Thursday - September 22, 2011

Left for Fort McMurray this morning around 9. The drive is about 500 km on a mostly single lane road. As I left Edmonton passed by this temple which was quite attractive. Reminded me somewhat of the temple off the 427 in Toronto although a lot more colour. As I drove north on Hwy 63 the truck traffic going north increased and there were a lot of large trucks carrying equipment to the oil sands. The road was under construction in several places and had to wait for quite some time for the line to move as it was single lane. Passed an interesting sign along the way providing some history to the Northern Alberta.

Further north there was some farmland and then it was trees all the way to Fort McMurray. Got to Fort McMurray around 4 and had a coffee at Tim's before going over the Alex and Jill's house as they did not get home until around 5:30.

Wednesday -September 21, 2011

Dropped Brenda off at the airport at 5:30. Got up at 4:30 to get her there. She then caught the 6:30 to Toronto. I started traveling north to Saskatoon looking for a Tim Horton's so I could get a coffee and breakfast. Unfortunately, could not find one and as I left Regina, the road got very foggy and it was dark. The fog continued until I reached the outskirts of Saskatoon about 10 where I stopped and got my coffee. Continued on west to the Alberta/Saskatchewan border hoping to make Edmonton by about 4. Crossed in Alberta at around 2 and where I got fuel. Price was about 1.09/litre. Arrived in Edmonton and tried to find a motel but a lot were booked much like Regina. Finally, I got into a Travelodge which actually quite pleasant.



Morning Fog on the Prairies

Tuesday September 20, 2011

Last night Brenda received a phone call saying she had a doctor's appointment on Thursday. Of course, she could have put it off but we decided she should fly home so we made arrangements for her to fly from Regina tomorrow morning back to Toronto. She would return on Friday to Fort McMurray. I would continue the drive and meet her in Fort McMurray.

The prairies despite their flatness are really quite beautiful with big skies, interesting cloud formations and the colours of the wheat and other crops on the ground. As Regina was only about 350 km from Brandon we had a short day. Difficult to find a hotel room as there were a lot of conventions in town. Finally we found a room at the Super 8 not far from the airport. This was important as Brenda's flight was at 6:30 in the morning and we did not want a long drive to the airport. Did a little shopping since we arrived early over at the local big box malls.

Monday September 19, 2011

Kenora and Lake of the Woods

We left Kenora in the early morning and it had stopped raining. As we approached the Manitoba border the land started to flatten out - less shield showing and the road got straighter, very few turns. We got to Steinbach, Manitoba and noted that there was a historical Mennonite village, so we turned off the Trans Canada and went to the Village. It was very interesting and we learned quite a bit about the Mennonites. For instance, they were started shortly after the Reformation in the Netherlands and Germany, but as a result of intimidation, moved to other areas of the European Continent, including Russia. From there they moved around the world and settled in a number of countries including Canada. Had a nice lunch in the village. Saw a quilting session taking place in the Village.

After the visit we moved on to Winnipeg, where we drove by Brenda's old house when she was a little girl. Ultimately we stopped in Brandon for the night.

Sunday - September 18, 2011

Going west








Going east




Fort Francis and the CN Rail
















Lake of the Woods
















Left Thunder Bay and it was raining. The intention was to drive to Thunder Bay. decided to follow Highway 11 rather than 17 to Kenora. It is the less traveled route and there was little traffic on the Highway. Almost no trucks, which made the drive quite pleasant. Stopped in Quetico for lunch. The park was closed for the season but there were some picnic tables available.

Unlike Highway 17 where the road is cut through Jackpine, Highway 11 cuts through lots of lakes and as we approached Fort Francis, we were beside Lake of the Woods. Didn't realize that Fort Francis was a border crossing and we considered crossing and going through to Manitoba through the US. However we continued on 11 to Kenora which was a very pretty drive.

Saturday - June 17, 2011

Brenda at Batchawana on Lake Superior




Went for a walk around the downtown Sault this morning. It seems like a nice town with a lot of history dating back to the 1600's and the time of Champlain. Walked by a historic house where they had some interesting plaques discussing old gardens. one of them discussed the growing of vegetables in threes: corn for carb, beans for protein which grew up the corn and squash, the leaves of which sheltered the ground around the corn and beans and kept the ground moist.

Left the Sault around 10 and started the long drive to Thunder Bay. Originally we were going to just go to Marathon, but once we looked at distances, we decided to go on to Thunder Bay. It was either a long drive today or tomorrow as we wanted to reach Kenora by Sunday night. The drive along the north shore of Lake Superior is very beautiful with lots of vistas from the road and the various parks along the road.

Lots of warnings about moose crossings along the route. Really don't want to run into a moose on the road as they are really big. you might be OK if you hit a deer with some damage to the car, but the moose might kill the car and you if it falls on the car.

As we entered Marathon, we got stopped by an OPP RIDE program at 2 in the afternoon. Obviously people in the north start drinking a little early. After the RIDE stop we stopped for gas, filled up and locked my keys in the truck. Fortunately, the CAA was located about 10 minutes away and we got back on our way.

Conclusion