Me again! We wake up in Thunder Bay with a bean very excited to go mine for some amethyst. The road down to the mine is 5km of dirt road - luckily Wendy has all terrain tires and we’re not in a huge RV like we’ve seen here. Alex is frothing with excitement and quickly runs off to the ‘mine’ which is a huge rocky field absolutely filled with amethyst and crystals of all shapes and sizes. There is amethyst everywhere you look! We spend a good hour or so sifting through all the beautiful rocks, and each choose a big chunk to take home and Em and I take some little crystals to turn into jewellery. After we’re done mining we go on the tour and learn all about how amethyst is made and mined, and see the huge mine which started in 1960 and is still in use today. After having a nosey in the shop Em and I choose some beautiful necklaces and head off with a bounty of crystals ready for a long drive.
We have a good 6 hour drive ahead of us, we’re all quickly learning a short drive in Canada is much longer than at home!! Our next hosts are just outside Winnipeg so we set off down the trans Canada highway. We stop in Kenora in hopes of grabbing something for dinner. No luck. Kenora, long story short, is a sh*thole. It’s actually quite a sad story, there is a lot of poverty there and the First Nations struggle a lot with drug addiction and homelessness. We attempt to get a Chinese however are scared away by the smell and scary looking people! Alex and I eventually end up having ice cream for dinner (our dream) and quickly escape from Kenora. Eventually we reach our hosts Lacey and Curtis and their massive beautiful garden and house. Alex is super excited as we can finally have a fire here! The boys get the fire going and we all have a lovely chat with s’mores around the fire. They have hummingbird feeders there and I am very excited to see a ruby-throated hummingbird - the first one I’ve ever seen!! They are just as beautiful as I had hoped, I could honestly just watch them fly around all day. After a lovely chat about house building and life in the prairies, we head off to bed to escape the mozzies again! Despite Curtis spraying everywhere with special repellent, we are unfortunately being mobbed and decide to head in for escape.
Next morning we are off bright and early for kayaking in grande pointe near Winnipeg. We each have our own sit in kayaks, even bean has a cute little yellow one. The river is quite muddy and shallow but we still have a peaceful paddle down it while admiring the scenery. We are all on the lookout for wildlife, and I’m lucky enough to see a great horned owl! Unfortunately I’m the only one who saw it but we all have a listen to their calls which are very distinct. Alex and I try to identify some animal trails which we think may be beavers but aren’t sure. It transpires little bean is rather tired from all the kayaking and ends up being towed back by Em - I take the opportunity to make a David Attenborough-esc documentary on the GoPro (video coming soon). We all make it back to our starting point and Dad not so gracefully slips over in the very muddy docking area. Of course I wait till I know he’s ok until I laugh (not). All safely disembarked we rinse the boys down with a hose and have lunch in the lovely community garden before heading off. A quick stop in steinbach is needed before our next location, as a massive rock has cracked the windscreen! Some reassurance is given by the car people that it won’t break and it should be relatively easy to fix in a bigger city, so we set off again. A quick stop at a giant tiger (I’m obsessed) returns fruitless for crocs sadly and we continue onto our next stop - Regina. We eventually arrive at Cedar Wood Creek’s lovely car park and swiftly all fall asleep post dinner.
The next morning we awake excited to see what Cedar Wood has to offer, boy we are in for a treat! It is a lovely little novelty farm with activities like crystal panning and mini golf. Our collective favourite however is definitely Theo - the mini highland cow!! He is absolutely gorgeous and Em and I decide we need one in our life, though Dad isn’t so sure. They also have goats, mini horses and chickens which we love to have a look at. We have a game of mini golf - Em wins by 2, but I get a hole in one and beat Dad so I am happy. A nice chat with the owners and we’re off again for another long drive 💔.
This little guy is a Killdeer, there was some nesting in the mini golf course! We thought they were cute but according to the owners, they are a right pain in the bum!
We stop for lunch in an odd little town called Mortlach (as in the place in Scotland) and have lunch in a little restaurant. The world is definitely a small place, the owner is from Brixham, not far from home at all! After a lovely chat and some convincing for me to start a medical practice in Canada, we have a look in the military models shop for Dad and head on.
The drive to Dinosaur National park isn’t particularly exciting, the prairies are quite flat and boring which reminds me of Norfolk. However, Dad and I spot a moose having a swim in a pond off the side of the road which is very exciting for us. We spot a prairie dog and foxes too. We arrive in Dinosaur National park at dusk and are amazed by the landscape, it truly feels prehistoric and nothing like we’ve encountered thus far. After setting up camp we scamper off for a look around before it gets dark, excited for our fossil safari tomorrow. Bright and early in the morning we head off to the visitors centre where unfortunately we find our fossil safari has been cancelled as the torrential rain overnight has washed the road away. Slightly deflated we set off on our own adventure round the park.
Dinosaur National park is truly amazing, one of the coolest places I have ever been. The landscape was nothing like we had seen before, it was littered with ‘Hoodoos’ - large rocks stood on stands of sandstone that eventually wear away. Colours of burnt orange, green, yellow and white striped around the landscape, visual histories of the creatures that roamed here far before us. We follow the trails around the park, taking a look at the two fossil exhibits they have - real sites that have been preserved as they were for us to see. There is a hadrosaur and a bone bed which is fascinating to see during our trek around the park. We finish off on the badlands trail which feels like we are on Mars, and find our new favourite word - smectite, tiny slidy particles. It’s difficult to describe just how amazing this place was so I’ll let the pictures show you instead.
After lunch we leave dinosaur for our long journey to the Rockies, which we are so excited for! A long drive is rewarded by beautiful Mountain View’s and Alex even spots a coyote in the road! We are very excited when we finally arrive in Radium Springs in Kootenay National Park to start our Rockies adventure. Only one problem, we’re in the only patch not allowed fires, oh noooo!
Zara
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