Sunday, Aug 18 - Three days in a row we have wifi. And this time it looks like a nice strong signal, out here in the 'wilds' south of Prince George. Funny, it feels like we're a long way north, but when you look at a map of western Canada, you realize we're only a little north of Edmonton, and quite a bit south of Fort St. John. So we have some distance to travel before we're further north than we've ever been.

Had a nice day in Quesnel, which is quite a fine small city. Twice they're been winners of BC's best floral city. They have huge baskets hanging everywhere downtown, and rows upon rows of pansy plants along the Main streets. Homes are also well-tended with lawns and flowers. They also have a great display of historical artifacts going back to goldrush days, not far from the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers. We did a nice hour-long walk along a fine footpath that follows the river, then rewarded ourselves with treats at the Granville Coffee Shop. Largest and best cinnamon bun ever.

We were only 90 minutes from our next r.v. park, south of Prince George, but decided it would be nice to have some time for a few household chores, so rather than going into the city, checked in by 3 p.m.. Then the sun came out, and we had a nice hour reading in the warm rays before a thunder storm came along. Checked out the yellow pages for shops in town that may be willing to do a brake job for me tomorrow, so let's hope one of them comes through. Then we'll be all set to trek north.

I mentioned previously that we met some interesting people on the train trip west. Here's a partial account.
Jody - a fellow in his late 30s from Montreal who has packed up his life there and is moving to Vancouver. He's a sound/light tech designer, and has worked all over the world doing various events and setting up for major bands. Things in Montreal have slowed down, so when a friend called from Vancouver and offered him a job and penthouse to share, he grabbed it. Sold everything, packed up and he's off to new adventures.
Manoel- from Belgium, he's taken a year off from work to travel. He is in the hotel business with Accor, a large international chain, has worked as hotel manager, then 10 years in headquarters as Marketing Director, then got tired of that and went back to management. Most of his work has been in Africa, various countries, which is where he'll probably go when his year is up. He'll call the head office on May 1st, when his year is up, and find out where they plan to send him. Meantime, he's not thinking about work...just travelling.
Alessandria - from Mexico City, a transportation specialist who works at home. Every year, she takes two weeks off, leaves her 11 year old daughter with her mother, and takes off on her own. She was a lovely lady, and because she and Manoel were neighbors on the same car, they became quite good friends. Both were spending a few days in Vancouver, so we have to wonder if they hooked up to enjoy the sights.
Garry - from the Sarnia area, a retired teacher, who had unsolvable hassles with his cell phone. A problem, as he and his wife Marilyn run an Air bnb, and he needed to be able to contact future customers. We had a long discussion about the problems of his area, the land covered now only 1.7 percent by trees, thanks to huge corporate farms that are tearing the land apart to grow corn and soy...nothing else. They'll leach out the soil and then depart, he figures, leaving a wasteland. He's fighting them, but with little luck. Reminds me of our Picton Terminal problem.
Who else? A young couple from Bavaria, both working in civil service jobs. He worked with the refugee situation for a few years, but happily moved to real estate acquisition for the state. So many headaches with the refugee situation in Germany
Anthony Calvert- A lively guy from Northern England very much involved in politics. Ran for. Parliament last election, and narrowly lost. He'll probably run again. When we stopped in Jasper, he saw someone get on the train that he thought he knew. Turned out it was the Assistant Chancellor of the Exchequer for Britain. They managed to get together for a chat when we stopped in Kelowna. Quite a coincidence.
We also overheard someone talking about Pender Island, where we were headed. I mentioned that we  were headed there, so turns out he knew our brother-in-law Dan's family. Another coincidence, not unusual when travelling.
Also, a couple of lovely ladies from Australia, another very nice young German couple, a fellow from Kentucky who shares my fanship for the Packers.
A couple moving to Edmonton from Australia, where she worked for 5 years, met him, and he decided to come along when she decided to move home. He's a great tall fellow with a big black beard. Hope it works out for them.
Finally, a chap who sort of took over the activity director's lecture on trains the first day. He corrected her about a technical item, making it clear he was a train expert. Turns out he manufactures replica train sets, all kinds, and has two factories in China. He is featured in a film we saw about the history of Canadian trains.

Enough of that. Just proof that there was a wide range of folks on this 4 day journey, which made it an even more memorable trip. We recommend you add it to your bucket list, as we're quite sure you'd enjoy it.

I'll do a separate upload of some pictures. Don't want to screw this posting up. So I'll close for now. More later. Stay tuned.

Sat., Aug. 17 - Here we go again, hoping the wifi will last. We are now in Quesnel, north of Williams Lake and south of Prince George. We had a good run today, enjoying the views along the Fraser River on Route 99. Sheer mountain faces, deep valley, winding road, hairpin turns, but generally no problem. We then hit highway 97, just north of Cache Creek, which we have followed for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we'll be in Prince George fairly early, as it's only 120 kms from here. Hopefully we can get my brake job done on Monday, and then be ready for further travel north.

A couple of things about today. We stopped for gas in Williams Lake. Two nice young guys did all the work, one of those rare full-service stations. That was very nice. But the washroom was the key to this place. It's unisex, and inside, it's like a small den, complete with a large wood carving, magazine racks, a large potted plant, and opposite the sit-down, a good-sized t.v., showing the Hamilton-Ottawa football game. Best service station toilet ever..

Secondly, we stopped at one of the fairly numerous rest stops along highway 97, and encountered two young guys who were searching the grasses and general environs with considerable concentration. I thought maybe they were looking for mushrooms; but it turns out they were geocaching, frustrated because they couldn't find the 'cache'. The one guy looked everywhere, while his buddy chose to chat with us instead. He was a most rotund fellow with two missing front teeth, dressed in a sloppy black sort of a track suit. Turns out they had gone to Washington State to pick up an old camper truck from his grand-father, and were heading slowly back to Alaska, where they live. On the back of the camper was the word "SECURITY" in big bold letters, the brand of the camper that Grandpa had manufactured. Big guy said it had served them well, as they camped in one of the rest stops the night before, and nobody bothered them, presumably because they were Security people. Ironically, however, somebody crept up to the truck in the middle of the night and syphoned off half a tank of their gas. So much for the Security sign working. Next day they went to Canadian Tire and bought a lock for the gas cap.

Before we left Lillooet this morning, we paid a short visit to the Visitor Center, which had a fine display of large jade stone blocks out front. This area is one of the finest sources of jade anywhere, so it gets a lot of play, with fine displays of the rock all around the town. Inside the center, I asked why they had named their big new bridge over the Fraser the "Twenty Three Camels Bridge". Turns out one of the early gold rush entrepreneurs figured camels would be better than horses to pack gear and supplies to the gold fields, so thought he'd make a fortune contracting them out. Didn't work!!! Turns out the sharp-edged rock in the area cut the feet of the poor camels, as they have soft pads rather than strong hooves that horses have. So all of the camels were retired to pasture, some living a long and contented life, enjoyed by the locals for years to come, and remembered by naming the bridge in their honour.

Chinese and Japanese peoples also played a part in Lillooet's history, the Chinese settling in the area after the completion of the Trans-Canada railroad, the Japanese in smaller numbers, some settling here following their WWII internment. The first Japanese Canadian to be elected to public office was from Lillooet, a doctor who was invited to practice here after being released in 1945. Another important figure was Ma Barker, a very well known newspaperwoman known all over Canada for her editorials in the local paper (which she edited for decades), in which she frequently blasted the politicos, local, provincial and national. CBC did a series about her a number of years ago, called "Ma". She worked the paper well into her 80s.

That's enough for now. I still have some fellow passengers from the train to tell you about, but I'll save that for another time. In the meantime, we hope the rain doesn't continue tomorrow. And we hope the 15 cms of snow predicted for the north-eastern part of the province doesn't decide to move west. We miss all of our friends and family back home, but manage to raise a glass as we think of you. Stay tuned. More later.

Friday, August 16 - At last we have wifi. So this may not be too long, as one never knows when the wifi signal might disappear. We are camped in Lillooet on the shore of the mighty Fraser River, which is flowing along with great swiftness right below us. We're told we might see salmon jumping, if we're lucky.

This is day 10 of our trip, so there's a lot to tell, and not enough time to tell it. Perhaps when we have more secure connectivity we'll provide some details, but for now, suffice it to say we had a very fine 4 day trip on the VIA Rail Canadian, train number 1. Met a lot of interesting people, enjoyed great food, and got to see once again the wondrous breadth of our country. We were outnumbered considerably by folks from other countries, which added to the interest. Some of them we'll tell you about in another post.

We were met at the station in Vancouver by Gail's sister Diane and her husband Dan. We had time to see their daughter Allie, then went to Granville Island to see their other daughter Shannon and her partner Stephen. A bonus to see both girls in such a short time. Shannon looks great in her fifth month of pregnancy. Lots of changes in their lives come January. Then we were on the ferry to Pender Island, to catch up with our r.v., and to spend a few lovely days lazing around. We were also lucky enough to get to see nephew Kevin, who by coincidence, had to go to Pender for a work project. He's an engineer specializing in hydrology, so is working with local authorities to deal with a problem being created by a bunch of beavers.

Thursday, yesterday, that is, we got the r.v. serviced, including checking the front end alignment, which fortunately is in good shape. We'll have to get new brake pads at some point along the way, but other than that, we're pretty much good to go. So that's what we did. We took the 5:15 ferry from Pender, and were in Tuwaassen by 6:40. We had lined up a campground in West Vancouver, which we reached after more than an hour's drive. The r.v. park is right below the Lion's Gate bridge, so it was a handy location for the start of our trip north.

Start we did this morning. First stop was at Shannon Falls, where we met Lauren, Kevin's wife, and their two neat kids, who live in Squamish. We wandered about below the falls, watching the young ones run and jump with great energy. Then on to lunch with them at a local Mexican restaurant. Fond farewells, and then a fairly major grocery shopping to fill the larder.

Up to Whistler, which was absolutely packed with cars, bikes and people. We did a quick turnaround and got the hell out of there. On to Pemberton, where we couldn't find a campsite, so we managed to book one here in Lillooet, another two hours away. A fine drive it was, up, up, and up some more. Then down, down, and down some more. Beautiful mountains, steep sloped, sheer cliffs, rockslides amany, lovely lakes and a vigorous creek that we followed for miles. First time through this area, and well worth it. And we finally got away from the hordes of tourists thronging the area from Squamish to Pemberton.

I'll stop there for now. Dinner awaits. Some more details about some of the folks we met on the train may tempt you to consider doing the trip. We'll see! So stay tuned. More later.

Sunday, April 7 - It's been awhile since my last post, but here's why. We arrived in Port Angeles to find our r.v. park had wifi that didn't work. So no final messages from the U.S. Once we got to B.C., we had no wifi on Pender Island, and once in Vancouver, no time. And now that we're back home, finally have some time to do one last posting.

But to back up. Our last day in Washington State ended very nicely. We left our r.v. site outside of Forks, and drove to a wonderful beach on the coast, Rialto Beach, on the Makah Tribe Reserve. Loaded with huge old trees that have washed up on shore; a golden eagle, a baldie, and a seal in the river behind the beach along with large waves, made for a pleasant time, especially since it was sunny and warm. From there we decided to finish off in style by driving up the coast 45 miles to the furthermost northwest point in the contiguous U.S., to Cape Flattery. It involved a nice hike to the point,  beautiful views of limestone caves and caverns opened up by the wave action pounding the shore, with vast reaches of the Pacific in front of us, stretching to imagined places. It was a tight windy road in rather poor condition to get there, but well worth it for the experience.

Ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria. Land in the heart of the city, almost in front of the Empress Hotel, and on to the next ferry from Sydney, to get to Pender Island. As we did three years ago, the plan was to leave our r.v. on Pender, make our way home, then go back out to pick up where we left off in August or September. Gail's sister Diane and her husband Dan came over from Vancouver to generously host us, leading to three fine days on the island. Great weather, some hikes, sunning on the deck, good food, games, a great time on this beautiful Gulf Island. Wouldn't be hard to spend a lot of time there some summer.

Then on to Vancouver, full of blossoming trees, green grass, budding trees. We drove up to Squamish to see Gail's nephew Kevin and his family, and really enjoyed seeing their two twins, who are a delight. These five year olds are full of energy, inquisitive, playful, fun to be with. So that was a treat. That evening, Gail's niece Shannon and her partner Stephen came for dinner, and we had a great evening with them. Both are doing well with good jobs, but face the prospect of having to move, and are dealing with the quandary of how to deal with the high cost of homes vs. the high cost of renting. As is the case in Toronto, it's very tough for young people to consider ownership due to the huge costs of homes. I talked to one of the ferry guys before we went on board in Victoria, who told me he lived in his van for a year and a half, parked on the side of the road, even though he had a job. He now lives in a mobile, as it's all he can afford. And he has a  good job with B.C. Ferries.

The flight home went fine, even though we had middle seats. We took the train from the airport to Union Station, and then the train to Belleville, and stayed at Jeff's for the night, enjoying a reunion with all three grand-daughters as well as a chance to meet Clare's boyfriend Evan. He's a very nice guy, so gets the stamp of approval from Grandpa.

That's it. Home is in good shape, cars started, with thanks to good friends and neighbours. No snow on the ground, but I do have an inch of ice in my storage shed, so all of the stuff in there is well embedded. Hopefully it'll soon melt away with a little help. Got a haircut yesterday after more than 4 months, and received a rather horrified greeting from my barber when I walked in the door. "What on earth happened to you?" was my greeting. I look much more civilized now, which is no fun at all.

All in all, it was a great trip, and we were almost sorry to see it end. Some might wonder how two people could manage to survive with each other in a 25 foot r.v., but we got along just fine, and look forward to hitting the road again later this year. We enjoy the process of exploration, new places and old, always something interesting to fill the day. Even managed to lose a few pounds along the way, and achieved a pretty good fitness level.

I'll post a few pictures in closing. If you've been a faithful or occasional reader of these ramblings, thanks for coming along with us. It's great to have had your good company.

Below, the first picture is Gail with Keiran and Kaley, her sister Diane's grand-kids. Next, a small sample of the cherry blossoms decorating the streets of Vancouver. Then Gail with Diane and Dan on their beach, a lovely quiet spot not far from their house on Pender Island. Following is a nice sunrise over the harbour in Port Angeles. Next, Diane and Gail enjoying the view after our hike up Mt. Norman, an 800 foot vertical that left me puffing. Finally, Victoria Beach in western Washington, and then the view at Cape Flattery, a wonderful vantage point in the far north-west of the state.

That's it for now. Plans for later this year are up in the air for now, as there are several options to be built around our cruise to Alaska in September. Edmonton is definitely part of it. Possible trip north is also possible. And we'll eventually have to get the r.v. home, route to be determined. So stay tuned. More later this summer.

Wednesday, March 28 - The penultimate night of camping on the road this trip has come. Tomorrow night we will be in Port Angeles, ready to take the early ferry to Victoria. From there we will have a short hop over to Pender Island, and our road journey will have come to an end. We have mixed feelings, as it's been a terrific trip; but at the same time, it will be great to be back with family, first here on the West Coast, and then with family and friends back home. And other trips await. So no regrets.

We are now in a park south of Forks, Washington. Kinda out in the middle of nowhere, but a nice park, and not far from a very good beach (we are told) on the upper reaches of NW Washington. We left Oregon behind at mid-day, after spending an hour taking in the Astoria Tower. It's up on a hill 600 feet above the Columbia River in the city of Astoria (named after the original Astor, John Jacob).
It's quite something to see, so if you have a moment, google it, and that'll save you having to read my version of what it's all about. Suffice it to say we climbed the 164 steps inside the tower to get to the viewing platform. Great view of the surrounding countryside, and no heart attack from the exertion of the climb.

We enjoyed Oregon a lot. Their coastline is truly spectacular, with long stretches of beach punctuated by many stacks (erosion resistant rock that projects out of the sea, sometimes up to 200 feet high) and unusual rock formations. The wave action along this coast is quite wondrous, 10 foot swells not uncommon, with a roar at beach level that never subsides, it seems. We enjoyed some fine hikes, through forests and along beaches, some tough walks, but all enjoyable. The weather wasn't always great, as we had two days of rain that slowed us down a bit. But those rainy days were alternated with two brilliant sunny days, during which we made up for lost time with multiple miles of hiking.

Oregon deserves high rating for several other things. They have really good parks, and loads of them, as the state has made it a policy to make their oceanfront accessible all along the coast. And there are parks every few miles, some with camping, some for day use, but all well signed and set up. Second, when you pull up into a service station for gas, someone actually comes to your vehicle and serves you, just like in the old days. The state passed a law requiring all service stations to provide service, in order to promote employment and safety. The young lady who served me told me she's been doing this job for 4 years, makes $14. per hour, and is quite happy with the situation.

Third, some of you will know that Oregon was one of the first to legalize pot...stores are common everywhere, quite unobtrusive, just part of the landscape. Doesn't seem to be an issue here. Guess that'll be the case at some distant point in time in Ontario.

This is the time of the great migration of Grey Whales, moving from Mexico to Alaska on their annual trip north. At several parks you can find Whale Watchers, volunteers who are on hand to first of all do counts of passing whales, sitting there for hours scanning the ocean for spouts, and recording their numbers. They are also there to provide interesting facts about the whales, greys and others. And all done by volunteers. We did a rather difficult 2.5 mile hike through forest, over tree roots, through mud, to get to Cape Lookout. Loads of people were on the trail, hauling kids and dogs along  with them (March Break in Oregon). Got to the point, to find two dozen people there, and two volunteers on hand to explain whale lore. Quite impressive. The parking lot was so jammed I had a heckuve time getting out, but managed thanks to Gail and a helpful hiker. Nothing like a walk in the woods to enjoy solitude and peace.

We set out in California to do all of route 1, which we accomplished to its end in Leggatt. From there we picked up route 101, which we have now nearly completed and will do so at Port Angeles. So we can now say we've done all of the west coast the hard way over the two trips we've done, from San Diego to here on these two coastal routes. Some of it is

very tough driving in an r.v., especially the road north of San Francisco. But the two highways offer some great scenery and experiences, so it's well worth the doing.

That's about it for now. I'll throw in some pictures, and hope you've enjoyed these notes over the past four months, if you've found time to tune in. One more message to come, maybe two, as we wrap up this trip. So more later. Stay tuned.
Picture number 1 was taken at Devil's Churn, a narrow slit in the rock that erupts with foam and water spray as the waves pound in. Second, the dunes along the coast, notably the largest dune formation in North America fronting a seafront. Third, very unusual rock formations at Sunset Bay, near Coos Bay, a truly beautiful point along the coast. Fourth, the ever-changing crowd at Cape Lookout, and fifth, Gail taking in the scene not far away from the others.
Sixth, we found trillium flowers along the trail, which took us back to Ontario. Seven, the beautiful old lodge at Lake Quinault, in the Olympic National Park. The next two were taken at the site of the World's Largest Sitka Spruce, and at the top, one of many logging trucks we saw along the route today. The final shot is of the Astoria Tower. Look it up on the net. Most interesting.
Must say, today's drive was much like going through Northern Ontario or New Brunswick. Trees, trees, trees. Seems they haven't cut them all down yet. Thank the heavens there's evidence of replanting, or they'd all soon be gone. With that piece of wisdom, I'm gone.

Saturday, March 22 - We are nearing the end of the road for this trip. Now in Oregon, staying at a neat park that has wild turkeys roaming around, and osprey calling to us from a nearby nest. We're across the road from the Rogue River, one of the primary spawning rivers for salmon and steelheads. And the creek not far from our front door (oops, we don't really have a 'front' door) is Indian Creek, where one of the earliest salmon hatcheries in the state is located. This is Oregon...the south coast...wild and wonderful.

Sorry, I've just been reading the terrific info booklets that Oregon produces, and I got into their presentation style. But it's time to go back, to where we've been the past few wifiless days. This is our first day in Oregon, but we finished California off in style. Alternate days of sun and rain...Tuesday and Thursday the latter...After Fort Bragg there were a lot of ups and downs along the coastal highway, but some great views of the seafront below. But we ended the day on Tuesday in Richardson Grove State Park, at the leading edge of the great Redwood Tree area. (The park is not named after me, unfortunately, but after a long-time-ago former Governor of the state...maybe someday I'll get a trestle named after me..or a storm sewer drain...or something).

The next two days had us in the biggest and best trees in the world. We did some wonderful hikes, totally captivated by the immensity of these marvels of the West Coast. They are truly awe-inspiring, and if you haven't been here, you should add it to your bucket list. I've been in some of the great cathedrals/churches/mosques/temples of the world, and nothing can compare to a walk in the midst of these giant trees. A couple of pics will hopefully demonstrate my point.

It was raining for much of our time in the forest, but that only added a special element to the experience. It's dark in there, the canopy more that 300 feet up blocking the light, but such an atmosphere. Magical. The next day, Thursday, was sunny, and we did a wonderful 2.5 miles in Humboldt State Park midst the giants. Then on to Fortuna, where we walked along the Eel River, 3rd longest in California, and then to Loleta, where there is an excellent cheese factory. Tried many, bought but two. Good cheddars. Then on to Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a long walk in search of new species. Not much luck, although we did see large numbers of Aleutian Geese, first cousins to our Canadas.

Next day, rain, rain, rain. We went to Eureka Mall, to get Gail's phone reconnected, as she'd lost service a few days ago. Then on to a very neat College town, Arcata, which has a great produce store that clearly caters to the new age students with their new age food ideas. Lots of organic stuff, and vegan stuff. The new world is descending upon us. Our grand-daughters have almost convinced us to convert. Not quite, but moving us closer to certainly using less meat.

We had lunch (delicious clam chowder) in the tiny coastal town of Trinidad, a former whaling center (early 1900s), fishing center, and tourist center (surfing). Then on past the Elk Pastures, where there are a couple of herds of elk near the highway, and to Klamath, where there is an excellent Native American museum combined with a very nice gift store (and outside, lifesize statues of Paul Bunyon and Babe the Ox.)

Crescent City last night, and now here beside Indian Creek.

That brings us up to date. We'll work our way along the coast, following highway 101 all the way up. We'll skip Portand and Seattle, and plan to be on Vancouver Island in about a week. There you go. Now hopefully some pics will download.

First, Gail at the Founder's Tree, more that 360 feet high; next walking the trail in the forest, feeling so small; and trying to stretch around the base of a tree that would take 10 of me. Fourth, one of many very finely constructed spider webs we saw along the way in the forest.(Small things can sometimes be almost as impressive as large things.) Fifth, our campsite, squeezed between several large redwoods. Then, one of the Kings of the Elk herd. Handsome guy, you'll agree.
Next, the Carter Mansion in Eureka, former home to one of the original lumber barons of the region, now a private exclusive club. The last three are samples of the seafront scenes we observed today here in Oregon. Lucky to be here.

We hope all are well. Only another 11 days before we fly home, and much to be done before then. So stayed tuned. More later.

Monday Mar 18 - Just a short note to report our whereabouts. We're now in Fort Bragg at an r.v. park we stayed in three years ago. Last night we stayed in a neat camp in a valley near Mendocino, one of the neatest towns along the coast. Full of artists, with an excellent artist's center, featuring a very good collection of works by local specialists. There is also a very good waterfront, with lots of crashing waves and an arch that captures the incoming waves and flings them high and wide.

Today we only had to drive 5 miles before checking in to our next r.v. park. We decided to have a relaxing day, and a catch-up day as well, so moved from Mendocino to here. There's a very fine Botanical Garden only a half-mile down the road, so we spent a good part of the day there today. The drive along the coast is a little more manageable, not quite so twisty-turny, so a little more relaxing.

Next on the agenda is a tour along the Highway of the Giants, so we'll get a great chance to look at the huge redwoods and sequoias in the next day or two. We're on schedule to reach Vancouver Island by the end of the month, so no need to hurry.

Some pics follow.
First, an old Irish curse worth keeping in mind. Then a lass of Scottish descent paying tribute to her Irish neighbours. Next, a few shots from the beach at Mendocina, followed by three photos from the local Botanical Garden.
That's it for now. Stay tuned. More later.