Friday, Saturday, Sunday; October 17, 18, 19, 2008

The trips winding down. Friday we go visit with the factory personnel where our Phoenix Cruiser motorhome was built in Elkhart, Indiana. We wanted to see one with a larger bed - the only thing we missed from home while we were gone. Then on to Cave City, Kentucky where we spent the night at a very nice Good Sam Campground. Gail was getting really excited. Tomorrow she will get to see our Nashville grandchildren. Saturday we're off to Nashville. At the risk of being hollered at, I couldn't resist taking this photo of Gail with her hair in rollers, a morning ritual while we had been gone. Needless to say, we were both as happy to see the kids as they were happy to see us. We spent the night with them and we all celebrated Gail's 71st birthday. Sunday morning we drove home and said a prayer of thanks as we arrived after driving 8000 miles in seven weeks. Westward Ho was concluded.

Thursday; October 16, 2008

We awoke to a bright morning and prepared to drive down through western Michigan arriving in Elkhart Indiana for the night. But first we had to cross the Straits of Mackinaw Bridge. The first time we ever crossed this bridge, we were newly married and we crossed it riding a motorcycle. At that time the bridge was only a few years old. Gail still remebers looking down at the water through the roadway grates and being very nervous. Today as we approached the bridge, Gail finally saw a Moose, the first one of the trip. On our drive through Ontario we had continually seen warning signs for these animals - but we never saw one. Having grown up in Michigan, our drive south through the state was one of reminising. We stopped at ski areas previusly visited with our family and friends, little towns we always enjoyed and the first retirment home my parents had.

Wednesday; October 15, 2008

Another 400 mile day to get to Sault Ste Marie, Ont and cross over into the U.S. at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. Many of you may know that the Locks from Lake Superior to the North Channel of Lake Huron are located between these two cities and countries. This was a very senic drive. Canadian Highway 17 follows the Lake Superior shoreline very closly and you continually see the lake as you travel. We're sight-see'ers, thus we stopped a number of times to get out of the coach and look at waterfalls, gorges, bays and cliffs. We have attached a few photos including one of Katerine Bay - named for our youngest grandchild, do you believe that? We crossed into Michigan at 7 PM. Lake Superior White Fish and Yellow Perch were on our minds for dinner. We had a lovely dinner at the historic Ojiboway Hotel which was built in 1926. It was 10 PM when we arrived at our campground for the night. We were right at the exit of the locks.

Tuesday; October 14, 2008

Up at 4:30, we slip out of Winnipeg at 5:30 for a 425 mile drive headed for Thunder Bay, ONT, CA on the northwest shore of Lake Superior. At this time we are leaving our friends behind and starting the drive home. Our last week out! We have always wanted to round the north shore of lake Superior having done the south shore with our children a number of years ago. Not a lot to talk about here. This was truck driving to get to TB. Long straight roads through wooded and rockys countryside. As we got closer to the lake, things began to change. We arrived early enough to visit downtown Thunder Bay and see their waterfront. In the distance in the attached photo you can see the entrance light for the Harbor. The other photo is the fabled "sleeping giant", an island in the Harbor.

Sunday, Monday; October 12, 13, 2008

We arrived in Winnipeg to spend the next two nights at the Red River Expedition Center. Sunday was Canada's Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the harvest. Gail, Susanne and Carol came up with the idea to go out to dinner having a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner. Gail located a very nice restaurant and the three couples of us separated from the group for dinner. Monday morning a Tour Bus picked us up early and we began a tour of Winnipeg. This city is very European and has a large French contingent. Our first stop was the Asinine Gardens Park. For all you children out there, this is the home of Winnie-the-Poo. He was created in the building pictured. This is a lovely park with gardens, outdoor sculpture, and historic buildings to wander through. Its certainly popular with the locals as people were walking through the park on a cool and damp Sunday morning. Our second stop was the Provincial State House which, considering this was Canada's National Election Day, we were allowed to enter by pre-arrangement. A magnificent building patterned after King Solomon's Temple. Mid-day we stopped at the Central Market area to have lunch in the food court and do some souvenir shopping. In the afternoon we went to what I consider one of the finest historical museums I have ever been in. The museum guide with the aid of exhibits traced the orgin of Manitoba from several thousand years ago to modern times. Take a look at this website. http://www.manitobamuseum.ca/ We finished up the evening with our Caravan Farewell Dinner at a German restaurantand and then, one more nightcap in Bernie and Carol's Motorhome.

Friday, Saturday; October 10,11, 2008.

We boarded the train in Curchill on Thursday night at 10:30 for our rebound trip back to Thompson. This time we had a sleeper compartment with bunk beds. We slept much better than on the previous trip up. We awoke Friday morning to see our first snow of the trip on the ground. Time during the day was past with several of us acting out a murder mystery plot and with the others having to figure out who the murderer was. The photo is Bernie as a German Braumister. We arrived back in Thompson at 8:00 PM to a wet, cold and muddy campground. Saturday morning we struck out for Grand Rapids which is half way to Winnipeq down the west side of Manitoba and is not much more than a fuel stop. We dry camped in a "pull off area" and had a "woody woopee" dinner (our term for a pot luck dinner). Look at a map of the Province of Manitoba. We were driving beside Lake Winniipeq all the way down.

Wednesday, Thursday; October 8, 9, 2008

This was the crescendo we had been building up too for the last twelve months. It wasn't a disappointment! We traveled the Tundra for two days in a Tundra Buggy with our driver/guide Mark driving and occasionally - Gail driving. We saw seven Polar Bears, numerous Artic Hares, Ptarmigan birds, Red Foxes and various bird coveys. Temperatures were forty degrees or so but the winding was howling pushing the wind chill lower. We left the hotel at 8:30 every morning and returned at 5:00 PM. We had breakfast and dinner across the road from the hotel and lunch on the Tundra Buggy. Churchill has a year round population of 800 persons of which two thirds are "first nation" people. The Canadians living here are truly outdoor enthusiasts. The town is wide open from the perspective we live our daily lives in. The community polices itself and we were told they don't have crime problems. Lawbreakers get one chance to recover their senses! A one way ticket out of town takes care of those that can't adjust. If you're wondering about the bears - they come off the Hudson Bay ice in late Spring as the ice is breaking up. They spend the warm months out on the Tundra mating, hibernating and giving birth. In early October they began wondering toward the shore line in anticipation of the ice freeze which will occur by mid November. They spend the cold months on the ice gorging them selves on Seals and building up a layer of fat to live on the following Spring/Summer starting the cycle all over. We made friends with a tour guide whom we will be corresponding with. Would we go back? Maybe in the May/June time frame to witness the migratory birds leaving to head south. This was certainly a once in the life time experience we'll always remember.