of course).  We assume that the Minnesota landscape is much like this.  We would like to drive our Porsche at 100 mph.

John Sanford’s other character Virgil Flowers also makes more sense. He drives around Minnesota pulling a boat and seems to have to solve mysteries instead of fishing. There are lots and lots of lakes here. So being prepared to go fishing when not required to solve murders seems sensible.

We stopped for the night in Duluth at 5 pm. After last night's adventure we wanted a room. Our bland hotel just off the interstate at the edge of town (no attraction we can see) had 2 rooms left after we checked in. Glad we stopped.

List of USA license plates so far:

Indiana             Tennessee         Connecticut  

Maine               Michigan          Nebraska        

Texas               Vermont           Wisconsin

We were very impressed we'd made it to Alberta so quickly.

Here's something Finish!  Found a university in Hancock, MI

The plaque for the University.  Apparently it started with everything in one building!

Quincey Mine on the way to Copper Harbour.

A lighthouse accross from Fort Wilkins State Park (Copper Harbour).

The lighthouse in Eagle Harbour, couldn't get far enough away to get it all.

If you look closely there is a brick navy boat on the side of the road.

Day three of our westward trek.

On leaving Pembroke you realize that you have left the fields and hardwoods forests of southern Ontario and entered the deep pine woods – the Canadian Shield.

One of the first points of interest after Pembroke is Chalk River and Deep River – the home of the Canada nuclear research facilities (both nuclear power and medical isotopes).  The medical isotope facility was in the news a few years ago when it had to be shut down for an extended period of time for repairs and upgrades. The head of the nuclear regulatory committee was fired by Harper for insisting on safety and for following the regulations.

Deep River has two claims to fame. First very large snow falls - some of the largest snow accumulations in Canada. The second is the highest density of PhDs in Canada. Legend has it that there a lot of bored young housewives in Deep River in the 1960s and 1970s. It is a very small town and it would have been a long long trip to civilization.  I am sure there was much social and marital strife.

On reading our map, we thought it was 500 km from Ottawa to Sault Ste. Marie.  Since we were at Pembroke we figured on 400 km and 4 hours.  It was hard to understand why it was taking so long to get to North Bay enroute. Well … it is 500 miles or 800 km – 8 hours. Whoops. Oh well. It is only time.

Elizabeth has her journal from our family trek.  The first 4 stops were Edmunston, Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, and Thunder Bay. This is very close to our current rate of progress. We will have to pick it up if we are going to reach Hope in 6 or 7 days instead of 9.

Near Sudbury we saw Hannah Lake Road and somewhere between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie we saw Hannah Road.

There are very few signs giving the distance to the next town between Pembroke and Sault Ste. Marie.  And you don’t have the little km posts either. Very annoying.  This is supposed to be the TransCanada Highway (TCH in NL).

Samuel Champlain must have been a very busy guy. I think of him in relation to settling southern Nova Scotia (Port Royal) and Montreal. But he must have gone a long way up the Ottawa River – his name is everywhere. He may have dropped his astrolobe and left it behind for later discovery. Or that is one way to interpret one of the tourist stops (points of interest) which we drove passed.

Between Iron Bridge and Sault Ste. Marie, in farm country, we saw several groups of people in dark, plain clothes with some driving horse buggies: must a large Mennonite or Hutterite community. We referred to them as the Amish but probably not.

We also stopped at Bruce Mines to admire Canada’s first copper mine. It was closed. But the entire site was about the size of a large 4 bedroom house in a wealthy bedroom community.  We also went to the Bruce Mines waterfront: lovely view of the lake and some islands. The islands were very nice, but the scene was missing mountains for a backdrop.

We have decided to take the US route from Sault Ste. Marie to Winnipeg. This will take us into northern Michigan. It is northern Michigan (not Wisconsin as stated yesterday) where our Finnish relatives lived and worked – a little map reading trouble.  Our goal today is Marquette, which would allow us to do some tourist stuff the tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Places of interest are Houghton, White Pine, Calumet and Copper Harbour.

Elizabeth has been warned to keep an eye out for people wearing camouflage and carrying automatic weapons (and perhaps skulking in the woods). Northern Michigan is the home of the Michigan militia.  We will have to keep our politics and opinions to ourselves.

Long hard drive to Sault Ste. Marie. Thought we might never arrive. 

There was a bit of a wait on the bridge at the border but not too bad. The American bridge toll collector had to tell us several bad jokes before he would give us our change and let us into the USA.  The driving on Highway M28 was very dull for several hours. Straight, flat, and trees for miles and miles – one continuous passing lane.  We started to worry about ever seeing a gas station.  The area seems be a collection of national forests and wildlife refuges.  As I write this it is still straight, flat and dull.  I am starting to miss the Canadian side.  

Things changed at Shingleton. The road makes a long sweeping curve. Things did get better as we approached the coast: a few twists, turns and the occasional hill. The views of Lake Superior were lovely.  This part of the coast is holiday country with lots of sandy beaches.

Marquette was very busy. All the hotels seemed to be full. We started driving west and every motel seemed to have a NO VACANCY sign.  Very bad. We found a small place at about 9:30. A couple on a motorcycle arrived at the same time – same story, no room at the inn in Marquette. As I write this at 11 pm people continue to arrive. May have made a mistake taking a room on the ground floor.  The new people above are noisy.

The room is actually quite nice. But there is no phone, internet or clock. But there is a bible, and a tv, so all is well.

We did not see very many US license plates in Canada. We have heard that US tourism to Canada is down. But we have not been frequenting shopping malls or campsites as we did last time.  Our current list of US plates will be posted in Day Four.

For those new to this blogging stuff (like us) we offer the following. It is very easy to leave comments. At the bottom of this blog, click on the ‘x comments’ link to the right of the ‘Posted by Charles at x:xx pm’ 

We may have to restrict comments if the spamsters find the blog ,but for the moment comments are open.  It may also be that ‘registered users’ refers to people logged into their google, yahoo and hotmail accounts while surfing. We may have to resort to that later.

This was the view from our hotel with the rubber duck.  It looked like a fun mini golf course.

This is most of the stuff James asked us to bring for him, there is more in the back seat but it doesn't photograph as well.

This is the plaque for the nuclear reactor.

This is the view from that plaque, with a dam there.

The mine at Bruce Miner, sadly we couldn't jump the fence to get closer.

The view of the water in Bruce Miner, a ways down the road from the mine.

While this picture may look very nice, with the sun shining, a straight road, and lots of trees, it gets boring VERY quickly!  Looking forward to more turns, hills, and scenery in the future.

We can't be too mean to Michigan, it did offer some lovely viewpoints on their lakes.