Go West, Young Man, Go West

     

After a busy year in Newmarket we are now 

ready to head west but first we must head north.

     How do professional bloggers do it? We are so behind in posting stories of our journey. I guess it is because we are not depending on our blogs as an income. Really these posts are for us, family and friends. If others read and benefit from our travels that is a bonus. So... let's talk about our current travels. After leaving Newmarket, Ontario on July 12, 2023, we headed north in order to get  around the Great Lakes and then west through the prairie provinces and ended in British Columbia (B.C.). We took our time and after 9 days we arrived. British Columbia is the most westerly province in Canada and has a very diverse geography that includes a rocky coastline, sandy beaches, forest, lakes, mountains, inland deserts and grassy plains. We have been through them all. This province is the third most populated province in Canada with the City of Vancouver being the most populated city. The City of Victoria on the south end of  Vancouver Island is the provincial capital. Some of the areas in B.C. have the mildest temperatures in Canada and many people come here to take advantage of that.

     Before we get into the details of B.C. sights and the activities, let's talk about our journey to B.C. One of our overnights was in Wawa where their mascot is a huge Canada Goose.

The famous Canadian Goose in Wawa.

This is the third one that has been in this spot.

     Here are some facts about the Wawa Goose according to the Northern Ontario Travel Magazine:

• the Goose is the most photographed landmark in North America
• it is the largest of its kind in Canada
• located at the junction of the last link of the Trans Canada Highway
• it was developed to attract tourists to come to Wawa
• the first Goose was made of plaster and didn't stand up to the weather
• the Goose is now made of steel
• the Goose comes from the meaning of the word, "Wawa" which means "wild goose or land of the big goose" in Ojibwe
• the latest Goose was unveiled in 2017.
• Stompin' Tom Connors sang the song Little Wawa about a goose that stayed behind when her lover Gander Goo got shot down with an arrow. Click here to hear the song.
• the current goose is 28 feet tall, 22 feet long and has a wing span of 20 feet.
• the Wawa has its own children's book: Wawa Goose meeting at Fort Friendship written by Raymond MacDonnell.
• The Canada Goose is not the official symbol of Canada. Only the beaver and the maple tree have this cultural status.

     In White River, Ontario, we stopped to see the exhibits commemorating the original "Winnie" the Pooh. The A.A Milne classic story has a connection to Canada, specially White River where the Canadian black bear named Winnie was purchased from a hunter by Canadian veterinarian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn while en route to England during the First World War. Winnie became the mascot for his unit while in England. Winnie was left at the London Zoo while the regiment was in France and after the war, Winnie was donated to the Zoo for the public to enjoy as a much-loved attraction. A. A. Milne would take his son Christopher Robin to the Zoo to see the bear. In 1921, Milne bought his son a toy bear and Christopher named his bear after Winnie and Pooh, a friend's pet swan. For information about Winnie the Pooh click here. In White River there is a museum and statue of Winnie the Pooh.

Information concerning how Harry Colebourn purchased Winnie.

Information board in White River with more information about Winnie while in England.

Pooh with Eeyore and Tigger. Some characters that were brought 

to life by A.A. Milne and popularized by Disney.

Bev standing beside Winnie the Pooh and his honey pot.

This is the statue that is seen from the highway.

     Travelling farther north, we stopped for gas and a rest in Terrace Bay, Ontario. Here we climbed up the 50 ft. replica of the lighthouse which is on the nearby Slate Islands Provincial Park. This replica was built in 2011 as a symbol of the community's long standing connection with the Slate Islands.

This replica lighthouse is an art installation with

stairs on the inside to climb up to the top and

take in the view of the surrounding area.

From the top of the lighthouse we could look down 

at the view of our trailer. It is small in comparison

to some of the other trailers on the road. It is just

right for us and we are comfortable in it.

Boondocking again for the night in Wawa. We parked in

a roadside parking space beside a beach and boardwalk.

In Thunder Bay the next night, we stayed in the driveway

of Al's niece, Paula. We had a great visit with her. We spent the day

exploring Thunder Bay before moving on. 

     Along the Thunder Bay Marina Park you can walk and read poetry and quotes. What a lovely idea! You can sit and view the lake as well as ponder the poems engraved on benches, walls, etc. Here is one of my favourites which describes some first impressions of Lake Superior and Thunder Bay:

First Sighting by Jane Crossman

I've travelled on foot

from the west

days, weeks, months

over mountains

across plains

through forests

until this sea,

surely a sea

so vast, so extraordinary,

stalls my forward trek.

I shall rest here for a day, a season, perhaps forever.

     A quote after viewing Lake Superior in Thunder Bay from Catherine Moodie Vickers (1873)

If I were an artist I would

choose Thunder Bay in a storm as the greatest

representation of the end 

of the world.

One of the things that I like to do while walking amongst

flowers is to take photos of bees on a flower. I think that

this was a good one.

The next night we were back at "Camp Wally" 

Crossing over into Manitoba, we stayed in a nice camp ground. 

Our site was right beside a small river. Lovely!

     You hear things in the news and the events seems to be so far away. In Manitoba, we travelled by the demonstrations at the dump site where several indigenous women were thought to be buried and the government refusing to fund a search with ground-penetrating radar.  Learn more about this demonstration click here. We drove through the same intersection where a bus which was transporting a group of seniors was cross the Trans Canada Hwy on Hwy 5 when it was hit by a transport truck. To learn more about this horrific crash click here.

    Through Saskatchewan, we travelled the road with many locusts flying into our windshield. It was amazing to see the vast number of these insects on the roads, cars, etc. 

In the Canada Today news feed, Manitoba entomologist John Gavloski says 

farmers are seeing a surge in locust populations. The locusts still remain

 one of the top three insect problems for Manitoba this year (2023).

Again, staying over night in Camp Wally; this time in Medicine Hat, Alberta,

We also stayed at my cousin Susan's in Calgary for one night before moving on to British Columbia.

Our first stop was Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

Along the way we started to see the mountains...

...and more mountains...

...and rivers and trees and more mountains.

A cute little prairie dog.

     Our country of Canada is vast and has a wide geodiversity. Basically, we have travelled across Canada from St John's, Newfoundland to mile 0 in Victoria, British Columbia. Even though we have quickly travelled through the prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, we will spend a year in each one of them in the future. This year is the time to explore British Columbia. After we stopped off in Kamloops to view our new lodgings, which we didn't get access to until October 1st,  we spent a little more than 2 months exploring B.C. and the Yukon. Stay tuned for more...