Roots

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As much as we enjoyed Quebec, we looked forward to getting into New Brunswick and being able to read road signs again. As Canada’s only officially bilingual province, signs are in both languages. At least it gave us an opportunity to learn what the French signs in Quebec had been trying to tell us. In spite of having been to New Brunswick years ago on a quick trip with my parents, I didn’t have a clear impression of what it was like. Like the countryside of southern Quebec, there were beautiful rolling hills covered with trees in fall colors.According to … Continue reading →

La Belle Province

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After spending two tranquil weeks in relative splendor at Faye’s brother’s lakeside “cottage” we are continuing our journey, across eastern Ontario and Quebec. As before, we’ve avoided the urban areas as much as possible and have tried to stay on rural roads (not too hard to do in Canada). The flamboyance of fall has engulfed the countryside. The scenery has been spectacular. It is hard to say which part of the trip we’ve enjoyed more; every place has had its charms. The rugged mountains and forests of B.C. are impressive. The open prairies felt fertile and peaceful. Ontario is full … Continue reading →

On to Ontario.

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We have reached Eastern Ontario, where Faye grew up, where one of her brothers lives, and where we will stay for a while. Against the advice of several people, rather than taking the direct route to southern Ontario, through the US, we continued eastward from southern Manitoba into northern Ontario. (Yes, northern Ontario is due east of southern Manitoba, and is northern only in relation to the southern part of the province, which extends quite a ways south, to about the same latitude as central Oregon.) “It is all just trees, trees, trees,” we were told. But it was also … Continue reading →

Land, Lots of Land

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Canada’s prairies, stretching east from the Rockies in Alberta, across Saskatchewan and most of Manitoba, are a lot of not much, surrounded by next to nothing. I think the prairies are the kind of place you either love or hate, and I loved it. There are vast fields of wheat, some of it harvested, some waiting to be threshed. Giant round bales of hay lie scattered in green fields, with occasional fields of corn, sunflowers and other crops. This time of year, at least, the prairies are beautiful. Small towns are strung out along straight roads. Some are barely alive, … Continue reading →

From Salmon Arm to Moose Jaw

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According to Mapquest the distance between Salmon Arm, British Columbia and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan by the most direct route, the Trans-Canada Highway, is 741 miles, and takes about 14 hours to get from one place to the other. We avoided the Trans-Canada as much as possible, instead searching out back roads, sometimes dirt and gravel. So it took us nearly 1200 miles—and nine days. None-the-less, we feel like we have made good time. As Robert Pirsig said in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the emphasis has been on good rather than time. We spent the first night camping … Continue reading →