Day 1
Owen Sound to Wawa, Ontario. 720 KM (2 hour ferry ride not included)
(click any image for a larger view)
John and I left the campus of Word of Life at about 6:20 AM to catch the ferry in Tobermory. The ferry takes about two hours, but it saves us about six hours driving! We boarded the Chi-Cheemaun (an old Ojibwa word for “Big Canoe”), had second breakfast and enjoyed the scenery as we crossed part of the Georgian Bay and the many islands along the way. It was nice for this Maritimer to be on the water again as I likely won’t be near much water in Alberta..
It was interesting to see the differences in trees as we travelled north. In Owen Sound the fall colours were not yet at their peak, but On Manitoulin Island, there were many vibrant reds.
The terrain heading north through the Canadian shield is fantastic. Lots of hills, exposed rock, lakes, trees and inukshuks on every rock outcrop. An absolutely beautiful part of this huge country.
In Wawa we stayed the night in a nice little hotel. The owners had made a lot of funny little signs all around the rooms and in the bathroom, but our favourite was on the menu.
Day 2
Wawa to Kenora, Ontario. 953 KM
Ontario is a big province. From Owen Sound it is still a two-day drive west to the border with Manitoba. The second day was cloudy and we were in thick fog whenever we went over the top of a hill.
Wawa has a giant goose statue, but Upsula has a rather uninviting monument to visitors.. a giant mosquito with a fork and knife carrying off a local.
In Kenora we stayed at the Lake View Hotel, a hotel without a lake view. An OK place, but what is with the shower? The stupid shower head was really low. I had to bend over quite a bit to wash my hair.
Day 3
Kenora, Ontario to Rosetown, Saskatchewan. 1127 KM
An early morning start to the long trip that will take us out to the prairies.
The previous two days had been travelling over rugged terrain.. up, down, turning, turning. Past Kenora the road settles down and becomes much more level. The trees are changing too. Fewer maples and other colourful trees. The further west the colour becomes predominantly a rich golden yellow.
Finally, the road is flat and straight. There are few lakes anymore and the road is lined with trees on either side.
Then, all of a sudden, the trees end and you are on the flat, prairie lands. It is kind of like coming out of a tunnel into the wide open. The first time I experienced this a few years ago it was a bit disconcerting.. I thought they should have a sign to prepare you for the open plains. I had always lived in hilly areas and wasn’t really comfortable in these flat, open areas. The only time I saw so much sky was when I was by the ocean.
The driving is much easier on the prairies. We were making good time, but I had one detour to make.. Rouleau Saskatchewan, a.k.a. Dog River.
Just south of Regina is a little town of less than 500 people that is host to the Canadian show Corner Gas. The security guard at the gas station told us that during the summer 3 buses a day and close to 500 people swing through this town!
Unfortunately they had finished shooting the fifth season just days before and had boarded up the Ruby and Corner Gas the previous day. Oh well..
Most of the prairies are gentle hills, but they picked this place in part because it is flatter than root beer left in the sun for three days. It is probably the flattest area we drove through.
The security guard was very friendly and gave us a couple of postcards. She told us how the show has really helped the town. Population has grown, they got their school and post office back, tourist business is booming. We left her with a copy of the Stranger on the Road to Emmaus, for which she was very grateful. I suspect she has little to do as she sits in a small camper next to the gas station 24/7, and she said she would read the book.
From Dog River we headed north to find a place to stay for the night. On the way we stopped in Moose Jaw for supper at a Bonanza. What happened to those restaurants?? They are great!
Just as the sun was setting we came upon a sign that said we should expect deer the next 14 kilometers. That was the craziest stretch on the trip. We estimate we saw close to 100 mule deer. They were everywhere! And we happened upon them at that terrible driving time when it isn’t bright enough to see and your headlights are not yet very effective. I think I strained an eyeball looking for deer..
We were fortunate to find a hotel that night in Rosetown. The first two hotels we checked were full, and it was a long drive to the next town of any size.
Day 4
Rosetown to Olds, Alberta. 551 KM
On the last day of travel the adventure started before we even left the hotel. There was something strange about each of the bathrooms in the places we stayed.. but this was the worst. Just after we got up in the morning I went to the washroom and realized the door would not open. I was stuck inside. From both inside and out, the door knob would turn but nothing would happen. All I had inside the bathroom with me for tools was a fingernail clipper, so I used that to help remove the screws to the door knob. After about twenty minutes we were able to get the door open. Good thing that that hadn’t happened during the middle of the night..
After that start we found that there was a beautiful day in store for us as we started on the home stretch. The sun was low and shining under a dark cloud deck overhead, making for dramatic lighting.
There were huge flocks of thousands of Snow Geese covering some fields and flying in massive formations in the sky.
Finally, we crossed into my new home province, Alberta, land of the quick buck and expensive housing.
You drive for hours over the gently rising and falling plains, and then suddenly the road dives down to the Red Deer River valley.. and it is like you are in a different part of the world.
It is like the badlands in South Dakota or Utah. You see layer after layer of rock and clay. You can find hoodoos and other strange features down here.
You would never know that this site existed given the surrounding prairie.
A close-up view of the sides of the canyon lets you see the erosion in the clay.
An hour or so later we finally arrive at our destination, Olds, Alberta. Olds is a quiet town with a population of around 7300 located near the foothills of the Rockies. On a clear day you can see the Rockies along the western horizon.
We had driven 3349 KM to get to my new home. We had been preparing for this trip for a long time as God prepared us for our new ministry with GoodSeed. It was a thoroughly enjoyable drive across many different beautiful landscapes as we went from the farmlands of southern Ontario to the Canadian Shield and eventually the prairies. What an amazing world God has made for us!
