Motorhome News from North America 19 29th July - 9th August 2006 In search of Puffins and Remote Corners of Newfoundland It seems ages since we left PEI; across the long bridge in bright morning sunlight, out through the narrow edge of New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia, stopping briefly in Oxford, to check out the ‘wild blueberry’ capital of Canada and sample just a small slice of their rather special pie at the visitor centre. Nova Scotia, ‘New Scotland’ by any other Latin name, carries the flag of St Andrews; a blue cross on a white background - with a gold lion in the centre. It is easy to guess why. Driving the road southwards across the centre the ground rises to glacially-rounded sweeping hills, forested from high horizons down to the sea, so reminiscent ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 17 10th - 20th July 2006 ‘Bienvenue a board’ Quebec, The Saint Lawrence River, Grosse Ile, Cap-Saint Ignace, Saint Jean-Port-Joli, Rimouski, Gaspe Peninsula, Forillon National Park, Ile Bonaventure, Perce, Campbellton, Sugarloaf Mountain National Park, Caraquet, Kouchibouguac National Park - and on to Prince Edward Island! As we travel east we move against the time-line of North American history, heading for the lands first discovered by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and later, by Samuel de Champlain. This French influence becomes strikingly evident in Quebec City with its narrow cobbled streets, tall dormered houses built of stone, flamboyant churches and cobbled market squares. We didn’t get beyond Quebec City in 1988, but the lure of the Gaspe Peninsula and The Maritimes beyond was always there, a magnetic yearning to escape from the rush ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 15 16th - 26th June 2006 Ontario, ‘Yours to Discover’, it says on the vehicle license plates. So, let’s get started. Ontario stretches for more than 1,000 miles across central Canada, from Manitoba all the way to Quebec and it’s a similar distance from the Great Lakes in the south to the saltwater coast at Hudson Bay in the north. Great Britain would fit quite snugly in the centre. Our journey this week will take us from the vast area of forest, lakes and swamps of ‘Lake of the Woods’ along the Rainy River towards Lake Superior and Georgian Bay, and beyond to the forest and lakes of Huntsville, north of Toronto. That’s a lot of forest and a lot of lakes, with little sign of agriculture other than an occasional ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 13. 26th May - 4th June 2006 Alberta - Wild Rose Country Calgary was once the land of the Blackfoot Indians. Since 1877 they have lived on reservations south of the city and now the corporate office towers of most of Canada’s crude oil and natural gas companies stand in their place. Calgary’s highways thread through the city like Hampton Court Maze, bewildering to us country folk, but there are clues to help the totally lost; the Avenues go east to west, the Streets from north to south - and all are blessed with dazzling displays of lilac. It was good to share some time in Calgary with long lost friends, Theo and Darlene, reminiscing on their Exchange Teacher year in the UK back in 1989 and to meet many of ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 11. 2nd May - 13th May 2006 Canada, Oh,Canada ‘Splendor Sine Oceasu’, British Columbia’s motto on its coat of arms, has much to live up to. ‘Beauty without End’ will be our yardstick through the next few weeks as we journey eastwards from Vancouver Island across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver and on through the Rockies to Calgary. It might take us a while. BC is Big. It is big enough to fit California, Oregon - and Washington inside and still have room to spare! And, it is truly beautiful. Local car registration plates boast the message, ‘Beautiful British Columbia’. Vancouver Island forms BC’s southwestern barrier to the sea, a classic mix of snow-capped mountains, ocean and lakes - and trees; trees everywhere. There are said to be seven different ... read more