Reset search
Eastern Canada
  • Nathaniel Stott
  • Anne Archambault
  • Nathaniel Stott
  • Anne Archambault

Eastern Canada

A cross-country van odyssey to the Easternmost point on the continent Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
InsightsCalendarPhotos
  • Trip start
    July 23, 2025
    Eastern Canada

    Cookies in Missoula

    July 23, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    A long drive ended with dinner at Gild and a fabulous cookie at Bigfoot Cookies in Missoula.

    Missoula has a fun vibe; young and outdoorsy it feels like Bozeman probably was 10 years ago.

  • Eastern Canada

    Theodore Roosevelt National Park

    July 25, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Theodore Roosevelt National Park was our first planned sight seeing stop of the trip. We woke up early to make espresso before heading into the park. The south unit has a long out and back drive that stops by numerous short hikes.

    First stop was prairie dog town, a large flat full of prairie dogs and some wild horses. Next was the Wind Canyon Trail, a short hike to a beautiful overlook of the Little Missouri River. Then the Boicourt trail and finally the Buck Hill trail.

    Exiting the park we stopped by the Painted Hills overlook, watched a bison walk next to the Van, and ate lunch overlooking the Painted Hills.

    On to Fargo!    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Cider in Fargo

    July 25, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    A quick stop for a cider flight at Wild Terra. Honestly, not the kind of place I was expecting in Fargo. It had a fun bohemian feel and a bunch of cider on tap.

    While we were there, the couple at the next table asked about the van and we wound up talking about camping and all sorts of stuff for 45 minutes. As an introvert, I love that the van is the opener 😁Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Alexa’s Elixer

    July 26, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    A troll statue by Thomas Danbo. There’s another couple trolls from Thomas near Seattle, so we took the short detour as we passed Detroit Lakes to see this one. A fun distraction first thing in the morning!

    You can find out more at https://trollmap.com.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Duluth

    July 26, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    A very short break in Duluth for lunch and a walk along Lake Superior before bolting on through Wisconsin (new state for Nate) and into Michigan.

    We’re going to see a lot more of Lake Superior, but that first view coming into Duluth was awesome.Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    And the AC blower stops working…

    July 27, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We pulled out of camp this morning (a small road side park) and got to Marquette relatively early for sightseeing before continuing to Munising for a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks seashore.

    We stopped into Meijer’s for some fresh vegetables but when we got back to the van and started it, no AC. Awesome; it’s 85 degrees out and I’m really not sure how to begin fixing it.

    I did a walk around and inspected the engine. Then I looked online for fuse diagrams (Mercedes doesn’t include them) and had to go through two fuse boxes looking for popped fuses. One major bank of fuses is under the drivers seat, so the whole seat needed to come out. No bad fuses to be found.

    Next, a look at the back of the control unit since there were some folks in the forums who have had solder joints pop on the circuit board. That required taking the radio apart to get to the panel off to access the AC board.

    Nothing worked so we resolved to get to Ottawa as quickly as possible to get the van serviced.

    Driving down the road, we felt cool air coming out of the vents, a sign that the AC is working but that the blower fan was busted. So that’s the next step to test.

    But that’s for later, we’re on the way to Munising for a boat tour so we enjoy what’s left of the day.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada
    1

    Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

    July 27, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    One of the places I really wanted to stop in the upper peninsula was Pictured Rocks. Having grown up in Michigan I was always disappointed that I never took more time to explore the upper peninsula and see what it had to offer. So an afternoon boat tour felt like a must.

    Pictured Rocks was designated a national lakeshore in 1966, protecting about 13 miles of colorful sandstone cliffs reaching as tall as 200 ft.

    Geologically, per Wikipedia,

    “The colors in the cliffs are created by the large amounts of minerals in the rock. The cliffs are composed of the Munising Formation of 500-million-year-old Cambrian Period sandstone. The Munising Formation sits atop Precambrian sandstone of the Jacobsville Formation. The mottled red Jacobsville Formation is the oldest rock in the park. On top of the Munising Formation, acting as a cap over the other layers is the hard sandstone of the younger Au Train Formation from the Ordovician Period. Streaks on the face of the cliffs come from groundwater leaching out of the rock and evaporating, leaving streaks of iron (red), manganese (black-white), limonite (yellow-brown), copper (pink-green), and other minerals.”

    Because we were somewhat time limited, we took the Spray Falls tour from Pictured Rocks Cruises. It was a 2 hour boat ride that felt just about right in terms of time on the water, sights seen, and good commentary from the onboard guide. But if we’d had more time a kayak excursion would have been much more intimate and allowed for better photos.

    Still, a great afternoon with wonderful scenery!    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Reserved Parking

    July 27, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    Sleeping in the Walmart parking lot in Sault Ste. Marie tonight. They have reserved parking for horses and buggies because of the large Amish/Mennonite communities in the area.

  • Eastern Canada

    Free Ukraine 🇺🇦

    July 31, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We’re in Ottawa and have been hanging out with Anne’s family. Since Ottawa is the capital of Canada, all the embassies are in the neighborhood. In fact, the Russian embassy is just down the street, about a 5 minute walk.

    And of course, Canadians have a sharp wit. They’ve renamed the street the Russian embassy is on the “Free Ukraine” street. If only the US had the same sagacity!    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Diefen Bunker

    August 1, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today we took a tour of the Diefen Bunker. This site was the primary contingency plan for the federal government in case of nuclear war. Construction started in 1959 and the bunker started operation in 1962. It was operational through 1994.

    This bunker was one of six built across Canada to support continuity of government and other critical operations during the Cold War.

    The guided tour we were on was great, conducted by a veteran who served in the complex. This bunker was far larger than any bunker I’ve been in previously. It’s four levels and housed numerous functions including government (key agencies, meeting rooms, etc), military, communications, weather forecasting to understand and communicate fallout, a CBC broadcast studio, large kitchen and mess hall, and of course mechanicals capable of supporting all of the 400-500 people who would be stationed in the bunker. Additionally, it contained a vault to hold the reserve gold for the Canadian central bank.

    If you want to see a little of the bunker, you can watch the movie “Sum of all fears.” Parts of that movie were filmed here.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Nathalie & Claude’s 25th Anniversary

    August 5, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    One of the key motivators for taking a trip to eastern Canada was attending the 25th anniversary party for Nathalie and Claude in Montreal. They had the party on the top floor of the Pointe-à-Callière - Boutique du Musée.

    The company, food, and drink were all excellent. And even though the event was in French, everyone knew English so I was able to converse with everyone freely. There was a lot of family present who I’d already previously met, so I felt like I fit right in. In fact, Nathalie tasked Sasha and me with opening the dance floor, so lots of dancing was involved too.

    It was a great night and I’m really happy we were invited.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Ottawa

    August 7, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We’ve spent a bunch of time in Ottawa, mostly with family doing family stuff like puzzles and running errands.

    But we’ve also been out walking most days. Primarily we walk along the Rideau River, and I run along that trail also. But there’s a ton to see in this town between all the stuff on Parliament Hill, the various embassies, museums, and memorials.

    Sadly, we didn’t do a ton of that sightseeing. But we did take a couple evening walks to see the Rideau Falls, the French Embassy, Kiweki Point, the National Gallery, and the market area downtown.

    Kiweki Point in particular is beautiful, overlooking the locks and Parliament Hill. It was recently completely redone and paid homage to the Algonquin people who originally inhabited this land.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Tadoussac Ferry and Beluga Whales

    August 10, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    The only way to cross the Rivière Saguenay is via the ferry at Tadoussac. This is a large river that empties into the St. Laurence, which at this point is so wide you can only just make out the other side.

    This spot is also a notable for whale watching. There were at least half a dozen whale watching boats visible as we waited for the ferry. So I jumped out of the van to look for whales myself.

    Much to my surprise, I saw what looked like a white hump arch out of the water several times. I couldn’t believe I’d just potentially seen a beluga whale so I ran back to the van for binoculars. After looking for a while, I convinced myself I’d just seen a boat wake when lo and behold, a white back and a large fluke came out of the water. A real beluga whale sighting!!!

    I was pretty excited 😊 No pictures, the whale was way too far away for that, so pictures of the ferry crossing will have to do.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Manicouagan (Manic) 2

    August 11, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    This morning we visited the Manic 2 dam, one of 4 on the Manicouagan River. Collectively, Quebec Hydro dams provide 99% of the power in Quebec.

    Also interesting, Manic 2 was renamed after Claude’s uncle, Jean Lesage, as a part of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the dam.

    Visiting the dam required us to leave pretty much everything in the van, including phones, so there are no pictures of the interior of the facility, just the photos from the bridge immediately below the dam.

    They’re in the process of increasing the output of this hydro station by increasing the size of the alternators. To do this, they need to blast out post of the rock face on the right side of the dam to allow installation of a door big enough to allow the new equipment to enter the power generation hall.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Manicouagan (Manic) 5

    August 11, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Two dam tours in the same day!

    We’d scheduled a tour of Manic 5 for 3pm, which gave us plenty of time to drive from the tour at Manic 2.

    Manic 5 is the largest arched buttress dam in the world. I’ll fill in the details later when we have internet, but suffice it to say this is a large hunk of concrete. The tour was much the same as Manic 2, but with more stops. First we saw the building and machinery where power is generated. Unlike Manic 2, the water for Manic 5 is diverted from a spillway at the side of the dam and the generation station is below the dam to one side.

    Next we went to the dam itself and saw the large central arch from below. This arch is overhung at an angle of 70 degrees, which feels daunting from below. Then we went inside, a series of small tunnels leading to the bedrock and a huge chamber inside one of the arches. Sorry, no photos allowed 🙁

    We closed the tour on top of the dam, crossing it in our school bus and looking down on the valley and out at the large lake formed by the dam.

    We’re camping here tonight in a parking lot near the road with about ten other campers. But that allowed us to walk back to the dam, which is illuminated at night and looks amazing above the fog from the river.    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Having a Chipie

    August 11, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    It’s beer time. Enjoying a Chipie courtesy of Thomas , with whom we had dinner Saturday night. Thanks Thomas!

  • Eastern Canada
    1

    Fermont

    August 12, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After a long day driving from Manic 5, we stayed the night at a small camping spot just outside Fermont.

    This is a mining town that services the very large ArcelorMittal iron ore mine at Mont Wright, about 10km to the west. The most notable feature of the town is what they call “The Wall.” It’s a giant building that serves as a wind break for the houses just south of The Wall. This building is a virtual city, it has everything the town needs to function from apartments, stores, a bar, pool, ice rink, free showers, and even free laundry. Honestly, it feels like I’ve been planted in some dystopian future.

    At the information center in town there’s a large mining dump truck on display called Camion 172. It’s a retired truck from the mine and the scale is simply enormous.

    Final highlight from Fermont, on a short walk last night we were joined by a young red fox! Earlier in the day we saw a large black bear on the highway (no photos), so the day was a great wildlife day!    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Labrador!

    August 13, 2025 in Canada ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    We made it to Labrador!

    We're heading into Labrador City for some groceries and then on to Churchill Falls tonight.

  • Eastern Canada

    53° North

    August 13, 2025 in Canada ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    A quick post from 53 degrees latitude. Lots of driving today through beautiful tiaga landscape. We're racing in front of a storm that's making for dramatic skies. That stormfront will also bring cooler temperatures. It's about 90 degrees out now and we expect tonight and tomorrow to be significantly cooler.Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Churchill Falls

    August 14, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We stayed near Churchill Falls last night so we could visit the falls first thing before heading to Goose Bay.

    These falls are know by a host of names: Churchill Falls, Grand Falls, Bowdoin Falls, and by the Innu as Patshishetshuanau ('place where the current makes clouds').

    The falls were a significant landmark for early trappers. Apparently the falls were so grand and made such a noise that they could be heard the days before the trappers arrived.

    Alas, Churchill Falls are a whisper of their former glory. A reservoir was constructed above the falls to power a hydro generating station near the town of Churchill Falls, which reduced the flow to a trickle. Now the river only flows near full capacity when the reservoir is drained to make room for the spring melt.

    We also enjoyed walking in the forest around the falls. It was full of lichen, mushrooms, and all sorts of other high latitude flora.

    In short, a totally spectacular hike!    Read more

  • Eastern Canada

    Camping in North West River

    August 14, 2025 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    A great camp site on a hill overlooking Lake Melville. Lake Melville is connected directly to the Atlantic ocean, but historically has been fresh water because of the flow of the Churchill River. However, now that the river has been dammed the lake is becoming salty and more like a bay then a lake.Read more