The Road Goes On…

Category: 2023 Western Canada

  • Canada 2023 Summary

    It was quite a trip, covering over 12,000 kilometres. Despite the wild fires in Canada this year we were able to find super interesting routes in the more southern parts of the provinces and had amazing experiences with nature, animals, people and sights.

    The small towns we visited in the prairies we delightful. The people in these towns were very friendly and their museums were remarkable. Many towns had wonderful aquatic facilities, playgrounds and parks for the children. The Manitoba Visitor Information Centre at the Ontario/Manitoba border was particularly helpful in providing lists and information of places to visit.

    The more memorable museums and attractions on our trip were:

    Our favourite places to stay included:

    • Wild camping in Nimpkish Lake Recreational area in BC
    • Wild camping on Lake Superior north of Sault Ste. Marie, ON
    • Victoria Park Campground in Souris, MB
    • Falcon Lake campground in Manitoba

    The iOverlander app was invaluable in finding cool places to camp at.

    All the provinces we visited were beautiful and had their unique character. They impressed on us the vastness and diversity of Canada. We can’t wait for our next road trip – maybe eastern Canada again next?

  • South Baymouth, ON to Dundas, ON

    Time to go home! Since we were camping in South Baymouth close to the ferry terminal were lined up at 8AM to see whether we could get on an earlier trip than the 3:30PM one we had booked. We were lucky and made the 11AM trip. The weather was rainy which made us look forward to going home.

    The ferry ride went well and the drive to Mobilife (our RV dealer) to pick up a replacement window for the one that broke was quite scenic. Ontario is beautiful as well and we have to explore more of our province.

    We got the window we needed and then drove into the Valens Conservation area campground, not to sleep, but to empty the rest of our tanks before proceeding home.

  • Lake Superior, ON to South Baymouth, ON

    We were almost ready to make breakfast when we had a knock on the door. Our new friends from Quebec City said goodbye and wished us all the best on our trip. After breakfast we couldn’t resist going for one last swim in Lake Superior. It was our last chance after all…

    It was time to move on which was a bit sad, but in Sault Ste Marie we had a fantastic Italian lunch at Giovanni’s Restaurant. Well fed and happy we continued our drive to South Baymouth from where we will be taking the ferry to Tobermory tomorrow.

  • Terrace Bay, ON to Lake Superior, ON

    It was a cold morning and the windows of the van were totally fogged when we awoke. When we stepped outside to see what our surroundings were like, we were greeted with a thick fog over the landscape and lake and dew on the plants. It was glorious!

    The fog gave way to a beautifully sunny clear day, great for driving. Along the way we stopped at a lookout point just as an extremely long freight train snaked along the mountain below.

    This time, instead of waiting until it was dark, we stopped at around 3PM at a beautiful free wild campground directly at Lake Superior. We had to take some pictures of this amazing scenery before going for a swim in the super clear water!

    It was refreshing but not too cold and we managed an enjoyable 20 minutes in the water. A couple that arrived shortly after us joined us in swimming and we had great conversations both in the water and later sitting outside in our lawn chairs overlooking the lake.

    This wild campground has about a dozen sites and we walked around to explore the area a bit. We got to know some of the couples there and had great conversations but a small dog stole the show for Ruth and she had to photograph it.

    The sunset was magnificent!

  • Dryden, ON to Terrace Bay, ON

    Today was largely a driving with wonderful dinner at Drifter’s in Terrace Bay. This is a restaurant that we stop at each time we pass by because the food is so delicious and the service is always great.

    Our waitress suggested we walk down to beach in Terrace Bay. The Lake Superior water and the evening sunlight were just perfect for taking pictures.

    We now needed to find a place to stay and the now closed Terrace Bay airport was suggested as one option. We started to go there, but it was on a pretty rough road and very close to the paper mill so we chose not to continue. Now we quickly needed to find an alternative as it was getting dark. The iOverlander app came to the rescue and found us a really nice spot near a lake with two other campers. We’ll investigate further tomorrow.

  • Falcon Lake, MB to Dryden, ON

    With the weekend coming, we couldn’t extend our stay at Falcon Lake any longer so it was time to have our last breakfast at The Nest, get the van cleaned up and ready and hitting the road for Ontario.

    Before leaving Manitoba we dropped in at the visitor centre and thanked the two ladies we had talked to when we first entered Manitoba. They had been very helpful in suggesting interesting places to see in towns off the Trans Canada highway, many of which we ended up visiting.

    There was lots of road widening construction on Hwy 17 in Ontario and many sites where blasting was being done. We had several stops where traffic alternated along the one lane that was open.

    In Vermillion Bay, we stopped at the Nowhere Craft Chocolate and Coffee Roastery. Little did we know that our stop for a cappuccino and a hot chocolate would turn into such an insightful and detailed lesson on how artisanal chocolate is made. Eleanor, the owner, spent close to an hour explaining and showing us the process while we were sipping our drinks and tasting her delicious chocolate. We couldn’t help buying some roasted beans, nibs, and bars. The seeds for making our own chocolate from raw beans has been planted. In time, this will no doubt, have been an expensive place to stop at. Ruth is already worried about the new set of equipment required.

    A few kilometres further is Egli’s Wool and Sheepskin Shop. Last time we drove by Martin bought a sheepskin winter hat and we decided to stop by again. Ruth was particularly interested in the large selection of knitting wool, but was strong enough to refrain adding to her already vast collection.

    In Dryden we had dinner at the Masala Restaurant which offers East Indian, Greek, Thai and North American food. They had a buffet, but it was mostly Indian except for maybe the french fries and spring rolls. The food was delicious and the entertainment was a large party celebrating a 60th birthday. We congratulated the birthday boy and were quickly accepted as family and each given a piece of the tasty birthday cake.

  • Falcon Lake, MB

    Today was another wonderful lazy day, starting with breakfast at The Nest again, this time with the Traditional Breakfast. After an early morning nap, we went for a 30 minute swim in beautiful warm sunny weather. There were far more people at the beach today and lots of kids having fun in the water and on floating toys.

    Our campsite neighbours, Jannet and Rudy and their two dachshunds Sammy and Saffie, invited us over for a great dinner of stir fry, potatoes, and a crisp salad. Ruth supplied a dessert of fruit salad which was topped off with Jannet’s delicious ice-cream.

    We had a wonderful evening of conversation and Rudy played the guitar while we sang along. Rudy is an accomplished guitarist and has played in several bands. The two dogs joined us and Sammy curled up between us for a nap. We felt like family.

    We left just before midnight so that we could still do our daily Duolingo language lessons. Duo gets upset if he doesn’t see us for a day.

  • Falcon Lake, MB

    Not much to report today as it was a day of having a Ukrainian breakfast (consisting of eggs, perogies, toast, sausages), relaxation, spending time talking to two of our neighbours, and swimming.

    The cameras and GPS took the day off as well.

  • Winnipeg, MB to Falcon Lake, MB

    Canada has two mint locations, one in Ottawa which largely manufactures collector coins, and one in Winnipeg which manufactures circulation coins for Canada and has produced coins for over 70 other countries since opening in 1976. We loved the flag alley of customer countries on our way to the mint parking lot.

    Étienne Gaboury was the architect who designed the Winnipeg mint in a triangular shape that rises up dramatically from the prairie like a mountain.

    At the entrance to the mint we met “Loonie”. Unfortunately he was pretty stingy and we had to pay for our own tour. We learned that he wasn’t even supposed to be on the $1 coin but ended up there because the master stamps of the original design of a canoe similar to what had previously been on the silver dollars had been “lost in transit” from Ottawa. To ensure that no counterfeit coins could be manufactured, the design was changed and the loon image was selected.

    No picture taking is permitted on the tour with the exception of the gift shop and the entrance hall that has a historic coin stamping machine. This machine had been manufactured in Cologne, Germany close to Ruth’s hometown.

    We saw the entire manufacturing process starting with the large steel coils from which the coin blanks are stamped. During production the coins are treated with various coatings to give them specific electromagnetic properties so that vending machines can recognize them. Of interest was also the process for making coloured coins. In 2004, Canada was the first country in the world to manufacture coloured circulation coins. We were told the Winnipeg facility makes 1 million Canadian and foreign coins a day.

    After the mint, the second highlight of the day were crepes at La Creperie Ker Breizh. The owner came to Canada from Brittany, France in 2018 and began making crepes as a street vendor in Winnipeg before opening this amazing restaurant. The crepes and galettes were delicious!

    We had a long interesting conversation with a retired truck driver who had also been a COBOL programmer at one point of his career. He loved truck driving because of the freedom and the people he met along the way.

    Our third place of interest was the Winnipeg Art Gallery which we were told had a vast Inuit art exhibition. The exhibition included many varied pieces from 500BC to now but we were a bit disappointed in the lack of contextual information besides the artist’s name, title and year.

    Leaving Winnipeg was a major challenge because of all the road construction and traffic during rush hour. We spent over an hour trying to move 3 blocks before finally giving up and taking side streets to zigzag our way out of the city. Once on the highway it was clear sailing to Falcon Beach Provincial Park where we had previously been and hope to have a day or two of relaxation.

  • Portage La Praire, MB to Winnipeg, MB

    The first point of interest for today was the National Indigenous Residential School Museum in Portage La Prairie. This was an actual residential school and now houses a museum along with an indigenous police station.

    The museum was closed yesterday so we spent the night in Portage La Prairie to be able to see it today, but alas, although it is supposed to be open Monday to Friday 8:30-4:30, nobody showed up to open it today. Even another couple that booked a tour for 10:30am had to be disappointed that everything was dark.

    Disappointed, we set out for Winnipeg to visit the Assiniboine Park and zoo to see the animals. What a fascinating place to see different animals from all around the world.

    The Gibbons were particularly fun to watch jumping from rope to rope and chasing each other. Their white hands, feet and faces really stood out.

    A large section of the zoo focuses on the Churchill area with polar bears and harbour seals. The polar bears were relatively inactive but the seals were having a blast entertaining the crowds.

    The facility housing the polar bears and seals has an underwater tunnel so you can see the animals in the water. Really neat and definitely worth a visit.

    Did you know that Inuksuit are like street signs with specific meaning? Here’s a chart of some of different ones and their meanings.

    After seeing the seals swimming we thought we should also practice a bit and this happened at the St. James Assiniboia Centennial Pool and Fitness Centre. For $15 we swam lengths until exhausted. The seals were definitely faster and had more endurance and elegance.