Nova Scotia to Oklahoma

November 12, 2010
I am really falling behind in posting this so I will condense it. Ran into sunshine somewhere between New York and Tennessee and spent more time outside.
We took the ferry from Digby NS to Saint John NB. And of course brought the rain with us, crossed the border at St.Stephen/Calais (St Stephen is the home of Gagnon Chocolates, but I resisted) Border crossing was fairly painless, they asked a lot of questions about why a Canuck was travelling with a Yank, and then after a stern warning, that I was only allowed to stay 6 months, took our tomatoes and let us go.
Fairly uneventful trip across Maine and New Hampshire (most of the leaves had been blown off the trees by Igor and Earl I guess) We stopped in Albany for a few days visiting with Jerry’s friends Charlie and Mary. They are great tour guides and had a list of things for us to do and even found a friend of theirs that was willing to let us park at his home for a few days. Thanks so much guys, we would have missed a lot if Charlie hadn’t done his homework first.
Then on to Virginia, where we met up with a cousin of Jerry’s that he hadn’t seen in 55 years. She did mention that he had changed some. Nice meeting you Leola and hope the next visit is sooner.
From Virginia it was on to Tennessee. Stayed three days at Raccoon Valley in Knoxville, First time we had nice warm weather in more than a month. Did not go to Dollywood...... but we did manage some geocaching. It was fun walking around tho, and listening to the music. At the visitors centre we were entertained by Claire Lynch in the afternoon and the lead singer from HackandSaw in the evening.
From Knoxville we went to Nashville, and of course had to visit the Grand Ol Opry House. The area was somewhat deserted, since the cleanup from the floods in May was still going on. Downtown Knoxville was busy as the Country Music Awards were only a couple days away and Tootsies was having a 50th birthday party at the Rhyman Theatre. Kris Kristopherson, Mel Tillis, Little Jimmy Dickens and Terry Clark were in town. It was fun walking around tho, and listening to the music.
Then on to Memphis....Spent the first day seeing the Rock and Soul Museum and wandering up and down Beale Street. The blues, soul and ruck culture is just steeped into all the buildings and clubs and you almost felt that BB King or Elvis could come strolling out of any door. Had to call my son from the Blues City Cafe in the middle of a Jerry Lee Lewis set (he didn’t sound suitably impressed,) Thought I raised him better than that. My grandson Cooter would have loved the place.
Next day we did a bus tour, around the city of Memphis, visited the spot where Martin Luther King was shot as well as other notable sites.
Had a catfish, turnip greens and hush puppy dinner in Tunica Mississippi at the Blue and White cafe. We wandered through the museum in Tunica. Very interestin g displays and free.
Then on to Oklahoma City. Guess you noticed we just breezed through Arkansas. Had dinner last night with an old friend of Jerry’s and her family. Very good meal and conversation. We have to get some repairs done on the bus, so stayed the night in the Freightliner yard.
The rain has caught up with us again. So after we are finished here it will be on to Texas. I think we are both ready to sit still for awhile and Yuma beckons.

On to Digby

The trees are starting to put on quite a show here in the Maritimes. We had frost a couple of times in Windsor and again in Digby. Mother Nature needs that spell of cold to really show off .
After leaving Gary and Pam, who escorted us to Kentville (maybe they wanted to make sure we really left? Just kidding guys, thanks again) we headed for Digby where the ferry leaves for Saint John. NB From Digby we will explore the Digby Neck, a peninsula that juts out of western Nova Scotia and Kejimkujik National Park.
The visitors welcome to Nova Scotia people here are great!!!! When we asked about open RV parks, they suggested we stay in their parking lot, plug into their power and water. We have the nicest site in town. The hills behind us are a blaze of colour, and we can watch the fishing boats head out every morning and come back in the evening.
Yesterday we toured Kejimkujik, Although a lot of the trails are closed (floating bridges have been put up for the winter) we got in a lot of walking. The dogs were able to run free as there were few people in the park. The day was sunny for the most part and the park beautiful.
Today the weather looks promising and we will explore the neck (A narrow slither of land named Digby Neck extends out from the mainland with joints of islands at it's tip, Briar and Long Islands, in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia ) It is about 70 km long and has 2 ferries to get to the islands at the end.

Back to Nova Scotia

October 22, 2010
Guess I have sort of slipped up on posting. After the Confederation Bridge episode my mind went blank, a senior thing I guess.
We are back in Nova Scotia, stopped at the Amherst “Welcome to Nova Scotia” place where we enquired about RV dumps and open RV sites. Nova Scotia has this silly law that prohibits overnight parking in anyplace but registered sites. Unfortunately by the first of October most of the RV places have had enough of tourists and closed their establishments. However the Welcome people assured us there were lots of places still open. I mean how welcome would we feel if they told us the truth? In case you haven’t figured it out, the Amherst people were not my favourites on this trip. I figure they were probably displaced Ontarioites. (Sorry Barb, there are some great people in Ontario )
The one RV place they said was closed, was sort of open, but no one around. We were able to get rid of the black water tho and headed into town. In spite of the “No overnight parking “signs we were able to park at Wal Mart overnight and then headed to Windsor the next morning.
In Windsor, we were invited to stay with friends we had met last winter in the desert. Pam and Gary are wonderful hosts and we were able to stay for about 10 – 12 days. Now I am a firm believer in the old saying “Fish and company are only fresh for 3 days” but, bless their hearts, they made us welcome for a lot longer. Thanks a lot guys.
While in Windsor we were able to take in the Maritime Fall Fair,and the Great Pumpkin Race, as well as explore some of the places familiar to me when I lived in Dartmouth in 1973-4.
The Pumpkin race had about 70 participants, in different formats, (The pumpkins were hollowed out, and became the boats that raced across 1/2mile of cold water) There were doubles (2 people to a pumpkin), singles, and motorized. I should mention that Windsor is famous for its huge pumpkins, we saw one at the fair that weighed 1109 lbs.
No visit to Nova Scotia would be complete without a visit to Peggy`s Cove. This is the spot featured in most of the post cards and tourist info. It is also the site of the Swissair disaster, It was a windy day but the scenery was great.
We also visited my cousin Rita, who has lived in Halifax for years. She and Garry have one of those fantastic old houses on Robie Street. It is 150 years old and they have done a magnificent job of renovating, keeping the old leaded windows and all. Should mention that Rita is an excellent cook and we had a great meal along with catching up on our families.

Cape Breton and PEI or How I conquered my fear of heights

October 5, 2010
Looks like I messed up on dates back therel Either that or slept through the entire month of Sept.
We are on PEI, After leaving the ferry at North Sydney we visited with the Queen (my ex sister in law Mary) in Sydney and then headed for Baddeck to tour part of Cape Breton Island.
Visited Louisbourg NS, a fort established in the 1700’s to protect the fishing industry from the British. I had visited this fort in 1973 and the changes were amazing. It is the largest reconstructed 18th century town in North America. The buildings have been reconstructed using the actual plans from the original dwellings. The workers in the fort are in period costumes and one has the feeling of wandering around an actual town in that time period.
The following day we decided to do the Cabot Trail a scenic drive around Cape Breton Island. It was raining again, so we missed some of the scenic views. It was a treat to have road signs in English and Gaelic rather than English and French. We made the best of the day by having a lobster dinner at Baddeck. Pricey but delicious.
A note about the campsite we stayed at: The manager advised us that she was definitely against overnight parking at Walmart and other sites. She actually uses some of her time off to scout out these places and inform the police that laws are being broken, and even goes so far as to drive around these RV’s playing music loudly in the middle of the night. Needless to say, we were not impressed and left the following day for Prince Edward Island.
We took the ferry from Caribou to PEI (it is free to visit the island, you pay when you leave) We had arranged to stay with friends of mine from the 70`s. It was so good to see them again, we had been communicating via the internet but hadn`t seen each other since 1979. They were great hosts, and we caught up sometimes with stories of my shenanigans back then, which I am sure Jerry didn`t know about. Ah well, we all have a past. The rain followed us again as we drove around the east cape but subsided when we visited the town I used to live in. I wandered down memory lane, while Jerry, bless his heart put up with my reminiscing. Found another lobster dinner at New Glasgow, much better than the NS dinner......unlimited steamed mussels, salads and dessert.
The fuel problems came back.....at the worst possible time..... We were just on to Confederation Bridge, a 13 km bridge over the gulf of St. Lawrence. Absolutely no stopping allowed. A two lane bridge that terrified me.....and the bus stalled. There is a 3 ft barrier on the side which we parked very close to and Jerry had to open one of the bays to blow out the obstruction. I had to get out and hold the bay door open. No time to check my blood pressure, believe me. It could have been a lot worse if it hadn’t been for Jerry knowing what to do. And we did actually get to walk on the bridge.
I was glad to get to the other side. I mentioned that it didn`t seem to be as long as I expected. Jerry said a couple of stops always seems to shorten the trip.

Bye Newfoundland, Hello Cape Breton

August 27, 2010
Went caching for the day on Saturday and Sunday, also drove to Margaree . After a long walk on the beach at Port aux Basques, stopped for supper at Pizza Delight. Food was ok service was terrible.
We noticed that all the restaurants we were in in NL were spotlessly clean, and in every one but the last service was great.
Lined up at ferry terminal ready to spend the night. After they took our potatoes (something about a quarantine on NL spuds) we parked and went to bed. About 1130 there was a knock on the door, and a fellow said they could get us on the next ferry, leaving at midnight. We got up again and loaded up. This ship was the Joseph and Clara Smallwood, quite a bit different from the Atlantic Vision. Not nearly as comfortable and no entertainment but TSN on TV and the Safety DVD. Tried to get some sleep, but it was so cold. Thought perhaps they were acclimatizing us in case we had to abandon ship.
Found the crew was not as friendly as the Vision either. Trip was a bit longer, about 7 hours. Looks like there is frost in Cape Breton, so should see some fall colours soon.
The dogs were sure glad to see us when the trip was over. So now we are on Cape Breton Island and will probably spend a couple of days before heading for PEI

Still on the Rock

Sept 26, 2010
We are in Port aux Basques Newfoundland again. Got here yesterday and planned on seeing something of Rose Blanche and then making reservations to return to Nova Scotia. We drove out to Rose Blanche and visited the lighthouse in the rain and wind and decided to cut out stay short and head for NS on the next night’s ferry. Stayed at a parking lot of a pub that had been closed for a year and went for dinner at the “Friendly Fisherman” (excellent food and good prices). There are not many level spots for parking in this area. I can see why they call this province the rock. Beautiful country though. I love it in the rain and wind, so if I was to see it in sunshine, I would likely never leave.
Next day headed back to Port aux Basques, to find the earliest ferry we could catch would be Monday morning. Have to say I was not too disappointed. Went geocaching for the day. This is a great province for geocaching. Every cache has a magnificent view thrown in for free. Stayed at the parking lot at the visitors centre. (All the campgrounds nearby are closed for the season)
Woke up this morning to glorious sunshine and no wind. Darn and we have to leave tomorrow.
Will probably do some geocaching again ( got 4 FTF’s yesterday) and then move down to the parking lot at the ferry terminal for the night.
Jerry has had to do some work on the levellers this morning again. Good that he is not battling wind and rain today. We are very lucky that he knows how to repair this rig, not only saves money, but repair places are scarce too.
By the way, we survived Hurricane Igor very well. Lots of wind and rain, but nothing like they had on the east side of the island. The trans Canada hiway was closed and some communities completely cut off. Over 8 inches of rain in one day.
Well tomorrow we leave I guess, and should be in PEI on Tuesday.

Victory over da feet

Today was the day that Jerry tried to get rid of me. We started out by saying we would take it easy. Picture this 67 year old lady with COPD and Rheumatoid Arthritis, with a bad knee on one side and an ingrown toenail on the other.
The first cache was a half mile hike, straight up hill through a bog. Up hill the breathing was the problem, downhill it was the knee and the toenail hitting the end of my boot. The last cache was up hill again for about a half mile. And we did three others. As you can imagine, I am typing with both feet propped up on the dash board, and no intentions of cooking supper tonight. Even the dogs are tired.
The views were fantastic however, See the pics.

Gross Morne and the Vikings

September 20, 2010
It has been an interesting week or so, Stuck in Cornerbrook for 5 days while we wait to see what is the matter with the rig. Geocaching again on Sunday. Monday was laundry day and Tues finish up the rig. And get on our way. It was not a waste of time though, since we ran into our geocaching hosts again on Sunday and other great people. I have to say, Newfies sure live up to the reputation of the friendliest people. And they are so genuine, what a great experience. Managed to get a feed of cod tongues in Cornerbrook. Jerry passed on that delicacy’
One thing he did note, was that it was nice to be around people that spoke English again, Sort of.....
Wednesday we left Cornerbrook for Deer Lake. First time we were able to get propane . Auto propane is not a big item here, and the price is pretty steep 1.49 a litre. Gee, guess we will have to eat out more.
Thursday we drove up to Trout River, a little fishing village near Gross Morne Park. Beautiful drive, stopped and talked to some fishermen who had just come in, managed to buy some fresh cod $4.00 a pound. (that is pound, fellow Canadians, All of Nfld has not gone metric) What a treat. Noticed that when they clean and fillet the cod, they have a pan for the cod tongues and cheeks that they save for themselves.
Did some more geocaching, These guys do not make it easy, almost every one is a climb. See pic of the Old Man. (Not Jerry, the rock stack)
Friday we headed for Rocky Harbour, where the Anchors Aweigh Pub is and the band does a great job of Newfie music and comedy. Laughed for three solid hours. Ran into some people that we had met on the ferry and shared a table and lots of stories with them. The sunset picture is from the veranda of the Rocky Harbour Pub.
We did do some geocaching at Rocky Harbour as well, and spent most of the day driving around Gross Morne. Some fantastic views. This is a very beautiful province, and I am very glad we came here. So far we have spent more time in Nfld than any other province, and plan to spend a few more days. We have not left western Nfld, and probably won’t go over to St Johns and the Avalon peninsula.
Saturday we got to L’Anse aux Meadows, where the Vikings landed in about 1000 AD. We did a lot of geocaching in the morning, then had lunch at the Norseman Restaurant, very good seafood chowder. The geocaching was pretty demanding with long up hill hikes. Later went for dinner at Northern Delight and had a plate of mussels and then the seafood platter. Got home that night with very sore feet.

Newfoundland Here we are!

Sept 11, 2010
Well “Earl” blew us through New Brunswick, we stopped at Woodstock overnight and did some sightseeing, It was very hot. Saw the world’s longest covered bridge at Hartland but forgot my camera.
Moved on the next day to Fredericton, and Earl brought the rain in buckets, when it slowed down we realized the Walmart lot we were in did not accept overnight parking. Since we will be coming back this way before we head for the US we decided to go on to Moncton and head for Amherst where we would meet up with John and Dianne.
Had a couple of great days near Amherst. Stayed at the property of Melanie and Charlie Atherton, very nice couple, with lots of information. Had a nice Happy Hour with them and friends of theirs.
It was great to spend time with John and Dianne, (it was their idea to do the Cross Canada trip, and this was the first time we saw them, had to cross 4 time zones to do so.
We did a tour of a “working grist mill” at Balmoral, where a very knowledgeable lady showed us how oats were turned into Scotish Oatmeal, and flour was ground. The method was the same as the one used in 1874, in fact the wooden cogs and stones from that date were still on the property. From there we went to Denmark to see the Sutherland Steam Mill Museum. Again a tour guide, who really knew her stuff took us through. I have to say that Nova Scotia does a good job of training their museum staff.
The next day we had to say goodbye to Dianne and John and Melanie and Charlie, Melanie made sure we left with a sampling of her garden. Great people, hope to see them again.
Sept 8 was our day for the Newfoundland Ferry, so we headed up to North Sydney to spend the night at the ferry terminal. Got in touch with some ex family members that I hadn’t seen since 1974..will see them when we get back from the rock.
Sailed on the Atlantic Vision, the newest ferry in the Marine Atlantic fleet. Very nice ship, the sailing was calm and we had live Newfie entertainment . BC Ferries could take lessons on food preparation and hospitality from these people.
Afterr landing at Port Aux Basques, we hooked up the tracker again (Jerry and I drove on the ferry separately and had to meet up later,) We drove on to Stephenville and spent the night at a Walmart lot.
Following day we drove around the “French Ancestry” trail, it was very windy, with gusts up to 120 km, I managed a few pics, the scenery was great, but had to hang on to things to keep from being blown off the cliffs.
Ran into problems with the brakes on the Tracker and arranged to have them looked at in Cornerbrook the next day. That morning we also ran into problems with the Bus and had to take it to a repair shop. Since it was afternoon Friday before we could get it to the shop there wasn’t time to find out what the problem was, so we ended up camped in the repair shop yard until Monday at least. Went to the Mamateek Inn and had cod tongues for supper. Very good.
Well, with nothing to do but wait for Monday, we decided to look up some geo caches and discovered that Corner Brook was holding a Geo Cache Event on Saturday. It was grey and miserable looking outside, so we decided to check it out. Met some really great people who were organizing their first event ever. There was a full day of caching, with a barbecue late afternoon. We found about 7 of the 30 caches before we got so wet we had to quit. But Newfies are made of sterner stuff and many of them came back with all 30 found. They were quite happy to have folks from as far away as Alaska join them, and we had a great time. Have to say that was one of the best caches I have logged so far.
Well tomorrow is Sunday, and maybe some sunshine will come our way.

Ottawa and Quebec City

September 2, 2010
Left the falls early and headed for fuel stop in St. Catherines, small problem with fuel , so Jerry decided to get it checked out at the Freightliner place. After changing filters ( I think that is what happened, but the exact scenario is probably different, me being mechanically challenged) Stayed at a Walmart lot in a seedy part of town, woke up the following morning to find the front wheel of my bike gone. (Some watch dogs we are feeding, Going to have to do a training session I guess) When I arrived at the “Townie” dealer, was told that mine was the third “townie” to be stolen that morning. I asked the guy if he was paying people to target that particular bike.
On to Ottawa, where we would be connecting with my daughter Kim again. Arrived early, about 1 pm and pulled in to a Walmart, thinking that parking in such a tourist area may be a problem. The manager of the store basically said “Stay as long as you want, but please not a month” So we parked for two nights. It was close enough to be able to get into town easily.
Driving around Ottawa, I discovered a patriotic side of me, All of a sudden I felt “Canadian” and proud to be one. Of course that meant that poor Jerry had to be dragged around the parliament buildings several times, (inside and out). A light show at night was well worth seeing (from my point of view) and the visit with Kim was great too. The following day we toured the parliament buildings (inside) and then visited the Museum of Civilization, across the river in Gatineau, Quebec. The displays at the museum were excellent, One of the highlights for me was the display of opening of Northern Canada, where a replica of the Wildcat Cafe, from Yellowknife was. It was here that my parents met back in 1940 or 41.
From Ottawa we headed for Quebec, intending to bypass Montreal. As it happened we went almost through the centre, but on freeways so it went fairly quickly. Of course in Montreal, there are allowed no English signs, everything is in French. Now I haven’t had to use French since 1967, so what was rusty then, was almost non existent. Surprisingly some stuff came back.
We camped at Un air d’ete at Pont Rouge, about ½ hour from Quebec City. Using Passport America, it only cost $14 per night for full hookup. It has a swimming pool, which was very handy, since the temperature hovered around 90F and was humid. Almost unbearable. The dogs are very lethargic as well.
We did a bus tour around the City on Tuesday, Old Quebec is a walled city, established in 1608, and has been very well maintained. The city is lovely, and reminds one of France, with outdoor cafes and narrow streets. The blocks of buildings are all joined together and usually made of stone or brick. In the old city, all of the workers are bilingual, which is very handy. Last night we went back to the city for dinner and a free outdoor concert by “Cirque de Soleil” Quebec is their home city, and they give free performances throughout the summer. The costumes and the performances were amazing, but standing for 60 min for the performance, plus ½ hour before was a long time.
Today we head for New Brunswick, hoping to dodge Hurricane Earl who is threatening the provinces of Nova Scotia and PEI. We have reservations in Amherst NS for the weekend, but we may have to hunker down before then in NB.

Southern Ontario and Niagra Falls

August 26, 2010
Set out for Thornton Ontario, where a friend of ours Barb Cormack lives. Barb had to cut her RV trip in the US short when she became ill on the west coast. It was hard to see her in a lot of pain, when just this spring she was so “gung ho “ about her trip. Hopefully she will soon be on the path to better health and be able to resume the RV lifestyle again.
From Thornton we headed for the Niagara region. This involved some heavy traffic in the Toronto area and large freeways again. Garmin brought us though all the traffic changes again and we pulled into Riverside RV Park ($45 bucks a night) early afternoon.
The area around Niagara is beautiful and kept spotlessly clean. There are a lot of tourists however, and prices are high. (Small dish of frozen yoghurt $5.00 and coffee $2.49) There are several tourist information sites, but getting information on what attractions are about is a challenge. We were sold an Adventure pass for $42 each that would give us 4 of the biggest tours. This included a two day bus pass on the People Mover, that ran up and down the Niagara Parkway all day long. Distance is about 20 km, so a little beyond my walking capabilities. We had no idea what we could expect from each “adventure”. Except for “Maid of the Mist” which is highly advertised. This is a boat tour that goes right to the foot of both the American Falls and the Canadian Falls,, What I didn’t count on was that there were really long lines while they crowded about 500 people on the two decks. Felt a bit like a sardine, and although I was lucky enough to find standing room by the rail, most people were in the middle of the deck with their cameras at arms length over their heads clicking pictures. The actual boat ride is less than ½ hour, getting to the boat and getting off again consumed about an hour.
The Niagara Fury, was a 4D theatre experience. While we knew that it was going to be a movie type thing, we wondered why they issued rain ponchos. We soon found out though, when experiencing the calving of glaciers ice cold water was splashed on us. I got wetter at this venue than I did on Maid of the Mist. But it was well done although very short 15 minutes. (I guess the water was the 4th dimension.)
The 3rd adventure was the Journey behind the falls. In this one you stood in line much like a cattle feed lot back and forth until you entered an elevator that took you down about 150 ft to tunnels that travel 1/3 of the distance behind the falls. There is an observation platform just at the edge of the falls (see picture) and then you travel on and on and on through a drippy tunnel surrounded by people in yellow ponchos, that leads you to the last portal and you will see from the picture the magnificent view that awaits. (I got wetter watching the movie) Then you trek back though the same tunnel, same line up to catch the elevator to the top. On our way back, a couple stopped and asked if the trip was worth it. Jerry told them if it meant missing Happy Hour, they should see about getting their money back. I now know why they do not give much information on this “adventure”. If they did no one would pay that money.
Don’t get me wrong, Niagara Falls is magnificent, and the area is beautiful. The major drawback is the sense that getting into your wallet is the main event for the operators.
Last night we went into town for dinner. Luckily we talked to a staff member who told us how to obtain free parking on Clifton Road (this is where the big ferris wheel, and all the other paid attractions are, parking is normally $20.00 most places , and here was $12 unless you knew the secret phrase (Boston Pizza). We had a good dinner and then walked down to the water again where fireworks were happening (10:00 oclock in the evening) At night the falls are lit up as well, and very pretty.
Today we will head into the big smoke (Toronto) and then north to Ottawa. We will be stopping for a bit in Mississaugua and then hope to avoid most of Toronto.

Northern Ontario

August 22, 2010
On to Kenora and Lake of the Woods area. Sure is different landscape from the prairies. Very scenic with rock and trees, and several lakes and rivers along the route. Still windy and rainy however. A quick stop at Kenora for lunch and then back on the road again. It is a long drive around Lake Superior. Stopped the first night at Ignace. There is a tavern there with a special on wings on Wednesdays , After talking to the owner, who is also the town’s mayor, we were told we could park right in the lot of the tavern. Suited us just fine and the requisite railroad was right across the street. Next morning up and on the way again to Thunder Bay.After searching for a Rogers Centre (my cell phone carrier) and Flying J, which no one had heard of we stopped for lunch at Walmart and got info on my phone at Future Shop. Then we hit the road again and made another stop at Nipigon. Noticed a sign at the tourist info centre, advertising a pickerel fish fry. It was getting close to supper time so we decided to stop. (I noticed later that a fellow dressed up as a moose, and a very pretty young girl were on the highway waving, could be that had something to do with the sudden turn of the wheel?)
Later we talked to these two characters( turned out they worked at the info centre) and were told we were welcome to park the motor home for the night and use the centre’s wi-fi as well.
There are several rest areas along this route, but very difficult to see if there is room for a large rig to turn around. One we stopped at, Rainbow Falls, was very clearly posted “no overnight parking” beautiful spot would have been a nice overnight place. (See pic)
Next stop was Sault Ste Marie where we pulled into a Walmart, but were told that there was no overnight parking allowed. A town ordinance resulted in some RV’s being ticketed and fined $50. Next door was Home Depot, who said “Come on over”. The Sault is a very interesting place, being the last locks on the St Lawrence Seaway. We walked down to the lock on the Canadian side, and could see the American locks as well. There is also a long bridge connecting the two countries at this point. The whole waterfront is accessible via a boardwalk, which we walked and then on to the Bushplane Museum. By this time my feet were pretty tired and we started watching for city busses to help us back to the rig. Stopped for lunch on Queen Street and watched the rain start again. Back onto the street and the long hike back (no bus came along) (I have a few extra blisters, and a good excuse to use the tracker for the next couple of days.)
Around 4 pm we decided to drive on in the rain and headed for Sudbury. Now that is an interesting city to get around in. We had decided both GPS units must be on the fritz, by the time we circled 2/3 of the city before arriving at Wal Mart. (Perhaps Garmin has shares in the Nickel Smelters?) The following morning we realized that either every street sign was removed during the night, or the town ran out of budget when it came time to make them. Garmin and Magellan prevailed however and we did get back on the road again. Next stop was Owen Sound, where live two of the cutest guys in the world. Nathan and Jacob are two of my great grandchildren that I got to visit for the first time.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba

August 15, 2010
On to Saskatchewan, stopped at Kindersley, The Kindersley Plains Museum was closed when we arrived, but since there were no signs stating that parking was not allowed, we pulled in next to a picnic table and had supper. No one came along to kick us out, and the requisite train was across the highway, so we stayed for the night. Next morning we went through the museum, an excellent display of early farming and equipment. The school house reminded me of the one room school I attended. When we checked about camping overnight, the staff at the museum seemed to think there was no problem.
On to Saskatoon then, and we had read about “free camping” at the John Arcand Fiddle Fest which started Aug 12th, the day we arrived, so we drove out to the farm it was being held at. Turned out the camping was free, but admission was $20 per person, per day or $50 per person for the 4 days. We didn’t know what to expect so opted for the $20 option. The music was fantastic, and some real quality fiddle and guitar players. (including the chap that wrote the fiddle music for the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics) The second day was the Metis 100th anniversary and featured Metis musicians, also very good music.
While in Saskatoon we visited the Western Development Museum. Best display of old Agricultural Equipment we have seen so far, also gave a good display of the migration to Western Canada from 1800’s to present time. Wonderful old cars and railroad section too.
The rain came too though, and since we were parked in the middle of a farmers field with about 150 other RV’s we worried about getting out of there, especially when one fellow had to be pulled out by tractor. We did make it however (not that I was a lot of help, got the Tracker stuck).
We started driving on, and it rained harder and the wind blew, and the first thing we knew we were in Manitoba (Strong winds out here)
We stayed overnight at Brandon Manitoba, another Walmart lot. We do not recommend the local Montana’s Cookhouse there.
Next morning on to Winnipeg and the first paid parking so far. We are camped at a nice spot, at Ile de Chein (check the SKP book) about 15 minutes from town. Good spot to clean up and do laundry. The first day we visited the Mennonite Village at Steinbeck, it was raining so hard that we had the place to ourselves. (Come Hell or High Water, we are going to find out about Canadian History on this trip)
My daughter Kim flew into town for a Health Canada Certification meeting she was speaking at, so we did get a chance to introduce one of my kids to Jerry.
We spent the first day exploring the Forks Market, and Kildonan Park, then met Kim at her hotel in Ft Garry.
The following day we stopped at the New Flyer Bus Industries and Jerry was able to touch base with people he had dealt with while he was at Capital Transit in Juneau.
Later we met up with my cousin Phillip McLennan (whom I had never met before) and had lunch with Kim before her presentation. We then went to visit my Aunt Barb, whom I had last seen in 1974. Caught up on a lot of family history (including a few skeletons in the closet). Very nice visit.
Now we are back at the rig and doing the last of the laundry before we take off for Ontario tomorrow.