23 July 08

Summary:

We had a great trip with many excellent experiences. We have seen the midnight sun and actually read a book at 1AM; almost unbelievable when you just hear it. The mountains, the glaciers, literally hundreds of water falls, the very many flowers, the long distances between places, is something to remember.

We drove 16,000 km; no accident, no health problems, not even a flat tire. Gertraut and I got along perfectly; wonderful!

We had a perfect trip and now we are happy to be at home again.

 

Next destination? Arizona; New Mexico; Southern California? Just an oil change and the Sprinter is ready and so am I.

22 July 08

22 July 08, Tuesday

05:45 hrs and I was already in the water; I woke up too early and could not fall asleep again. After a few more swims, a lazy Mate hour and a good siesta we were on our final part of the trip, actually going home.

We found the house clean, the lawn cut, the birds looked after; what a joy to come home. We have great children and grand-children.

21 July 08

21 July 08, Monday

It rained over night and all morning. I took advantage of the softened up cadavers on the front of the Sprinter and tried to prey them off with water and soap but I was not quite successful. We also had accumulated a lot of “prairie brown”; I got most of that off and the white surface gleaned in the sun later on.

Since it is Monday we had the lake practically for us and we enjoyed our swims.

The setting of R&G’s cottage is so very beautiful, I enjoyed it even while cooking outside. 

We spent most of the afternoon reading, resting, swimming, walking. Great! 

 N 45º 26.132’   W 79º 23.796

20 July 08

20 July 08, Sunday

Driving through North Bay, Ont, I spotted a sign: “Henkel knives on Sale” so we had to go and check it out if they still had some of “our” set of cutlery. We did leave some money there for some good kitchen knives.

Rudy had invited us to his cottage so this is where we want to go swimming and relax a couple of days from all the driving we did steadily since Regina, Sask.

I parked the Sprinter as level as possible so we could sleep in the bed we are used to.

N 45º 26.132’   W 79º 23.796

19 July 08

19 July 08, Saturday

Again we spent the day driving; when it was siesta time we were driving in Lake Superior Provincial Park. It is well over 100 km long and since we had given up our provincial park camping permit from the night before we had to pay just to pull off the road and rest. Our permit would have been good until 14:00 hrs today.

The views along Lake Superior are just picture perfect; I recommend the drive.

The sun came out in the afternoon; the temperature reached for the first time during this holiday 27ºC; we even found a beach where we could go swimming.

The cops must love this low speed limit up here, only 90kph and almost no traffic; we saw 6 cops today and three were busy writing tickets. I was busy keeping my speed low which translated into big fuel savings.

Today we drove until dark and reached North Bay.  N 46º 31.298’   W 80º 56.887

18 July 08

18 July 08, Friday

On this two lane highway this far in the north there is a lot of work to maintain the road. We were constantly held up by construction; sometimes only a couple of kilometres apart and each time a long waiting period. When we could drive, we enjoyed the very beautiful “North of Superior” scenery. Too bad it was often very foggy, the temperature reaching a low of 11ºC. The temperature was so low, I was thinking I may have to follow the signs for trucks in the winter along the road: “Chain up area”; snow may be coming down.

Signs had advertised a climate controlled mall at Marathon, Ont  so we decided to drive into town and check it out. It was a modern mall with two stores empty and for rent and one of the anchor stores on “Closing out Sale” . It must be very tough to make a living up here; most Motels and Gas stations along the road are already closed and “For Sale”.

When we came the White Lake Provincial Park my first question was if they have warm showers. We even got the only campsite from which you could see the water, # 81; the mosquitoes were bearable; this was actually the only time on our whole trip I can say that there were mosquitoes.

N 48º 41,590’   W 85º 38.763’

17 July 08

17 July 08, Thursday

At 04:00 some kid felt like kicking the rear of our Sprinter and after being awake we drove on at 05:00 early in the morning. Kenora is a beautiful vacation spot with lots of lakes, woods, rocks, a typical northern Ontario holiday spot; I understand most cottages here belong to Winnipeggers.

We went grocery shopping here in Kenora and while putting things away, Socky was running around on the floor and then he had an accident and died right away. It made us very sad; he was such a pet for us. He knew nothing else but us and the Sprinter. He had started to fly and I trimmed his wings so he could not get away on us but he was able to fly inside the Sprinter.

We gave him a proper burial, even with flowers. 

Again we managed to drive over 600 km today, it was a cold day and we ended up in Thunderbay, Ont.

N 48º 24.788’   W 89º 14.501’ 

16 July 08

16 July 08, Wednesday

Regina is a large city but the morning traffic was on the opposite side. The roads we drove in Saskatchewan were mostly straight and level. Since we drove the Trans Canada Highway for the first time in the prairies we realized how boring the driving can be. In the past we have always chosen a secondary road which pass through the farms with houses and yards and sometimes people; but the super highways are mostly only through fields or woods, nothing else to see. Now I know why people say the prairies are boring!

It was recommended to us to visit the “Forks” in Winnipeg. Since I had never been there I took the opportunity and drove right to downtown. Unfortunately I was already very tired after driving all day; then we hit major traffic and four lanes, plus construction along the way. There were “No Stopping” sign everywhere, no chance to get oriented, Geenie, the GPS, did not understand the word: “Forks”. To make a long story short, I did not find the only access road to this touristy spot in Winnipeg. When I had a chance to stop I only wanted to get out of the city and drive on, which we did; almost into Ontario.

After Winnipeg we crossed the geographical centre line of Canada.

Rest area of the Sandilands Provincial Forest was our over night stop: N 49º 39.511’   W 96º 03.380’

15 July 08

15 July 08, Tuesday

We thought there was not much to see at Swift Current, Sask. But just before leaving we stopped at the visitor centre and found a very interesting museum showing the life on the prairies. Especially new to me was the Hudson Bay Company actually owned all the land east of the Rockies and the trappers were working for them in a way.Only British citizens could own land.

It was also interesting to see the huge root system the prairie grass has and how it is able to survive the draughts and the wind erosion. No wonder, farmers are going more into grazing the lands even raising buffalo who are kinder to the plants than cattle is.

The Mennonite Heritage Village was closed but we did get invited to come inside and see the customary cleanliness and the artefacts the second generations used when they settled in Saskatchewan.

Moose Jaw, along our route, has very interesting underground tunnels. They were used to hide the illegal activities from Al Capone; and another tunnel system which gave very many Chinese immigrants a chance to work unseen by the white public. I am happy that Prime Minister Harper finally acknowledged the wrong we Canadians did to those people.

Evening came to us in Regina, Sask. I went to Princess Auto, a store I had never visited before. I found a thermostat with enough range to try to build an incubator for baby birds from Harry who does not know how to feed his offspring.  N 50º 26.740   W 104º 32.149’ 

14 July 08

14 July 08

We took some pictures of the Hoo-Doos, a rock, sand and clay formation in the Canadian Bad Lands.

Passing along the village of Dorothy, AB, I had to turn around to take a picture of the almost abandoned village. Only three houses were still occupied.

I have not mentioned the quality of the road surfaces, but driving in Alberta on a secondary road it was just perfect, very smooth surface so the tires were not making much noise, it was a pleasure to drive. As we crossed into Saskatchewan on the same class road it was so bad, I had to think I was driving from the west into the East German-Russian Zone. It took well over 50 km for the road to get better.

By the time we reached Swift Current, AB we stopped for the night: N 50º 18.455’   W 107º 46.640’ 

13 July 08

13 July 08

We saw the dinosaurs in Drumheller, AB back in 1990 and found them interesting so we went for another visit, having heard that they totally altered and updated the museum. The dinosaurs did not age noticeably but the presentation of the information was extremely well done. It is hard to convey millions of years of history and what happened at which time to a public which does not want to study the details but still get an idea of what happened. Well done!

Driving into Drumheller I noticed a small road side sign mentioning a Passion Play.

It was put on today for the last time this season. We still got tickets and enjoyed a huge production in an open amphitheatre. We were sitting at the mercy of the strong sun and heat. The theatre holds 2500 people and all were touched by the event 2000 years ago. Especially moving was the Resurrection and final scene; hundreds of angels standing with their wings spread open all around us on top of the hills. The whole choir had also turned into angels. It was a blessed afternoon.

To visit Drumheller was just an afterthought and the visit was well worth it. It is located right in the middle of the Canadian Bad Lands; it looks more like a desert than anything else; however the Red Deer River flows through the valley. Overnight we had a thunderstorm and we saw, all at the same time, black clouds, two rainbows, clear blue sky and bright sunshine. Only in the prairies can you see that much of God’s creation at the same time.

We camped right at Passion Play parking lot: N 51º 27,745’   W 112º 44.886’ 

12 July 08

12 July 08, Saturday

We can’t go to Edmonton without visiting the West Mall there. We also wanted to see if there was anything left in the leather garment store we visited on the way up; by now the store was out of business. Hmm! Good or bad? After seeing that super light and soft moose leather jacket at Fairbanks, I sort of hoped there was something left in the store.

 The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village was much further away than we thought but our visit there was a trip filled with nostalgia; much of the horse drawn equipment and home utensils we used in the past in Germany and in Uruguay were on display. A bread oven outside with the wooden paddle; sticky fly catchers hanging down from the ceiling in the kitchen; the authentic smell in the horse and cow barn; the chicken coop, all brought back memories of a by gone era.

After walking so much we were too tired to drive much further and stopped near Camrose, AB:

N 53º 01.050’  W 112º 39.918

11 July 08

11 July 08, Friday

We are definitely leaving the boonies; there is actually traffic on the road, but this road is also getting straighter and the mountains are staying behind us.

At Grand Prairie, AB, after receiving e-mails from Erika and Sarah, we had four lanes all the way to Edmonton, AB. We also saw two dead moose on the road; must have been killed over night. There was also an accident with car and trailer turned over beside the highway; there was also a knapsack on the road at the accident site. Yes we are back in civilization.

We had no intentions at stopping at Grande Prairie, but when we saw

the huge sun dial and the architecturally very beautiful college we stopped to take some pictures. I could also do my banking from the visitor centre.

We drove close to Edmonton, to Spruce Grove: N 53º 32.400’   W 113º 55.984’ 

10 July 08

10 July 08, Thursday

Dawson Creek; Dawson City, rather confusing, but both cities were named after the same explorer. Like all places in the north, the people are proud of their town. To get to know a bit more about their life we visited the Pioneer Village and later their Railroad Station; both museums with a lot of things we still remember using on a daily basis in our younger years. Are we old enough to be in a museum as well? So far I don’t feel like it.

I had a good connection and looked after e-mailing my trip reports.

Wal-Mart at Dawson Creek:  N 55º 44.362’  W 120º 13.246’

9 July 08

9 July 08, Wednesday

We did some serious driving today; through Muncho Lake Prov. Park; stopped at Fort Nelson and found out about their history. The scenery along the way is worth writing about, or better, you should make this trip too.

Today we can add mountain sheep to our list of wildlife seen; there were many licking the salt on the road.

Our overnight stop was right next to a river. For the first time we did have mosquitoes, but we could see them from the inside of the Sprinter and did not even open a door. It is so very nice to be totally self sufficient.   N58º 01.786   W 122º 43.319’ 

7 July 08

7 July 08, Monday and 8 July 08, Tuesday

We stopped at Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park and decided to stay for two days. The water comes out at 53º C, way too hot for us. A bit later in the pool a fresh water –no sulphur- and cold enters the pool so you can almost choose your temperature. Now we are really clean after soaking in the hot water.

Driving here we saw many buffalo, even a herd of more than 26 adults and many with calves.

On the ferry we met another couple from Oregon who also drive a Sprinter with a Roadtrek motor-home; we met them again here after travelling thousands of kilometres all over Alaska. It was nice to compare notes with them. We also met a couple who immigrated from Poland in the hot springs. He was born in Danzig and he also knows the small village of Käsemark where I was born. Small world! N 59º 25.610’   W 126º 06.178 

6 July 08

6 July 08, Sunday

When you are travelling the way we are you don’t notice that it is Sunday; you think about Church and what’s going on at home, but that’s all.

We have had rain almost all day again, but that’s OK because we spent the day driving. When we arrived in Watson Lake, YT it stopped so we admired some of the 62 thousand signs in the sign forest here; and the forest is still growing. There are signs from all over the world of people who were here to visit.

We saw the show at the Northern Lights Centre and it was a bit boring; too much of the aurora borealis and how big our universe is. They could have said the same thing in half an hour instead of one.

Continuing on the Alaska Highway we did see three more black bears. 

5 July 08

5 July 08, Saturday

The officer at the border was again very friendly; he even welcomed us back to Canada. We drove forever along Kluane lake; it is very cold, but I took a bath anyway. There is also a lot of construction along the Alaska highway; we spent half an hour to get by one busy site. When you watch the workers on their machines in all kinds of precarious situations; way up on steep slopes working with huge earth and rock moving equipment; you wonder that there are not more accidents.

We can chalk up a few more wildlife sightings: a pair of trumpeter swans; a wolf; a coyote and a number of horses which looked wild to us because they were just along the highway; no tame horse gets to run freely there.

We again joined a large number of campers spending the night at the Wal-Mart parking lot.

N 62º 43.961’   W 135º 04.106’ 

4 July 08

4 July 08, Friday

We are in Valdez, AK and this is the last place we had planned to visit; now we are heading towards home, but rather slowly. In order to enjoy the driving we don’t want to drive neither too fast nor for too many hours per day. We drove 512km today and crossed the Thompson pass again 830m high. We stopped to take pictures of a moose cow and it let me get very close before walking into the woods and disappearing totally immediately.

The Alaska Oil Pipeline appeared once in a while above ground along our path; an interesting engineering achievement

We managed to cook a delicious supper outside in warm weather and no insects.

We spent the night at a rest area: N62º 53.616’   W 141º 30.960’ about 30 km from the Canadian border.