I’ve been a sucker for abandoned buildings and ghost towns for years and I had no idea what I was in for as I drove south from Flin Flon to Dauphin on Hwy 10. This road is littered with old shacks, decrepit barns and abandon vehicles that have been left in the middle of fields. But one sight that had me screeching to a halt, was an old church that I happened to see out of the corner of my eye. Naturally I kind of went a little nuts with the photography on this one. Below are some of the shots from this drive south.
Before I left Thompson a few friends had given me suggestions on what to see and even put me in touch with a local that knows about Flin Flon. It’s pretty amazing how technology this day in age can really connect people almost instantly from thousands of miles away.
After pulling into town late afternoon I took the recommendation to stay in Creighton, SK which sits on the other side of the border from Flin Flon. The terrain in this area is really something else, kind of like the Canadian Shield of northern Ontario but a little more extreme. The town dips in and out of the rocks and it’s amazing how it has really shaped where people can and can not live.
Got out the next morning to have coffee (one of the rare times I drink coffee, looked like the perfect place to have it) at the Orange Toad, a charming local coffee shop/book store. If you’re ever in town it’s definitely a place to check out, great atmosphere, super nice people and I even had a chance to sketch a little drawing of the northern lights.
I was also recommended to speak to Frank Fieber at Northroots magazine who knows so much about the area and pointed me in the direction of a local arts centre. I was very grateful for the chat and to have a had the chance to look at some amazing old photos, as well as learn about local artists.
The rest of the afternoon consisted of my usual wandering around town taking photos, here are a few of my favourites.
^ I don’t know what this says but I want it on a T-shirt!
Leaving Winnipeg on cool Saturday morning from my hosts Braden & Alex’s place, Braden offered up an amazing parting gift (a lovely CD with great folk music on it!) which totally made the drive north that much more enjoyable. Driving Hwy 6 which takes you from the flat land of the eastern prairies up into the limestone hills of central and northern Manitoba, offers up some beautiful big sky views.
Crossing the 55th parallel you being to notice how long the shadows are at this time of year, since the sun is so low in the sky. The light is really quite beautiful when the sun is shining, it’s almost like a perpetual sunrise/sunset. Not too much further north from the 55th parallel is the town of Thompson, Manitoba. An interesting small town with nickel mining being its biggest industry, most people up here are here to work at the mine. But there are some truly great people up here including my host Lisa that graciously put me up for 4 days.
^ King Miner statue, Thompson, MB
Although Thompson didn’t give me the greatest opportunity to see the northern lights, mostly because of cloud cover and overcast skies during the night. It did offer an amazing outdoors and wilderness experience, which was totally welcome since I missed a lot of camping this past summer. From hiking at Pisew Falls to trying to drive the dirt road to Joey Lake (and almost loosing my front bumper to the cavernous potholes) it’s a nature lovers wet dream in these parts.
Heading southwest to Flin Flon you are quickly reminded just how isolated you are, even though Thompson is large town with all the amenities of a big city. You really can’t help but notice the sign that says “Winter survival equipment is recommended” meaning that should you get stuck in a storm you better be prepared to ride it out because no one is coming for you until it’s over. All warnings aside it was an excellent driving day, CBC 75th specials on the radio, great little detour up to Snow Lake and a whole lot of interesting graffiti on the limestone rock cliffs that the road carves through.
Now I know a lot of people hate the fact that others are defacing the natural looking scenery, but if you look at the flip side of it (and I’m not condoning it what so ever) it’s some times fascinating what people choose to leave as their mark on these rocks. Most like to leave their name, some want to profess their love and few leave symbols that make you think what were they thinking when they did this? Part of me wanted to leave an impression of my own, but instead I decided to take something away.
From Kenora it’s a short drive to the Manitoba border where I left the Trans Canada to take Hwy 44 north-west into Beausejour. Before meeting up with my hosts I hung out by the towns old grain elevator that is unfortunately scheduled to be torn down in the new year.
Arriving at Brent & Jaik’s lovely home on the edge of the easter prairies I was greeted by their two large but very well-mannered dogs Spatula and Basil. Once I was settled in, they made a fantastic dinner which we ate in front of the wood stove while having endless conversations about art and music.
The next morning I hitched a ride into Winnipeg with them, where they dropped me off at a local café/diner called The Tallest Poppy (www.thetallestpoppy.com). Super friendly folk, great food and if you’re in Winnipeg it’s totally worth a visit. It was also a great spot to start my regular wander around town to see what interesting things I can find.
^ That’s not very nice
It was a great day of gallery hopping and enjoying the local artistic culture that Winnipeg as to offer. Thanks Winnipeg! It was a blast, can’t wait to do it again!
After spending a night in Thunder Bay I wasn’t sure needed to spend another night there. When I woke up in the morning I flipped a loonie “Heads = Leave, Tails = Stay” it was Heads, so I also flipped the coin to decide which route I should take “Heads = Hwy 11, Tails = Hwy 17″ and Heads again! Off I was, ready to take on an impromptu adventure.
First stop after crossing into the Central Standard Time Zone is one of favourites, the Arctic Watershed, there is something about streams flowing north into the arctic that resonates with me for some reason. There isn’t a whole heck of a lot from this point of Hwy 11 to Rainy River (except for random snow squalls), but I’ve always been interested in see what is at the other end of Yonge St?
Well this train museum for one, a cute little town with your normal small-town stores, a border crossing, a gas station and not much else unfortunately. I was pretty surprised to not find a marker for the start of Hwy 11 all there was, was just a regular sign.
Since I traveled this far and wasn’t about to spend a night at the other end of Yonge St. I figured I’d make the drive up to Kenora, I never got to stop on my way through last year so I thought it’d be worthwhile.
And I’m glad I did! being only 3 days into this trip and to already see the Northern Lights is phenomenal, I just hope I keep lucking out like this the rest of the time I’m out here. Below are some of the photos from the first night of seeing the lights.
It was definitely a big driving day today. Rolled out of bed just after 5 am in time to see my parents off to the farmers market, borrow an old gas can, propane heater and grabbed a few homemade goodies for the road. I’ve always found it interesting starting a trip under the cover of darkness as if I was fleeing some mysterious part of my life and the only way to leave undetected is to sneak away at some ungodly hour. Though truthfully I knew I had about 12 hrs of driving to get under my belt so it’s best to start bright and early, even if it means before the sun comes up. It does have it’s rewards, the sunrise this morning was pretty spectacular as I rolled into Orillia to stop for gas.
All in all it was pretty easy drive until the gps wanted to send me on some back roads to bypass Sault Ste Marie, I’m usually all for the road less traveled as long as I’m ready for it. It also would have taken me straight to Wawa and I would have missed the most beautiful views through Lake Superior provincial park and I didn’t want that. I’d rather pass on seeing Wawa even though I did see a billboard that said WawaWow which almost made me want to stop there since it made me laugh, instead I took a little break at Old Woman Bay.
After that it was straight on through to White River where a friends family was happy to greet me and put me up for the night. I love getting to chat with such lovely and wonder people, thank you Belisle’s you’re amazing!
So most of you know that I’m at it again, heading out on another artistic quest, this time with the hope of catching the northern lights. Starting tomorrow I’ll be traveling through northern Ontario and then up into northern Manitoba. I’ll try to keep you all posted as much as possible, but until then enjoy the new site design I’ve been working on.
One last thing, for the next three weeks it would be awesome if everyone could put northern lights thoughts out into the universe and I’ll let you know if it’s working! Thanks ALL!
Okay, so I know this wrap-up post is long over due, I’ve been back in Toronto since the beginning of September. So first I’d like to send out a huge thank you to those of you that made this journey possible. THANK YOU! – To my family and friends for their love, support and contributions, to those of you that donated to the Cookies for Kilometres fundraiser, to those of you that gave me Tim Cards and kept me well fed and caffeinated on the road, to those of you that made me music discs, to those of you that gave me a place to stay, and all of you that followed the blog along the way!
For most people this isn’t the type of journey they would choose to tackle on their own, and after driving a whopping 18,763 kms parts of me would also agree. I think mostly for the fact that seeing this much of Canada in 39 days is really pushing it when you are the only one doing the driving. But none-the-less the interactions and experiences had been nothing but stellar! Sure there were a few bumps along the way, missing the ferry to Prince Rupert, being delayed by forest fires and even mis-calculating the time it takes to drive from Whitehorse to Edmonton. I’ve always found that if you open your mind to the possibility that “things happen for a reason” you being to see the good in unfortunate situations.
Having had the chance to talk to people about the trip, I’ve been asked many questions and a lot of them starting with “What was the most or the best or your favourite” so here is a list of some of them:
What was the/your…
Most dangerous – Would have to be almost chopping my thumb off with a freshly sharpened axe, while trying to chop wood in the dark slightly intoxicated. It isn’t recommended that you hold the log with one hand while swinging an axe with the other. I did have the thought in my head that it wasn’t the best idea, but swung the axe anyway, I’m happy to say I still have both thumbs!
Best city for art – Hands down Calgary takes it on this question. My trip to ACAD to see the student exhibit, the visit to Art Central on a Thursday night open house and even just walking around the city really blew me away. I think mostly because I didn’t expect much, but it really has a lot to offer.
Favourite city – If you’ve followed the blog you know I am in love with Canada’s north, so Dawson City, Yukon is definitely on the top of my list. But Calgary and Tofino aren’t too far behind.
Most challenging – Had to be driving the Dempster Hwy! With all it’s mud, potholes and lack of medical assistance, this road is not for the faint of heart. But it’s well worth the risk for the spectacular views.
Best memory – This is a tough one for me since the whole trip is one great big memory, but doing the shot of the Sour Toe Cocktail is once that is going to stick with me for a very long time!
Favourite meal – I didn’t really eat much except for trail mix, vegetables and sandwiches so this one in a toss-up between an awesome fresh-baked Cinnamon Bun that I ate in Winnipeg and a fresh grilled Pacific Red Snapper that I picked up on the dock in Port Hardy and grilled it myself.
Most obscure - For someone who has never traveled the interior of BC one of my strangest encounters was being stuck at a roadside rest stop waiting to get through a forest fire. For three days I met, hung-out and watched some of the most unlikely people I’ve ever crossed paths with. From the older folks that kept walking their dogs around and making sure I was okay for food, to four guys that just came from a fishing trip with a truck load of flash frozen fish and were happy to share a bottle of Jack Daniel’s over card games and cigarettes. I’ll also never forget the fiddler and acoustic guitarist that had the german tourists line dancing in the street, it was definitely a sight you don’t see very often in situations like that.
Best surprise – So many people told me before I departed on the journey to prepare myself for how boring the prairies are. Here is where I disagree it was one of the best surprises I had over the journey. The simple landscapes, big skies and fierce thunder storms kept me in awe over the days I was there.
Favouriteview - I’ve seen a lot on this trip but one of the best views was getting to see sunset over the Pacific Ocean from a cliff at the campground I was at for the night. Here is a link to a stop-motion video I quickly put together -
Next Steps? After falling in love with the north and being surrounded by nature, looks like I’ll be trying to get into a few artist residency programs in the near future and hoping it will be either back up north or out east. After gathering so much new material that I would love to turn into paintings, it’s time to get down to it and spend a lot of time in front of the canvas, wherever I might be.
Now the conclusion to the journey doesn’t really surprise me, but it does really reaffirm my feeling and desire for the need to explore ones country before heading out to explore others. Canada is a massive country with many experiences to offer, and if you ask me it’s a country that really needs to be explored while you still have a healthy sense of adventure and fearlessness. I know I’ve said this before but I can’t help but close with the same statement I open this blog with, “I love Canada, it’s good people and the roads that bring us together”.
From one proud Canadian – Thanks for all your support!
Here are some fun photos that didn’t make it to the blog:
Throughout the journey as I got packed up and moved on to the next destination, I couldn’t help but hear the theme song to “The Littlest Hobo” in my head. Who knew that a TV show that I used to watch as a child growing up in the 80′s would ring true with such clarity and fitting lyrics. Now as I make my way back into Ontario I seem to have been able to cleanse that song from my head, as I’m greeted with down pour after down pour. Driving from Winnipeg to about an hour north of Thunder Bay can be a pretty long haul when it’s raining but there isn’t much more for me to do except to keep driving. Ontario is a massive province to drive through and I have seen a lot of it in earlier road trips, I’m always happy to enjoy the beauty that it has to offer. Whether it be giant granite walls of the Canadian Shield that line the sides of the Trans-Canada Hwy to the sparkling lakes that catch your eye as crest a hill or turn round a bend. I don’t think I could ever get bored with the sights of this province, nor do I think I will ever get tired of the sights I’ve seen throughout Canada.
My last night of camping at Wakami Lake about three hours northwest of Sudbury was definitely a treat. Got a sweet campsite on the lake, made a great fire, cooked dinner and tried to stay out of the rain. After cleaning up and getting all the food locked away in the front of the truck, like I was told to do at the park office. I sat down with a book by the fire, enjoying a quiet evening before heading back to the city. A few hours go by and the breeze picks up as I notice an unpleasant scent of sour garbage, followed by some rustling in the bush. As I reach for my flashlight I heard a few grunting noises, staying calm I shone the light in the direction of the sound to discover a giant black bear head about ten feet away from me. Getting out of my chair and making some noise seemed to get it to leave, I know they don’t really have any interest in eating humans so there must have been something in the bush worth eating. All I really wanted to do was relax and enjoy my book by the fire, so for the rest of the night I backed the truck closer the fire and read on the tailgate with my can of bear spray beside me just incase it was needed.
