I have arrived on PEI. Made it home middle of the afternoon. Good driving the entire way across the country. Updates, stories and pictures once I get myself settled tomorrow--which apparently is Thursday.

Job--check.
Moved--check.
Apartment--next on the list...

Chicken, Tramp and I stopped just outside Thunder Bay on Sunday(?) to see if we could seek our fortune. We didn't make any money but we did have a good time at the Amethyst mine and brought home a few treasures for ourselves.

It is Tuesday(?) and I'm just about to leave Pembroke. Yesterday was a long day but I have positioned myself for Montreal...should be swinging through in early afternoon--before rush hour! Still on schedule to arrive Wednesday night.

Driving is good. Food is good. Hotels are good. Can't wait to unload at the end of the road. I have more to say but I'm hungry and need to get going!

j.

Tramp and Chicken watching some tv after a long day on the road.

Alberta--done.
Saskatchewan--done.
Manitoba--done.
Ontario--I have only begun.

But I am at least in Ontario. Second day went smooth as well and I am sitting comfortably in my hotel room in Kenora looking out at a lake watching boats speed around. Sigh.

I am hoping to stop in Thunder Bay tomorrow at the Terry Fox memorial. It's nice and a great place to stop and remember. I think I had a crush on him when I was younger. :) One person can change the world.

Morning! It's just before 7am, I'm in Regina. So far the trip has been great--yep, that first whole day went quite well. I head to Kenora, ON today.

Saskatchewan is really beautiful. It doesn't have the majestic beauty of BC and its mountains or the great contrast of green, red and blue of PEI but it is a quiet beauty in the lazy rolling hills. The vivid purple and yellow fields and the lazy rivers that wind and rewind their way along the province. Quite nice.

One of my thoughts yesterday was that I feel like I'm on the Truman show. That Jim Carrey movie from a few years ago where he is on tv but doesn't know it but everyone else does. I kept seeing the same trucks over and over again and was passed by the same vehicles a few times. I mean it must be a low budget movie if they need to keep using the same vehicles. I wonder if there will be a crew change today?

Time to get going!

It is 8:09pm. The landlord will be here at 9:30ish to check me out of the apartment and check the sub-tenant in. I am tired from packing and cleaning. And I smell. A flight of stairs, 25 degree temperatures and boxes do not a pretty smell make.

I hope to blog as I go but that will depend on internet connections at the hotels. I am in dire need of a shower. Yes, I know I mentioned the smell already, but wow a shower would be great right now....now 2 hours from now.

Stayed tuned...or not. Entirely up to you.

Seeing as I didn't need to be at my apartment today and really hanging out would only make me wonder about jobs and interviews I decided that I should get out of the house and play.
So, I played tourist today. There was one more thing I wanted to do before I left Edmonton and I managed to get it done today...I went for a ride on the High Level Bridge Streetcar. It crosses from North to South or South to North depending on where you start. The ride is about 15 mintues each way. The exciting part is being on top of the High Level bridge and gettting a great view of the river valley below and the city sky line on each side. And for only $4 return.

Here's a few pictures from my little adventure.

I headed to an outdoor patio for some lunch and a couple of cooling drinks and then HAD to take a picture of this for you...because it is just too good not to share.

Yes, that is a very portable, very visible washroom facility in Edmonton. Right on the corner of Whyte and Gateway. For those of you not familiar with Edmonton the equivalent would be the turn into the Frobisher across from the hospital in Iqaluit or the corner of say University Ave and Grafton for those of you in Charlottetown. If you don't know those two fine cities let me just say...very busy foot and vehicle traffic. I have no explanation for it.

In other news. I will be starting my new job on August 3. Apparently the flying trip to PEI last week paid off because they decided to bring me on. Yeah! I won't say the company name, most people wouldn't recognize the name anyway. Anyway...it is a one year term...which gets me working right away on the bright red soil. Next year will take care of itself. Just got the news about an hour ago and the smile has yet to leave my face. It will sure make the drive go by faster.

It's Tuesday evening. I'm sitting admist all my stuff. I have boxes and furniture all around me in a semi-circle of sorts. I am almost 100% ready. If I needed to be ready today I would have been...but I didn't need to be so I wasn't. I have one more day of preparation...that I really don't need so it will be a very, very long day.

I am in desperate need of Thursday's arrival. I'm ready to clean the apartment and get to the hotel for my first night on the road. Come Thursday I may be wishing it was Tuesday again but for the moment I need Thursday. I'm ready to leave. Mentally, physically. I'm ready. I've been pouring over my atlas and using google maps planning my days. The route is easy. Take the Trans-Canada Highway. Simple. It is the how many hours a day can I sit behind the wheel each day that I am working on. I checked my travel schedule from the trip West 2 years ago and that has helped, but it doesn't seem to coming together in Ontario the way I want it to. Most of the trip will be done on the fly as far as how long am I driving and where I will stay at night but I'm a planner and like to think it out ahead of time.

I'm looking at 6 days on the road.
Day 1--Edmonton to Regina, Saskatchewan
Day 2--Regina to Kenora, Ontario
Day 3--Kenora to Thunder Bay, Ontario
Day 4--Thunder Bay to ??
Day 5--MORE OF ONTARIO (Really, we don't need Quebec to seperate we need Ontario to lose a few hundred kilometres cause the drive is LONG)
Day 6--Quebec to PEI! Yeah!!

Day 3,4,5 will be very long and dreary.

I have packed some great snacks for on the road. Sweet, salty, chocolatey, and crunchy/munchy. Some of it is even healthy. I have a few of my favorite music cd's on back up for when I can't get CBC radio on the dial. Another recent purchase was a book on cd. It is 22 hours long. I think it cost $6.99 so it was well worth the money. I enjoyed a couple of books on cd during my last trip and if the story line to this one is good I'm sure I will enjoy it too. I recall that in Northern Ontario there is limited cell reception and limited radio stations...and there was way to many stretches of my trying to entertain myself. The book on cd will be a blessing.

There are 4 new to me books waiting in my dresser that I am refusing to crack open until I'm actually on the road. I like to have a book with me in restaurants--helps slow down eating and it gives me something to do other than look at the other customers. I had 5 books but took one with me to PEI, unfortunately I had finished all by 20 pages by the time I reached Charlottetown and had to find a different book for the return flight. I'm a good reader. ;)

The camera is charged and ready. Chicken and Tramp are ready to go. Who's Tramp? He's my new chicken. From Disney's Lady and the Tramp. Chicken will retire when we reach PEI and Tramp will take over full time on the first trip after that. He even has a tiny back pack for travelling. Cute. (Sad, I know...a 36 year old girl travelling with a couple of stuffed animals.)

Come on Thursday...

There is a rather lengthy post below of the first half of my last camping trip. There are pictures!

Packing. Yes, I move a lot. I get it. I don't think it affects any of you in a negative way...except for maybe the pages in your address book. It is amazing how much flack I get every time I announce a move. Sorry, most of you have been very supportive, but some people are just rude about it. Needed to vent.

Yes, I am getting good at packing--too good maybe. I'm basically done. Yes, there are the last bits and the odds and ends but if I don't turn into a slacker tonight I will have it all done and will then drive myself nuts because I don't have anything to do until Thursday morning. And I had almost a full week off from packing. I was in PEI last week. Or should that be I was on PEI last week. Hmmm. Either way, I was there. I had an interview that a lovely private company flew me in for. It has been a long process and they are not finished yet. On top of the 5 interviews I have already had I have 1 more to go. Yeah...I know and it is only for a 12 month position. I won't know until I'm on the road what happens with that particular position...so don't even bother asking me until I land on PEI where it stands.

For those of you who didn't see me or didn't know I was on the Island, my apologies. It was a quick trip and I didn't do much visiting outside of family. I figured since I was arriving on the Island full time within the next few weeks I would be forgiven.

I have no regrets about leaving Edmonton. I did a bit of touring today and had no remorse, no I should haven's, none of those feelings. This must be the right decision.

As for the job...a famous movie once said "If you build it, they will come." I figure if I arrive, the job will come.

Alright, back to our regular blogging news...here's the latest camping trip photos.

Years ago my family lived in Lethbridge, Alberta. We traveled all around Southern Alberta--seeing everything there was to see. I traveled back in time and re-visited some of those places on my last camping trip. Here's what I did...

This is taken at Frank slide. "On April 29, 1903, at 4:10 a.m., 82 million tonnes (30 million cubic metres) of limestone crashed from the summit of Turtle Mountain and buried a portion of the sleeping town of Frank. The dimensions of the rock mass that fell are 150 metres (500 feet) deep, 425 metres (1,400 feet) high and one kilometre (3,280 feet) wide. The bustling town of Frank was home to approximately 600 people in 1903. Of these, roughly 100 individuals lived in the path of the slide. An estimated 70 people were killed.

The primary cause of the Frank Slide was the mountain's unstable structure. Underground coal mining, water action in summit cracks and severe weather conditions may have contributed to the disaster." From the Frank Slide interpretive centre website.

Crow's Nest Pass. Very fond memories from childhood of driving out to the Crow's Nest Pass. Essentially it is a grouping of 5 towns that amalgamated--likely for tax reasons and access to services. Crow's Nest Pass received its name from the path the crows took to get through the mountains in southern Alberta to BC. Yep, it is a simple as that.


I don't remember stopping here before. It was an old abandoned coal mine site. The picture below of the house (wrap around patio) was the Mine Manager's home at the time. The picture below this is what is left of it. I have a pretty good imagination but never would have guessed the 'before' look.





One of the other buildings that remains out at the mine site. This is the one the trains went in and out of to collect the coal.


Wind machines.Apparently this is Cowley Hill there are 77 turbines here collecting wind energy. Plus another 52 off to the left. There is a lot of wind in Southern Alberta and a lot of turbines of a variety of sizes to be found. They are giants.





View of the Rocky Mountains just before arriving in Pincher Creek.


These pictures were all from Day 1 of my last camping adventure. The evening ended with me arriving at a campground just outside of Waterton National Park. The campground was full (not surprising as it was the Canada Day long weekend) and I was put into the overflow area. Their idea of overflow and mine are a bit different. The campsite had some trees on two sides, a picnic table, a fire pit and was right on a small pond. Yep, rough. Oh, and did I mention the mountain views all around me? I think the only draw back was the walk to the washrooms...but even that wasn't too far. I would be happy to camp in the overflow area anytime.

My plan for Saturday morning had been to take a red bus tour of the Going to the Sun Road or Road to the Sun as it has been incorrectly known in my family for the past number of years is this amazing road in Montana.

Taken from Wikipedia..."Going-to-the-Sun Road is the only road through the heart of Glacier National Park in Montana, USA. It was completed in 1932, and it is the only road that crosses the park, going over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. A fleet of 1930s red tour buses "jammers", rebuilt in 2001 to run on propane or gas, offer tours on the road. The road, a National Historic Landmark and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, spans 53 miles (85 km) across the width of the park.


The road is one of the most difficult roads in North America to snowplow in the spring. Up to 80 feet (24 m) of snow can lie on top of Logan Pass, and more just east of the pass where the deepest snowfield has long been referred to as Big Drift. The road takes about ten weeks to plow, even with equipment that can move 4000 tons of snow in an hour. The snowplow crew can clear as little as 500 feet (150 m) of the road per day. On the east side of the continental divide, there are few guardrails due to heavy snows and the resultant late winter avalanches that have repeatedly destroyed every protective barrier ever constructed. The road is generally open from early June to mid October.

The two lane Going-to-the-Sun Road is quite narrow and winding, especially west of Logan Pass. Consequently, vehicle lengths over the highest portions of the roadway are limited to 21 feet (6.4 m) and that means no recreational vehicles or trailers in excess of this length restriction are permitted beyond two larger parking areas, each located at lower points dozens of miles below Logan Pass, on both the west and east sides of the parkway."

The views are well worth the drive. Ok, so I said my plan was to take the red bus tour. Now, in order to take the tour I needed to be at the departure area by 9am. I was about one hour and one national border away. As I went to bed Friday night I mentally told myself wake up early so I would have time to get there. I awoke just after 5am (TOO EARLY) and headed out shortly after that. The border doesn't open until 7am so I headed into Waterton townsite for a tour. I was rewarded for my early morning drive by getting to watch deer and their fawns wander around eating the lawns of the local residents. And surprisingly I was not the only tourist on the go at that time of the morning.

Shortly before 7am I arrived at the border where I watched the opening of the border ritual. The Canadian and US border patrol(?) meet at the two gates, shake hands, exchange keys and then open the gates. The rather grumpy agent that was checking my passport told me that under no circumstances would I be allowed to enter the US---with the wood that I had in the back of my truck. Oops. The wood has been there since my trip to Cold Lake and while I guess I knew it was there on some level I wasn't really thinking about it before I tried to cross into the US. She handed back my passport I pulled a large wide U-turn back into Canada.

"How long have you been out of the country?"
"Ummm, about 45 seconds."
A few explanations on my side a stern lecture on his side about the movement of wood in and around Alberta, the US and BC and I was back in line to cross back into the US. No trouble the second time and I was on my way. I arrived at the entrance to the park, asked direction on where I was to find my tour and headed off--then apparently I drove right by the hotel that I needed to get the shuttle at. A few more minutes down the road I knew I had gone wrong and seeing a sign that Logan's Pass was only 17 miles decided to drive myself.

The reason I wanted to take the tour was to be able to take pictures when and where I wanted. Driving and taking pictures is a dangerous thing, especially on the Going to the Sun Road. I can't look through the view finder so I just point, click and hope for the best....which does not produce the best of photos.

Here's a few photos up to this point in the trip

My campsite at 5am. Great sunrise that morning.

With a view of the mountains how can you go wrong?


Sunrise was well worth being up for. The mountains changed colour slowly, nice to watch.


Deer.


Aren't they cute????


This mountain was just inside the border of Montana.


Rainbow that greeted me at the entrance to the park. No wonder I missed my turnoff I was too busy looking for the pot of gold.


One of the many views along the 'Going to the Road Sun.'


As I continued along the road I could see some clouds moving in...then I couldn't see anything at all.

The cloud starts to move toward the road...

going...


going...


gone. No road. No mountain. No nothing.


I missed the signs marking Logan's Pass (the actual tourist information centre) and stopped a few kilometers down the road at a pull out. I looked down at the gas gauge and oops...it was rather low. Since I hadn't planned on driving through the pass I hadn't looked at the gas tank. Logan's Pass is at 6646 feet above sea level...over the 17 mile drive you gain about 4000 feet....and lose a lot of gas. I was down to just under 1/8th of a tank. Crap. Now I'm at about the 1/2 way point and am not sure if I should go on or go back. The original plan was to just hit Logan's Pass and go back to my campground. Now that I was there and really enjoying the drive I wanted to go all the way through. I asked some bikers if they thought I could make it to the exit of the park and they said yes. Then I asked a park worker and he said yes. After taking what I was hoping to be a few amazing photos of this deer...I was so close I could have touched it.

On the word of the strangers I asked that the road was all down hill from there I set off for the exit of the park. The drive was fantastic and the gas gauge didn't move the entire time. I left the park, had a great lunch and then went and did a small amount of shopping. I bought my favorite deodorant--Arrid--cream, a couple treats for the drive back and headed back to the park. The drive back through the park was every bit as enjoyable at on the first trip...different views...and no low clouds. I had supper outside the park on the way back to the border and made it back to the actual border around 5pm.

"How long have you been in the states?"
"Since the border opened this morning. About 9 hours."
"Did you buy anything?"
"Kinda."
"Kinda isn't really an answer. You are either pregnant or you are not. You can't be kinda pregnant. Did you make any purchases while you were in the US and what were they?"
"I bought chips, pop, deodorant, advil and some female stuff."
"Ok, carry on."
Not quite. But he did tease me about my blushing. He didn't ask anything more about my purchases and we started to talk about the drive I had done, the wood issue from the morning and that was it. He finished asking his questions over the course of the conversation and at one point he mentions "Are you carrying any fire arms or weapons?" I answered no...but then quickly realized if they searched my vehicle they would have found a rather large, rather sharp axe right behind my drivers seat. Oops.

I was very lucky. When I fly I never chance passing over the border and I'm not sure why I was not careful this trip. I guess cause I just have these things in my truck and really don't think about them anymore...whereas when I fly I must purposely pick the things I take with me.

Either way...I made it back to Canada with no worries...except that I can't seem to find my passport this week and it is starting to worry me. I know I got it back I just can't recall where I put it after I got back from the trip. Hmmm.(Passport was found almost minutes after posting this...now, where did I put my ring?)

It had been a long day and after a short walk I crawled into the tent and fell asleep.

Next...Writing on Stone.

This entry is mainly for my family...a walk back in time in Lethbridge, Alberta.


P & D's house. The first place we stayed when we moved to Lethbridge.

Recognize this one? If you look carefully you will see our house on the West side. It's for sale.


This is a bit better view. The rocks are still there and the whole yard has grown up, over and out.


The sugar bowl--this was the best place in the city for sledding.


The bridge.


The YWCA where my dance lessons were...ah the memories.


The old apartment on 13th Street. Yes, these are out of order of when we lived in them. This neighbourhood has certainly changed. There is a whole new subdivision at the end of the road and the old apartment looks a bit like a slum now.


Kelly, I'm sad to say this is where the revolving door to Woolworths used to be. It is now a sad Bargain Shop. No stools, no lunch counter...just cheap ugly merchandise.


Heading down into the coulee and across to the west side.


And that ends our tour of Lethbridge. I have a ton more photos that I will share with you next week!

If I had listened to all the people that have come and gone from my life and never done all the things people have told (suggested) I NOT do I would never have had this journey that I am on.


I would never have kissed a boy.

I would never have learned to drive a standard.

I would never have gone to university.

I would never have graduated from university. (I have two degrees now!)

I would never have set out to Europe on my own.

Never lived in Nunavut, never went to India or anywhere else.

I’d never have even gone on the camping trip I just returned from--and it was fabulous.

And, I would never have taken the step I am about to embark on....

North of Nain and Iqaluk in Calgary (Edmonton) is on the road to home...Prince Edward Island.

Yes ladies and gentleman I am moving back to PEI!

After almost 5 years of traveling across this amazing country it is time to hang my hat back on the red shores of PEI. To some of you this comes as no surprise. I started thinking about it in December of 2009. In March of 2010 I met with a few people on PEI and let them know of my intentions and now it is finally happening. To those who it is a surprise...well, I can only hope you are happy for me and will enjoy the pictures as I get reacquainted with the Island—new blog (again coming soon!)

I should arrive on PEI in time for the Tractor Pulls in Crapaud. I'm a sucker for them and was disappointed to miss them in 2008 when I was leaving Nunavut.

For those of you now saying... ‘Whoo hoo!!’, ‘Congratulations!’, ‘We can’t wait to see you!’—Thanks. I’m pretty excited about it myself.

Here are the answers to a few questions you may have...

Do you have a job there?

No, I don't have a job there yet but I'm sure it will come. Positive thinking--and if you know of anything pass it on!

Why now?

It just feels right. I wasn't ready to return to PEI in 2008 when I left NU. It was much easier to get the medical procedures I needed here than on the Island. It would have been great to have family around to hold my hand during the waits but I made it through. If I need more hand holding in the future someone will be there. And hey, who says I won't move in a year or two when I get itchy feet—again!

Why didn't you move in May when you left your job?

I really wanted the summer off. No thinking, no obligations, no stress, no timetables. I got that. I have had a terrific time wandering around Alberta and just vegging. I will have all kinds of time to spend with family and friends in PEI in a month--if I left in May I wouldn't have had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Alberta and the friends I have here.

Why did you move apartments a month ago only to need to pack it all up again?

It was just something I needed to do. As a single person I have the ability to come and go almost as I please—married people, people with kids just don’t understand that. Living in Old Strathcona was something I wanted to do and now I have. I am calling this apartment my summer home.

When do you leave?

Chicken and I (with the help of some muscular men) are loading up the Uhaul again and heading East around July 23.

I watched a house swim by on the prarie grass as I rode along and dreamt of my past.

Just a little something that came to me this past weekend.

Canada Day...July 1

Yes I know that was a week ago but I am a bit late in getting my pictures posted. I spent the day out and about wandering around the Old Strathcona area of Edmonton. First there was the Silly Parade and later in the evening I took in the fire works from down by the river in the valley.

Here's a few pics from the day...

 

Up, up and away. The cheerleaders did a few stunts on the road during the parade. That girl got some great height. The guy out front wasn't dressed for Bollywood like the rest of the float but he sure knew how to dance. Bollywood is an art form.