Back To Canada - Toronto - Day 1

After saying some tearful goodbyes and promising to get back together soon, we left Damon , Kim and the kids to head back toward our adventure in crossing Canada. We decided to cross the border at Sarnia which is by Flint, Michigan. The crossing took a while as there was quite a bit of traffic and we were singled out to be “inspected”. They requested that we pull the truck and trailer over to an inspection station and then asked that we open all the enclosures on the truck and trailer. After about five minutes, we were cleared, told to go into Immigration and have them clear our passports and then we were on our way. Seems like crossing the border on the east side of Canada is a bit more trouble than we have ever experienced in crossing on the west side.

Our first stop was at a campground in Toronto, Ontario, called the Indian Line Campground. It is run by a conservation group and appears to have most of the trailer residents residing long term while they work in Toronto. There didn’t appear to be a lot of travelers and what we did see had Ontario plates. Anyway, we decided to stay for three days so we could put Ontario on our map and get to see several of the sights that we were interested in. Toronto is a multi cultural hub. You can take a long, lazy walk with your pet in downtown parks, have a leisurely brunch on flower-filled patios and lively dinners in world class eateries. The Toronto Transit Commission makes Toronto easy to see, using subways, buses and streetcars. We walked across the street from the campground and caught the bus which was like a greyline coach, and rode the 12 miles down to the subway station. The cost was $4.50 per person per way. Once we arrived at the subway, we bought a $9.00 ticket which allowed both of us to ride the subways as many times as we wanted during one day (this is only good on weekends and holidays). You can get to most of the sights by taking the subway.

Our first stop was in downtown at Union Station (seems like every city has one). We decided to walk down to the World’s only Hockey Hall of Fame. It is home to the Stanley Cup and has something for everyone: state of the art games, interactive exhibits, larger-than-life statues, a replica dressing room and rink zone, and hockey’s most precious artifacts. I only recognized a few of the names, not being a huge hockey fan.
We got a first hand look at Gordie Howe’s skates that he had worn during the final few years as a member of the Detroit Red Wings, ending in 1971. He retired as the NHL’s all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points, but would return two years later in the WHA and play seven seasons with his sons, including one final year in the NHL with Hartford at the age of 52.

We also learned about Mario Lemeaux who was one of the most dominant offensive forces in NHL history. He amassed 613 goals, 1,494 points while lifting the Pittsburg Penguins from the NHL basement to consecutive Stanley Cup wins in 1991 and 1992.

And, of course, we can’t talk about hockey without mentioning Wayne Gretzky whose 20 year NHL career ended with his name attached to 61 individual records. After four Stanley Cups with the Oilers, he was traded to Los Angeles, generating tremendous growth of hockey in the U.S. On January 29, 1998, Wayne Gretzky received perhaps the greatest achievement of his life as he was presented with the Order of Canada medallion from Canada’s Governor General, Romeo LeBlanc.
George and I got to touch the Stanley Cup and admire its beauty. The original Stanley Cup was given by Lord Stanley on March 18, 1892. His aide purchased the gold lined silver bowl for less than $50.00. Once it was decided to engrave the names of all the team members of a winning team on the trophy, the looks changed from a bowl to the present day look with the stand attached to the bowl. Originally, a new band was added to the bottom of the trophy each year, but now, the top band in removed and placed in the museum and each remaining band is moved up to allow for the current year’s winner to be placed on the trophy.

After spending several hours in the museum, we decided to walk the city a bit and strode over to the St. Lawrence Market Complex, located at the heart of historic Old Town Tornonto. It has been Toronto’s Market Place for over 200 years. Vendors bring in every type of food, in-season vegetables and fruits, homemade bakery items, and all types of meats. Outside tents are set up to sell one-of-a-kind jewelry, clothes, leather, etc. You can find all kinds of unusual items here.

The Distillery District is a national historic site and is widely regarded as Canada’s centre for Arts, Culture, and Entertainment. Once the largest Distillery in the world, it was built in 1837 to convert surplus grain from an 1832 gristmill into whiskey. It now holds, critically acclaimed restaurants, internationally accredited art galleries and local boutique shops.

By this time, we had walked several miles and decided we’d make one more walk down Front Street and over to the CN Tower before calling it a day. The CN Tower is the tall sphere looking thing in the middle of this picture and was originally only going to be an antenna, built to solve the telecommunications problems of a rapidly growing city. From this height broadcasters could send their unobstructed signals to just about every where in the region. It wasn’t til late in the building process, that the designers decided to turn the CN Tower into a tourist attraction. Over 2 million people visit the tower each year. In 1995, it was classified as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Engineers. To the very top of the skypod, is 147 stories or 1,465 feet. The Lookout area is 1,136 feet from the street and the “Glass Floor” is 1,122 feet. The total weight of the tower is 130,000 tons.

The Glass Floor was first opened on June 26, 1994. It gives you a very erie feeling to walk on glass at 1,122 feet in the air with nothing but tiny objects far below your feet. George and I both took a turn walking and sitting on it and decided we preferred concrete though the reinforced area for the glass floor is comprised of 256 square feet of solid glass – five times stronger than the required weight bearing standard for commercial floors. It is able to withstand the weight of 14 large hippos!! (Guess we're safe after all).

Lightning strikes the tower on the average of 75 times per year. Long copper strips running down the tower feed into massive grounding rods buried below ground level to ensure the strike safely finds its way to the ground. And believe me, the ground is a long way down as you can tell from this picture taken from the observation deck. Well, it looks like we’ve had enough for one day, so we trudged back to Union Station and caught the subway back to the bus station. Tomorrow is another day and we have some interesting things scheduled, so check back when you have a moment and see what else we’ve found here in Toronto.

Back to the States and Family!

Once we crossed the border we spent a couple of nights in Cook, Minnesota. We had planned on spending only one night but then decided to take McKenzie to the Vet since she was still suffering from diahrrea. There was a small hotel off the main road who also had a RV park with hookups. We had asked if we could stay overnight without hooking up and they agreed. It was plenty cool and we didn't need electricity other than what could be generated by our solar. The next morning I asked them for a reference for a vet and they gave us directions to the nearest vet who was about 4 miles away. Since McKenzie had this several years ago, we knew that a prescription of Flagyl pretty well took care of her problem, so after a brief examination, the vet gave us some Flagyl and some additional heart worm medicine to hold us til we got back to Texas, and we were off. McKenzie did well and was feeling good within a couple of days. We pulled into the Kankakee State Park, in Bourbonnais, Illinois on Thursday, got a site and set up for the next thirteen days. We wanted to be here for our son's 40th birthday on July 4th.

We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Damon, Kim and the grandkids, Debra and Drew. Debra had gotten a new camera and wanted to hike to the Indian Caves to take pictures. We took a day when Damon and Kim had to work and did just that. It has been way too many years since I had been out to the Caves, but we found them and then decided to hike all the way back to the back. The water was a bit high so there were lovely water falls. The water was cold but everyone enjoyed sloshing back thru the water and climbing on the rocks to get back up to the highest caves. In Drew's words, "It was awesome!!!" By the time we hiked back to the truck, we were hungry so we went to another old haunting place of mine from when I was a kid - Janicke's Hot Dogs. They have pork tenderloin sandwiches to die for and A&W root beer! What more could you ask for? When we got home, everyone was pooped out!

The kids came to visit us at the trailer for a day and night. We stopped at my favorite pizza parlor and had dinner. Then we headed out to the state park and set out on a mission to find enough wood to make a fire so we could have smores! George and I had already confiscated some left over wood so all we needed were little pieces. Once we drug everything back to the campsite, Debra started the fire. She does a teriffic job of making campfires and we thoroughly enjoyed both the smores and the campfire! The next morning, George dropped us off at the main entrance to the park and while he went to the grocery store, the kids and I took a hike back to the campground, once more giving Debra lots of possible photography shots. She's thinking of entering several of her photographs, poems, and other sculptures that she has made in the annual Fair this year. Debra and Drew helped me make some chocolate chip cookies while Grandpa cooked hamburgers and hotdogs. Kim and Damon came out for lunch and we had quite a feast.

I made a cake for Damon's birthday and Kim made spaghetti and salad, so we had quite a meal to celebrate. Since he was born on 4th of July,we thought it would be appropriate that he had sparkler candles on his cake. He did an excellent job of blowing them all out, several times, before extinguishing the flames.

We had been saving some "bubbly" for a very special occasion and this seemed like the time to break it open!

The dogs all got along pretty well on this trip. We had groomed McKenzie so she was wearing her pink and black dress so she wouldn't get sunburned. I think she must have thought that this "magic cape" gave her some kind of supernatural powers because she suddenly started standing up to Scout and when he gave her the "evil eye" she just pounced on him! Of course, we had to interfere because she didn't realize that he was probably three times as big as she was and could do some serious damage if he decided to get even. Lucy just sat by and took it all in. Though she is a terrier too like McKenzie, she knows that she rules the household so there was no reason to enter into the raucaus.

All in all, we had a very good visit. We all played Wii games, board games, and watched some of the Blue Ray disc movies. Kim served us some great dinners and we enjoyed visiting with everyone. Seems like the kids have grown at least 4 inches every time we see them.

On Wednesday, we will head back up to Ontario, Canada for our two month visit to the maritime provinces. We'd like to spend a few days at Ottowa, Montreal, and Quebec before getting over to the maritimes. We have surely enjoyed getting to see Damon, Kim and the grandkids though and will be looking forward to the next time we all can get together somewhere.

As we get a chance, we will update this blog. Not sure what to expect in the way of WiFi but we'll do the best we can to keep you updated of the things we are seeing and doing. We love and miss all of you! Hugs from us to you!!!!

Canada Part Four - Winnepeg

We stayed at a lovely Passport Ameria park about 10-15 miles outside Winnepeg. We were told by the proprietors that the streets of Winnepeg were wide enough for our truck and that they had plenty of parking space. They suggested we might like to see "The Forks" area and then leave our truck there and take a city bus into the actual downtown to view the inner city. Sounded like a plan to us - so off we went. The first place we went to was the Forks Market. You are liable to find anything and everything there!! They offer alll types of fresh and specialty foods plus more than 50 other shops. It is housed in a fun building that was originally a horse stable.

The Forks Market is located inside "The Forks" which is a lovely expanse of riverside property in the heart of downtown Winnepeg. It offers a kaleidoscope of activities, concerts and festivals throughout the year. The 9 acre riverside park looks across the Red River to historic St. Boniface and is dedicated to preserving and presenting the 6,000 years of pre-historic and historic significance of The Forks as the birthplace of western Canada.

It seems like they are having at least one festival there every weekend and this one was no exception with one that celebrated the National Aborignal Day. Thousands of Canadians from across the country came to enjoy the unique heritage, cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples.

On our free bus trip through the downtown area of Winnepeg, we noticed the Legislative Building which was completed in 1920 and features a grand staircase with matching bison statues and the famous Golden Boy statue atop this grand structure.

The second day of our stay found us going to Assiniboine Park. Again, there was no problem with parking our big truck and we spent the whole day walking around and looking at the park. which comprises 378 acres on the Assiniboine River. The park features a zoo, minature railway, duck pond, Winnie-the-bear statue, walking and biking paths, a conservatory, the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and a Tudor-style pavilion that is home to the Tavern in the Park Restaurant, Pavilion Gallery Museum and the Lyric Theatre. The Mayors Grove, Citizens Hall of Fame, a French formal garden and English Garden are among the many pleasing sites. We decided that this was to be a McKenzie Day, so we took her with us. The first thing we found was a Dog Walkathon, called Paws in Motion, that included hundreds of dogs and their owners walking thru the park to raise money for the Winnepeg Humane Society. It was such fun and McKenzie joined right in and marched over the "Finish Line". Tents were set up selling everything a dog could ever want - clothes, food, pet care, etc. No, McKenzie did not get any more clothes! Only because we couldn't find the right size raincoat for her! She's probably going to need one before we get to the Maritime Provinces but so far we've had no luck finding just what will fit her. They also provided pools for the dogs to climb in to cool off. McKenzie said they looked too dirty to her and she wanted no part of getting her tootsies wet! Fortunately the day was pretty cool - high 70's.

We headed over to the Conservatory at the park, which offers ten different displays a year in the Floral Display Gallery. The Palm House exhibits a tropical jungle with mature tropical trees and there were beautiful orchids growing in a lush landscape in there. It was small but they had done an excellent job and the atmosphere was very calming and relaxing. Speaking of relaxing, we decided to just spread out a blanket on the grass and watch some of the sites. A summer band named "The Millenium" was giving a concert so we just sat back and relaxed.

There was a cricket match going on and numerous people walking and skating. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this lady as she had the best of both worlds - skis with wheels! What a workout! Nancy, don't get any ideas!!!! We went back to the campground feeling refreshed and rested and ready to tackle the rest of our trip. We headed across the border at International Falls and will be driving to Illinois to visit with our son and his family. July 4th is Damon's birthday and we want to share it with him and his family this year. We don't recommend crossing at this border crossing unless you have to. It is very disjointed and would be a mess when a lot of vehicles are trying to cross both ways. The streets were being worked on and the detour signs left a lot to be desired. In fact, we thought we had ended up at the boat docks instead of the border crossing. They had one of the agriculture officers come out to talk to us to let us know what types of things we could bring from Canada into the U.S. Fortunately, we didn't have any of the banned items so after a quick look thru our refrigerator, we were released to head on into Minnesota. We have always crossed the border from the western crossings so it will be interesting to see what the future holds with crossing on the eastern side. After a two week visit with Damon, Kim and the kids, we'll head back up to Canada to hit the eastern and maritime provinces. I may not be able to publish the blog that regularly once we get into the Maritimes, but I'll do the best I can do and publish as soon as possible. Meanwhile, watch for the next blog to see where we head from here.

Canada Part Three - The Saskatchewan Prairies

Heading west on the Transcanada Highway, we noticed the change in the terrain. We are now in the prairies of Canada! How beautiful this was also. You could see for miles and miles across the vast plains. Saskatchewan covers 651,900 square kilometres - more than a quarter million square miles. Half the province is covered by forest, one-third is farmland and one-eighth is fresh water. On the way to visit another set of friends from the desert, we stopped a few minutes at Moose Jaw and got out to stretch our legs a bit. Mac the Moose, the official mascot for Moose Jaw, greeted us. Mac had fallen on some hard times. A large section of his jaw fell off in April, 2007. Fund raising efforts began at once and in 2008, Mac was restored to his former grandeur. At 32 feet tall, he is the World's Largest Moose. However, McKenzie was more intrigued with the gophers that were running all over the place than she was with the giant moose statue.

About an hour later, we pulled into Bob and Eva Ziehl's farm. What a lovely and peaceful place. We parked the truck and trailer under a widespread tree and opened all the windows for a gentle breeze to blow thru. There were numerous types of birds flitting in all the bushes and trees as well as plenty gophers running around to keep McKenzie amused. After a scrumptous dinner and lots of good conversation, we walked back to our trailer to rest up before heading out the next morning to Moose Jaw to visit "The Tunnels" and the transportation museum.

The Tunnels highlights two different lifestyles under the streets of Moose Jaw. The Chicago Connection depicts how a small Saskatchewan Town earned the nickname "Little Chicago" and the Passage to Fortune lets you experience the drama as the Chinese seek a new life. The Railway came in 1882 and quickly transformed Moose Jaw from a lonely trading post into a bustling prairie town. By 1903, Moose Jaw had all the basic essentials of a growing community and was incorporated as a city. However prosperity also brought troubles. Al Capone decided Moose Jaw was the perfect place for him to lay low when the heat was on in Chicago. We took a trip thru the tunnels to see how he lived, his bedroom, a speakeasy ran by Fannie, and secret tunnels running throughout the city. The other tour of the tunnels depicted the plight of the Chinese when they came to America looking for a better life. We followed the daily life of one of the immigrants as he worked in a laundry underground for just pennies a day.

While at the transportation museum, we found Bob and Eva a new car! Won't they be a hit next winter when they arrive out in the desert? We also finally located ourselves new transportation vehicles. We should be able to park about anywhere with this and the gas should certainly be cheaper!!! Obviously all this shopping around for new vehicles and lifestyles wore George and Bob out and Eva and I located them sitting in the caboose car at the railway. I think they might have been contemplating running out on us!!!

Driving back home, we stopped so I could get a picture of the Corner Gas. We couldn't get up too close because there was a camera crew there shooting an episode of the weekly comedy which is shown in Canada and takes place at this gas station and restaurant. We never did get to see an episode but we were told it is really hilarious.

Upon our arrival back at the farm, Bob cajoled Ginger back into the garage with her favorite snack, a red licorice stick. Ginger is territorial and she didn't appreciate having McKenzie walking around in her area. So whenever we were going to bring McKenzie out for a walk, Ginger had to be locked up, but she was very gracious about it and at least, she got some extra licorice sticks!

Upon rising to such a beautiful day, we decided to drive over and take a tour thru the Shand Power station. It was a fascinating tour, took about two hours, and was free. Our driver worked at the mine and she definitely fit right into the role of a tour guide. She wasn't afraid to take us anywhere and as some of the equipment was being repaired, we got a very close up and personal view of it. Boy, was it huge! The abundance of coal in the Estevan area was a major factor in determining the location for the power station. The first step in coal mining is the removal of any water in the mining area. The topsoil is then removed and stored for future reclamation. Next draglines equipped with 69 cubic metre buckets remove the overburden to expose the coal seams. A front end loader loads the coal into large haulers for transport to a primary crusher at Shand.

Electricity produced at Shand is fed into the province-wide grid via high-voltage transmission lines. The annual production of the station is approximately 2.1 billion kWh. To put this figure into perspective, the average residential customer in Saskatchewan uses about 8,000 kWh per year. Thermal power contributes about 70 per cent of the electricity produced by the power company each year.

Our final day found us over in Regina at the Farm Show! I did not realize how elaborate some of the farm equipment had gotten over the years. The technology just blows your mind and of course, the price did too. Western Canada has become one of the world's strongest economies. No doubt this is because of the increasing global demand for energy. Global demand for the type of crops grown in Western Canada is at an all time high and agriculture has become a much more profitable venture than any other time in history. Now I have to add a bit of editorial here - this is the only place I have ever seen an outdoor bathroom that rivaled a hotel room. Each of the mobile restrooms boast standard features such as climate controlled interiors, shatter proof mirrors, porcelain commodes with "hands free" flush pedal system, ample counter space for personal grooming and make-up- application, self closing faucet, paper and hand sanitizers dispensers. It's all about comfort! Okay, back to the Farm show. We walked around most of the day looking at all the displays from antique cars, trucks and equipment to combines with computers installed, to waterless cookware. George found him a new International truck! They had it all. What a day! We all went home, dragging our behinds.

The next morning we headed out early, saying goodbye to Eva and Bob and thanking them for an absolutely wonderful visit. We have had the privilege of visiting with three very special couples on this trip and their hospitality and kindness will never be forgotten!! As we headed down the road, we ran upon a round-up of cows on the road. They seemed to be wishing us a safe trip as we "moooo"ved down the road. Next stop for a few days will be Winnepeg, Manitoba! And, since we are planning a three day stay, we can add another province to our "Traveling Map" on our trailer door! We are gradually getting all the states and most of Canada pasted up there. Our criteria is that we must stay at least three nights in a state or province to be able to add it to our map. So all you folks who see our trailer door and want to know how we managed to hit every state surrounding Idaho but don't have it on our map, now know. We only passed thru, but someday we'll go back and spend some time there and then we'll be able to add it!

Canada Part Two - Onward to Calgary!

We entered beautiful Alberta, Canada amidst foggy, cool, and rainy weather. Our destination was Calgary to stop and visit with our friends from the desert, Wally and Sam Beck. Calgary is surrounded by the majestic Canadian Rockies and boasts an abundance of things to see and do. It is a city of contrasts, from its famed Zoo and Prehistoric Park to Heritage Park, Fort Calgary and the Military and Aerospace Museums. Canada Olympic Park is the flagship site of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. It now operates as a multi-purpose competition, training and recreation area designed for year-round use by both athletes and the general public.

Upon arrival at Sam and Wally’s, they directed us around back of their home to the alley where we were able to set up our truck and trailer. Once Wally opened the fence gates, we were just able to get our slides out. It was as if the space had been tailor-made just for us. Once we were set up, we went in to visit and Sam and Wally graciously offered us some of Sam’s homemade wine. Wow! Was it ever good! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, also prepared by Sam, and spent a great evening just talking and becoming reacquainted. They have a very lovely home in an older, beautiful area of town. We found out that in addition to being a technical wizard, Wally also likes to carve birds. He showed us some of the ones he had done and they were exquisitely carved and painted.

We decided to “play it by ear” and see what the weather provided as most of the attractions were outside and it would be miserable if the weather was cold and wet. Sure enough, the next day brought clouds, storms, and downpours so we decided to stay in and visit and get to know one another a little better. Wally and George worked on computer “stuff” and Sam showed me her latest crafts. She was making chenille blankets and they looked as if they would be so soft and cuddley. While she worked on those, I was able to work on updating my blog from British Columbia. We also found out that all four of us love to read and Wally showed us how he used his pocket PC, downloaded books, and then read them by using the hand-held PC. What a neat idea! No more heavy books to carry around with you. We’re trying out a couple of old PC’s that he had to see if we like the concept and so far, we are both sold on the idea. Ahh – technology! Isn’t it wonderful!!!

George and Wally also spent the better part of a day trying to find an air leak in the truck. After a trip to the parts store and several more hours of work, it seems they were able to rectify the problem and the truck now holds air pretty well.

I don’t want to make it sound like we had yucky winter weather the whole time we were in Calgary because we did have a day or two that turned out pretty nice. Sam and Wally drove us around to do some sightseeing and shopping, and we stopped at a Farmer’s Market with all sorts of delicious fruits and vegetables. We also took a tour of the local garage sales and thrift stores and found some items we just couldn’t live without. An evening out at the local pub found George and Wally eating fantastic fish and chips and Sam and I had an equally delicious steak sandwich.

Sam and Wally’s daughter, Dena and their grandson, Kyler, came over for dinner one evening. Dena was planning a holiday to Cuba and Kyler would be spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa. He was such a cute little kid and smart as a whip. Nothing gets by him!! I believe he said he was four but he has a very complex vocabulary and seems as if he is older.

Neighbors were planning a garage sale on the morning we left. We hope it was successful and that everyone sold those things that they no longer wanted or needed.

A big thanks to Wally and Sam for a wonderful visit. We are really going to miss seeing them at the desert this coming year, along with our other Canadian friends that we either have already visited or will be visiting soon. As we traveled across the prairies of Alberta, we made a quick stop at Medicine Hat which is touted at Canada’s sunniest city. Close by are the Rocky Mountains to the west, the Cypress Hills to the south, and the Great Sandhills to the east. Medicine Hat has the world’s tallest tepee, the Saamis Tepee, which was originally built for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. It is built entirely of steel, with a concrete foundation and was said to have more engineering challenges than the famous Eiffel Tower. The structure stands 20 stories high and weighs almost 1,000 tons. Ringing the Saamis Tepee are ten large, circular storyboards, bearing vibrant paintings by noted native artists of the region.

A little further down the road, we decided to stop for a night or two at Maple Creek at a campground that Wally and Sam had described. It was a super campground and we thoroughly enjoyed our two days before taking off toward our third province of Canada – Saskatchewan! We have thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and most especially we’ve enjoyed the time we have spent with our Canadian friends! We have lots more to do and see and we hope you will continue traveling along with us as we tour the beautiful provinces of Canada. We hope to hit them all this year or at least most of them and we know we will have many memories and exciting experiences to share. To all our family and friends in the States, we miss you and carry you with us in our hearts. God bless and watch over all of you!!