Robin & Karen Living the Dream: November 2023

We have long considered a cross country trek & we are somewhat embarrassed to have done a fair bit of world travel but had not yet seen all of our own country. Then came the question – how do we do this? Do we take our big class A motorhome, a small travel trailer, hotels or what – then the idea of a van type/class B motorhome came to us. We found a 2014 Roadtrek for sale close to home & purchased it spring of 2023. It came complete with a king sized bed, tiny bathroom with shower, 2 burner propane stove, kitchen sink, 3.2 cu. Ft. fridge, generator, A/C & an awning – what more could you ask for! So we became a 2 motorhome but no house couple.

We spent time with our kids & grandkids in the spring when we returned from Quartzsite, Arizona & we had taken the family on a holiday to Cabo san Lucas, Mexico in January this year, so we figured we could take the time away for this “bucket list” trip.

We departed our summer campsite home on May 15 after putting our class A motorhome, our car & it’s trailer into storage. An early hot day of 30C!

Westward on Hiway 16, the Yellowhead hiway, 1^st stop close to home in Vegreville for Chinese food, a quick visit with friends, a stop at the cemetery to see Robin’s parents & into Saskatchewan.

We hoped to find sights to see as we went, nothing really pre-planned as is our way, first stop Manitou Springs at Watrous, Sk. for a soak in their natural, mineral hot springs with water 4x saltier than the ocean – you bob like a cork in deep water!

On to Moose Jaw, Sk. to an underground attraction called “The Tunnels of Moose Jaw” with “in character” guides. In the1^st tour – Bunker 24 we were new recruits to a spy agency in 1958 – the Cold War, nuclear threats, propaganda. In the 2^nd tour – Chicago Connection we were bootleggers in 1929 Moose Jaw, buying booze from the Al Capone organization & smuggling it into the US during prohibition. The 3^rd tour Passage to Fortune we were Chinese immigrants from the early 1900’s working in underground laundries – sad to hear how badly they were treated. All in all a fun & educational afternoon.

On thru Regina on Hiway 1, we spent the night “wild camping”on a street in a small town. The app IOverlander became invaluable to us on the trip – places to camp – for free & campgrounds, where to get water, dumpsites, shower options, etc.

Manitoba’s visit worthy options were limited on our route but we did a tour of the Royal Canadian Mint (no photos allowed of the work floor) – they make most of the Canadian coins in circulation as well as coins for over 80 countries!

Flags of all the countries that coins are made for

30 kms east of Winnipeg we passed the “Centre Of Canada” monument

On to Ontario, south thru Lake of the Woods on hiway 71, then east on hiway 11. Beautiful – lots of lakes, islands & rock – the Canadian Shield with 500 million year old rocks. We camped next to a small lake at a roadside rest stop – lovely.

We stopped at Kakabeka Falls on our way to Thunder Bay, impressive. We did a photo stop at the Terry Fox Memorial on our way to a campsite at Ft William Historic Park & we did a tour of the Fort the next day.

Terry Fox memorial

Kakabecka Falls

We drove near Lake Superior, saw the huge grain terminals & finally found a spot to get out & look at pretty lake rocks & found my first piece of lake beachglass.

Lake Supeior

We are figuring out how to cook on 2 small burners with a maximum 8” frypan & it’s definitely a “one butt kitchen”! No room in the fridge for leftovers so trying to cook (&eat) less.

Our route took us across “northern Ontario” on hiways 17 & 11 which drove Robin nuts – we were much further south than home – but it’s northern Ontario!

We saw a bear & sandhill cranes, got photos of the “Home of Winnie the Pooh” – White River, Ont. & a big Canada goose statue in Wawa.

We got very excited when we saw 3 horse & buggies going down the hiway near Spanish, Ont. – we found out that they are Old Order Mennonites, similar to the Amish.

A highlight in Ontario was the “Big Nickel” & Dynamic Earth attraction in Sudbury – complete with an underground mine tour.

We parked for the night in Ottawa at the Rideau Carlton casino, May 23, Robin’s 67^th birthday & Victoria Day & we were treated to a spectacular fireworks display above the racetrack.

Ottawa found us on a Hop on Hop off double decker bus tour – we caught the last day of the Tulip Festival, we walked along the Rideau Canal & the Parliament buildings (going in the parliament building requires advance planning for tickets & we were “flying by the seat of our pants” & figuring it out as we went.)

We entered Quebec, disappointed that there was no Welcome to Quebec sign & tourist infos all closed, too early.

Pouring rain in Montreal & no where to park so we did a few “drive by” photos & continued on.

We chose less travelled hiways when we could, finding them more scenic & less hectic. We followed the St. Lawrence River on hiway 132, thru small towns with houses right up to the roadway, much prettier & many lovel churches to photograph. We crossed the river at Trois Riviere, founded in 1634, & continued on hiway 138. Gas at Costco was a deal at $1.539/L.

We spent a couple of nights in Quebec City – the only walled city north of Mexico – we took in an amazing walking tour of “Old Quebec” including a ride on the funicular. Loved the Chateau Frontenac, built in 1893, overlooking the water & the city & the historic buildings dating back to the 1600 & 1700’s.

Chateaux Frontenac

We were pleasantly surprised to have almost everyone that we encountered able to speak to us in English (not what we expected) & were helpful. We loved the variety of house styles, everything neat & well kept & much better roadways than Ontario.

Of course we couldn’t leave Quebec without a stop at a Fromagerie for some cheeses.

Into New Brunswick at Edmunston & on to Fredericton to overnite in a Walmart parking lot. We found their huge Farmers Market for breakfast treats, wandered around downtown, by the St John River & into residential – so many lovely historic homes & buildings.

We had to find some of New Brunswick’s covered bridges, also known as “kissing bridges” – in horse & buggy days you could steal a kiss & not be seen. We found Patrick Owens covered bridge circa 1902 & Smythe River 1912.

Since we were often “wild camping” & not using campgrounds we used local swimming pools for showers, with or without a soak in the hot tub. Our little motorhome kept our fridge & lights going with our daily drive so plugging in at a campsite was an unnecessary expense. And we are known for being “cost conscious”!

We bought & tried fiddleheads for the first time on our way to St John, NB – not really a fan. We found a spot to dip our toes into the Atlantic ocean & found some more seaglass. We were told about the Reversing Falls on the St John River so had to check it out – due to tidal action the rapids stop, become calm & the tide reversed – pretty cool. We did some hiking in the Irving Nature Park along the Bay Of Fundy & saw the red mud flats at low tide.

Reversing Falls

fiddleheads

one of several ferries

Onward to Fundy National Park, along hiway 111 – Fundy Coastal Drive – came across some red sandstone sea caves for a quick visit as the tide was rapidly coming in. And we found lobster!! – we had our first Maritime whole lobster meal in Alma, complete with bibs & lessons on how to get at all the meat! We marvelled at the lobster in tanks on display for purchase, live or cooked cold whole lobster for $15/lb.

our humble abode

We drove to Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park – lucked into a free guided tour along the seafloor at low tide & we stuck around for several hours as the tide rolled in. We bought a red lobster stuffy for our dash (yes we are those people!)