Aug 14, 2018 - Baddeck

August 13 headed out to Cape Breton at the top of Nova Scotia. It is a nice 280 mile drive to get there. We arrived and checked into the Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground around 3:30. Set up camp and made plans for the next day. August 14, Tuesday Toured the Alexander Graham Bell center in Baddeck. Besides inventing the telephone, he was responsible for Canada's first flight, invented a hydrofoil boat for the navy, and did research for the deaf. Ate a big lunch at Lynwood Restaurant and looked through some shops then strolled down to the...

Aug 13, 2018 - Fort St John to Fort Nelson

Now I understand why the Alaska Highway is such a popular tourist route. The scenery is wonderful & I think I’m seeing it at its best. Although there was a bit of smoke haze in places, the forest along the highway is lush & the roadside wildflowers are at their peak. I wasn’t sure what to expect but so far the road has been excellent. The first road, built in 8 months in 1942 was just a dirt track with 25% grades & 90° turns but in the last 76 years the Canadian government has spent millions of dollars improving the road, straightening so...

Aug 13, 2018 - Levis QC

We went through customs without any problem, the Derby port was not so busy even though it was Monday. The line coming into the US was backed up - probably people returning from the weekend in Canada. The drive was easy - good highway that was bumpy at times and there was some construction but we made it to the campground just fine. The electric box had a lock on the 50 amp plug so we had to get that taken care of. The campground sells WIFI for $15 for the week, I bought it so we have high speed now. We got a text from Loves on the way up...

Aug 12, 2018 - Hopewell Rocks

August 11, Saturday Traveled to Hopewell Rocks, (a 110 mile back track) set up camp and had a late lunch before heading to the famous rocks and tides. August 12, Sunday slept in and enjoyed the Brunch here at Broad Leaf Ranch Restaurant before our kayak adventure to see the Hope Well Rocks from a higher perspective on top of the “chocolate water”. 43 feet above were we walked yesterday

Aug 12, 2018 - Fort St John

I found an interesting monument during my walk around Charlie Lake this afternoon. It’s been erected by the US Army to commemorate the deaths of 12 soldiers who drowned in Charlie Lake on May 14th 1942 during the construction of the Alaska Highway. They were on a US Corps of Engineers Pontoon Barge delivering equipment, personnel & supplies from their base at the south end of Charlie Lake to the north end of the lake, a distance of about 12 miles. The barge was carrying 17 soldiers, drums of oil, a radio control car & a bulldozer. When they...

Aug 11, 2018 - Chetwynd to Fort St John

It was a long day although the distance from Chetwynd to Fort St John is only 150 km. This is an interesting area so I took several side trips to the Peace Canyon Dam then to the much larger WAC Bennett Dam. My guide book was out of date. It said there was a Visitors Centre at the Peace Canyon Dam but after driving several kilometres I came across a locked gate & no sign of any Visitors Centre although there was a decent view-point. The detour to WAC Bennett Dam, also on the Peace River, was more than 50 km so I was hoping that Visitors...

Aug 11, 2018 - Round Lake, Ontario

August 6th to the 12th Bill, Wendy, Chal ( Bill’s sister and her husband) and I watched the dark clouds roll across the western sky from the deck at the cottage but we did not get any rain. In fact this is probably one of those rare weeks when it threatens rain and thunderstorms but only a few drops fell. Our days here have included all the things you would expect at a cottage. A trip into Barry’s Bay to grocery shop and look in the local shops ( including a new pair of shoes at Afelski’s and a new sun shirt for Bill), barbecues, lots of...

Aug 11, 2018 - Stewart B C

After a very long drive in the rain, we arrived at Stewart BC. The last 37 kilometers were on highway 37a which is called the Glacier Highway. It was raining coming into town but the glaciers, thousands of waterfalls, and rivers were amazing. We will be leaving in a couple days and hope to get some pictures on our way out of town. Stewart is another little town of 800 that is pretty cut off from the rest of the world. They are at least 250 miles for any grocery stores, shopping or anything. They are also not connected to the Alaska...

Aug 11, 2018 - Ottawa, Ontario

August 2,3,4, Rolled into Ottawa on Friday evening in time for dinner after a long drive through Trois Riviere, Montreal and finally along hwy 17 into the east end of Ottawa through the old neighbourhoods where we lived 38 years ago! This time we moved out of Morris and into my Brother Greg’s place for three nights (Bowie too) as much because the humidex was above 40C! so staying in the van was not an option! We went from the sublime to the ridiculous; from remote Newfoundland to the center of Ottawa on Rideau St. on the 23rd story of his...

Aug 10, 2018 - Dawson Creek to Chetwynd

I wanted to do some grocery shopping before I left Dawson Creek but all the roads downtown were blocked off for a street parade. Apparently there’s a big rodeo on this weekend. I gave up & will do my shopping tomorrow in Fort St John. As soon as you get to town it’s easy to see why Chetwynd is known as the chainsaw carving capital. They’re everywhere & some of them are amazing. Apparently there are over 150 so I only saw a small percentage in my wandering around town.

Aug 9, 2018 - Dawson Creek

This campground is right on the Alaska Highway & I’m seeing a constant stream of campers, trailers & motorhomes going past. There are not a huge number of campgrounds north of here & even fewer with good facilities so I decided I needed to do some serious planning to cover the next few weeks. It took all day but I have a rough idea of my itinerary between here & Prince Rupert where I’m booked on the ferry September 10th. The trip via Whitehorse is roughly 3,000 km. I’m currently averaging 99 km a day so it sounds like I can do it...

Aug 9, 2018 - Park day

I have now seen about everything on my list for Vancouver. I walked part way around Burnaby Lake, formed by damming the Brunette River, and saw how low it was. Impossible to load a kayak because the level was too low at the dock. Ducks and geese were feeding there, though. In the afternoon, I got out of the heat for a bit when I went to Deer Lake Park and found a shady lawn where I could sit and have lunch and read for awhile. I picked the wrong time to go back home because I had to travel a very busy Route 1 during rush hour. But it was...