Reset search
Scott PaulScott Paul
SatelliteEdit route
traveled in 6 countries Read more Lethbridge, Canada
  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 104

    Hometown Heroes

    September 10, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Yesterday we had breakfast in front of the home donated by John Diefenbaker to his hometown of Prince Albert. The pride of P.A. has a museum, road and bridge named after him. He was also my first prime minister though I was much too young to remember this fiery prairie populist.

    Leaving Saskatchewan, we saw a billboard in Burstall, shouting out the name of Chad Jassman, a wheelchair basketball Olympian to all passersby.

    From big city to small town, Canada celebrates their local sons and daughters who have grown up and gone on to do great things. Typically these are athletes, ranging from NHL stars, curlers, figure skaters, rodeo champions, etc. — sometimes prime ministers and Paralympians. I have enjoyed the civic pride as it helps me connect the place with at least one person.

    The siren of our hometown— Lethbridge— was too loud to ignore and that coupled with some very chilly nights in north Saskatchewan turned us into road warriors today — travelling south from Prince Albert, the forests and lakes giving way to ever longer horizons, coulees, and cheaper gas.

    Coleen and I are now home. Finn’s odometer has tripped over 18,000 kilometres over the past 104 days and nine provinces. It’s been a good ride and I am ever so happy that you joined us on this road trip.

    So don’t be surprised when I look at my watch should you ask “Did you have a good holiday?” I might just reply.

    How long do you have?    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 103

    Searching for a Prince

    September 9, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    No signs of royalty here in Prince Albert National Park. At least none we saw here at Waskesiu Lake as we cycled around today.

    I subscribe to the travel principle that you never know what your day is going to look like. Waking up this morning I would have never imagined that our day would have included a morning movie, an art gallery, and churros.

    And yet you would have found Coleen and I munching happily on popcorn at 11:30 as we watched The Miracle Club on the big screen as part of the town’s weekend film festival. The movie featured an all star cast and was delightful.

    Later, cycling helmet tucked under an arm and one hand holding a glass of French wine and in the other a warm churro, I wandered through a local art gallery admiring the paintings and sculptures.

    So a uniquely different day for us as we sought out royalty (to no avail) but ended up enjoying film and art in this beautiful park.    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 102

    Klinger

    September 8, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    I’m dating myself, but I was a big fan of the TV series M.A.S.H. One of the characters was a private who went to great lengths to be discharged on the basis of mental fitness — he cross dressed in the earnest hope of being sent back Stateside.

    I was reminded of Klinger as we hiked a trail in Greenwater Provincial Park with the same name. However this trail was dedicated to a Saskatchewan lineman who died on the job nine years ago. His nickname was Klinger.

    Klinger’s family and friends built a trail that today had us meandering through forests of birch and poplar, climbing to vistas of the local lake, and sidestepping bear scat.

    That and the Sasquatch signs made for a lovely, albeit anxious at times, hike in the Saskatchewan woods. And the trailhead port a potty signed for bears seemed to be at odds with our trail discoveries. Seriously, does a bear shit in the woods?    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 101

    Iconic Saskatchewan

    September 7, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We had barely passed into Saskatchewan, when our attention turned away from the land of the living skies to just … the land. Vast fields of grain and large round hay bales littering the fields. A little further along the September harvest was in full gear — gangs of John Deere combines bringing in the crop.

    Saskatchewan Rough Riders green flags fluttered from farmyard flagpoles. Prairie elevators broke the horizon, train tracks still running by them. We drove past a mix of incongruously named hamlets — Mikado, Kamsack and Stornoway — before passing through the “hockey factory” of Kelvington where no less than six of their boys have made the NHL.

    And somehow along the way our jet lag transition came to pass. We share the same time with Saskatchewan’s western neighbour. But it is feeling late … yawn. Catch up with you tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 100

    Turning 100

    September 6, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Our society has a thing about celebrating the number 100.

    From seniors achieving the century mark, to countries marking their 100 anniversary, to companies boasting 100 years of operation, we make a big deal of the time odometer tripping into three digits.

    Not caring to buck the trend, Coleen and I marked our 100th day on the road with a day of cycling, hiking, singing, and dining out in Riding Mountain National Park. It was a picture perfect fall day, the sun’s rays warming not burning. Rain and wind took a day off and we revelled in the beauty of the park.

    Our centennial supper included bruschetta, baked salmon with a fruit salsa, linguine in a creamy red pepper sauce and sea scallops. Chocolate tiramisu capped off our celebratory centennial meal. A day, a meal, and milestone to remember.    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 99

    Where it All Began

    September 5, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    There aren’t too many people whose birth certificate shows them being born in Erickson, Manitoba. I wake up each morning to a woman who claims this sleepy town as her birthplace. It’s located outside Riding Mountain National Park where Coleen’s father first cut his teeth in public service.

    The hospital is no longer there but the town has really leaned into their Scandinavian heritage. Street signs are topped by Viking ships while a giant longboat with red and white striped metal sails sits menacingly at the end of main street, its dragon prow head and Norse shields evoking a menacing sight.

    The story goes that Coleen’s parents and older brother had been at a “fowl supper” fundraiser. Wasn’t too long after that a super-stuffed Inez knew that she’d soon be cooking for more than three. A short ride down the highway to Erickson and the love of my life joined the human race. And she’s been running ever since. Some days it’s hard to keep up with her.    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 98

    Hello Manitoba

    September 4, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    We said good night to Ontario and good day to Manitoba, the crossing of the border heralded by a polar bear billboard. The smoke and haze have caught up to us. A grocery clerk in Dryden blamed it on forest fires in Alberta and BC.

    Our highlights today included:

    * Husky the Muskie in Kenora, a supersized fish statue
    * buying charcuterie treats at the Keewatin Store
    * free camping at Brereton Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park (thanks Donna)

    We lay our heads beneath clear Prairie skies … wait do I hear some thunder in the distance?    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 97

    Time Travellers

    September 3, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today we gained an hour, crossing into the central standard time zone. Losing time as we traveled to the eastern reaches of Canada we are now recouping those one hour increments (1/2 an hour in Newfoundland) on our return trip.

    A person passing our campsite this evening might think they had stumbled though some time travel portal. A couple hand washing their clothing, a 1986 Westfalia van in the background, a powder blue Coleman cooler on the picnic table — Willie Nelson singing On the Road Again.

    Yup … we’re old school. Taking our time to get back home.    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 95

    Superiority Complex

    September 1, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Many businesses in this part of Ontario claim to be superior, including the adjective in their business name. If challenged they can coyly point to Lake Superior, arguing place name not quality. I mean seriously, Superior Septic? Perhaps their shit really doesn’t stink.

    Our rambles along Lake Superior today included a return to Marathon beach and it’s tumbled rocks, a German POW camp at Neys and a jumble of driftwood tossed up and onto the coast like toothpicks.

    Placid yesterday, the lake this evening showed its tempestuous side, white capped waves crashing into the shore, the surf drowning out the wind at times.

    We have a couple more days with this lake of the highest standard — it may be long enough for me to acquire a complex.    Read more

  • TravelerCanada Road Trip 2023
    Day 94

    See You in September

    August 31, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    At Pancake Bay this morning we had a delicious breakfast of French toast topped with Quebec maple syrup and Ontario farm fresh nectarines. A scrumptious start to this last day of August.

    Our hike this afternoon was a strenuous one, following a trail that led to an outlook over the watery graveyard of Lake Superior which has claimed many a vessel including the one made famous in the Gordon Lightfoot song of the same name — The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. A grim reminder that the “gales of November” turn these placid waters into dangerous crossings.

    Tonight we lay our heads down underneath Wawa night skies here in Northern Ontario. Wawa. Still my favourite place name outside the whimsy of Newfoundland.

    With just a few hours left in August, I bid you all adieu, and if the fates are kind will see you in September.

    It’s getting late, so I close now contemplating a pre-sleep shower. Oh, Coleen. Care to conserve some water?    Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English