http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Manitoba/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from North America , Canada , Manitoba en-us Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:16:08 BST Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:16:08 BST Hi EveryoneDave and I are having a great time in Churchill as we get caught up in the energy of the tourist season of the Polar Bear Capital of the world Churchill ManitobaThe Tundra Buggy Lodge is up and running and Dave Bree from Australia and Julie from Canada are the people running the show out there with the help of BJ US. The lodge is a series of portable trailers on very big wh http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Wapusk-National-Park/blog-331475.html Hi Everybody.Our adventure continues After a brief locum in Sioux Lookout I head up to Churchill Manitoba to join Dave and the Frontiers North Adventure crew for the polar bear season mainly the months of October and November. Dave has been in Churchill helping prepare the Tundra Buggy Lodge which gets taken out onto the tundra for researchers and tourists to stay at and watch the bears p http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Wapusk-National-Park/blog-324029.html Hello We rocketed out of Yellowknife. We drove 3500 km back to Sioux Lookout Ontario in 5 days Whew Huge waterfalls and herds of bison lined the road as we headed out of the Northwest Territories. A seemingly endless expanse of forest sprawled for the first five hundred miles of Northern Alberta before thinning and flattening out into prairie. The mighty sky of the prairies and millions of he http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-318422.html Irsquom halfway across Canada now sitting in a campground in Vermilion Bay Ontario. Up until I crossed the border into Manitoba kitty and I have had great luck with weather and the roads. A friend told me about the hordes of mosquitoes in this part of the world but the storms here were a bit of a surprise. Of course hearing today from the owner of the campground in Vermilion Bay that it was http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-315146.html Well turns out the small city of Winnipeg has more than we thought to offer....So far we've discovered there are over 60 painted concrete cast polar bears painted in different styles by comunity groups to be spotted. All in the aid of cancer research and lots of fun people some weirder than others in our hostel.Also we went to a costume museum that has a library of Vogue magazines dating back http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-314133.html Turns out Candian trains are interesting lolWe have just spent 36 hours on a train form Toronto Ontario to Winnipeg Manitoba. which according to google maps and driving would be around 1390 miles but we took a more diverted route than that. There are three Via rail trains that go across Canada a week a journey that on a good day would take around three days. At the moment though for some reas http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-313571.html My son Quincy called me at work the other day. He had caught the tail end of the story on the news that there was a man driving across Canada in a Tuk TukQ couldn't give me any more info and although I thought it would be cool to show the kids what a real Tuk Tuk looks like I dismissed the idea as it was highly unlikely we would be able to find the guy The next day I read a brief article in the http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-306765.html Day 5Ok so i lied we are on the internet again in another motel. It's just so much easier to stay in a motel on the side of the highway then to find a campsite and set up camp after dark we figure it's worth the extra 25ish bucks tonight...plus it means another night of free wireless internet from our motel room. i promised Jesse we would camp the next 3 nights All the motels lure people in wi http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-305378.html Summer seems to be almost done although there is still a month left. The weather in Manitoba has been less than ideal for hitting the beach and our brand new pool has not seen that much use. Both Payton and Quincy are off for Summer vacation and they both seemed okay with not doing a large vacation out west to Alberta or British Columbia this year. Instead we have tried to keep them busy with va http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-304396.html So this is it my last travel blog Nearly six months later and here I am sitting at my parents' house in Winnipeg with nothing more than a few souvenirs a LOT of photos and fantastic memories. It's a bit hard to reconcile starting real life again after such a phenomenal experience but I suppose in time I'll be readjusted.Our flight back was fine although we were stuck at the very back of http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-300517.html We packed up quick in the morning and headed to Gorge Creek Trail which is a 6.5km one way trail with the rating of difficult. At the beginning we were like ldquothis trail isnrsquot very difficultrdquo then we started going up and down all sorts of stairs in and out of the gorge and we quickly changed our minds. Check out the pic of Melrsquos itrsquos red as a tomato from the hike. http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Riding-Mountain-National-Park/blog-299399.html We headed back to Winnipeg because it was on our way to our next stop Riding Mountain National Park. So we took the opportunity to stop at the Mint and take a tour. We learned how coins are made which is really amazing how many steps it takes. It was cool to learn that they also make coins for 100 other countries It was also cool to learn that a loonie only costs 11 cents to make and penny is http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Riding-Mountain-National-Park/blog-299398.html In the morning we did a few errands then got on the road with Brad and Stephanie to Grand Beach Provincial Park which an hour from Winnipeg. It is known to be one of the most beautiful beaches in North AmericaWhen we got there we quickly set up our tents ours took 2 minutes and Bradrsquos took 15 lol. After we finished up we hit the beach When you walk in on the sand path you see 20 foot s http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-299397.html Just a reminder from the last blog we have been awake since yesterday at 8amWe arrived at Bradrsquos at 11 local time and we served a nice refreshing wrap for lunch which felt great after eating mostly chips and a greasy breakfast. After that we hung out for a while played guitar hero and had a few beers while we did our laundry. After supper we headed downtown where there was a street cl http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-299395.html Santa Barbara Malibu these are both places I'd heard of and knew were not far out of L.A. I still clutched onto the thought that Hollywood was a glamourous town even though I'd seen for myself and surmised it was a bit of a shithole. Driving up the coast to Santa Barbara through Malibu wherein lots of millionaire celebrities reside I assumed it would be a lil slice of heaven. Seeing as we'd o http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-290024.html Our last night at Coachella was for me to be one of getting lots of sleep within an aura of serenity. Unfortunately the rest of the campsite disagreed with my schedule and at about 3am a rather sizely cluster of people began stomping around the site with drums accenting the two words WAKE UP To me the idea of screaming those particular words seemed a little redundant seeing as they could hav http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-289661.html Holy Moly when it rains it pours Lots of people warned me about the boringness of the Prairies and they were right although the ever changing clouds did provide some entertainment...when we stopped for gas at one point we were told there had been a tornado warning but thankfully no spiral clouds came our way.We made it to Brandon Manitoba after a long day's drive. Samuel did very well http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Brandon/blog-285252.html Another day of trying to figure out the route that will be the most workable for usOur itinerary consists of the followingBKK to Koh Tao or Similan to BKK Diving 7 daysBKK to Siem Reap Angkor Wat 2 3 daysSiem Reap to Phnom Phen Killing Fields Land mine Museum S 21 1 2 daysPhnom Phen to Luang Prabang 3 4 daysLuang Prabang to Luang Nam Tha trekking 3 4 daysLuang Nam T http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-271652.html Well it looks like we have decided to travel again this year. This time it's going to be for only 3 weeks Candace and I discussed the idea and both feel that we want to see some more of S.E. Asia. At this point we figure that we will shoot for February and will make Laos and Cambodia the focus of our travels. Lots of details need to be worked out and I'm also flirting with the idea of going over http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-271218.html So we are no longer waiting. I Erin go to Toronto on Thursday and was informed that I would be getting my visa that day. That being said we are now packing like crazy. We have booked flights for Sunday and will leave at 8AM. We are supposed to arrive in Seoul at 340 Pm on Monday.In the meantime we have planned a going away party of sorts and will be going bowling surprise surprise at Acad http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-268701.html I guess this can be considered our first entry although it is not very interesting. We are currently in the thick of waiting and waiting for the consulate in Toronto to process my visa. They are beyond ridiculous to deal with and to be honest if we were not so invested in the process ie sold everything and have no jobs I would be tempted to give up.That being said we are full of mixed emot http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-267115.html In July 1996 Eddy and I set out to drive across Canada to Vancouver. Our first hurdle and I mean that literally was getting across Ontario What a huge province We left on Friday after work and made it as far as a town called Deep River on the first night. The following night we stopped in Thunder Bay and the night after that we slept in Sault Ste Marie. FINALLY on the third day we made http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-263368.html Aaah the memories. I lived in the Peg for about 15 years. It is my second home. We are staying with our good friend Moe the best hostess ever Thanks MoeThe essential experientials I needed to do so far a nostalgic quest are1 Go into Prairie Sky Book Store on Westminster Ave and smell the air while browsing the new age books and looking at all the pretty imports and semi precious sto http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-262467.html Roads today were really nasty and made for slow driving. We encountered a lot of unyielding traffic coming the opposite direction too so our travel time was really stretched out. We decided to overnight in Thompson instead of running into overtime pressing on to Gillam. We enjoyed a nice dinner at Grapes and an evening of arcades at the Ruckers adjoining the hotel. Dance Dance Revolution http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-255597.html Lynn Lake today It took us a little longer than we anticipated to get there so it was tight to start the show on time. Our hosts at the school served us a lovely breakfast treat of bananas yogurt and juice. Yum Wersquore staying in town tonight then traveling to Gillam tomorrow. http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-255596.html This morning we rolled one hour up the highway to South Indian Lake a very isolated northern community which can be reached only by ferry. We loaded the suv and van onto what could only be described as an air craft carrier on water. It was operated entirely by two men and two cables. A unique experience. Tomorrow we travel to Lynn Lake for another night at a BB. http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-255595.html We had a nice late start this morning as we werenrsquot called until the afternoon. We all slept late and then performed for one of our smallest houses yetboy was that an adventure. Tomorrowrsquos a day off http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-255594.html We rolled out of the BB to discover one of the front tires on the van had gone flat A quick visit to the gas station led us to a mechanic who could put enough air into it that we could drive to another garage for the repair. The gentleman was very helpful not only in repairing the tire but also in his tips for Thompson and Leaf Rapids. We were on the road about an hour later.We stopped in Th http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-255593.html We rolled out of Norway House today and back along the dirt road to the main highway again. This time wersquore visiting and performing in Snow Lake a breathtaking northern community settled beautifully on the hill. At the school we had some of our favourite helpers to date. Our home tonight is the Bluenose Bed Breakfast a lovely cabinstyle home which belongs to the mayor of Snow Lake. http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-255592.html Today we had the opportunity to perform two shows with only one setup We had a great time at the school and the two separate audiences of K 3 and 4 6 made for a really interesting dynamic. One more night here then we double back a bit to head even further north. http://www.travelblog.org//North-America/Canada/Manitoba/blog-255591.html