Leaving the Northwest Territories and crossing the line at the Alberta border (Rt 35) did not shed any tears on my part. Just knowing that the further south I went the density of mossies and deer flies would diminishes accordingly.
Factoids as I see it:
The Yukon has 11 major roads whereas the Northwest Territories have 6. Yukon population, as quota by the Information Center was at 33 thousand and if you listen to the NWT, they are claiming over 100 thousand. Me thinks someone is smoking the funny weed again or hiding everyone up in the tundra (Google).
Mileage: With 2 months plus on the road 16,000 miles or 25,000 kilometers; averaging 25-26 miles to the gallon (US) 3.75 liters. Average cost of petrol around $4.00 per US gallon (Canada cost is from $4-5.00 per gallon) with a high of $8.00). The amount spent on petrol is double on what I had originally estimated.
California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario
Rest Stops/Rest areas: British Columbia has loo’s at everyone; Yukon close; Northwest Territories, find a bush and Alberta, forget it…….Saskatchewan, another bush and Manitoba has one. Of course you have to realize that British Columbia has the Rocky Mountains, gateway to Alaska, glaciers, the inward passage whereas Alberta and moving east is flat, farming and deer flies.
Before I forget there are some incredible waterfalls on the NWT Route 1 south to Alberta.
Across the border it is and after many many kilometers you begiinning to realize that you are back in the prairie (Alberta) where everything is flat and the roads are straight from Horizon to horizon. The radio stations are either trying to save you again or you best enjoy country and western music. Actually found a Laundromat and at the same time managed to wash many miles of mud off the vehicle. The night was at a provincial park. The next day it was to Edmonton (capital) for replacement of the back window and to Costco for rotation of tyres. The lad who did the work mentioned that I had enough mud on the inside of the tyre hubs to build another road. Oh did I mention rain; it started first night arriving in Alberta and has continued all day. The farmers are in for another dry year here in Alberta and the crops are suffering tremendously.
Some where on route 28 I camped last night before making the big push into Saskatchewan the following morn. Stopping for the morning brew is a must if I am to survive the crossing of the border. Saskatchewan in the north is all farmland as far as I can see. You continue in a straight line to the horizon and you have another straight line in front of you. Finally got on the west side of Prince Albert National Park. As there was a gravel road north of the park and as I have just a bit of time on my hands, gravel road it was. The road was in excellent shape, not much in the wildlife area except deer and being swallowed up in a dust cloud as the truckers go by. Now we are on the east side of the park, down we go to the entrance and pay your entry fee and next informed that vendors inside the park will charge additional fees for using the facilities. Got the monies back and found myself a rest stop for the night.
And rain it did again all night long. Lets see it started raining in Alberta, continued into Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well. Now combining rain all night long and continuing through the morning does not make travel on a dirt road enjoyable. A bit like driving on ice but after the first 15 kilometers the texture of the road changed to a mixture of gravel and dirt, which improved the driving 100%.
It has been confirmed that the deer flies in Canada are manufactured by Boeing Aircraft. Airbus had bid on the project but could not meet the specifications or the time frame.
Manitoba is pretty much flat country and primarily farming which is not going to add a lot of excitement here. Found a provincial park and no attendee, so a freebie for the night and did it rain. Next morning it was up on Route 39 to 6 for a stop at the Pisew Falls. Worth the view but whether or not you’ll enjoy the ride is humbug to the max from the main highway to the falls estimate 600 kilometers round trip. It’s a two-lane road with trees on both sides for a 6 hour plus. As I took photos, they will save you a trip. Back to route 10 and a small town campsite. As I parked near the loo, unbeknown to me that there was going to be a ball game that night. Sleeping in the tent and listening to the loo doors open and shut finally pushed me back into the goatmobile where life was a lot quieter. Back on Route 10 going south and it was pretty humbug as the road is straight and trees on both sides. Coming into Swan River Valley made the day trip worth every bit. Here you have a huge valley in front of you with the multiple colors of various crops that just stretch to the horizon like a patchwork quilt.
A brief chat at the visitors center and into the Duck Provincial Park for the night.
Next morn it was over the other side of Lake Winnipeg and looking for a place to bed for the night. I finally found a rest site with a loo within Manitoba; of course it had to be the main road between Manitoba and Ontario. I am going to email the Premier of Manitoba and suggest that any tourist crossing into his domain be issued a case of Depends (Google).
The next day had us crossing over into Ontario and stopping at the friendly visitor center again. My query was concerning two water falls off route 105 (north). Be it that they didn’t know but did phone to the visitor center within the falls area. Information was the two falls that I was interested in were humbug but that there was a sensational fall up north that the locals only knew about. Well with all of this good info off I went 150 kilometers north to find what they considered just amazing was no more then water running over a set of rocks at the most 2 meters high. Someone somewhere is into a happy pill when they named this set “Big Falls”.
Next day it is south toward Thunder Bay and the crossing back into the US. There is a particular trip that circumvents Lake Superior covering Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and back to Ontario. Believe me when I cross back into the US I will be on fumes just knowing that petrol is $2.30 a gallon.
Norm
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