Alberta

mmmmm! Not so much thing to say about this richest province ( only federal taxes, no provincial) of the country...I just passed by Edmonton to an old friend of mine where I enjoyed trampoline! bah...many drive-thru for a-ny-thing ( even the bank) and I saw a really strange cow who had a fur quite similar as a ''tiger boxer dog''! I will have to come back ...one day....may be for a year(!)...and for sure I won't miss my good friend this time!

Saskatchewan

Flat is this german province populated by 1M of people, flat it is, but to tell you the truth, I enjoyed it by their amazing clouds! Weather changed very quicky: I had to take a break to ...Langerburg(!) and let pass the big thunderstorm! Houla! What a rain! I couldn't see their big grains elevator! C-R-A-Z-Y! might be aweful by the wintertime overhere!

Saskatchewan seem to be very quite and just , as a tourist person, to put emphasis to their ''remembrance'' of their good old time. May be I am wrong. Anyway I really met nice people over there and to discover this part of the country was interesting and I was very sad to drop the idea to go to explore the badland( South part of the province) 'cause I don't have enough time to see all I wish to enjoy! While I was accumulating the km on the ''highway'' ('' '' 'cause I saw pedestrian passage on it many times!), I declared the best option to discover Canada should to live a year in each provinces and territories!!!! So 13 years non stop having a gypsie lifestyle! houla! Then after that you write a book about '' les 2 solitudes canadiennes''!!!! hihihihi!




On my way to go , I passed by the Qu'Appelle Valley and it was very nice even if the sun was not at the rendez-vous...Too bad, 'cause I saw huuuuuuuge fields of sunflowers facing down to the ground. Also deers.


I saw many potash mines ( I suggest that they could create with those big red ''trash'' ski resort center or extreme speed skating!), many old agricultural engines who give you the impression to be by a outside museum, all kinds of cows and horses ( haaaa especially those who look likes as Jolly Jumper! I mean white with dark spot), old houses abandonned, many many birds and owls, more grains elevators than gare stations(!), a tons of colourful fields ( but I noticed the harvest looks lower than the East part of the country...I guess they making money 'cause they using huge part of their territory, otherwise it seems to be a land where it dry quickly)



I stopped by a town named Battlefield by North Saskatchewan river. I hikked and enjoy a historical site. A very nice place with valley where I could easily imagine myself there and say : hiiiiiiiHaaaaaaa! Known before as the capital of North West territory a place where natives fight between each other. Later, while the colonisation was important, the CP rail construction too, unrespectected the metis by ''unrecognizition'' of their main right as human, that they were looking to ''put away'' natives out their territory and maintained their power on these bands by starvation and killing their main pantry ( bisons) all these add to the lack of communication between each other created a huuuuuge weaponned conflict and force the government to create its first mounted police. It was very very interesting for any who enjoy History. Big Bear...haaaa! So bad nobody at that time has the same philosophical intelligence as him! Otherwise, exit stupid conflicts! I could talk an hour about him, but I won't ! He was what I called '' the man of the situation''! Sometime, I am wondering why our canadian History don't put much more emphasis to explain what happened instead to remind us that the ''goddam'' ( also known as English people) came here and gave hard time to the ''pea soup'' ( also known know as French people)...might be a reason...don't know...may be to keep again control on something that they could later uncontrol??? don't know..."cause for sure our canadian history is really really unknow by there people themselves! Anyway...

Before to leave the city, I had to stop by a shop to fix my hikking boots....So I found a custom saddles held by a very sympatic cow boy who gave me ''hikking boots assistance''. His ''atelier'' ( room in his shop where he makes saddles) was open to me and I couldn't stop to look everywhere. It was a ''cowboy rodeo alibaba cavern'' !

Friendly Manitoba , Part Two

Lessons of the day:



1- Bisons, also known as buffalo, are the biggest mammals in North America (900Kg!) and the leader of the group is always a female one who might ,most of time, not have a baby. It's making the law for everything and no male are against its! Before we, the white, came overhere, they estimated their population around 60Millions of bisons running through the Prairies. Late 1870, the governement recented less than ...500. Extensive hunting most of all. Indians used it as their main ressource for everything, colonialists shooted them as you kill bugs around you because they were annoying them by eating their harvest, the CP rail hired hunter who came from Montreal just to killed them...yeap...I read from a report at that time, it was quite usual to see somebody to shoot 200 buffalos per day from his wagon...should I say we were looking to extinguish also the Natives, should I? Anyway...Today no more wild bisons. Just few reserves where they feed them and also farmers has them as any meat cows. Look further ( Battleford picture Saskatchewan) the chair made with ''cornes'' from bisons for the North West Mounted Police. 17 per chair! A shame! They did also furniture to hang up the clothes with them. About the ''corne'', to see if it's from an old bison, the angle is less than 90degree.




2- I don't know if you have ever heard about Grey Owl...Archie Belany was an englishman who changed his named after he came to Canada (around 1904). His given name by Ojibways people . He adopted and trained 2 beavers(!), Rawhide and Jellyroll, to bring back beavers family colonies to one of their homeland: Mount Riding N.P. Sounds a little bit too Wall Disney, but it was! Also, I would like to mention that a beaver can create a water dam 30meters high...!



ok! So, Manitoban people belong properly to their licence driving plate slogan. Of course they are friendly! I decided, before to reach Saskatchewan, to enjoy one more time one of these 20 biggest lakes our Mother Nature created : Winnipeg Lake. Another huuuuuuge one where you think you might sitting by the South Sea if you don't pay too much attention at the trees! Incredible! 100% White sand, also black magnet(!) sand.



I drive by ''feeling'' and all this bring me always to people with good and positive attitude. That's how I met the Huot-Finlayson Family and their sympatic facing neighbor! The first one invited me to share a meal and I enjoyed a really nice stay at their cottage by the lake. Sitting and walking by the beach , making sandcastle and swimming were my only tasks! Oh! What a therapeutic journey trip accross the country I am having!



Despite it's a big lake, it's not deep (less 30m) and the south wind give once a while hardtime to people going too far away on it. bah....insteads, I cracked one by one my toes into the sand!



Manitoba has a small French community , metis ( mix French people and Amerindian) and Native People. I had , by surprise, to get in touch with one of these who didn't speak any english or french! Funny!



Black bear coming at night(twice) ''housekeeping'' garbages, but I sleep as a log, so I don't hear a thing...even if I sleep in the subaru right by the ...garbage! Oups! Whenever the house get in fire, please take me along! I don't wan't to grill!

Manitoba: friendly one!

okay! The roads conditions are excellent out of Quebec and, with nice weather, good music and good food I drove without any effort! I arrived yesterday to Manitoba. Populated by 1millions of friendly people and the half of it live to Winnipeg. So beautiful time that I didn't want to go their capital, Winnipeg. Let's find a place by the water! I found one...but I guess I am their only tourist since the summer season by their cummulated questions mark! '' How did you find us?!'' '' Are you lost?!'' '' Why are you here?!''

People are very friendly and nice. I camped by the confluence of Winnipeg River and Whitesmouth River by a impressiv group of pelicans. I didn't know we have these in the country! It's a big bird and I was laughing to see them ''kayaking '' on the waves!

Manitoba is flat. the soil seem to be very rich by its dark colour. Over here, they raise ''bees'' ( in fact lices) and send them to US for the polonisation veggies plants.

Watch out for their tractors!

I saw a deer.

Oh! I forgot! Winnie the Pooh.....When I stopped by White River , Ont. I read the storie. An canadian officier from Winnipeg during the Great War ( 14-18) stopped by White River before to reach Europe and carry with him a black bear from this area. The poor bear has to be as the poor polar bear Knut in Germany: a mascotte. At the end of the war, ''Winni'' was given to a zoo of London. About the writter who wrote the stories, I am not sure anymore if he was canadian or what but this is this bear who inspirated the writter. zoo are of the most stupid things who exist in this world...with human! oups!

Ontario: Bruce Peninsula and Red Rock

Ontario....Earth paradise of ''butcheries by the roads'' ! Menues essentially based with porkupines and racoons...also add with others nutritious elements such as Tim Hortons, Robin Donuts, Chunny Chesters....! I am very happy to carry in the subaru my pantry! New friends that I met on my way too!

How we can recongnize that we crossed the ''boarder'' between Ontario and Quebec?! They have very very looooong drive way and their house are surrounded by big trees. I guess they don't have so much quantity of snow as we have in Quebec. About trees, one time a historical teacher told me that the French we're so affraid to get attack by anybody (Indians and English)that they started to cut trees around their houses. We kept instinctly this way to do I guess!

Ontario, most populated province, is a very long province composed by 4 of the 5 big Lakes. ( no Michigan Lake). That's why is so long to cross! Those Great Lakes has tides, but created by the wind instead the moon. So huhes, that you have this impression to sit by the ocean!

I drove until Lake Huron to reach Georgian Bay. It's magnificient! Blue aqua tempered water! I stoppped by the very nice Bruce Peninsula National Park to hikked and swam and play as sea otter. There are a dozen of snakes....brrrrrrr....one name Massassauga Rattle snake and is in danger species. Good for me, I didn't see any of them. I can't support to see worms, so...!

Cliffs are 30m high, but the lake is 179m of deep! Clear clear clear water! I tried to reach the bottom when I tought I could do it, but forget it: the evaluation of the distance that I need to swim under the water were always cheated by the clear water! There, I met Karin from Philadelphia and we did a good team togheter. She ''hosted'' me to her ''cottage'' (campsite to bruce are very big and well set!), she was my guess to my ''subaru restaurant''! Good treats! With her, I started my ''ritual'' clothes! Bah, I am traveling by car, alone. So instead to give my ''wrags clothes'' to the poor, I said to myself, let's wear it a last time and let's then burn it! Pure pleasure!

Then I headed on northern Ontario part. I drove all day until I stopped to Nippigon. Located by the biggest unsalt water in our world: Superior Lake. I would like to mention this: Superior Lake is shared with United States and they can't stop to harass Canadian government to pump the Lake to ''feed'' the Middle West....We didn't take any position for now, but since 5 years , people who live by the Lake Superior are affraid to see how much level lost per year...Last week, they just found a mysterious ''hole''....They already started to investigate about this no time to evaluate, just do it now, 'cause the Lake lose...9billions ( 9 000 000) of liters of water PER DAY!!!!

Nippigon: Less than 5000 people live there. The only economy was wood. One industry burnt last year, didn't rebuild it and the other to Red Rock closed last February. So they have up to 70% of unemployment and people who wish to work go to north Alberta. While I was looking to find a quiet place in Nippigon, something unusual happen: The police were looking for a stranger strange man...very looking at him for I've no reason but they even search him by helicopter. I was looking for the marina and , I didn't know , but I had a talk with him. He was so weird by his attitude that I said to myself: okay, let's have a dinner camp by the marina to enjoy the Lake, but for sure I am ''game over'' to spend a confortable night over here, forget it!

So, I stopped a car behind me....and it was a very sympathic man , cousin of Santa Claus, who invited me to spend nights to Red Rock! Cool! I had a great time with Chester and his wife, Rita. They are really involved into their community and I learnt a lot with them. I hikked and enjoy their quiet village. I would like to mentionned that Red Rock ''jailed'' Nazi Officier in 1942 until the end of WWII. Canadian are good: our people had to eat bologna and hot dogs during this hard time and we served to them rosbeef and others good treats...! At the end of the war, some of them asked to stay in the country and some cameback later to stay. I heard the same story for those who were in ''jail'' ( they stayed in house and could walk out of it!) in Quebec to Rouyn-Noranda area.

La route longue qui s'étire sur ma route et s'entête

Hello everyone!


I hope one specific thing about this english blog: to improve my second cereal box language at the end of it! I should!

I had a dream since I am kid: to cross all the country by myself! Let's do it before the hearse catch me! I prepared all this since...at least 3 years! I would like to thanks all people who gave me support and ideas to this project. Thanks for your help, I am ''grateful'' toward you guys!

Why Sam? Sam is a running gag...since this good friend Edith and I took advantage to be the only ''explorators'' on a beautifull indian SummerAutomn canoe trip close from Québec city by creating all kinds of historic indians and ''coureurs des bois'' (furs traders?) stories. She read at that time about the biography of the unknown ''furs trader'' Radisson, the french men who canoe until Mississippi and others adventurous and incredibles stories... at that same time too, I was amazed by the diary book of another unknown canadian '' furs trader'' : Samuel Hearn. Won-der-ful! He snowshoed the northern of Canada where , even today, crazy adventurous people can't imagine how he succeed. He give to us vigourous describtions about Inuit Lifestyle and also very specific medical transformations of himself fighting against the cold. Both exchanged so much about what we were reading at that time that , when we get off from our 2 days of canoe trip, we agreed to their ''Fair Furs Traders Phylosophy'' sinced and we always having pleasure to create these characters and playing as kids!

ok, let's canoe!

First step: road trip! A real one as I always dreamt to!

Ontario... in French, we can laugh with their name and how long is to drive this province. How long is the province where we can find the biggest lake , Superior Lake, and others ''Big Lakes Family''?! Would you believe me if I write that you need two full crazy days of driving (total 22hours) to cross this Ontario, would you?! '' La route longue qui s'étire sur ma route et s'entête'' - Vincent Vallière