In our other blog, I did a Time Line because of CoVid and include world facts at the time. It made for a great diary. I will do a Time Line for this road trip, quick and easy for Paul and I to look back on. Maybe our readers will find this post interesting too. This is a post that I will be adding to regularly.
Wednesday September 30
It ended up we needed to spend 3 nights in Sault Ste. Marie. We bought 2 new back tires and replaced them yesterday. Today we drove to Ottawa instead of Toronto as planned. We are now downtown Ottawa for next 6-8 weeks before we head down to Florida to boat.
No news I want to report on as Trump and Biden debate was Tuesday night. No comment.
Monday September 28
Our drive from Thunder Bay to Sault St. Marie was a colourful one. The leaves are at their peak. We have a flat tire this morning so another night is needed here in the Sault while we get this fixed.
Thursday September 24-Friday 25
On our way home but long drives ahead. Moose Jaw was night one and tonight it is Winnipeg downtown. Piece of trivia...... the very first time I was in Winnipeg (that I can remember) was when I flew with a few Air Cadets from Yellowknife for a drilling team match. It was the very first time I ate at a McDonald's. I was about 14 years old. Tomorrow off to Thunder Bay.
In America there is a Firestorm about Trump IF he does not win election, the ramifications. America dominates the news. There are more CoVid cases in Ontario (plus other provinces), therefore more restrictions in affect.
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| View from our hotel in Moose Jaw. Flat. |
Wednesday September 23
We hiked yesterday and today. Montane Trail today actually had bear poop and bear tracks in the loose sand! I pulled out the bear spray and actually carried in my hand. I was not that happy plus we took the wrong trail back and ended up hiking for an extra 3-4 km! It as a two hour hike but I was nervous alot.
380 + whales are dead in worst mass stranding in Australia's history.
700,000+ cases of CoVid in Mexico
Monday September 23
Fernie is a ski paradise. We are here for 3 nights in a VRBO.
Sunday September 22
We travelled to Fernie with two stops, one Rossland to visit people we know and one in Cranbrook to visit family.
Friday and Saturday September 18-19
Never heard of this place but everyone should know it. OSOYOOS....It is Canada's wine country! We visited 4 wineries and went to two tastings. Smoke was bad enough that we did not hike or go up to any look-outs. Fruit everywhere too. 20 lbs of peaches for $10! Wow.
In the news, 7 million cases and 200,000 deaths in USA. Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. Hurricane season so bad that they are using the Greek Alphabet.
Thursday September 17
We enjoyed our visit in Victoria. We walked alot and ate alot. The ferry ride to Vancouver was boring as the smoke and fog was very dense. We checked into Osoyoos..... Wine Capital of Canada!
Tuesday September 15
Yesterday we ate at Cowichan Bay and the smoke was bad. No mountains or ships anchored out were visible. Today, we said goodbye to family and travelled to Victoria. Visibility is poor but improved a bit over the day.
Cowichan Bay, the usual sight would be a mountain and boats anchored out. We ate inside, however this place had no mask wearing policy and I had to wrap my mind around that and be extra careful.
Sunday September 13
Today Vancouver is the worst in the world for pollution from the fires in Washington, Oregon and California. Even worse than India. We are on Vancouver Island and drove to Coombs, a favourite spot for us. The views are not to be as the fire pollution is everywhere here too. We avoided outside.
Saturday September 12
Took ferry to Nanaimo. The fires in Washington State are so bad that it is smoky here near Vancouver and on the island. Mask wearing on the ferry. No CoVid deaths in Canada yesterday.
Friday September 11
Hiked Nairn Falls and Rainbow Falls, both awesome! Way above temperatures right now.
In the news... Trump has lied to the Americans about the CoVid virus and the implications. Trump is still having rallies with no social distancing. Bob Woodward is coming out with his book. WE Charity in Canada will not exist here in this country because of Trudeau and his friends' involvement. California has 28 wildfires with 14,000 firefighters. San Francisco woke up this morning with orange skies, amazing but terrible photos.
Thursday September 10
We went to Vallea Lumina, a wonderful video, light and sound show in the forest which took about one hour to walk through. Absolutely amazing. A highlight near Whistler.
Tuesday September 8
Whistler is a mountain biking paradise! Hot here, above average temperatures, so pool is welcomed at end of our days when hiking. Mask wearing varies depending on the community and the store. Here at Whistler it is mandatory inside everywhere (so far), but not in the town north.
Monday September 7
This was a fantastic day travelling on Hwy 99 over (up, down, up down) to Whistler, B.C. We loved the scenic drive. Put on your bucket list!! We are here in Whistler almost the same time as last year. We booked Hortsman Inn as we loved it last time.
Sunday September 6
We left Jasper yesterday and are in Kamloops. We took the Yellowstone Highway here and the drive was spectacular. Ate dinner at the hotel; Cordo Resto & Bar which was absolutely the best meal we have had at a restaurant in over a year! For this "diary".... I had the trout and Paul had the Blackened Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bowl. Mask wearing in British Columbia is not mandatory everywhere so we have to get used to the persons that decide they are not going to wear a mask. This is our new reality for awhile as we spend a couple of weeks minimum in B.C. We visited the BC Wildlife Park and saw animals we could not see on our drive, ie: Bears, cougars, racoons, deer and moose..... etc.
Hong Kong citizens are fighting for democracy and the world is not paying attention. USA is still fighting the CoVid differently than the rest of the "rich democratic" countries. 27 million cases worldwide, 800,000 deaths!
Thursday, September 3
Cloudy day. Travelled into the village. Half the tourists here than in Banff.
Brazil has over 4 million CoVid cases. Mexico has the world's most health care worker deaths. American colleges and universities have 52,000 cases of the virus.
Photo below is our view from Jasper Park Lodge. That is such a cool reflection.
Wednesday September 2
We checked out of Banff and arrived in Jasper. On our way we stopped at Morant's Curve, Moraine Lake (BEST LAKE EVER), Sunwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls. We ate at the restaurant here at hotel.
Sunday August 30
We drove to Banff for our 3 night stay. Our time in Banff consisted of many sights of the following:
Lake Louise, an uphill hike included, Takakkaw Falls, Natural Bridge in Yoho National Park, Emerald Lake,Two Jack Lake, Lake Minnewanka, Bow Falls, Banff Gondola Lookout (we plan to go up Jasper's Gondola, not Banff), switch back roads to Mount Norquay. Absolutely wonderful weather.
World news is about Trump (again!) and CoVid numbers that are so high in USA. Borders will not be opening up to them for awhile.
Saturday August 29
We did a 2 hour hike at Cypress Hills Interprovincial park. Our new hiking boots did well. Beautiful sunny day. The highlight of our morning was we took the "long" way there and saw some amazing fields, bulls and different terrain on the way. This is the bread basket of our country along with Saskatchewan.
Friday August 28
Regina was Thursday night and tonight we are in a brand new Marriott here in Medicine Hat, Alberta, my dad's home town. Saskatchewan and Alberta have different CoVid rules while indoors compared to Ontario and Manitoba. We just do our mask wearing indoors regardless of what town/city we are in. We have been wearing masks since March 20, 2020. Hurricane Laura has left destruction along her path.
Wednesday August 26
Rained for half a day but with little traffic, drive was good. Changed time zones about one hour into drive, all automatic. We are in Manitoba and will not be going out as per their CoVid rules. However, all the Manitoba license plates we saw entering from Ontario, curious to know how many quarantine for the 14 day? Hmm. Hurricane Laura is huge and will be destructive and deadly later tonight in Texas.
Tuesday August 25
Great drive to Thunder Bay. Beautiful scenery and very little traffic. AND very few or no bathroom places.
Monday August 24
We travelled to Sault Ste Marie, our route out of Ontario is long as it is a huge province. We bought our necessary Bear Spray for later when we do our hiking. We are watching the weather down south as Time Out is there. www.shannonandpaul.blogspot.com
Tuesday August 18
Downtown Toronto, visiting friends and sights. There are 23.7 million cases of CoVid with 815,000 deaths. United States is still not doing what is necessary to curb the 1,000+ deaths a day. Our borders (and others) are still closed to the USA.
