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Lake Superior
As seen from the Canadian side. Hi Everyone! Yes, it’s true... we are back home, safe and sound. The trip through Canada was so beautiful that… well… let me start from the beginning…
In our last Travelogue, we were leaving the US in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan for Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada. Kathy had always wanted to see Lake Superior from the Canadian side. It was certainly worth the trip. We were both continually stunned by the landscape of mountains, forests, and water, be it the mighty Lake Superior or the many other lakes along the highway. We stayed at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay in a spacious suite (Kathy wanted the puppies to have lots of room to run around.) It was nicer than I had imagined, and VERY clean (our curious puppies tend to find even the smallest things on the floor.)
The next day, we left Thunder Bay for Winnipeg, Manitoba. On the way, we stopped at Kakabeka Falls, just outside of Thunder Bay. They say it’s the Niagara of the North. I guess if you were the size of a small animal… on a small boat… in a raincoat… with an umbrella… standing on the deck looking up at
One of the Many Lakes
On the way to Thunder Bay. the falls… well… maybe it might seem like Niagara Falls… maybe. Actually, the falls is the second largest in Ontario, with a drop of 132 feet (Niagara is 180 feet.) Kakabeka is an aboriginal word meaning "steep cliffs". The volcanic rock that the water falls over is highly unstable, and is where 1.6-billion-year-old fossils have been found. We’ll have to come back to fully explore this park.
The rest of the drive was uneventful. We finally arrived at our next hotel… the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Kathy reserved another suite, this one on the Fairmont Gold floor. The Fairmont was hosting two graduation celebrations that night. The young ladies and young men looked so grown-up in their beautiful gowns and tuxedos. We heard from the Gold floor concierges that the “Velvet Glove” restaurant in the hotel served excellent food. Being as late as it was, we decided to try it. By the time we got down to the restaurant, the hostess had already received word that we were coming and greeted us by name. The meal was exquisite, with the “banana foster” dessert the best that I’ve ever tasted. When we returned to our room, the Fairmont had
Kakabeka Falls
Just outside of Thunder Bay. delivered a dog bed, gourmet dog treats, and a large bottle of Evian water for our puppies. We all felt very pampered that night.
By this time, Kathy was having “casino withdrawals” (or CW syndrome, usually a very costly ailment). She found two casinos on the way out of Winnipeg: the Club Regent Casino and the McPhillips Street Station Casino. She didn’t win any money at either, but they were huge and beautifully theme decorated on the inside. And the best thing was they were both entirely “non-smoking”. So, even though we left with less money than we came in with, we left with clean lungs and clothes that didn’t smell of smoke.
Our next hotel was the Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Ok, ok… I admit, I thought this was where that great spicy hot Chinese chicken dish was from. Kathy had to tell me that I was thinking of Szechuan chicken, not Saskatchewan chicken (isn't it the same?) The Delta Bessborough is a landmark hotel, often called Saskatoon’s castle on the river. They were hosting a Jazz festival that week. We just missed seeing Little Richard among other jazz performers by only a few days.
The Delta Bessborough Hotel takes great pride in their housekeeping staff. They go as far as to offer a free night if you are ever dissatisfied with the cleanliness of the room. Our suite was so clean, our puppies did not find a single thing on the floor… well, almost. On the morning we were leaving, “Sabrina” found a little white card from under the bed. Kathy quickly snatched it away from her and was about to claim our free night... until she turned the card over. It said, “Delta Bessborough Hotel. We clean under here, too!”
The last hotel we stayed at in Canada was the Sheraton Suites hotel in Calgary, Alberta. We ate dinner at Buchanan’s, about a five block walk from the hotel. This Irish restaurant specialized in chops and steaks, with an extensive list of whiskeys. Kathy had a shot of Macallan 17 Fine Oak, and I had the Macallan 18. Both were fine scotch whiskeys, with the edge going to the Macallan 18 for its extra smooth quality.
The next morning, we left Calgary for Kalispell, Montana, USA, but not before Kathy hit just one more Canadian casino. This time, it was the
One of the Many Lakes
On the way to Winnipeg. Elbow River Casino in Calgary. The first thing we noticed was that it was not a non-smoking casino. The next thing was that it did not use printed tickets as most modern casinos did. It paid off in coins, but interestingly, we couldn’t hear a lot of coins dropping (meaning that there was no one winning). Kathy decided she didn’t want to play in this casino anymore, but since we were headed back to the US, she wanted to gamble the rest of the Canadian money we had. Well, by the time we left, she had tripled her money. So, again, a win in the casino is a winning casino to us.
On the way to the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell, Kathy routed us through Glacier National Park in Montana. As with most National Parks we’ve visited, it was beautiful, with majestic mountains, expansive lakes, and impressive falls. We didn’t get to stop because of our time schedule, but we plan to come back some day. Unfortunately, the only wildlife we saw was a family of mountain goats wandering near the road.
Our last leg of the trip home was a short one. We were very happy
to be back home in Sandpoint, Idaho. The puppies recognized our house and also seemed to be happy to be back.
The trip took us a total of 15 days, 4,600 miles, seven hotels in the US and four in Canada. It was great to see Kathy’s family in Michigan and to meet Tracy’s family at the wedding. Thanks and congratulations to Jon and Tracy, the reason for us to make this road trip.
And most of all, thanks to all of you for reading our Travelogue and for your comments. We hope you had as much fun reading this as we had living it.
Until next time…
we’ll be dimming our HighBeams for now…
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Dad Sierra
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Beautiful Canada
This has got to be the most beautiful scenic journey of your trip, Rick and Kathy. Makes us want to trace your route in Canada when we get to visit you sometime next year. The photos (all of them) are genuinely priceless to keep in your memory book and I'm glad to see the main characters of this travelogue in them. And the girls (Roxy and Sabrina) look very cute and fashionable in their dressed-up outfit. I especially like the way you coin your words, Rick. (Mom sez just like me but I think you're better.) Anyway, I enjoy reading about your experiences in Canada and the humor you interjected into it. This is my third reading of this Canadian Travelogue and I'm still laughing about the white card that Sabrina found from under the bed at Delta Bessborough Hotel. Excellent write-up and good to hear that you all made it safely back home.