Cross Canada 150

Almost time to move on after a few weeks in Cold Lake. Had a great visit with my Mom and Dad and my brother's family. My nephew Haiden is only 8 and he is almost as tall as I am! Cold Lake is first and foremost an Air Force town, and you can often hear the CF-18s and Hornets flying around, but the area was first mentioned in the late 18th century and there used to be commercial fishing on the Lake.... now there are a lot of people (including my brother) who work for the oil patch. Hard work, long hours and good pay. There is a Wal-Mart, a Winners (yeah!), three Tim Hortons and two grocery stores. There is a good Mexican restaurant, a neat Newfoundlander store/restaurant that just opened and did I mention they have a Winners ? The lake was frozen when I got here, but I actually forgot to take photos... so I took Mom for a drive and got some photos to post today, and a short video of a jet that gets lost in the blue sky, but you can still hear it! You can hear it, but...

My parents have lived in Cold Lake, Alberta for six years. My brother and his family a few more years than that. Since I started visiting this Northern town we have been going to the next province over for "real" Canadian Chinese food. My Dad and then us, grew up on Vancouver Island and good Chinese food is readily available... here, well... there are a few in Cold Lake, but none pass my Dad's muster. Now, Chinese immigrants first came to Canada in the 19th century to build the railway(s) (yes, the Chinese are still building railways, and roads, bridges and ports around the world) - and from the beginning, groups of men (no women came really at the start) would pool resources and cook together. Many stayed and then sent for wives - opened restaurants and opened laundries. This is a romantic and rose coloured history of Canadian Chinese immigration - (all my professors from my Bachelor's degree at University of Victoria would be horrified) but it serves to explain w...

I am generally goal oriented - and since my goal was arriving in Cold Lake, I did't make many stops except for gas, eating (combined with gas stops) and sleeping. I did make one stop at Manitou Beach at the Resort there. My Dad has been thinking of going there and there website said they had been ranked in the top five spas in Canada... so I decided to stop. Here is my review. First, a bit of history. According to the website  there is a legend that during a smallpox epidemic a victim made it to the saline lake and drank and bathed in the waters and was cured. It is also called the Dead Sea of Canada - given the mix of minerals and salts in the water and that people float given the high specific gravity. It has been ranked the number one spa in Saskatchewan and one of the top spas in Canada. Not sure about those rankings as I have been to some very nice spas in Quebec (all around the province) and on Vancouver Island... but this wasn't really a spa targeting Gen Xers...

After driving 3,500+ km across five provinces and lots of different terrain - and a couple months in Quebec where I drove more than the average - I decided to add a review of my car to the blog. My car cleaned and ready for the trip! All my time in the UAE I rented - for the most part a Honda Accord - which was fine and good on gas, but not what I wanted for Canada. I had rented a Trax and an Encore last summer and knew I liked them... and my Dad has been pushing for the Encore for a couple of years (he loves Buicks). So with the help of an awesome broker (email for his name if you live around Rosemere, QC) I got a 2017 Buick Encore AWD - the Premium edition (because I wanted the bigger engine and heated seats). So first what I LOVE 💗 The heated seats - really it was on my list of "musts" after so many years living in the desert I know I have turned into a wimp! Also the lumbar support is spectacular - I wasn't stiff at all after 5 days of long days of drivin...

I finally made it to my parent's in Cold Lake, Alberta! This is NOT where we grew up (PArksville on Vancouver Island, the real West Coast), but my brother works in the oil fields so this is where they live now :) Day 5 by the numbers: Km travelled: 611 km Time travelled: Almost 7 hours (gravel roads do no let you drive very fast!) Wildlife see: 1 wolf running across the gravel "highway", Canadian geese, a pheasant (yes, I know what "eating" birds look like, elk (which got me excited until I saw 6 of them and realized it was an elk farm), a few hawks/falcons and cows and horses. Cost-Co pit stops: 1 in Saskatoon, also got gas and hot pickled green beans. Times a bit nervous: more than 1 as the numbered highway in Northern Saskatchewan was like a gravel road in the middle of no where!!! Observations: I have begun to like cruise control, which I always resisted. When you have a lead foot and open highways (and don't want a ticket) you really ...

The view for much of the day! Originally I had intended to push through to Cold Lake today - but a friend reminded me I wasn't in a rush - so I decided to stop in Manitou Springs Resort and Spa - known as the Dead Sea of Canada to check out the pools and maybe indulge in a facial :)  Day 4 by the numbers: Km: 613 Time travelled: 7  hours (but felt longer as I am getting tired!) Time zones crossed: 1 - and as I got close to the border the car's clock would switch back and forth between time zones... and it caused a panic a few times! Provincial borders crossed: 1 - I have to say I am enjoying the prairie provinces! Wildlife: again, a whole lot of birds! Uturn for gas: 1 time Time spent in mineral waters: 2 hours! Some observations: Saskatchewan and Manitoba drivers also drive slow: This might seem to indicate that instead of them driving slow, Quebec drivers travel faster than the ROC.  The least ethnically diverse p...