Hello all! Today is day 7. Yes I realize that it has been 4 days since my last post... I don’t see you going across the country writing a sweet blog that all your friends and family say they like even though they probably don’t read it and if they do read it, they are just being supportive. (Note: if you do or don’t read this, the support is great anyway. Thanks.)
Mike and I made it through Ontario that night, well we made it to the border. For anyone who has travelled at night, you know that transport trucks go really fast. Truck drivers have deadlines to make so they are super scary when they get behind you. When a truck was approaching us from behind, we would pull over so they could pass. It was a nice gesture so they would thank us by briefly flashing their four-ways. Trust me, real funny. Driving down a dark highway; a truck passes and there is Mike and I sitting on the edge of our seat waiting for a flash. Come on, that is so funny...
...Anyway...
The following day we made it all our way through the Manitoba floods. Well, that is to say we made it through Manitoba. There was only one section that seemed bad. Well, that is to say, there was a house with sandbags around it with not water by the house but there lawn was covered in water. The roads were clear and sunny! We did swing by Winnipeg for a coffee. Anyone familiar with the song One Great City by The Weakerthans? If you’re not, the chorus of the song goes, “I hate Winnipeg”. Lets face it, Winnipeg doesn’t really have much. It is very flat.
We swung by the Badlands. They were awesome. I felt like I was in a Clint Eastwood film. We climbed through them and got covered in mosquito bites. Mike climbed to the top without telling me where he was going. I didn’t notice he was gone until a little girl pointed to the man on the top of the hill. Sure enough, it was Mike. I’m sure he has some good photos.
On the way back to the Trans Can, I hit a bird... Yes, I know what you’re thinking (when you’re reading this you should totally used that voice I use when I’m doing an impression of my Dad), ‘wait a second there Jeremy, didn’t you kill a bird the last time you took a road trip?’ Yes! Yes I did. Last time I took a road trip west, we were hardly out of the driveway when a bird flew in front of the car. I thought he might have made it but when I looked in the rear view mirror, there was a big puff of feathers like in the cartoons. This time we were driving along and same deal only this time the bird tried to fly over the truck but didn’t quite make it. He left a pretty good splat on the windshield. It is a real shame that Mike decided not to go into law because he kicked into lawyer mode. He was talking about how there were no witnesses and no one could place me at the scene. Then he went into plea bargains and how many years I’d get. Anyway, that bird is now gone at the hand of me...
We didn’t stop again till we made a stop at Mike’s aunt’s house in Saskatchewan. I guess she made reservations at a nice steakhouse but then I had to go and ruin it ten years ago when I gave up eating meat. All was good though and she made us supper. It was the first time since we started the trip that we had a full home cooked meal. We also go to have a quick shower... Also another first since the start of the trip. One time I couldn’t shower in over a month (long story) and I’m not sure that that first shower was as good at this one on the trip.
Mike and I continued on right through Regina and on into Moose Jaw. Somewhere in between I told Mike that there was just something about the prairies. This was the first time I have ever been past Toronto; it was the first time I’ve ever seen the prairies. I liked them but they were just so flat, so open. I really didn’t know what it was. Mike pointed out that we could see the city we were coming from and the one we were going to. I’m just throwing it out there; Moose Jaw and Regina aren’t particularly close. It takes around an hour to get from one to the other. For readers in New Brunswick, which I think is most of you, it takes about the same amount of time to drive from Regina to Moose Jaw as it takes to drive from Saint John to Fredericton. It was such a weird experience.
We camped out in the truck at a rest stop about an hour away from Medicine Hat. There were some tents set up there in the bushes and a car in the parking lot. Mike was nice enough to kind of slow down when our headlights hit their tent so he could get a good look. In the morning, I was sleeping in the bunkalow (wait, did I ever talk about the bunkalow? I fashioned a bunk in the back of the cab of the truck. You didn’t think Mike and I were sleeping together did you? We’re not those kind of friends.) Anyway, I woke up in the bunkalow and the people in the tent had woken up and were packing their car. One dude kind of saw me and was startled. I pretended to be asleep rather than have an awkward moment. After they left, I woke Mike up and we headed out. It took us forever to find a Tim’s but, oh boy, when we did, it was awesome.
After Medicine Hat, we hit the road to the Rockies. First we took a stop in Calgary for some gas and some subway. It started to rain pretty hard. Mike wanted to see some of Calgary before we stopped. So there we were, sitting in rush hour traffic in Calgary. It was good though, we got to see the downtown Calgary for a bit and got lost a bit.
We hit the Rockies. It was absolutely breathtaking. You can’t describe it. You can’t look at photos. You need to go and see them for yourself. It is just an experience that I can’t put into words. They are big and beautiful, kind of like elk.
Speaking of elk. In the foothills of the mountain, we saw a road sign warning us of elk of the road. We kind of looked at it with a laugh and continued on until Mike almost smoked a herd of elk trying to cross the road. Mike pulled of the road pretty quick and got out the camera. He got out to get some photos. I was distracted by the mountains. Mike got back in to the truck and let out a large, “Wooo,” and a, “Yeah Buddy!” He then went on with a story that kind of went like this:
“You know when ya hit a deer in New Brunswick and you tell someone about it? They are always like, ‘Ah that damn deer.’ I don’t think people would react like that here. ‘Yeah, I hit an elk.’ ‘What! You hit an elk! DUDE, what are you doing? Didn’t you see sign?’”
That Mike... Funny guy.
We stopped at the BC border for photos and congratulations then continued on. We travelled into the night and stopped in a little town for coffee. I have no idea what town that was but it was going full stride when we hit it. I’m just saying, there was traffic at 11:30pm. Why there was so much traffic? And there was a jerk behind me too! He was flashing his high beams and everything. I’m just saying we have encountered one jerk on the road so far and it was that guy. That Guy, if you are reading this, I hope you slide your car into the ditch because your wife is yelling at you because the kids are crying and you need to swerve to avoid an elk because you don’t want to hit it because you know that all the locals will be super angry with you.
Anyway...
BC, beautiful place. My girlfriend was born here and she is beautiful, am I right or what? I like this place. We parked the truck at a rest stop with a good looking view of the mountains. We had coffee in the morning then drove to Vancouver. That is where we are now. It is our second night here. Mike and I got some beers and went out for supper at some place that was really expensive but we had a good view of the t.v. The Nucks lost so we didn’t tip. COME ON! It is just a joke! Of course we tipped. We’re staying here at the best western... nice place. We spent the day at Stanley Park and wondering around downtown. Now we’re watching SNL.
I have never felt so small before this trip. It might be the prairies or the mountains or the waterfalls, I’m not sure. Everything is so big! I can see to cities at once, see the ground actually touch the sky and a really big goose in Nowhereville, Ontario (for some reason). People ask why we would take a trip like this and I always thought, ‘why not?’ I’m not sure why we took this trip, but I definitely feel more Canadian.
I’m not really sure what is next but I’m sure I’ll blog about it. Well, cya later!
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