Sundown in the Paris of the Prairies

We are somewhere between Moose Jaw and  Swift Current. If I had to give it a name it would be Buffalo Jump.

We were excited to be done with Ontario and got to Brandon, Manitoba in the early evening. We pulled into MeadowLark Campground, did some laundry and had a shower. #cleanagain

After a good sleep we were back on the road this morning, feeling rested and happy.

We quickly passed into Saskatchewan and I stopped at the welcome centre only to find out that it was closed!? Weird.  I sent Abby to read the sign.  She came back to inform me that not only was it closed, the building was empty.

As I was about to leave the parking lot, I saw an interesting sight. I'm trying to word this nicely because my kids thought I was being mean.  A family had pulled up and out came 3 children. Two young boys were dressed almost alike in the same patterned shorts. Then an older girl got out, dressed in the same material as the boys' shorts. I looked closer and realized the white material was printed with red maple leaves. Then the whole family put on these tall (I have to say dunce) caps that were red and patterned. They had noise makers and signs. They proceeded to take a pic at the Saskatchewan sign. The whole family poses with their dunce caps, homemade canadiana- material clothing and 150 signs. I couldn't help it, as I'm driving away thinking I should've taken a pic (I didn't), I start laughing and I can't stop. I laughed until I cried. I'm laughing now. All day I would be driving along and just burst into laughter at what I witnessed. My kids didn't think it was funny at all and gave me looks like this:

This is what delirium feels like I think. Spontaneous bursts of uncontrolled laughter - all.day.long. So funny.  So in addition to this blog, if you are following a friend or family member who is also travelling the country and has perhaps outfitted their family with clothing, 'caps' and noise makers; let them know I think they are awesome. I didn't even stop at the Manitoba border much less get a picture. Way to go Canada cheerleaders! I'm not a bad person. I just needed a good laugh.

If you don't believe in Karma, read on my friend. About an hour later, I decided it was time to stop for a rest. As always I GENTLY turned the corner into a picnic area and heard a crash. I ask  'all good?' And the reply I got was, 'it's the milk'. Do you know how much 2L of milk is? Do you really? It's a lot.  When I finally got stopped, I was witness to a sea of white. Now, because I'm no longer swearing, I remain calm, but it's not a spill that is going to wipe up with some paper towels.  This is a throw-open-the-door-fling-the-mats-out kind of spill.

At the same time in the parking lot, a couple of men have also stopped and have their binoculars out to 'bird watch'. Today they got a treat - a raging, sweating mother schlepping carpets out of a motorhome. A rare sight? Perhaps. They might even be laughing spontaneously RIGHT now in remembrance of the sight. I don't know, but Abby informed me that I shouldn't have laughed at that family.

Oh ya, in all the excitement, we discover that somewhere between the Saskatchewan border and the picnic area, Parker has lost a flip flop.  He started crying (not from laughter) because he realized he put the milk in the fridge the wrong way and he only has one shoe.  Poor kid. I told him we can't cry over spilt milk, threw Maje into drive and got back on the Highway. Lesson learned.

The BEST Canada Day Ever!

Hello from the road!

Here are the kids on Friday evening, so excited to get started on an adventure of a lifetime!

Tonight we are all tucked in at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park, third night and we've all had showers (#clean)  I'm sitting by candlelight (battery operated but still...) and thinking about how to sum up the last 24 hours. A Canada Day not to be forgotten! We've covered a lot of ground, met lots of nice people and I think we've checked off some tourist sights for Abby and Parker's bucket list although really it's MY bucket list for them, but whatevs.

Our Friday destination was Sudbury.  I figured we'd be there by 9ish, but ended up pulling into the Walmart parking lot around 10:30 - Maje goes a bit slower than I'm used to travelling.  She is weighed down with a lot of stuff, despite my efforts to keep Abby from bringing every stuffed animal and trinket she THINKS she needs for the next month. The rattling and shaking in the RV takes some getting used to, not mention I'm constantly looking in my mirror, watching 4 mountain bikes bounce on the bike rack.  I'm then envisioning them flying off onto the highway, causing mass chaos and I ease up on the gas every time. Never have I ever had so many people pass me.  It's very humbling.  And where is everyone going in such a hurry? Seriously.

Walmart, Sudbury ON offers a great view for RV peeps. We scored the last of the prime realty.

Of course, it was too late on Friday night for a pic, damn you Maje.  These were taken in the morning.  Just don't look the other way and you'd think you were in a great locale.

The view from the other side.

Now the beauty of being in Walmart meant that I could pick up all the things I remembered that I had forgotten on the LONG drive to Sudbury: shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, tin foil, AAA batteries...  However, Sudbury Walmart closed at 10pm (double damn you, Maje) and isn't it nice that Walmart employees have Canada Day off?  Nice.

Big Nickel - check!

Farmer's Markets were everywhere! - hello? Saturday morning in June!  Wahoo!  Keith would never stop for all this! We stopped at one in Blind River and I sent Abby to buy some maple syrup (another thing I forgot) from the local market lady, "Flo" who promptly pocketed Abby's change and the maple syrup has leaked all over the cup holder. At least now we can make pancakes.

Next up? A series of amazing Trading Posts. This would be another No from Keith, but a big Yes from mom. Parker is now the proud owner of a really great bow and arrow and another fidget spinner. I'm thrilled, we def needed another one of those. We all feel sad that Parker is out of money, but he's been extremely helpful, hoping to rack up those 'Desormeaux Dollars'.  Abby, on the other hand has been strangely frugal but did buy a used stuffed turtle from our friend Flo, which has been living in our awesome freezer (which actually freezes stuff) waiting for the ok to come out after the dust mites have died.  She has named her 'Summer'.  We look forward to her being tossed around the space soon.

Obligatory pics from Trading Posts - check, check, check!
We are never going to get anywhere fast.

We even happened upon a Canada Day Parade about to start in a small town that was drawing huge crowds.  Well, I'm sure it did draw huge crowds eventually. The lone man sitting in a fold up chair all by himself on the side of the road was taking no chances. He got there early in order to get the best spot.

We even went through a town that celebrated with 150 Canadian flags!

What I can't make light of is the amazing views we've been able to experience the past 2 days. This is truly a road trip that everyone should experience. My kids, once I screamed at them over the noise from Maje and the sound of whatever movie they were watching, agreed that it is indeed beautiful.  When someone is in the front with me it's a no device zone and they are watching the views and chatting with mom. I think these times will be the most special for me on this trip. Conversations in the car are great anyways and seeing Canada through their eyes is what I'm looking forward to the most. The joker in the back on the iPad will get my attention when it's his/her turn in the front with mom.

Aguasabon Falls & Gorge

Lake Superior

Rainbow Falls PP

So yes, lots of memories made on this Canada Day 2017, but the best ever? Maybe that's a little excessive. It will definitely be a day that I will look back on and remember what I was doing on July 1st 2017. Here's a few cryptic pics to keep you guessing. I'm saving the real story for the end of the trip but here's some other things we did to keep busy yesterday..

hmmm.

Already, this is his fav memory of the trip!

def after hours

What are you doing?

hooligans

by day a busy trading post, at night...

Introducing Maje!

This is the beginning of an adventure that has been a lifelong dream of mine.  A dream that I have passed on to my family.  I started talking about this seriously one year ago.  I think my husband, Keith, thought if he ignored me, this would all go away.  Nice try.

Let's start with the back story.  About 7 years ago, we became boaters and fell in love with Georgian Bay.  We started with a 26 ft Regal and we were hooked, even though our daughter, Abby was still in a crib.  I literally spent the summer trying to get her to sleep - no exaggeration.  I knew however, Keith was truly in his happy place, so I said if this was going to be our thing, we needed more space.  We ended up with a 32 ft Bayliner (GREAT deal) and we were boaters.  Except, I had this thing about wanting to show my kids the country via a motorhome.

So I had some work to do to convince Keith this is a great idea.  In my mind, THIS is our summer - Parker is 11 and Abby is going to be 9 in August.  How many more summers do I have when A - they want to spend time with us and B - they aren't working.

So I started planting the seed.  I was met with a bit of heckling from the boaters and my husband.  When Keith went to Kijiji to find another one of his amazing deals, I knew this was something he was going to embrace as well.  He won't admit it, mind you.  He'll tell you the Bay is where he wants to spend his summer.  A few weeks searching and we were the proud owners of 30 ft of RV fun at a great price.

We brought Maje home last weekend and the best news was that she went up our significantly steep driveway!  Wahoo!  This means that prep for our trip will be easier than parking it off our property to clean and pack.  Things were shaping up perfectly!

Perfect until the rains came last weekend and we discovered 2 significant leaks in our home on wheels.  Keith didn't stop until he fixed those leaks.  We shall see how well they are fixed when the rains start again this week.  I'm predicting (hoping) that with all this rain, the summer will be warm and dry.

Being a teacher, I often have grand plans for summer and Keith has to remind me that he does not have 2 months off in the summer.  Bummer.  My dream was compromised when Keith informed me that he could not take a whole month off work.  He's a plumber -

KAPA Plumbing

One week is the most I've been able to get him to take off in summer.  He conceded to 2 weeks - which is a big deal.  My dream however, doesn't fit into 2 weeks.  I had a decision to make.

Scenario #1 Take a month, drive with the kids, Keith will join for a portion of the month
Scenario #2 Shorten the trip to 2 weeks

The decision was easy.  In T-33 days, I am driving west with my 2 kids in a 30ft Majestic RV.  Keith will fly to Calgary to meet us.  We will then head into the mountains for 2 weeks and return to Calgary, put Keith back on a plane and head back home in the RV.

I can do this, right?  Of course I can, despite the confused looks and questions like, 'why would you want to do this?' from many people.

The decision was easy - making the dream come true will be what will be documented in this blog.  I'm sure there will be lots of fun to share with you.  Stay tuned!