Our vast country

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"She says": We haven't posted for awhile, the trip from Edmonton to Winnipeg - there isn't much to see at this time of year. The leaves haven't started turning and most of the fields have been harvested, so it is kind of uneventful. But every time we go this way it makes me realize how vast our country is. There is so much land. How blessed we are with the rich soil and being able to grow so many different things. Sometimes I forget how thankful we should be with the peace in our country and the freedom to be able to explore it. Our trip has gone great so far...enjoyed being with our son, Jeff and Sonya and Kyle, Brandon, and Kayla in Edmonton. It was great seeing how they have grown. And it is always heartwarming to know they are doing well. I love it....and now we are in Winnipeg with our oldest son, Clay and Gillian and Cole and Genevieve. I see Cole and Genevieve growing into young adults and it makes me sad in one way, but incredibly proud of them. I am so blessed with wonderful grandchildren, and we are very proud of the way our sons and daughters in law are raising them. Thank you to both of them for sharing your lives with us. Anyway enough of the soap box. Our trip starts again on Monday, September 21st. We are going East, hopefully will see a couple of friends before we head into the U.S. We are leaving Jackson with Clay and Gillian while we are gone. They offered and we gratefully accepted. I always worry about Jackson when we go into Mexico because of the ticks and stuff. This way he will be safe and loved, especially by Genevieve.....thanks guys......

September 23, 2015 - We left Winnipeg on September 21st and headed East. Our first stop was Dryden, ON. Just stayed at the Walmart there. The weather changed and when the sun went down it got cold. A storm came up and thunder and lightening. Then it started to rain...it was gone by morning. But the weather changed a bit to a cooler daytime. Then Tuesday we stayed in a place called Kakabeka Falls, ON. A Provincial Park and it cost us $40 to park without sewer. But it was a beautiful place and we enjoyed it. Tonight we are at Marathon, ON at a small RV park on Lake Superior. The landscape across this country has been so different in every place. I am really enjoying seeing the differences. I am excited to see what is next.

"He says":My first thought; why does some one read this; why follow a blog of a couple wandering all over Canada, USA, and Mexico!!!! I know I have written a collection of words previously but it made me stop and think what is the reader's interest in this rather lengthy journal biography other than the interest of the immediate family who want to know were we are? What I will try to offer you as a reader is insights other than I saw this or that but more vividly the unusual, the obscure and noteworthy occurrences in this remarkable adventure we are on. Many of the pictures will unfortunately not convey the dramatic landscape we encounter or the awe with which we stood transfixed at nature's handiwork but we will try to offer a little description of what we saw. I am the "gas and mileage guy" and please excuse my sometimes anal perspective of how far we went and how many gallons of fuel it took....all comes down to how much this is gonna cost on a daily basis and are we still on budget!!!! I am not good at begging on the street.

As Sue mentioned it has been a while; left Blue River after seeing friends and then spent time in Edmonton and then Winnipeg with our children; always come way from these reuniting of children and grandchildren with the uncomfortable realization "I is getting older" as I see birthdays of my children that are now in their forties. I marvel at my children; their busy lives and hectic schedules of hockey, kick boxing, dancing and after school functions....were we that busy? Leaving Jackson was a tough decision but am grateful for Clay and Gill's generosity. Of the love and wonder of having children that are now adults and who share the next generation of their children is beyond words...one of God's greater ideas of children and grandchildren....

So little variance in the prairies, much like looking across a dinner plate with the occasional crumbs spread about its flat plane as the only difference. All you prairie people will now close this tomb and never read it again......there is a certain majesty to it all but i prefer a break in the flat horizon that goers on for as far as the eye can see.

Alberta fuel prices great; $ .89 a litre, Saskatchewan; $ .93, and Manitoba .91..... so it is not bad fuel prices for travelling when I'm averaging 13 MPG. We have been "boon docking" and it is interesting to see the variety of rigs that seek the no cost "Wall Mart RV Park"; the lowly camper to the monster motor home; all seek the free confines of the parking lot for the night.

Ontario offers a different geography; vast ocean like lakes and rugged rocks that sculpt the shores which all make me think of the group of seven artists and heir landscapes of this region. Getting cooler and night are spent wrapped in pjs and heavy quilts...long for the southern climes.

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Photos

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A pot ash mine in a small town in Saskatchewan. It was the strangest thing....

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We found this beautiful little rest stop in Saskatchewan that was free and very private. we loved it.

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This is a crop growing across the road from where we parked the RV in Winnipeg.....do not know what it is?? It was growing all over.

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The long hallways in the museum..

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Clay and me just chilling in front of the museum.

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A blanket made of clay by children.

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Arcitectural sculpture.....human rights museum...incredible building

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Kakabeka Falls in Ontario. This is a discription of the legend.

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On the way to North Bay, Ontario. Looking over Lake Superior