Derby Was Sick....

...but now he's better! Unfortunately our Quetico canoe trip came to a grand finale with Derby puttering to a nice slow stop just outside of Atikokan, a small town halfway between Fort Francis and Thunder Bay...to clarify, that's 2 hours from anything so we were lucky we were still in the "city" limits! After a cozy three hour wait in the car (during which we made a greek salad, the first fresh veggies we had had in 10 days, so it wasn't too bad), a tow truck finally arrived from BCAA with the news that he could tow us exactly...5 kilometres...which put us at the White Otter Inn, Atikokan.

It is here that we called home for three days while Cameron hunted down a new distributor from Thunder Bay so that we could get back on the road. Our mechanic was less than helpful--perhaps we was scared off by our new mascot, Simon.

It didn't end up being a terrible loss though as we were able to do a bunch of trip planning, recover some of our expenses from BCAA, and also get to know Atikokan a little better. It ended up being a very friendly town (with many people offering us suggestions on where else we could stay other than the White Otter, which is apparently the most expensive place in town) with quite an interesting museum which, among other things, discussed how an entire lake was emptied of water to start an open pit mine in the 1950s in the area.

In the end our beloved Derby was returned to good health and was able to carry us down along the gorgoues shoreline of Lake Superior.

We managed to have a stunninly beautiful day as we came into Lake Superior Provincial Park. Dad..you're right, it does look like the ocean! Managed to have a wonderful walk along the coast line to soak it all in.

The next day took us on a wet and rainy drive through Sault St.Marie and into Capreol (outside of Sudbury) to spend the night with some very dear friends, Frank and Laila, from Meghan's time working in Sudbury. Had the best Chinese dinner, lots of laughs, and too short of a visit. We had to leave early in the morning to make our way to Owen Sound, in preparation for Dana and Charlie's wedding!

Quetico Canoe Trip

We have just returned from our big canoe trip in Quetico Provincial Park (hence the flurry of updates to the site). We had such an absolutely amazing week it's actually hard to know where to begin, but here it goes. The park was stunning and very "untouched" feeling. There were camp sites, but beyond a rock firepit and a relatively flat area for a tent there were no other amenities. Despite the large number of people who go through each site in a given year they were very clean and wild and we really learned to appreciate the tenants of backcountry etiquette. We were also canoeing on the shoulder season and on most days would cross no more than two other canoe groups which helped contribute to our sense of isolation and being in the wilderness. There are no signs anywhere in the park which means that proper use of a map and compass became very important and we both got a chance to learn more about orienteering which was really cool (especially as we did not get lost or get sucked over any rapids). On the official park map camp sites are not even marked, but we had a more detailed map for much of the trip and it had sites marked on it so we were able to route plan a little easier. Our days varied in length between three hours and six hours of canoeing, depending on our destination for the day. As we progressed in the trip we got more aggressive with our goals and the longer days were mainly later in the week. We had a variety of weather conditions from absolutely calm sunny days where the water reflected the shore and sky perfectly, to cross or head winds that sent waves over the side or front of the canoe. We were fortunate that most of the rain we had occurred during the night (our tent held up well in the wind and rain, thanks Kuldeep) and we only really had two days that felt particularly cold. We steered clear of any bear or moose encounters, though did manage to see a Mamma and her cubs off in the distance as we headed towards home. Turtles could be spotted sunbathing, fish were plentiful (so plentiful that Meghan was able to catch 6 Bass and Walleye while Cameron diligently paddled across a rather large lake), and bald eagles abounded. We saw some Indian pictographs, painted with ocre and still clearly visible along various rock faces.

Meals were always yummy, as only backcountry camping can turn KD and Mr. Noodles into gourmet tasting dinners at the end of a hard day. Even Meg's insistance on KD with tuna ended up being palatable.

As I had alluded to in a previous post, while we got a tow into the park, we decided to canoe our way out. We had given ourselves plenty of time to make it from the smaller lakes within the park, across Lac La Croix back to Campbell's and we ended up needing it. For two solid days we had a strong westerly wind which we fought against as we crossed the lake. With the size of the lake we also had pretty big waves fighting against us and every paddle stroke was a battle. It looked like the shore was passing at a snails pace. In the end though after camping on a windy, rocky point for the night we were able to pull into Campbell's with the last of our energy and got a boat ride back to Derby to continue our adventure.

Campbells Cabins (Hanging out with Daniel)

From Winnipeg we headed into Northern Ontario to start a week long canoeing trip in Quetico Provincial Park (originally we had planned to do a trip in Algonquin Provincial Park, but Meg's cousin Jane, an avid canoist, suggested Quetico might be an even better trip).

We took a little longer than expected preparing ourselves in Winnipeg (getting food and equipment for the canoeing) and were unable to get all the way to Lac La Croix (the entry point we chose to get into Quetico) by nightfall on Thursday. In that part of Ontario there are tonnes of animals on the road at night and we didn't feel like risking an animal hit with Derby so we pulled into Sioux Narrows Provincial Park and camped there. It was a good thing to, as we saw two deer on the highway just before going into the park and then, to top it off, a deer was hanging out in our campsite!

After a restful night we headed off to Lac La Croix. As can be seen from the link above, Lac La Croix is definitely not the easiest place to get to. It is actually 70 kms down a dirt road off the highway. The reason we chose Lac La Croix as our start point was that by a crazy coincidence Meg's high school friend Daniel Cowan was working as a float plane pilot for the summer at a fishing resort called Campbell's Cabins, a few kms east of Lac La Croix. We only learned of this after we decided to canoe at Quetico.

Daniel met us in a boat at a Lac La Croix residents house and ferried us and our gear over to the resort as there are no roads to get there (so that's 70 kms down a dirt road and then a boat ride just to get to the resort, either that, or fly in). Daniel had it all set up for us to stay in staff lodging for the night and arranged for us to rent a canoe and the appropriate gear for the week. He also helped arrange for us to get a boat lift into the park itself which started maybe 14 kms down the lake. (As a bit of foreshadowing, we later came to realize that getting the boat tow across the big lake and into the smaller lakes is a worthwhile expense). We were not fully informed going into the canoe trip and Daniels help was really invaluable in getting us setup for the trip, as was Jay, the owner of Campbell's, advice.

We arrived at the resort on a particularly good night as the remaining staff (the season was coming to an end) were having a fish fry. Evidently fish frys are a common thing in Ontario, at least in the fishing crowd, and it is exactly what it sounds like, Chris, (one of Daniels coworker pilots), deep fried a bunch of fish (I think maybe walleye) which one of the fishing guides had donated. We also deep fried canned potatoes and as an appetizer something called Klik (which I had never heard of, but evidently it is something with which to make sandwiches which everyone will love), also deep fried. There was also coleslaw for those who liked to expand their diets beyond the colour yellow. It was a really fun night. Daniel's coworkers were all really nice and it was fun to catch up with Daniel, who we hadn't seen in awhile as he wasn't able to make it back to BC for our wedding.

While it was a fun night it was also a rather sobering day. As we arrived at the resort Daniel had to fly out a women whose husband had just the day before drowned while canoeing without a life jacket in the park. There were many police at the resort and divers who were looking for the body still.

The next day with good maps and a compass, an indestructible aluminum canoe, and all our food and clothes we took off for 7 nights in the wild. At the same time Daniel packed up all his gear and the day after we left started his drive back to BC for the winter.

Daniel, Meg, and the Beaver Daniel just learned to pilot this season.

Cam and Meg before taking off to be dropped off for the canoe trip.

Wayne and Margaret (Winnipeg)

On Wednesday, September 8th we arrived in Winnipeg around 6pm. Yet again we were really fortunate to have people to stay with; this time Meg's cousin David's wife, Karla's, parents, Wayne and Margaret. Although the connection seemed tenuous at first, Wayne and Margaret were extremely welcoming and we had a wonderful visit.

Before, during, and after a fantastic meal that Wayne made, we had great conversations with our hosts. They had done a big honeymoon trip (not unlike our own) as well as many other travels and had really fun stories to tell. We hope that we can match even a of their stories with our journey is done. They also had an obvious affection for Winnipeg which was infectious and we really regretted that we weren't able to spend more time there on our rather hurried journey across the country. We will definitely be back one day to explore the city in more detail, perhaps while journeying up to another trip suggestion that had, Churchill.

Of particular interest was the amazing art which filled Wayne and Margaret's house. The art (much of it native) was all produced by artists they know including Margaret herself (who is a working artist) and Karla (Meg and I were unaware Karla was such a skilled artist). Every piece has a story, and it was really neat for Meg and I to get to compare the art of the west coast natives we saw in Vancouver to that produced on the prairies.

We were sad to leave on Thursday morning, especially when Wayne sent us off with sandwhiches made with City Bread Rye Bread (which is pretty famous in the area and was quiet good) and honey ham which a stranger in the super market had sold him on.

Cameron, Margaret and Wayne hangingout with Derby before the adventure continues on Thursday.

Moosejaw (Cameron's Dad's Family)

On Monday we drove from Calgary out to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Moose Jaw was the biggest city near to the farm where Cameron's dad grew up (near Crane Valley), and his sisters Marlene and Barb live in the area still. We had a fantastic visit with the whole extended family some of whom Cameron hadn't seen for several years, and who Meg has never met.

We also got a great tour of the town thanks to the cousins. Thank you guys!

Marlene and Cameron

Don, Martin, Megan, Barb, Cameron and Meg.

Cameron and Derby, chilling out on crossing the Saskatchewan border.

Had a great time driving across the open prairies, and an even better visits with friends in Calgary!

Hmmm, Derby is a little overloaded. As we take turns in the passenger seat we're noticing this more and more. Luckily we're dropping the paddles off in Ontario....

Our first day of the trip was spent at the IPE in Armstrong, BC with Meghan's parents. We had a great day and were able to contimplate what breed of chicken we'll buy in the future.

The family of three...Cameron, Meghan, and Derby are ready to go!