Saskatoon

July 2019
Little Summer roadtrip through my old stomping grounds on the way to speak at PSEWEB Conference. Read more
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  • Day 1

    Day One - Superior Start

    July 1, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Today is July 1st. Canada's 152nd birthday. To mark the occasion, my wife April and I are doing an uber Canadian thing. This morning we embarked on a roughly 30 hour journey halfway across the country. More specifically we are driving from our home in south central Ontario, across our province and the Northern shore of Lake Superior, through Manitoba where I grew up with a couple of stops along the way and them finally on to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where I'll be speaking and exhibiting at a higher education Web marketing conference called PSEWEB.

    I am writing this from the room of a lavish motor hotel after our first 10ish hours of driving through Ontario's Near North, over the top of Lake Huron and then the eastern shore of Superior. We've driven through Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Blind River and have lande in Wawa. I challenge anyone to find a more Canadian name for a town.  The views we've taken in today have been nothing short of spectacular and I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to share them with my lifemate. To further the Canadian experience we stopped at a fish and chip truck for an order of poutine (French fries, cheese curds and beef gravy for the uninitiated). Here at the motel bar, I ordered a special Oh Canada cocktail containing rye whiskey, triple sec, maple syrup, and Angostura bitters. A wee bit potent after today's trek, but I'm soldiering on. Will likely be an early night with leg two of the journey likely taking us another 8 ro 10 hours...and we'll still be in our home province. 
    I'm sure to have plenty to write about tomorrow. 

    Happy Canada Day Eh!
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  • Day 2

    Day Two Travel to TBAY

    July 2, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Another day, another 10ish hours of driving along the north shore of Lake Superior. Only this time the total distance covered was not as great as there were many more stops along the way. Today we made it from Wawa, Ontario to Thunder Bay. The highway we followed offers some if the most beautiful scenery in the world; from gorgeous misty lake vistas to expansive rolling hills and several majestic waterfalls. It seemed like there were scenic view stops just off the road every 10 to 20 km. There were also a few opportunities for us to dip our toes in the still frigid waters of the largest Great Lake. Speaking of frigid, a pretty cool aspect of the drive has been the drastic change in temperature between areas close to the lake and those more inland. One moment our vehicles console would read 26 °C and then a few minutes later it would drop to 12. This change is the primary reason for the fog we'd occasionally drive through. 

    One other highlight was found in a little town called White River, where a little black bear was rescued by an English soldier who game him the name Winnie after the town he had been stationed in. The bear was then donated to a zoo in England where author A.A. Milne often took his children and became the inspiration for the classic children's book character, Winnie the Pooh.

    Thunder Bay provided a couple of craft beer stops and some killer potato skins and tacos courtesy recommendations from food and brew connoisseurs I follow on Instagram.

    And I'd be remiss to not mention the Terry Fox Memorial park and scenic view. They've done a wonderful job honoring his memory.

    One more fair bit of driving tomorrow to reach my old stomping grounds. 
    Still very grateful to have my partner in crime at my side for this cross country adventure. 

    #Saskatoon2019
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  • Day 3

    TBay to Tyndall

    July 3, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Day three and one more long 8 plus hour drive with a few stops along the way. There are not nearly as many places to pull off or sightseeing opportunities between Thunder Bay and the area in Manitoba where I spent three first 15 years of my life. 

    We did, however, manage to find a wee hidden waterfall just off the highway and then a really good bbq joint in the middle of nowhere (which aptly describes most of where we was today). We went for the  smoked brisket on a bun Carolina style (with slaw) and fries.

    Then one more stop just this side of the Ontario/Manitoba border in Kenora because there is a brewery there. These types of detours have become staples in our travelogues. Our typical experience involves sharing a flight of beer and then visiting the bottle shop ro choose a growler, howler or cans to take home. 

    The last leg of this day's tour took us along a particularly windy 2 lane highway with a posted speed limit of 90 km/he, but I could tell from April's body language I should not accelerate beyond 80. Her fears were grounded in having a deer or moose cross our path; a confrontation we would not likely win. I should point out to date we have seen 3 black bears, 2 deer, one moose and about 17000 crows. 

    As we approached one of the small towns I grew up in deja vu and nostalgia took hold. We'll be here a couple of days so I'll save my tales from the wayback machine. For now we need to close our eyes and recharge. 

    #Saskatoon2019 
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