Day 37: Tri-State Day

July 29, 2012

Today we woke up in our hotel room in downtown Chicago, Illinois and are now close to bed at our campground in Wayne Dunes State Park in Michigan after a brief stop at the Indiana Sand Dunes National Shoreline in Indiana. This makes it 3 states that we have been in today. We left Chicago early this morning in order to make a stop at the Sand Dunes before finding a campground in the wasteland that is Michigan State Parks. According to our mapbook this is the only campground within a 200 mile, or so, radius. Luckily, there was lots of space available, although the 15 minute line-up at the Park Entrance (caused by daytime users) had us a bit worried.

Our campground is located in a big Oak forest just beside some giant sand dunes. We got in late, and so will be visiting the Dunes tomorrow morning for a look and, hopefully, a dip in Lake Michigan. The forest is very nice, but there is lots of Poison Ivy that we have to avoid. As well, this is by far the loudest forest we have been in; the sound of Cicadas is overwhelming, nearly as loud as a hotel room in downtown Chicago.

Our brief stop at Mt. Baldy along the Indiana Dunes shorelines was nice, but the place is completely ruined by the giant Nuclear plant right next door, blocking the whole Northern vista. Mt. Baldy is a giant sand dune on the North end of a long strip of Dunes at the coast of Lake Michigan in Indiana. As of now the Eastern edge is about 3 metres from the edge of the parking lot, but if recent trends keep up, it will be in the parking lot within 5 years. The combination of wind and tourists is causing the dune to move inland at a rate of about 5 feet per year. I’m not quite sure what will happen when it hits the parking lot, as demand for the site and beach already far exceeds the space in the lot.

View North from Mt. Baldy

Leaving Chicago this morning was pretty straightforward. There was no problem with the valet, aside from him not putting the engine break on after bringing our car back out. The best time to drive in this city of crazy drivers, and pedestrians, most definitely appears to be Sunday morning. We encountered very little traffic and no pedestrians jay walking in our short drive from downtown to the freeway. As a sports fan I was excited to pass Solider Field (home of the Bears) and Comiskey Park (home of the White Sox) on the way out of town. This, combined with the Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley the day before provided a very nice complement to my Chicago sports visit.

Wrigley Field is tiny, it takes up what appears to be just a single city block, but somehow fits in an entire baseball stadium. It was great to see the old wonder, wandering around the concourse and streets outside, looking at the ivy-covered outfield walls, and watching the rivalry that is the Cubs-Cardinals. The game wasn’t the most exciting, perhaps because I am not used to the National League rule of the pitchers having to pitch. It seemed like every rally was snuffed out by a pitcher coming to bat and promptly striking out. It really stunted the flow of the game. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the game and am glad to have gone. 

Day 34-36: Chicago Chicago

Our time in Chicago has come to an end and tomorrow we begin our last three days before arriving in our new home town, Toronto. Chicago has been wonderful and is definitely the highlight of this summer. A world class city, Chicago has everything that an urban citizen needs wants and desires from a large modern metropolitan. A beautiful setting is provided by Lake Michigan and the Chicago river.  This is complemented very well by the city’s architecture which seamlessly blends historical buildings with ultra- modern ones to create a stunning skyline.  There is no lack of green space and beautiful parks, and the city seems to make an extra effort to create an atmosphere where art, music and culture thrive to enrich the lives of both the locals and the tourists. ( I was happy to read in the local magazine that the city has just invested in creating a new cultural plan with help from consultants from Toronto!)

We cramped a few things in our short stay here, and in the interest of keeping this short, here is a list of the highlights of our time in this great city:

Grant Park: This is a very nice big park with trails that connect it to the main streets downtown, the lake shore and multiple museums and the aquarium. In our few days there, we passed by Grant Park many times and it was always nice to stop by a sculpture,a piece of public art or fountain.

Millennium Park: Another park right outside our hotel in the middle of downtown is Millennium Park. This park is home to the famous “bean” sculpture and many other works of art. This park also seemed to be the cultural hub of the city especially in the summer. We picked up a booklet that listed all that was going on in the park during the summer months and all the activities were free of charge. There were music, theatre and dance performances almost daily, and every Sunday morning there is a 4 hour workout session that includes an hour each of Tai Chi, Yoga, Pilates and Zumba. All for free! There was also a fee public dance party every Friday evening and a Family Fun Festival was on the week we were there.  This is only to count a few of what was happening in Millennium Park throughout the year.

The Field Museum: We’ve been to many museums on this trip and several of them were natural history museums, but this one by far tops all of them. Housed in a beautiful looking historical building, this museum contains many permanent displays of natural life and a few feature exhibits and shows. Of the featured ones, we chose to visit the bugs exhibit which had us shrink to the size of little bugs so that we can go underground, a few feet into the soil and explore life under the surface. Zaid loved looking at all the bugs and pretending to be underground with them. Definitely a great exhibit for the little ones. A great hit was also the exhibit of African animals especially the big cats and the apes. And just for good measures there was a little exhibit all about earth evolution including the rise and fall of dinosaurs and so Zaid’s satisfaction with the museum was guaranteed with this addition of a few giant dino skeletons to look at. We spent about 3 hours in the museum and did not even get around to see everything. Definitely a great museum by all measures.

Deep Dish Pizza: You can’t go to Chicago and not have Chicago style pizza. We followed the recommendation of a friend and visited a local deep dish pizza chain. I was expected something heavy and over the top but instead we got a classic sausage pizza with what seemed to be a nice light homemade tomato sauce. The pizza tasted good but I still prefer thin crust. I found the deep dish to come with just a little too much dough and cheese for my liking.

Tower Observatory: There were a couple of options as far as looking onto the city from a super high tower. We chose to go up to the John Hancock tower's 94^th floor for a coffee treat and unbeatable 360 degree view of the city. You could see all of the downtown sky scrapers, the actual city neighbourhoods, the lake and the sky. The afogatos we had were delicious and for less than $5 each, more reasonably priced than a Starbucks drink back down on earth!

Baseball Game: We wished we could have done this together but since we waited too late to buy tickets it was almost impossible to find three tickets together, unless we were willing to pay upwards of $1,000 for them. So Ben, being the one who cared the most about this particular activity, went to the game by himself. The boys and I had some time for a nap back at our hotel and then a walk and lunch in Grant Park.

In addition to this list, we also met up with a childhood friend of Ben’s who now lives with his wife in Chicago. We all had dinner together at a nice pub downtown. Unfortunately our two boys were in a grumpy and tired mood which did not make for a relaxing dinner. Ben and I fear that our boys may have driven our friends away from the idea of having kids, ever! To Alex and Jenna: we are very sorry!

On Sunday morning we checkout of our hotel on Michigan Avenue and were on the road again in no time. Next is the Sand Dunes in Indiana and the Henry Ford Car Museum in Detroit, and then home. 

Haifa 

Day 35: Deep-Dished in Chicago

July 27, 2012

A few posts ago I wrote about how Winnipeg rocked. If Winnipeg rocks, then I don't really have any adjectives to describe how much we are loving Chicago. This is a city that does nearly everything big and gets it right. . Enormous green spaces crash into towering buildings, the lake runs into rivers that snake their way through the city offering wonderful urban river-walks, turning corners brings you face to face with a beautiful and creative piece of public art, old style towers from the 1800s stand majestically beside new and modern works of stunning architecture. The city has completely floored me. I have been on a Chicago high of excitement since we arrived yesterday afternoon.

The famous "bean" - Cloud Gate

I am having some trouble writing this post as there is so much bumping around my head that I want to get down, but the energy from the city is making it a bit hard to focus. I'll keep at it though, as the energy of Chicago, which has swept through me, is the best inspiration for writing about this place. 

I was putting Zaid to bed this evening when all of a sudden I hear faint bass beats wafting up from the streets below. They didn't seem to bother Zaid, but my curiosity was piqued. I recalled having walked by a stage advertising a free dance party during the summer this morning and put two and two together. After getting Zaid down (or at least I thought) I headed outside to see what was going on. There was a dance party, and it was awesome. There was probably 500-800 people and all of them were dancing. From young parents with their children to old couples in their 70s, from the stylings of the "Chicago Dancing Diva's" to the stylings of rhythm-less middle aged white people, from girls in tie-die shirts to guys in basketball jerseys, from Indians dancing Banghar, to me tapping my foot and bobbing my head, EVERYONE was dancing. The whole event was free and lasted about 2 hours. It was funded completely by the government, with no form of sponsorship anywhere. This is a city that does things right.

Revellers at the free dance party in Grant Park

We've packed a ton into the last day and a half here: Affogato's on the 94th floor of the John Hancock center with a view of downtown Chicago to the south and a rainstorm coming in over the north; 2 hours this morning at the Field Museum of Natural History being shrunk to the size of bugs and seeing the Tsavo man-eaters; a long walk down Michigan Street and beautiful building after beautiful building; Deep-Dish Chicago Pizza at the famous Lou Malnati's; playing with light and reflections at the Cloud Gate Sculpture; turning the corner into a gigantic fountain set against Michigan Lake; stumbling across a sidewalk purse sale and successfully bargaining our way to a free wallet for Haifa.

View from Cafe on 94th floor of John Hancock Center

We both had very high expectations for this city, and I was a bit worried that there was no way they could be met; I was wrong. This city has far exceeded even our outrageous expectations. I love this city, every moment has filled me with excitement, both for being here, and for our move to Toronto. As I have said before, Vancouver is not a city. It is a very large town in a beautiful setting, but it is not a city. I want to live in a city, and Chicago has stoked the flames of this desire for me. I cannot wait to get to Toronto and finally, after nearly 25 years, live in a city again.

Day 33 - Port Washington, Wisconsin

It seems that we have finally reached the point of being tired of being on the road. Even though we have loved almost every place we have been so far (with the exception of the dreaded Blariot Ferry Park), and continue to enjoy every day of this trip, we are also at the same time getting tired of the constant travel and homelessness. Yesterday was the peak of this tiredness for us. For some reason we all woke up already tired, and after a long day of driving we arrived at our campsite nothing but more tired. With no energy to set up camp, we all just sat there in exhaustion starring out at the trees around us and at each other. Finally after an hour and several breaks, one used to go purchase beer, Ben got the tent up and I was able to go in and get it ready for the night.  After some rest we managed to summon enough energy to complete our day with the requisite walk around the park, and the making and eating dinner. By the time the boys were tucked into their sleeping bags and sound asleep, we were too exhausted to stay up any later and soon joined them in the tent. 

We had decided yesterday to change our plan from camping again today to staying in a hotel instead. This morning we received confirmation that our decision was the right one. We woke up this morning to heavy rains and thundershowers that, once again, soaked up our tent, chairs etc. We quickly got everyone in the car as soon as the thunder started and used little breaks of light or no rain to pack up our camp slowly over the morning. When everything except for the tent was tucked away the rain stopped, so we left our tent up to  dry and went for a drive. We drove to a nice look out area from which you could see the whole park and parts of Sturgeon Bay and Lake Michigan. Ben and Zaid went for a short walk while Owen and I sat on a bench enjoying the views, the fresh air and for me my cup of morning java. 

When we got back to our camp our tent was still wet so we took it down and decided to dry it in our hotel room instead, something that we have done many times over this trip. Our drive to Port Washington was not too long and we stopped a couple of time along Lake Michigan for breaks and lunch. Today was a windy day and the winds were particularly bad on the Lake shore. This made for a hurried and frenzied lunch as we simultaneously had to eat and keep our food from flying away! 

We arrived in Port Washington in the afternoon and easily found our hotel near the main entrance to town. We checked in and spent some time resting and catching up on email, facebook etc. Our hotel has a swimming pool so we decided to go for a swim which is always a big hit with Zaid and Owen who love the water and can't seem to ever get enough of it. After a swim it was time for dinner so we headed into town looking for something local and fresh. We stopped to stock up on more excellent Wisconsin beer and the guy in the store recommended the New Port Shores, know for being the only restaurant in town on the lake shore. The place is obviously a very popular local joint because even for an early dinner it was packed and the only tables they had were in the back room. We decided to stay anyways and it was not a bad table after all for I at least still had a view of the lake from my seat. Both Ben and I ordered a local fish fry which is similar to fish and chips except that the fish is dipped into a much lighter and crisper batter (I believe it's mostly corm meal) which actually stays on the fish when you pick it up. Both of our dishes were delicious and Zaid devoured his Mac n' Cheese plate in no time (which happens to come with a bowl of apple sauce which also was devoured). 

After dinner we got back to the hotel. Soon Zaid and Owen were asleep, and now Ben and I are sitting down, enjoying some local beer, catching up on modern technology and planning our next day. Tomorrow we drive to Chicago but since we are not too far away, we plan to stop in Milwaukee on the way for a break and something fun to do. We are both very excited about Chicago and I expect a very busy and tiring 3-4 days. After Chicago our trip will be starting to come to its end as we drive straight back to Ontario and finally Toronto.  Even though we are at the point now of looking forward to having a home again and staying put for a while, I know that we will be very sad to see this trip come to an end, and I know that I will miss this time of our life very dearly. 

Haifa  

Day 32: America's Dairyland

July 24, 2012

In any trip there will inevitably come a day when you awake and the excitement and sense of adventure you had every other morning seems to be sleeping in a bit longer than usual. Perhaps it is just taking a few days off and will come back again, but usually it signifies the adventurer is growing weary of the nomadic life and wants to head for home. For all of us, with the possible exception of Owen (who at this point probably only knows this nomadic lifestyle), that day came today.

We woke up early, packed up the tent and were on the road before 9:00, a new trip early. Owen fell into his morning nap right away, as always, but soon Haifa and Zaid joined him. After a long 5 hours on the road we finally stopped at our new campground. For some reason, I was unable to find the energy to even take the tent and poles out of the bag. It took me about an hour to put up the tent, as I took long breaks after every step of the way. The thought of taking the tent down again tomorrow and then putting it up in the afternoon proved to be too much and so we have decided to make tomorrow an extra hotel night.

Zaid and I relaxing by the riverfront at our campsite in Brunet Island State Park

Our feelings about being on the road are in no way meant to be a judgement on the state, or people, of Wisconsin. Wisconsin, for me at least, has been a revelation – it is a wonderful State, full of beautiful and varied landscapes and the nicest people way have had the pleasure of meeting at any point on our stay. We drove from Superior to Brunet Island State Park, just North of Eau Claire yesterday and had a long day driving to Potawatomi State Park on the western shore of Green Bay on Lake Michigan today. Both of these State Parks have proven to be wonderful places, located in Boreal Forests and staffed with the friendliest and most cheerful Park Rangers of all parks. The Ranger at Brunet Island gave Zaid an explorer’s package, complete with a Smokey the Bear stuffed animal, which Zaid eschewed his usual Duck (Ba-Ta) for. Zaid got to keep the activity books, and a few supplies, but had to return Smokey for another child to enjoy later.

Zaid throwing rocks into Green Bay on Lake Michigan

The drive today, while long and draining on us all, provided a wonderful change of scenery from the Western edge of the State through the city of Green Bay and into the Michigan Lake zone.  Along the way we passed through a number of small towns with familiar names: Owen, Abbotsford, Wittenberg (the last name of family friends), Caroline (my mother’s name), Denmark, Luxembourg, and Brussels. It became quite an interesting game by the end, trying to guess where in Europe we would end up next!

We had planned to stop for lunch at a park in Green Bay but were forced to change our plans after we exited the city without having seen even a city bench to rest on. Green Bay is, by FAR, the most blue collar city we have passed through on this trip. You could see the poverty come out at you from the moment we entered the city until we exited out the eastern edge. It makes me quite curious to see Detroit and the surrounding ghost towns.

Tomorrow we are planning on a scenic drive down Lake Michigan to Port Washington, just North of Milwaukee. The area promises numerous sandy swimming beaches and sounds like just the kind of relaxing place we need to re-energize ourselves. We are still very excited about our 3 nights in Chicago and fully expect to get a second wind as we enter the Windy City. I hope Chicago holds a big enough wind to keep us going for the 3-4 days we have planned to get from there to Toronto.

Well, that is all for now. I head back to my amazing Wisconsin beer (they have great beer here; it is not just a myth). Tonight it is Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale by New Glarus Brewing Co. (one of the top 10 breweries in the world last year).

Day 30: "Drink some beer, do some fishin"

July 22, 2012

After a short 2 nights in Minnesota we have entered Wisconsin until Thursday morning when we head to Chicago. Well, while technically in Wisconsin, it is not possible to be closer to Minnesota than we are without actually being in Minnesota. The hotel we are staying at in Superior, Wisconsin is literally the first building you come across after crossing the John A. Blatnik Bridge from Duluth, Minnesota.

We arrived in Duluth late morning today after a short drive down from Tower, where we had stayed for the last 2 days. Yesterday was the first relaxing rest day we have had in ages. We spent the morning relaxing at the campsite, going for a dip in the lake and taking a walk around the forested end of the point. After lunch and a nap for Zaid we headed out to do some sightseeing just as the sun was reaching its maximum power, in hindsight this was probably not the best choice.


Our first stop was the Soudan Iron mine, the first, richest, and deepest Iron Mine in Minnesota. It is no longer operational and now serves as Minnesota State Historic Site. The main attraction is an hour and half journey 150 underground into the old mine itself. The trip promised to be a cool 50 Farenheit (which must be cooler than the 92 that it was above ground), but we decided to give it a pass. We were all very skeptical about Zaid's ability to remain focused for a 90 minute guided tour. If it had been a 5 minute trip then he may have handled it well.  The decision to remain above ground proved to not be a large loss as we had a tonne of fun exploring the surface buildings and equipment. Although, our favourite part was probably standing in front of the elevator shaft into the mine, with the cool temperature from the depths of the mountain pouring out into our faces. We stayed there for close to an hour and thoroughly enjoyed the whole time. One of the joys of this trip is these unexpected stops at hidden gems.

Ben on a Mine structure overlooking Northern Minnesota

We nearly stopped at another potential hidden gem this morning as we passed by the town of Evelth, which lured us with signs promising the "US Hockey Hall of Fame." Unfortunately, being the only one even remotely interested in stopping, I was outvoted and we kept on the road. In short order we were required to stop though as the low oil light came on. We stopped at a gas station in the hamlet of Independence, purchased motor oil, popped the hood and stared dumbfounded at all the components underneath. Which lid did we need to unscrew? and where was the dipstick? Haifa and I were crouched in front of the car, me with motor oil and Haifa with the Car's manual, neither of us doing much of anything. Luckily, a local saw our confusion and came over to lend a hand. Within minutes he had helped us fill the oil and we were back on the road. Many thanks go out to the Independence native for helping a couple of stranded tourists.

Everything I had read about Duluth promised a beautiful city nestled between the shores of Lake Superior and a steep hill. However, upon first entering Duluth we saw nothing but the usual stretch of strip malls, big box stores, and fast food joints that seem to mark the entrance to every town large enough to call itself a city. It seemed, however, that this part of Duluth was stretching on for a fair bit longer than other, larger, cities we had visited. Where was this promised beauty? Just as we were getting a bit disappointed we took a curve along the highway and had this amazing sight of Duluth before us. Downtown was off the right, the port and the bridge to Wisconsin was centre, industry to the right, Lake Superior dominated the skyline, with the faint shoreline of Northern Wisconsin providing a dividing line between water and sky.

Our first glimpse of Duluth

After driving through the city we stopped at Subway and drove to Leif Erickson Park, nestled along the Northern shore of Lake Superior. The view of city and lake was amazing, and for a special touch for Zaid, a passenger train passed right by our picnic site.

We, rather easily, found our way without help of a map, to our next destination - The Great Lakes Aquarium. I guess when you are looking for a building on Harbor Street, the first place to go would be the Harbor. This proved to be a huge hit with all of us, complete with a live Otter feeding, a huge water-table room set up as the great lakes, and the petting of live Sturgeon and Sting-Rays.

Ben, having worked up enough courage to touch the Sting Ray

We finished our day off with a swim at the hotel's swimming pool, but not before we had dinner at Hammond's Steakhouse. This proved to be a retro 70s era classic American Steakhouse and served up good food that was exactly as you expected. Haifa and I had the Steak and Shrimp special, while Zaid had his usual "Chicken Fries" (Chicken Strips and Fries). All of our meals came with a salad starter and to our surprise Zaid finished up every last piece of lettuce from his salad. All that remained on his plate were the remnants of the Ranch dressing. Happily for us, the salad had made him too full to have much of his deep fried Chicken and Potatoes. Finally he has a healthy meal out.

We have a few LONG days of driving ahead of us. Our plan is to drive to the area around Eau Claire, Wisconsin tomorrow and then east to Lake Michigan the next day. After a rest day we head down the Lake to the big city of Chicago where we will be staying for 3 days. We are getting close to that long awaited Cubs game.

Day 28: "Go The Distance"

July 20, 2012

Today we have hit two milestones in our trip: we have finished the fourth week of travelling, and we have entered into the USA – Minnesota to be precise. The crossing of the border has brought renewed vigor and excitement to our trip as we are in a place completely new to all of us.

Crossing the border caused the usual stress and worry that crossing any border brings to my mind. I have a deep-seated fear of people in uniforms with guns and whenever I go into a new country I worry that I will be denied entry for some minor reason. This stress is intensified when returning to Canada as I have an irrational worry that I will be denied entry back home, left with nowhere to go, destined to be stuck at the border crossing indefinitely.

Combined with a reunion with the bikers travelling across Canada, crazy drivers passing us on a single-lane highway with a double yellow and windy road, and a pickup truck that left a propane tank rolling across the highway in front of us, the border worry caused the drive to the border to be quite stressful and tense. Luckily, we all made it to the border none the worse for wear, without even Owen crying.

I believe my stress may have shown at the border since after the requisite questions about fresh fruit, where we are from, and where we are going, the border guard put in a radio call for further checks. A second guard comes out and leads us to the long-term waiting area and takes our passports to the back room, leaving us in the car for about 10 minutes. We had just enough time to make Plan B (head east towards Thunder Bay and then down to Toronto) when the guard came back, passed us our passports and welcomed us to America.

We made a small stop in International Falls to exchange money and purchase the promised cheaper US gas (did not seem any different in price to me) before heading on our way to Bear Head State Park in North-Eastern Minnesota. The state highway south proved to be horrible, full of cracks and bumps from the biting cold winters, which made the driving somewhat slower.

Shortly before our turn-off we passed by a sign that made me very excited, and Haifa very confused. I bet she was wondering what the heck I was up to with a huge smile and giggles over passing the exit to Chisholm, Minnesota. Bonus points awarded to any reader who can determine why I was so giddy with excitement about this seemingly non-descript place.

After the turnoff we expected a short-drive to the town of Tower, Minnesota, and then an even shorter drive to the campground. As we passed the 20 minute mark with no sight of either we got a bit concerned, after consulting the map again and determining that indeed we were seemingly on the right path we realized our mistake and cursed the heavens over the blasted imperial measurement system. Miles and Pounds I can figure out when pressed, but for the life of me I have no idea what is up with the Fahrenheit system of temperature.

For the first time this trip we experience disappointment upon arrival at a campground; a large “Campground Full” sign greeted us at the entrance. Haifa jumped in to ask about overflow camping or a campground close by and was met with a grumpy women who suggested trying another state park. Which state park, and where they were located was apparently beyond her knowledge base. Her attitude certainly didn’t help with our disappointment.

After a brief discussion we decided to head back to the town of Tower, stop for lunch and then find a visitor centre to help determine our next move. We had turkey sandwiches in the town of Soudan – home to the very first Iron Mine in Minnesota,  which is now a modern day Mining museum complete with a tour of an old mine shaft. We determined that in order to go to this, and the Tower Railroad museum, tomorrow that if we couldn’t find any campsite close by that we would get a motel in town.

On our way through town we caught sight of a sign promising camping and followed the directions to Hoodoo Point campground just outside of town on Vermillion Lake (for those following at home this is the third Vermillion Lake we have visited). The manager said he had one site left, but that it was a pretty bad site and advised us to take a look before paying. Driving past shade-less fields full of RV’s we got quite worried about what the bad site would look like. To our pleasant surprise this bad site is easily the best in the whole campground. We are surrounded on three sides by trees, have a large space to fit our tent, have a kitchen, play area, and living room. We quickly booked for the night and will hopefully be able to extend our stay in the morning.

The stereotype of Minnesota, even for us from up North in Canada, is one of a deeply cold and empty land full of lakes. It is full of lakes, but it is not empty or cold (at least not in summer). Today was the hottest day of the trip by far. The extreme mugginess did not help, neither did the complete lack of any cooling wind. A dip in the lake helped a bit, but the sweat came back just as soon as we were out. Then, at about 8:00, a 10 minute thunder shower rolled in. This was literally greeted with cheers from the campers. Booming “Yeah’s” could be heard from around the campground as the sky caved in on us, pelting us with as much rain as it could muster. Big shaking thunders and flashes of lightning caused quite the show, and the rain cooled us down for the rest of the evening. Walking to the bathroom later I was awed at the sight of the thunderstorm to the southeast of us, reflecting the pink of the setting sun as the flashes of lightning could be seen from inside its belly. It was a wonderful sight.

Tomorrow, with luck, will be a relaxing day. We hope to extend our stay here so that we can visit the sites in town and jump into the lake a few times. We have booked a hotel in Duluth on Sunday and then have three days to traverse Wisconsin before we get to Chicago for Thursday. Given the busy 4 days ahead of us, we are all looking forward to taking it easy for the first time since the Okanagan. 

From Manitoba to Ontario

July 18-19 From Manitoba to Ontario

On our second day in Winnipeg we woke up bright and early as usual. Zaid was very hungry and kept urging us to go down to have breakfast and so Ben and I who would have loved nothing more than some more sleep, reluctantly got everyone changed and walked down to the hotel’s cafeteria for our continental breakfast. Once all were fed and happy, we went back to our room for a quick skype chat with my mum and to pack up our bags for departure. On the way out of Winnipeg we stopped for a quick visit at the Royal Canadian Mint where we were all very excited to learn how money is made, and got to have a picture taken with a gold bar worth more than half a million dollars. For Zaid, the most exciting part was the little pond in the lobby which he kept running around and around. After the Mint we stopped again for some groceries and soon were on our way to our next destination.

Our next stop was a night of camping at Whiteshell Provincial Park on Falcon Lake. Whiteshell Park is a beautiful location with forests similar to those of the West Coast and a beautiful sandy beach just minutes away from the campsites. It reminded us a lot of Manning Park in BC. As we were driving slowly towards our campsite we were greeted by a gorgeous looking male deer that popped out of the bushes right beside our car. We slowed down and I quickly pulled my camera out just in time to capture the elegant animal as he turned around to stare at us right in the face. After a minute of looking at each other the deer gently walked across the road and disappeared into the bushes and we drove away to our site feeling jubilant. The rest of the stay at Whiteshel was pleasant and had us swimming in the lake twice. At one point the whole family including own,were in for a dip and Zaid had a wonderful time splashing everyone with water while screaming “splash you!”.

The next day, July 19^th we packed up yet again and began the drive towards our new home province, Ontario.  Our stay in Ontario was going to be very brief as we head towards the US for a week before coming back to Ontario on the way to end the journey. Our destination for now was a campground just south of Kenora called Caliper Lake Provincial Park in Lake of the Woods area. This park was truly beautiful and our particular site was by far the most beautiful camp spot we have had on this trip so far. Arriving on a Thursday meant that the park was almost empty and so we had many sites to choose from. We ended up choosing a spot right on the lake but with a few bushes between us and the water, enough to stop Zaid from attempting a dip without the supervision of one of us.  Our picnic table was only a couple of meters away from the water, and as we sat down to dinner our conversation was accompanied by the sound of the waves and cries of loons living close by.

Soon after arriving and setting up our camp we headed out for a walk to discover the rest of the ground. Something which we’ve come to do every time we stay in a new park. On our walk we stopped for icecream and there we ran into two bikers. They turned out to be part of a whole group of bikers that we actually drove by earlier in the day and who are on a cross Canada ride. We were excited to see other cross country travellers, albeit they were going by bike and actually crossing the entire country all the way from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. 

Later on in the evening, after the kids went to sleep, Ben and I sat down around a camp fire watching the lake and eating roasted marshmallows. At some point two Pelicans swam by right inform of us. It was a magical evening in the most beautiful place we’ve seen.  We liked this site so much that we contemplated staying a second night but then decided against it as we were eager to begin our USA leg of the journey as soon as possible.

The night at Caliper Lake was a bit less magical and a bit more scary.  We woke in the middle of the night to very heavy winds which, according to me were accompanied by thunder, lightning and rain. Ben who is a heavy sleeper recalled waking us only to light winds. In any case the wind was strong enough to break a branch off a tree, which we found in the morning sitting inches away from our tent, and in the exact spot where we were setting the evening prior. That was the extra reason we needed to decide against staying one more night and continue on our trip in spite of how much we loved the location.

The following day we set out to drive to the USA. More about that in the next posts by Ben.

Haifa

Day 25: Winnipeg Rocks

July 17, 2012

Winnipeg Rocks. That is really all there is to say about it. We loved our time in Calgary, but the place felt like a large suburb rather than a city. Vancouver feels like a large provincial town rather than a city. Regina looked like a city, but the place was dull and empty.  The feeling in the city is great, there is a tonne of old Canadian history, there are wonderful locals, great riverside parks, beautiful tree lined streets, a thriving french neighbourhood, and an active urban feeling along Portage Avenue. Winnipeg is a city, Winnipeg rocks, too bad its -15 on a good day in the winter.


We had a general feeling coming into town that this part of Canada is home to many descendants of Eastern European immigrants, in particular Ukrainian. We have been anticipating great perogies since we left Calgary and have devoted considerable time and energy to finding the best perogies in town. My friend Lori suggested our best bets would be an Orthodox Churches Perogie dinner, or Mom's Perogies. We decided to go for Mom's perogies for dinner last night. After getting directions from our Hotel we left at about 6:00, much later than our usual dinner time, resulting in two very hungry children in the back. We get to the Deli at about 6:30 to find out that it closes at 5:00 on Monday. Somewhat disappointed, but far more hungry, we begrudgingly stop at a Wendy's for some fast food. Given our hunger it didn't really matter what it was we were eating (Thankfully). 


This morning we were at the Market at The Forks and came across a perogie place and decided to have lunch there. This was a horrible decision. There was absolutely nothing positive to say about the place. The counterwoman was grumpy and tired, the signage and pricing was confusing, the prices were outrageous ($6 for 5 perogies), and the perogies were disgusting. They were mostly dough, with very little filling (and none of the cheese promised), and tasted like chewing this gummy mess. The taste was  non-existent, they literally had absolutely no flavour. The only sensation was gummy. It was one of the two worst meals I have ever had.

Zaid's reaction after his perogies

Given our debacle with food in Winnipeg over the last 2 meals, we decided to put some serious effort into dinner tonight. We settled, after much deliberation, on Chave D'Ouro, a Portuguese place that seems to, according to locals, serve the best chicken in town. The dinner was wonderful, served by a talkative and cheerful Portuguese Grandmother, we had wonderfully charred and flavoured Chorizo, roasted Potatoes and Chicken covered in Piri Piri Sauce. It was a welcome warm and tasty meal after our perogie disaster.

We had a busy day today. On top of our food hunting we spent a great 3 hours at the Forks, just outside of downtown Winnipeg. This place has a huge importance in Canadian history as it marks the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine River's - a hugely important place for trading and commerce for over 6000 years. We had a great time walking around the market, checking out the Prairie garden (where we sampled Earl Grey plants and a relative of Mint that smells of licorice), playing in the Children's Museum and playground, and then walking across the Esplanade Riel footbridge over the Red River into St. Boniface (the french quarter where all signs were in French). After our perogie disaster we headed to St. Boniface to pay a visit to Louis Riel and the St. Boniface Cathedral. The Cathedral burned down 45 years ago, leaving just the outer shell, but it was very beautiful. I cannot imagine what it looked like when it was a full church.  The residential neighbourhood around the tourist zone was wonderful - large tree-lined streets with wonderful old houses. If only it wasn't -15 in the winter I could see spending some time here.

St.  Boniface Cathedral. Louis Riel's resting place is on the left.

As a long-time Vancouver resident we hear repeatedly about who beautiful our city is. This often gives us a bit of a complex, that because Vancouver is beautiful other places must not be nice. I love being proven wrong, especially in the wonderful city of Winnipeg. 

A rainy welcome to Manitoba

July 16, 2012

Yesterday, July 15th, we left Saskatchewan for Manitoba. We woke up in the morning in our campsite in Good Spirit Lake Provincial Park bright and early. As soon as we starting packing up our belongings the rain started. It was very heavy and strong rain that soaked us to the core in just a few minutes. We quickly got the boys in the car while we finished packing up and by the time we were done, Ben and I were completely soaked. We left the park as soon as we could and our plan was to head for Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba for a couple of nights of camping there.

When we arrived at the park, the heavy rain was still falling and we reluctantly decided that it would be safer to stay the night in a hotel, especially with warnings of thunder storms over night.  We spent about an hour in Wasagaming unsuccessfully looking for accommodation. The resort town combined with heavy rain which may have driven many people away from camping and into hotels, meant that very few rooms were available and those that were were very expensive.  After checking 5 of 6 places we decided to drive to Minnedosa which is another town less than an hour away to find a hotel there.  Our search in Minnedosa was fruitful and we quickly found ourselves safe and dry in a simple but comfortable motel room. 

The following morning, we left our motel to head to Winnipeg. Before leaving Minnedosa however we made a stop at the town's heritage village site. The site had a few houses built about 100 years ago and a beautiful park which we walked in, enjoying views from the lake and river in town. I have been getting very interested in bird viewing since we started on this trip, enjoyed spotting a couple of new species which I then ticked away on my bird viewing checklist which I piked up in Cypress Hills. When our walk was complete we got back into our car and headed to Winnipeg.

Just outside of Winnipeg, we stopped for lunch at a park by the water treatment centre for the city of Portage La Prairie which sits right beside the Assiniboine River. As we conveniently travel with our kitchen in our trunk, it took us mere minutes to have our stove/grill set up on a picnic table and have our hot dogs grilling away on it. After enjoying hot dogs for lunch we walked around and by the river. We were all excited to spot a threesome of Pelicans playing in the water (one more bird for me to tick off).

We finally arrived at our hotel in Winnipeg just in time for checking in time and after a quick rest in our room, we were off again to visit the city's main park, the Assiniboine Park.  This was  a beautiful park almost as big as Stanley Park in Vancouver. It contained a kid's dream playground area complete with a very small door that adults need to bend down in order to go through. It also had a lovely flower and plant garden with many local plant species and a beautiful sculpture garden than must host 20 or 30 different sculptures scattered around flower garden and gorgeous looking ponds.

Our walk in Assiniboine Park took us to dinner time and we weer back in our car driving to a local perogies  place recommended by a friend of Ben's. Unfortunately by the time we arrived at the restaurant it was closed for the day and we had to continue driving around looking for an alternative. Being far away in the outskirts of town, the only available places were fast food junk joints and with the two boys hungry and screaming in the back seat, we eventually pulled over at Wendy's for our dinner. The food was your typical junk fair but while we were disappointed to not be eating perogies we were  all too starved to care much by that point and  gobbled our burgers and fries very quickly. As a special treat we decided to allow Zaid to drink pop for the first time, but were happily surprised to see that he did not like it. After making a disgusted face he asked for water! We were very proud of him but also felt a little guilty that our effort to always eat healthy wholesome food may have gone a little too far. I mean what kid does not like pop??!! 


There is much to do and see in Winnipeg and we only have a very short time. Tomorrow is going to be busy with plans to visit a Children's museum, St. Boniface, the Forks and couple of other things. We might not be able to get a round to see everything we want but we will try our best. 


Next will be more camping just before the border with Ontario and then in Ontario. Ben is itching to be camping again and we are all hoping for good weather so that we can enjoy it. Our next post will most likely then come to you from the USA!


until then. 


Haifa 

Day 22: Thoughts From Saskatchewan

July 14, 2012

Tonight is the last of our three nights in Saskatchewan. We are at Good Spirit Lake, about an hour North-East of Melville and are staying in a nice campground amongst a small poplar forest. Tomorrow we head for Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. I have lots of thoughts about our short time in this province but there is little way to combine them into a cohesive unit. Therefore, I present a collection of musings and happenings from Saskatchewan.

1) There is no flag that better represents the area it stands for than that of Saskatchewan. Today we were driving along a small, and very straight, country highway, to the left was a young wheat field – green as far as the eye could see, and to the right was a canola field – yellow as far as the eye could see. I felt as if we were driving down the centre of the Provincial flag.

2) Regina kind of blows. We went downtown for dinner on Friday night, only to find a deserted city. Most restaurants were closed and the few people we did see seemed to be in a hurry to get out of dodge. After 30 minutes of walking we stumbled upon a greasy Chinese diner that served some very good white-person Chinese food, the restaurant had only 3 of 20 tables full. There were more people, by a factor of 10, at the Superstore this morning than downtown on a Friday night, not a good sign for a city.

Downtown Regina - Friday Night

3)  I have no idea what the term is for someone from Saskatchewan or Regina. Our best guess is that residents of Regina are called “Reggies.”

4) They REALLY like the Roughriders here. They have highway road signs celebrating old football heroes. They have a whole area of Regina cordoned off as the “Green Mile.” Approximately 75% of all people (from babies to old women in wheelchairs) today (when the Roughriders play the BC Lions) were wearing some kind of team paraphernalia. It should be noted that we travelled about 200 KM today and drove through multiple small towns, all Rider obsessed. One of the two official provincial license plates comes adorned with the Roughriders logo and slogan. They REALLY like the Roughriders here.

5) Despite my dislike for Regina, we all found the Royal Saskatchewan Museum to be a hoot. They had a very nice natural history of Saskatchewan gallery that we all loved, as well as a dinosaur and First Nations Gallery. To top it off, Zaid spent 30 minutes playing in the “Paleo Pit” in the basement – a playroom stuffed from wall to wall with Dinosaur toys.

6) There are a tonne of dragonflies here. I picked 15 full ones out of the grill of the car today. They have been circling our campsite since we arrived 7 hours ago, even going so far as to land on books we are carrying, or beside Owen in his carseat.

7) I was out trying to find a garbage can after dinner and decided to go have a second look by the washrooms. I turned the corner from the road to the path towards the washrooms and came face to face with a mama deer and her 2 babies. The quickly passed me by, about 2 feet in front of me. It was quite something to witness. We have seen this deer family 3 times now in the campground.

8) Owen has been drooling a lot recently, and we finally figured out why. His first tooth came in! Despite indications that it would be an incisor, it was the traditional lower front tooth. The one next door is on the verge of popping out as well. Hopefully this explains the slightly less than pleased behaviour he has been showing in the car.

9) Our car is disgustingly filthy. It hasn’t rained more than a couple of drops in over a week and the combined effects of dirt roads and thousands of bug splatters from the top of the carrier to the bottom of the front grill are taking their toll. When we stop the front of our car becomes a feeding ground for all kinds of bugs. I hope automatic car washes can account for the car-top carrier.

10) We stopped for a lunch in Melville today and stumbled upon a garage sale. It was hosted by an older man who needed to empty his late mother’s house after he had sold it - $90,000. We purchased an old school film camera as a toy for Zaid. He has been loving taking pictures from the car.

11) We stopped for lunch in Herbert, just east of Swift Current, on the way to Regina. We stopped at the tourist centre, which happened to double as an old train museum. Zaid, who has developed an obsession for trains as large as his obsession for trucks, was in heaven. We spent about an hour puttering inside the old train cars. A little gem by the side of the highway.

12) We cannot wait for traditional perogies made by old Ukrainian grandmothers in Winnipeg. 

Cypress Hills

July 10 - 12 , 2012

We spent July 10th to 12th camping in Cypress Hills. Cypress Hills, for those who do not know, is described as the highest point between the Rockies and Labrador. That makes it quite literally an island of hills in the middle of a sea of flat Prairie fields. And because of that  it is a perfect holiday and camping spot in this area and weather. The Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park straddles the borders of both Alberta and Saskatchewan. We chose to camp in the Alberta part of the park in a little campground nestled between the hills and Elkwater lake.

As we began setting up our camp we noticed that the sites around us were all occupied by families with  children. There were at least four family with children ranging from age 6 to10 and Zaid quickly ran out to some of them and started chatting with them. Most of the kids had brought their bikes with them and were zooming around the site, and Zaid was very interested in all the bikes. The children were all very kind and most of them would stop as soon as they saw Zaid and would allow him to touch their bikes, inspecting every parts of them. One little girl told me that after spending a few minutes examining her bike Zaid firmly  said "good bike" and finally allowed her to continue her ride around the grounds. Another little girl took it upon herself to make sure that whenever Zaid wondered too far away from our site, she would hold his hand and lead him all the way back to his mommy and daddy. The older boys walked with him as he went to explore the little creek across from our site, and all of the kids just made sure that he was safe and having a fun. For Zaid this was by far our best camp.

On our first day we drove to the beach and had a swim in Elkwater lake. The lake was not as warm or clean as Newell Lake from our previous site, but was still very pleasant to be in especially in 30 degree weather.  The following day was our relaxing day. In the morning we visit Fort Walsh, a fort built in the 1800s to help expand the sovereignty of Canada to the western regions. The tour guide was an excellent historian who was dressed the part and who was full of interesting and educational historical information about the fort, the era and the region. Unfortunately standing and listening to a history lesson about the fort was not too interesting to Zaid and Owen, and so we quickly broke away from the group and explored the rest of the fort according to our own schedule and route. Following a quick lunch at the site's information centre we drove back to our camp for a relaxing afternoon in the shade of the trees surrounding our tent.

In the evening we enjoyed a simple dinner of franks and beans, followed by a walk to the town's corner store for some ice-cream and a walk back to prepare the boys for bed time.

It is fair to say that apart from the little accident we had with Own, as talked about in Ben's previous post, the stay at Cypress Hills was great. We enjoyed some shade and coolness after being in the heat of the Prairies for a few days and it was nice to be back in a climate and eco-zone similar to that of the West Coast. The area is also full of wild life although we only managed to spot birds and deer, in addition to the not so wild cows grazing every here and there in the hills. The hills are home to the scary Cougar but luckily for us we did not spot any.

Cypress Hills were recommended to us by several people back in Vancouver and we are very happy to have listened. If you are ever in this part of the country it is definitely not to be missed. A great community, with everything to make a summer holiday fun, relaxing and adventurous.

Next is off to Regina and a couple of days break from camping. As always we are all looking forward to a comfortable bed and a hot shower, and of course a chance to do some laundry. Ah the life of road travellers!

Haifa 

Day 18: I Dropped Owen

July 10, 2012. 

I dropped Owen this evening. It was almost 4 hours ago and he is fine now. He has a big welt on his forehead and scratches all over, but is alert, focused, and as cheerful as ever. Owen is fine, but I am still a bit shaken. I expect to poke Haifa awake every hour to make sure he is still fine.

We had just finished dinner and I was holding Owen at the picnic table. Zaid was fiddling with the propane tank on the campstove and Haifa decided to put the stove away to end the fiddling. However, in doing the job quickly, the propane tank remained open, spilling propane out into the air. In a flash I had two thoughts: get the propane tank closed ASAP and keep the kids away from it. Holding Owen, the only way for me to accomplish this was to hold him in one hand, arm outstretched, and remove the hose from the propane tank with the other. As I put this hastily thought out plan into action Owen slipped from my grasp and fell about 2 feet to the gravel floor below. He fell face first and immediately burst into tears.

Neither Haifa nor I really recall many of the details of the next 5 minutes or so. Owen ended up in Haifa’s arms and I managed to corral the propane. Zaid was a bit scared and so was still hanging around, which is good because if he had decided to wander we would still be looking for him. 5 minutes more pass during which Zaid remained in the camp and Haifa alternately consoled both Owen and me. Thankfully, our neighbouring campers, Jeff and Kay from Fort Saskatchewan, had seen the scene unfold and came over. Their presence shook us out of our shock and got us into action. A phone call to the Visitor Centre revealed the small town of Elkwater has not even a doctor’s office and the nearest Hospital was 45 minutes away in Medicine Hat. After 4 more phone calls we managed to get the Parks Paramedic to come up and pay us a visit. By the time she arrived Owen was mostly back to his old ways. He greeted her with a huge smile and passed all of the concussion tests with flying colours. Nevertheless, we now have her number on file and will be monitoring Owen all night long.

Owen and I - none the worse for wear the following morning

Aside from the stress and worry of the evening the day was excellent. We broke camp early at Kinbrook Island and had a midmorning swim at the, surprisingly, empty beach. The drive to Elkwater in the interprovincial park of Cypress Hills proved to pass surprisingly well, Owen only required one stop and Zaid had a long nap as well. After settling into our campground we headed down to Elkwater Lake for another dip in the water to cool down before heading back to camp and the stress to come.

Zaid and I playing in Elkwater Lake - Cypress Hills

Tomorrow we head to Saskatchewan for the day, visiting Fort Walsh and the Cypress Hills Massacre National Parks sites before coming back to our camp in the Alberta side of the park. We are planning a long drive to Regina for the day after that, bringing us fully into our third province.

Day 17: Bloodsuckers of the Badlands

July 9, 2012

We are deep into Alberta and the great Canadian Prairies now; it is quite a change from the environment we 

are used to in BC. It is, however, not really like the stereotypical prairie environment either. Coming from the mountains we have a view of the prairies as this great flat wasteland. We joke that from the Rockies you can see the city of Winnipeg off in the distance, unobstructed by anything.

In my mind the term flat brought to mind a blank sheet of white paper lying on a table, textureless, empty, plain. While the prairies are most certainly flat, they are far from empty. From softly rising and falling slopes, to canyons cut out over thousands of years by rivers, to groves of trees, to vast fields of yellow canola and green soy, to the silos, barns, and farmhouses in the middle of this all, the terrain of the prairies is full of texture. It is nice to be in a place that celebrates much of what we take for granted having come from the mountains.

Heading to Drumheller for Zaid’s most anticipated visit, the Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum, Owen wakes up, forcing us to stop for a roadside feeding. Being locked in the air-conditioned car since leaving Calgary, our system was shocked by the opening of the door. The freshest and most wonderful scent filled the car. All the various crops, as well as the roadside grasses come together to create the most beautiful smell in the prairies. Haifa immediately had recollections of springtime in Jenin when her family had just moved to their home atop the mountain. Surrounded by fields this was the smell she had grown up with.

A second stop was required before checking into our campground, a visit to an ATM, since campgrounds generally only accept cash payments. The map, as well as the roadsigns, suggested that Carbon might be an option for us. A short 3 kilometer drive from the highway we grew sceptical when there was no sight of any house after our turnoff. However, we quickly made our way down into this depression which housed the prairie town of Carbon. This is pretty much exactly what I had in mind when thinking of small prairie towns; one single main street, with a few houses in the background. The main businesses along main street were an agricultural co-op, what seemed to be a tractor storage yard, a bar/restaurant, and, luckily for us, a Credit Union. In the 10 minutes we were there, getting cash, taking pictures, and calming Owen, we saw only 1 other individual in the background.

Main Street in Carbon, Alberta

Given the popularity of Drumheller and the Dinosaur museum we decided to procure accommodations before visiting the museum. We decided on Bleriot Ferry provincial park, about 20 KM North of the city, right on the shores of the Red Deer River, on the floor of a canyon. Being in a location called “The Badlands”, and amidst the heatwave that had been ravaging Eastern North America, we thought that such a location would be cooler. It very well may have been, but any gains in the temperature department were more than offset by the Mosquito department. I have never seen such quantities of mosquitos in my life. We woke up in the morning to a nearly black ceiling of bloodsuckers stuck between the tent and fly, waiting for us to depart before the struck. The Mosquitos, combined with the drunkards next door (from Vancouver), the loud bully of a mother next to them, the 30 degree heat, and the filthy washrooms that hadn’t been cleaned in at least a month made this by far our worst campsite yet, and one that we expect to be the worst of our trip. We left as soon as was humanly possible in the morning to get away from it.

Luckily, the experience at the Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum overshadowed the experience at the campground. Alberta has one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur fossils in the world, and much of it is clustered in the area around Drumheller. As such, this museum has been built, and proven to be a massive success. The place is full of complete dinosaur skeletons from probably 30-40 different unique dinosaurs, including Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and the T-Rex. The newest addition was a fossil recently discovered of a sea-creature that had 76 vertebrae in its neck (making it 10 times longer than a Giraffe’s neck). This was truly an awe-inspiring visit for all of us, and has proven to be a highlight of the trip so far.

T-Rex Skeleton in the museum

Today we made our way in a south-easterly direction to Kinbrook Island Provincial Park, about 15 KM south of Brooks. This has proven to be a very welcome time to relax. The Island is in Lake Newell, which is a popular boating, fishing, and swimming destination for Albertans. The campsite reminds me very much of Hayne’s Point in Osoyoos. Most of the campers spent the day sitting at the beach or swimming in the just warm enough (and just cool enough) water. The campground is very well run, with lots of shade to keep the scorching sun at bay. Our strategy of swimming in full clothing proved to be very successful, as we were kept cool by our wet shirts all afternoon. The excitement was a bit much for Zaid though as he took two and half hours to fall asleep this evening.

Tomorrow we will pack up our tent, head to the beach for one last cooling swim, and then head for Cypress Hills Provincial Park. This brings us to the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan, heading towards our third province. It also comes at an opportune time as I have just started reading “The Englishman’s Boy” by Guy Vanderhaege, which deals with an event known as the Cypress Hills Massacre. It will be nice to have the place provide context to the book, and the book provide context to the place, in particular our planned visit to the Cypress Hills Massacre National Historic Site.

I can’t believe we are almost in Saskatchewan. In a week or so we should be crossing into Minnesota to begin the US portion of our trip, and then a short time later we will be in Toronto. There is still lots of new stuff to see and do though, so we are staying excited and ready for new adventures.

Calgary

July 6-8 

On July 6^th we left Banff and headed towards Calgary. We started our Calgary visit by stopping at Olympic Park which happened to be on the way from the Banff and is where events from the 1988 Olympics in Calgary took place. The park was quite interesting with lots of fun Olympics inspired activities to satisfy a whole family. We opted to visit the Sports Hall of Fame since it would have been challenging to do any other activity such as Zip-lining, luging etc with two young children. The highlight from the Hall of Fame was when Ben spotted a gold medal in diving from the 1970 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games won by his mother’s cousin!

Next we drove all the way to the opposite end of town to visit Calgary Fort. More like a museum than a fort, the place had many interesting exhibits showing life in Alberta in the early days of the20^th century. Zaid enjoyed two things in particular; playing with antique  toys from in the interactive children’s area, and painting a buffalo to put on the Alberta map in an activity called “reherding Alberta”. He also loved watching the horses in the barn right outside the Fort.

By the time we were finished with the Fort it was time to head to my friend’s place. Joanne lived in a very nice community in south west Calgary. After a brief period of being lost we found ourselves at her front door.

Our stay with Joanne was fantastic. She was a most generous and gracious host, who adore children in general and who loved Zaid and Own. Within a few minutes of our arrival Joanne managed to become Zaid’s newest best buddies.  Acting just as you might expect a great aunt to, she had all of his favorite things; snacks, toys, tv shows, books and other activities. When Zaid was done exploring all of the toys and books, he moved on to explore every nook and cranny of the house, including all of the kitchen cupboards. Faced with all of her pots and pans spread on the kitchen floor, my friend did not bat an eye, instead she happily joked that she’s been meaning to clean up her kitchen for a while and now she has the chance to do so! Zaid  an amazing time with his new friend Joanne and was quite sad to leave a couple of days later. Even now a few days after we have left he still asks every now and then to go back to Joanne's house. 

Our second day in Calgary started with a quick breakfast at home and then a trip to the Ismaili Community Stampede Pancake Breakfast.  Pancake breakfast seems to be the thing to do and have during the Calgary stampede and it sounded like everything community and organization in town was putting on one. In fact there was a list in the newspaper of the locations of all breakfasts staking place during every day of the stampede . And they were all free! We were enticed by the Ismaili breakfast when Joanne mentioned that they serve pancakes, scrambled eggs, curry and chai. The meal did not disappoint and somehow these very different foods and flavors seemed to all go well together, especially washed down with a super strong and creamy chai.  After filling up with yummy food we joined an organized tour of the Ismaili temple. The temple was so beautiful and filled us all with a sense of tranquility and peace. I am not sure if it was the calmness of the place, the symmetrical architecture, or the special windows allowing for a perfect balance of light and shade, but I believe it was all of these elements combined to create that perfect environment for worship and contemplation.

Following a trip back to Joanne’s house for some rest we headed out in the afternoon to the Calgary Zoo. The Zoo was disappointed due to two things. First the very hot weather meant that most of the animals were hiding in the comfort of their den’s and difficult to see. And secondly it was the fact that the Zoo was so big and required a lot of walking to get around and see all the animals. The walking combined with heat and a cranky and tired Zaid did not make for a fun time. In spite of that though there were still some great moments spent there. For me, it was seeing the Elephants who luckily happened to be outside their home and so close to the fences surrounding their area you could almost reach out and touch them. We also all enjoyed watching the grizzly bear pacing back and forth across the hill in his enclosed area. The grizzly seemed agitated or perhaps hungry but in any case not too happy and we were sure glad there was a fence between us and him. It was so amazing to watch him and we did stand there mesmerized for a few minutes before we could peel our eyes away and on to the next animal. 

Zaid’s favorite part about the Zoo was the butterfly garden.  Earlier in the day when we told him that we were going to the zoo and asked him what animal he wanted to see the most, his reply was “lions and butterflies”. We assured him that we will most certainly see a lion but that we were not sure that the Zoo will have butterflies. But Joanne informed us that this particular Zoo does indeed have butterflies and Zaid was very excited to see them. The butterfly garden was small but very pretty and there were indeed many beautiful and lively butterflies zooming around the place not at all scarred by all the people around. Zaid was having an amazing time until two butterflies decided to land on him, at which point he decided that he had enough and urged Joanne to push his stroller out and away.

The next day our visit to Calgary was coming to an end. We had a lovely breakfast with Joanne and after saying goodbye we got into our car and drove to our next destination: Drumhheller and a campground just outside of it called Bleriot Ferry Park. I will leave it to Ben to tell you all about this part of the trip but it is sufficient to say for now that the campground was awful and the dinosaurs were awesome!

I am writing this tonight from our last stop in Alberta. Next is Saskatchewan, and our next post will be coming to you from Regina!

Haifa 

Camping in Banff

July 5^th, 2012

We’ve been camping in Banff since Monday night and we love it over here. Ben keeps talking about how this is real camping and how much he is loving the place and I can totally see why. We are camping in Johnston Canyon camping ground which seems to be very central and equally close to Banff and Lake Louise. Out of all of our different campsites so far this has been the most comfortable for me. The camp is large and almost always at least two thirds full which gives us a nice feeling of not being all alone in the wilderness. We’ve also seen many more fellow tenters here than in BC camp grounds which is also very nice. I personally like that the camp has enough modern life conveniences like flush toilets, dish washing sinks and power outlets to make it comfortable while at the same time, keeping the heart and soul of the forest alive enough to make us feel that we are indeed in the wilderness.  I also feel safer here than in previous sites, something that is unexpected considering the abundance of wild animals in this area. The feeling of security was helped by the assurance by the check- in lady that although bears are frequently seen just outside the camp, they almost never actually come into it. I am not surprised because the camp is busy and loud while also (thanks to the very vigilant park staff) being very clean of food and anything else that might attract bears which is the trick to keeping wild animals away.

Speaking of wild animals, the days we’ve been here have been great for viewing wild animals that I have never seen before. On the way up here we spotted a grizzly bear and the next day a black bear. We also spotted three big horn sheep on our second morning. But yesterday in my opinion brought the best wildlife viewing.  We had gone for a walk to the nearby lodge and restaurant for an afternoon ice cream treat. On the way back we were walking by the creek under a little bridge and just as we came out of under the bridge we noticed two HUGE elks standing on the other side of the creek feeding on grass. It was a great sight!! These two very big animals were right there mere meters away from us, completely oblivious to us watching them eat away. We stood there for a good 5 minutes or more, taking pictures and then just watching in awe. We then walked the rest of the way home leaving the elks to continue their dinner in peace. 

Elks in Banff

It seems that the elk population here is out and about these days because today we spotted two more as we drove back to camp at the end of our day. We also saw a deer in Banff town and it was right in the front courtyard of a residential apartment building!  We’ve seen warning signs for wolfs around here but have not spotted any, which in my opinion is not a bad thing! I would however like to see a bear from a clearer (but safe) vantage point as so far the only two I spotted I only managed to get a glimpse of their backside as they were disappearing into the forest.

This area of Canada in truly majestic. There is no way of describing the beauty and power of the Rockies except to just be here and see them. They stand so tall and so bold, they are awe inspiring. I am so very glad to have had the opportunity to come here and see them.  Another majestic sight has been the Takakkaw waterfall. Yesterday we walk right up to it and had a picnic lunch as we sat and stared at its beautiful water thundering down what seems like eternity.  Today we visited Lake Louise, yet another beautiful icon of this country and now I know why. I have never seen water this colour before and certainly never, not even in Norway have I seen such a beautiful sight of lake, mountains, trees and glaciers all in one exquisite frame.  If you are a nature lover, the Rockies are a must see and visit. I am so glad we decided to spend a few days here to venture around and see as much of the area as possible. Alas, we run out of time tonight and we will have to leave a few things unseen, but not forever as I very surely see myself coming back here again.

Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park 

Tomorrow is off to Calgary where we will be staying with a very generous friend of mine for a couple of days. We have postponed our Calgary visit to now because we did not want to be in Banff during the Canada day long weekend craziness.  Now we realise that this has put us in Calgary during the 100 Anniversary Stampede craziness! Needless to say it was impossible to find hotel accommodation in town for anything less than $300 a night.  If it was not for my friend Joanne who very generously invited us to stay with her, we were going to alter our route to skip Calgary all together in favour of Edmonton. So thank you Joanne for giving Calgary a chance! J

Haifa