Cross Canada Trip Days 6, 7 and 8

Day 6: Calgary to Edmonton

8:46 am - So, they smoke in bars in Calgary but not on the patio & have confusing street names. What is up with that? We made our way to #### 16th Ave. SW (aka Andrew's apartment) to hang out with Sarah, Andrew and roommate Lenox & his friend Sherrie. After a disaster dinner where the drinks were oversized (& yummy), pizzas were burnt, salads were dry and Cam was left with 2 free pizzas, we headed back to the apartment for some Foosball. Luckily no one was pantsed as some things are best left under clothes. We then headed to a sketchy & smoky pub. The highlight being the car alarm set off by the car owner who was then unable to stop it. Now we are en route to Edmonton. Calgary was lots of fun & we shall return after a weekend in Edmonton. BTW: Don't visit the Timmy's in Airdrie - apparently 15-year-old boys are not the fastest at pouring coffee.

Day 7: Edmonton

7:13 pm - We have been in Edmonton for about 31 hours staying with my Uncle Bill and Marianne. They started us off with a light lunch and then walked us into the ground, leaving us to die along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. Clearly Brenda and I need to get in better shape. We had some free range chicken and veggie burgers for dinner and then got a tour of Edmonton's trendy district and Uncle Bill's office. We got home and Brenda and I promptly passed out a little after nine. We might be on holiday, but we definitely aren't partying like rock stars and the time zone change hasn't helped.

Bill, Cam, Marianne and Brenda on the banks
of the North Saskatchewan River.

Day 8: Edmonton to Calgary via Drumheller

7:58 am - We spent most of yesterday at the gigantic West Edmonton Mall. I will never again think of the Eaton Centre as a huge mall, it is seriously lacking in the waterslide department. We spent a couple of hours in WEM's waterpark and the rest of the day just wandering the mall. They also had two sea lions and a penguin, the only thing missing was a Lick's. In the evening we lounged around and watched Sweet Home Alabama (not my choice, but it was okay, Brenda really liked it). This morning we said our goodbyes and are back on the road south to Drumheller. We hope Loon enjoyed her rest.

Yarrr, this be Cam at the WEM.

8:24 am - Some notes on our trip to Edmonton: In Edmonton the bikers don't hang out in front of bars, they hang out in a Tim horton's parking lot and drink coffee. Which is especially strange given the difficulties we encountered at Timmy's on the way. Nervous 15-year-old boys as counterstaff, broken toasters, and a serve yourself Tim Horton's at a gas station that had no bagels. We encountered a number of strange intersections including one where three lanes could turn right on red and another where the two leftmost lanes had to make u-turns.

10:17 am - After a detour in the north end of Red Deer, we found a gas station, filled up, switched drivers and are once again on our way. I have mixed reviews of this province thus far. I liked the waterpark at WEM and the walk yesterday (actually 2 days ago and I should note my shins are still recovering) but I have yet to find a satisfactory Tim Horton's. Sure I have only been to 3 but seriously. Also, after leaving one today in Leduc the road magically - with no warning & no way off - became an on-ramp for the highway in the wrong direction. Grr. But the weather has been grrreat & I am excited for dinosaurs so I won't write Alberta just yet. Ok, I won't write it off at all -- it does have mountains after all.

4:09 pm - What a spectacular day. After a morning of driving we arrived in Drumheller - a town that has fully embraced their dinosaur history as demonstrated by the museum, the World's Largest Dinosaur & many other dinosaurs around town. We also managed to fit some Hoodoo viewing into our schedule. Now we are en route for another night in Calgary.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!

Brenda and an Alxasaurus.

Cam mocks a Dunkleosteus.

"Your wishes kill our fishes."

How do you do Hoodoo?

The View from Mount Tolmie

Slowly but surely we are getting the Canada trip stories up, but in the meantime we have been having some little adventures here. A couple of weekends ago we went for a walk up Mount Tolmie. This hill is actually just up the street from our house and it took less than an hour from our home to the top.

There were many tourists at the top, but they DROVE up. They are not cool like us.


The lovely Brenda is in the foreground with Victoria in the back. Downtown is to your right, and the mountains you see are in Washington.

Cross Canada Trip Days 4 and 5

Day 4: Winnipeg to Moose Jaw

8:43 am - Well, we spent the night at HoJo's in Winnipeg. We really wanted to take in the city and get a feel for the culture, so we drove thru downtown, checked into our hotel, checked out Shoppers Drug Mart & Subway, then... went to bed. Okay, so we only did things we could have done at home. Now we are back on the TransCanada Hwy and shockingly it is still flat and boring. But, we were able to check the odometer again. Don't tell Loon, but she is a touch off. Shhh. She is still dealing with the windshield crack. Oh and breaking news - there are hills in Manitoba. And if there isn't, then I am hallucinating.

9:35 am - I am not sure why, but we felt compelled to detour through downtown Brandon. As Manitoba's second largest city, it is still smaller than Chatham. Having not taken any pictures yet today we found a strange sculpture at the University and then were on our way. Also of note is that the only police we have seen in Manitoba were in the Tim Horton's drive through.

Brenda mounts the Explorer.

11:19 am - Saskatchewan greeted us with no fanfare, just roadwork. Both of us were disappointed with the lack of photo ops. Apparently Saskatchewan is not big on signage.

4:26 pm - We stopped at the Creekside Pub and Brewery for lunch in Regina. It was easily the best meal of the trip to date. I also had a strawberry flavoured beer which was pretty tasty.

Cam highly recommends the pizza.

4:26 pm - Bye bye Vagina, I mean Regina, Hello Moose Jaw.

4:29 pm - The Royal Saskatchewan Museum was a nice way to kill a couple of hours in Regina. They had some pretty cool dinosaur fossils. And you can't beat the price - admission is a voluntary $2 donation and parking is free. Brenda notes that it is curious that 2006 is their 100th anniversary and it did not seem to be celebrated in any way. Tourism out west could definitely use an Ontarian's touch; it's hard to find anything and they are missing all kinds of marketing opportunities.

Cam with a Big Bone.

Brenda, Whitney and Mac the Moose.

Day 5: Moose Jaw to Calgary

7:44 am - Well, Cam and I have been awake for hours now as it is almost 10am in Ontario. We might want to learn to adjust to the time change because I don't want to be up at 5am all the time.

Brenda ponders the moose.

9:19 am - It hadn't ever occurred to me but I guess Brenda and I have been spoiled by our less traditional families. I'm sure part of the reason we were up at 5 this morning is becuase we were sleeping on different floors. We got to spend some time with Elmo the dog whose Prozac prescription has clearly run out before we arrived. We had a pleasant visit the night before with Brenda's Uncle Bill and cousin Whitney. Whitney seems to have a good head on her shoulders and does a good job looking out for her Dad. Bill took us out for dinner to a place famous for pizza in Saskatchewan, of course, none of us ordered pizza.

9:53 am - The road is still straight and flat. It is still raining, are we following a slow moving weather pattern to the west, I don't know. We also have fog today, hooray for us! Since we hit northern Ontario service centres have been so few and far between that most of them don't even advertise the price of gas. I guess they figure we're stuck with them.

Welcome to Alberta?

1:42 pm - We are just on our way out of Medicine Hat. We stopped to fill up the Loonmobile and ourselves and also swung by a giant tepee. I am consistently amused by the towns that embrace something silly or just really big as their cultural identity. White River, Moose Jaw and Medicine Hat, I salute you.

Small Brenda, Big Tepee.

3:07 pm - For some reason we don't think of Alberta as a prairie province, but some of the driving stretches here are brutal, there aren't even any trees in some spots.

Go Flames Go / Flammable?

Big drinks at Moxie's, Calgary.

Cross Canada Trip Day 3

Day 3: Thunder Bay to Winnipeg

9:20 am - On the road again... Cam and I enjoyed our complimentary breakfast this morning. We even managed to score some spoons for our cereal. Yippee! Then it was off to Kakabeka Falls, which was excellent. Despite Cam wanting to risk his life for a photo op (he was not allowed to do so).

Cam at the Falls.

9:37 am - Cam says bye-bye to Hwy 11. We will miss you!!!

9:53 am - Having travelled nearly 1500km from home, we have now left the Great Lakes water system. From this point, water flows to the Arctic Ocean. Guess we really aren't home anymore.

9:10 am - That's right. See ya later Eastern Time Zone, hello Central Time Zone.

I give you... Central Standard Time!

10:23 am - Not much to see here. I guess this is why Jonathan said Northern Ontario is when he started hallucinating on his drive from BC.

10:51 am - Stopped for a picnic lunch (ie. huddled up in the car due to coldness) at a garbage dump, I mean scenic outlook, in Ignace.

12:38 pm - We stopped in Dryden for gas and coffee. Apparrently a population of 7700 can support a Walmart and we checked it out. As much as I am not a big fan of Walmart, we walked out with a pair of sweatpants, 12 pairs of socks, and 2 packs of gum for under $40, delaying our need to do laundry for a few days.

12:43 pm - Exiting Dryden we were hit by a sizeable pojectile that almost made it through the windshield. We have managed to avoid the rain today but the meteorites have taken their toll.

Crack of the Loon.

3:20 pm - Kenora was a lovely place. Cam fought off a giant yellow spider, only to learn it was friendly. They made up in the end. Got some grub from a Whistling Monkey before befriending another Kenora creature, the Loonie Bear. I am sure the people in Kenora are nice too.

Cam's new friend.

Brenda's new friend.

Lunch - Whistling Monkey Pub and Grill - Friendly service and good food greeted us at the Whistling Monkey. As well as an interesting quote from the monkey on a Keith's poster, "Don't sweat the petty, pet the sweaty."

Cam at The Whistling Monkey.

4:12 pm - Yippee! Manitoba! Hooray!

Hooray! We made it out of Ontario!

4:47 pm - The Loonmobile got a long overdue window washing at a random Shell station in Manitoba. The road, Hwy 1, is straight and flat. Brenda had a confusing encounter with a gas station attendant, welcome to Manitoba.

5:24 pm - We are on the most boring road ever. A few miles ago, Brenda wondered out loud why they didn't have more signs or something to look at on the highway. Well, guess what, we are now 4km into an odometer check. So far so good. Brenda hopes we get a gold star at the end because the Loonmobile is doing so well. I can't decide if Manitoba is the most boring province or the most ridiculous.

5:28 pm - Apparently we just passed the longitudinal centre of Canada. In Manitoba the excitement never ends.

Cross-Canada Trip Days 1 and 2

Brenda's Mom gave us a journal to keep track of our travels and we are going to share it with you. Brenda's voice will be this colour, and Cam's voice will be this colour.

Day1: Oro - Sault Ste. Marie

Brenda and Cam depart!

1:02 pm - After stopping for lunch in Sudbury we are back on the road, it has been raining for about 70% of the trip thus far. We are now on the 6th different hwy of the day (11, 12, 400, 69, 80 - detour for lunch, and now 17).

Cam and Brenda at Culpepper's in Sudbury.

3:01 pm - Stopped in Blind River so Brenda could pee at Information Centre. Cam got wet butt (unrelated to Brenda's pee).

Cam in White River.

Evening - Like a couple of degenerate gamblers we stumbled into a charity casino was still up. After a couple of wonderful trips to Rainbowland we left happy but light a potentially trip-crippling five dollars.

Day 2: Sault Ste. Marie - Thunder Bay

8:09 am - Had some beers and watched football (Pit vs. Jax) with Robbie. It was a superb game, with lots of hitting, despite the record breaking low score (0-9). Cam may be missing Bean but he did have Black Kitty x2, Tall Kitty, Black Dog and Swimming Fish to keep him company last night.

9:20 am - Stopped at a 'scenic lookout' on the shores of the Lake they call Gitche Gumee. It was cold and not particularly scenic. The waves were big though.

Cam at Lake Superior.

12:22 pm - Had the pleasure of visiting the hometown of Winnie the Pooh (aka. White River, ON). It is f-ing cold here, the A&W veggie burger was not edible, gas was expensive (101.9/L) and it will NOT stop raining! But other than that, White River seems nice. Winnie looked happy and waved to tourists and posed for pictures.

Brenda and Winnie in White River.

Cam wants honey too.

12:43 pm - We have officially covered our first 1000 km. Yippee!!! The momentous event occured just outside of White River.

Ontario 'Badlands'.

1:26 pm - We switched drivers at another 'scenic lookout' at the eastern edge of Marathon. All we saw were out of use ski runs, and it was freakin' cold.

2:38 pm - Another driver switch took place at Aguasabon Gorge. Much to our surprise, this scenic lookout actually was scenic, complete with falls, a gorge, trees and a lake. Oh, and an unfriendly woman in an Alaska sweatshirt.

Aguasabon River Gorge.

3:43 pm - Switched positions at a random stop halfway between Nipigon and Schreiber. The weather continues to be cold and rainy but we are enjoying each other's company.

More Lake Superior goodness.

4:05 pm - We stopped to fill up in Nipigon. After departing Hwy 11 in Orillia we once again find ourselves back on it more than 1000 km later. Even though we are in the middle of nowhere I can still say 'Hey, I grew up on this street!'

Later that afternoon - I was very excited to see the Terry Fox statue (so was Brenda). That guy kicked ass.

Terry Fox - We salute you.

8:13 pm - We are holed up in a pretty nice looking Best Western. It's been a pretty full day and our tummies are full with our favourite staple - Domino's. It's nice to be able to lie around and relax somewhere and not be on the go. Tomorrow we are going to check out some falls and head to Winnipeg.

The Adventure Starts Here!

Hello from Victoria, BC. We have been here a little more than a week and we are really enjoying things so far. We thought putting up a blog would be a fun and easy way to keep in touch with everyone back home (or wherever you might be).

To give you a little tast of what we've been up to, this morning we went for a hike in Goldstream Provincial Park.

This is Niagara Falls. No, really that's what it's called. At the summit of today's walk there was a railway tressel over top of Niagara Canyon. Here is the view from the top.

Check back soon, we plan on posting some stories and pictures from our journey out west in the coming days.