Almost Kingston

So this is happening right now...we're okay though. Just a broken fan belt with limited options and a friendly tow truck driver. Not quite sure where we are...we were trying to make it to Kingston but clearly that's not happening tonight...

Niagara Falls

We had a nice quiet night at the Canadian Tire in Barrie then did some shopping at the Georgian Mall in the morning. Early in the afternoon we started the hour and a half drive to Toronto to visit the CN tower but on the way we were noticing how overcast the sky was. We realized that since it was overcast we might not get the most spectacular views from the tower so I checked the weather and it was supposed to be partly cloudy the next day so we made a quick change of plans. We drove an extra hour and a half to Niagara Falls to spend the rest of the day there, and we were glad we did!

The falls themselves were impressive with over a million bathtubs of water falling every second. The town was also an attraction in itself. It was like a mini Las Vegas, full of casinos, huge hotels, neon lighting, strip clubs and tourist traps. Late into the night the shops would stay lit up and open for business. We were lucky to find some really nice showers at a campground there and had a pleasant sleep at the Walmart where I also got my hair cut in the morning! I can gladly say my stream of luck with good, cheap haircuts while traveling has not yet failed me. We were going to get breakfast from the Flying Saucer restaurant (literally a flying saucer) but the ladies at the hair salon warned us against the dirty kitchen with rat problems, yikes! So instead we got the usual, coffee, latte and muffin from McDonalds.

A friendly squirrel

We are now on our way back to Toronto and will brave the crazy city traffic in our van...maybe that's a bad idea, guess we'll find out soon. Next stop after CN tower is Ottawa, or as close as we can get for the night.

I haven't had a chance to get my pictures uploaded to the laptop for a few days but hopefully will once we're in Ottawa. I will then add them to this post and the previous post so stay tuned for that!

Sault Sainte Marie to Barrie

On our way to Barrie now and should get there between 9 and 10 tonight.

Yesterday was an exciting day because, for the first time, the king of the forest, the great moose, graced us with his presence. Unfortunately I only got a picture of his behind as he slipped back into the forest...I don't think he was very impressed with us as Mike frantically pulled over the van and I scrambled for the camera as we both shouted "Moose! Moose!" Hopefully we'll see another. Other noteable things we saw on the drive: statue of a tree with Winnie the Pooh eating honey and giant sculpture of a Canadian Goose.

In Sault Sainte Marie we visited a local bar with live music and friendly locals. I ordered a cider and the bar tender had to fish around in the back of the fridge for a while until she finally came out with an Alexander Keith's cider...apparently it was the first cider ordered in about 6 months! Afterwards we had a nice sleep in a small Walmart parking lot with a couple of neighbours. Had a later start today since we decided to do some grocery shopping and clean the van a little. Today is also the first day we are both comfortably wearing t-shirts!

So far the drive to Barrie has been great, nice weather and small towns filled with huge old houses keep things interesting. We actually got stopped by the police for the first time a few minutes ago as I was writing. The cop seemed friendly enough, was interested in our van and gave us some travel tips for Ontario. I was surprised it took that long for us to get any curiosity from the police...but this certainly is the area to be pulled over as we have seen at least 10 ghost cars and regular police cars in the last couple of hours.

Tomorrow we will visit Toronto and if there's enough time in the same day, Niagara Falls as well.

Thunder Bay

We drove into Thunder Bay around dinner time and ended up staying for a few hours. We bought some pizza to bring back to the van and hung out in the busy parking lot while we ate. (And where Mike spilled juice all over the bed!) Afterwards, we took a drive around the historical town and spotted a walk way along the lake. We quickly found a parking spot and started our walk along the waterfront. The bay was still frozen but beyond the rock wall was not and even had a large boat floating along. There was also quite a few seagulls which would seemingly walk on the water way out in the bay. Here are a few photos from the bay...

We spent last night at a Tim Hortons in a small town just over an hour out of Thunder Bay. There were lots of truckers and gas stations there. Next, we are off to Wawa, the place where Winnie the Pooh called home then on to Sault Ste Marie where we will be spending the night.

Winnipeg to Dryden

New Blanket

 We spent just one night in Manitoba, in western Winnipeg. After much debate on which parking space we should take at the Walmart we finally agreed on a spot and settled in for the night. Here, we baked something in the oven for the very first time. It was a frozen pizza and took about twice as long to bake as it would in a regular oven but was worth the wait! I also spruced up the van with a new blanket.

 Even though there was construction going on behind us we still managed to sleep in until noon ensuring we were each well rested for another day of driving. After fueling up, getting groceries and buying more oil we were finally on our way!  The beginning of the drive was through the rest of Winnipeg, which had big city charm of old buildings and streets lined with trees.

Our first stop after Winnipeg was a small fishing town beside a lake in Ontario, called Kenora. By this time the landscape had become more rocky and full of trees and lakes which we gladly welcomed. All but one lake we saw today were completely frozen over, not something you see on the west coast!

Ontario!

Frozen Lake

We kept a sharp eye out for Moose but sadly, saw none. Lots of deer and a couple of vultures though and our first bald eagle since leaving BC. We continued along the scenic number 17 highway until about 9pm when we reached the city of Dryden and decided to stop for the night.

We are staying in a hotel tonight so have been taking advantage of the hot water, TV, internet and other hotel amenities. Tomorrow we plan on a stop in Thunder Bay and will continue on from there until we're ready for bed.

Manitoba

We made it to Manitoba!

Wynyard to Grenfell

We arrived in Wynyard about 8 last night to a warm welcome and hot dinner from Rose Marie and Bryan. We had a great stay there with our van plugged in again and our little heater doing its job. In the morning we woke up to an amazing array of breakfast foods and fruits so left with full bellies to start off another long day of driving and sight seeing. (Thank you again Rose Marie and Bryan!)

Us with Bryan and Rose Marie

Our first stop was Regina where we drove up the street where my Mum, Nana and Rose Marie used to live. We didn't know which house it was though so I ended up taking photos of just about every house on the street so Mum could point it out later...soon after we started the hour long drive to Moose Jaw to see the Moose Jaw Tunnels. Once there, we took a tour of the tunnels which Al Capone supposedly used to bootleg liquor. The tour included live actors, androids and a walk through the tunnels below busy Main Street.

Saskatchewan Scenery

From Moose Jaw we drove back to Regina where we stopped at a Michaels to pick up scrap booking supplies and while there Mike spied a Robins Donuts so we just had to go over and buy a half dozen donuts. They kept us company on our two hour drive to Grenfell where Mikes Papa was born and where we are now.

Donuts!

Unfortunately Grenfell is a small town that seems to close at 6pm and the next big city is about 5 hours away so we are sleeping here tonight. For some reason the secondary battery isn't working so we are using candlelight to get ready for bed while the snow quietly falls around us...yes it's one of those nights...

Saskatchewan

Aside from a little snow, our museum visit went well. We had no idea of the vast dinosaur history in Alberta before our visit to Drumheller. We spent 2-3 hours there as there was lots to look at and lots to read. Here are a few photos...(click to enlarge)

T-Rex

This turtle is over 40 million years old!

From the museum, we continued through the prairies on our way to Kindersley, Saskatchewan.

We arrived around 8 and met up with some friends, Kim, Patty and Steve for dinner. We ate at a chain restaurant called 'Humptys' which is similar to Smittys.

From left: Kim, Patty, Carmen, Mike and Steve.

Kim and Patty were kind enough to lend us their driveway and plug in for the night and we were also able to take showers in the morning. Thanks guys!

We left Kindersley late this morning and we are currently in Saskatoon to do some laundry before making our way to Wynyard.

Edmonton to Drumheller

This mornings visit to West Edmonton Mall was good, that is after we finally found some parking without a height restriction...We're pretty sure we only saw a small fraction of the mall but we saw tons of stores, a theme park with roller coasters, mini golf, sea lions, an ice rink and lots of restaurants and that was good enough for us! Surprisingly we didn't get lost...

West Edmonton Mall

From Edmonton we took a different highway south to Drumheller. In between we stopped at Camrose for gas and Stettler for Subway. I loved the scenery along this road; it was all farmland with old farmhouses, patches of snow, rolling hills, flooded fields and rickety fences.

Farmland

 

 

 Eventually we arrived in the Badlands and rolled into Drumheller where we will stay the night and have already had a chance to charge up the laptops, order photos from Walmart and have a tasty dinner. Tomorrow we will visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology and learn all about dinosaurs, after all we are in the so called "Dinosaur Capital of the World!"

Badlands

 

Alberta

So we are in Alberta now...it's cold, windy and rather plain looking. We spent the night in Edmonton and the night before in Golden. Golden, a small industrial town, was full of nice people and a good place to spend the night. From there we drove to Banff where we stopped for showers at a small (but nice!) campground then walked around town and did some shopping. We both loved the ski chalet style of homes, pedestrian friendly streets and not to mention the beautiful mountain views. We stopped at a candy shop, loaded up on all sorts of sweets and even found a $20 bill on the floor! After leaving Banff we continued on through the rockies until we reached the rolling hills of Alberta. We passed by Calgary and went through Red Deer to fuel up then continued on to Edmonton. Here, we will visit the West Edmonton Mall then head South to Drumheller to see some dinosaurs.

At the campground in banff

Fraser Canyon to Interior

Got off to a slow start today as we were out at the club late last night and after finally getting to bed we were awoken by a policeman in the middle of the night wondering if we saw or heard anything as the jewelry store we were parked near was broken into. Mike also wanted to change the oil pan gasket before leaving Kamloops so we found someone nice enough to lend us their driveway and jack stands for an hour so Mike could stop that pesky oil leak. Since then we've made it to Salmon Arm and have stopped for a cup of coffee at Tim Hortons. We originally wanted to drive to Banff today but since it's already 3pm we will just drive as far as we can and make the rest of the drive in the morning. No rain yet!

Some scenery from the drive to Kamloops yesterday

Day 1

The familiar drive to Harrison Hot Springs went well today with no surprises from the van and only two quick detours, one to Metropolis at Metrotown for some shopping and another to Chilliwack to pick up some supplies from Canadian Tire and coffee for Mike. We checked into our room around 5, got settled in, then ordered sushi from our favourite sushi restaurant, Yukiya, and finished the day off with a nice soak in the hot springs. Overall, today was a really great, relaxing start to our travels. We are both looking forward to the delicious buffet breakfast in the morning and of course another soak in the hot springs before packing up again for our short drive to Kamloops.