June 22 - Manitoba -- here we come

First activity of the day was to clean the mud off the bike -- looked much better!! Got a later start after a previous long and tiring day -- away at 10:00am. The plan was to go to Winnipeg today and stay with a friend for a couple of days, but due to a newly 'broken ankle' on the part of our host, we thought it better to skip the visit and bypass Winnipeg. Just a few kilometres inside the Manitoba border, the trees that surrounded us much of the trip come to a sudden and abrupt end --- welcome to the prairies where at times you seem to be able to see forever. Warm and sunny. Oh, oh ---- some major storm clouds to the west and north. Maybe we'll get lucky and miss the 'severe lightening and rain storm' since we're heading off to highway 2 (south of the Trans-Canada) to get more of the small road and small town experience. Yes -- we did bypass the storms and that was a good thing. Made an ice cream stop in small town Manitoba -- the pause that refreshes. Decided to go to Virden for overnight. Nice little town and a rather good and inexpensive meal. Beer goes well with whatever we were going to eat. Nightfall is late, as we are now 'north of 49'. 665 km today.

June 21 - Still travelling in northern Ontario

An 8:15 start to the day at 14 celcius. Sky is clear and sunny. Stopped at Schreiber for coffee/lunch. Generally speaking a good travel day until we started to get closer to Fort Frances --- two things arose -- rain (not really a bad thing, but..............) and road construction that went on for about 20km. The construction included potholes (hidden by rain puddles) and some sections with large stone gravel that made it seem like we were travelling on large ball bearings -- not a particularly comfortable experience. While we travelled this section at reduced speed, the drivers behind us were courteous and didn't attempt to pass. Lots of lightly coloured mud covering the bikes and us. Finally ran out of the mess near Fort Frances and we were looking forward to a rest. Not to be -- wouldn't you know, a convention in town and a couple of tournaments. The tourist bureau advised that Nellis Falls was our best bet and we headed further NW, arriving just over an hour later (about 7:30) -- 948 km. A 'rustic' motel and clean. A homey / country place to eat. What wines do they have here to go with dinner -- red and white is the answer; French or Canadian we ask -- we are advised that it is French since it has a 'french name' -- further investigation of the label on the bottle reveals a Canadian wine. We're in the north; this is beer country -- we need to stop asking details on wine --- red or white is all we need to decide on. Well fed and a little drink --- good night after a long day.

June 20 - Into Northern Ontario

Haven't been able to post to Blog as 2G & 3G telephone service (which I need) wasn't available to me (phone does not work -- true for much of this trip, so blog is written retrospectively), but Susan has 1X service - whatever that means, but it does mean that her phone works. Nice sunny day to start off from Ballentrae (north of Toronto). Met Roy at Tim Horton's at Hwy 400/Innisfil Rd; Paul C caught up to Roy at Hwys 400/7 and rode up with him -- nice to say a goodbye to Paul - a terrific riding buddy >> will miss you. At 8:20 Roy and I were riding and Susan was following in her vehicle. Always amazed at how the geography changes towards the north - all that 'Canadian Shield' granite exposed, some smaller trees and vegetation, and thousands of little lakes and ponds. Sudbury is well announced by the presence of the 'super stack' at the iron ore mine, which now allows cleaner air in that city, and plants and trees which previously did not grow, now do so -- imagine the affect that bad air used to have on people over the long term -- all in the goal for economic growth and profit! By-passed the city and headed west. Took the road around Sault Ste Marie and made it to Wawa at 7:30pm for a late dinner at a reasonably nice eatery for the town. Motel was adequate, clean and reasonable. Much more sun light later into the night since we've driven north most of the day. Saw a bear --- ran across the road in front of us (immediately after we passed an 18-wheeler >> at least the driver saw what was happening, and we all slowed down without a problem -- glad the bear got all the way across somewhat ahead of us. The trip around and near Lake Superior shore was very scenic. Temp was 16 to 25 C; mainly sunny. 924km today. Goal for tomorrow is Fort Frances.

Final preparations for trip

Worked on the bike in preparation; as a result the oil and filter are changed, a new set of spark plugs was installed, and I even 'tuned' the CB antenna (which now I don't think is necessary, but probably worthwhile checking its efficiency with an SWR meter). We're gassed up and will be on our way about 6:45 on Sunday morning June 20. Susan will be driving the SUV -- pretty much loaded with 'stuff'. Roy Boldt will be joining us on the trip, and we'll meeting at Hwy 400/ Innisfil Road at 8:00am -- always nice to ride with friends. The 'toll booth' near Fort Frances (established by the Couchiching First Nation) was removed recently, so we don't expect any issues there. It will be awhile before we get to Manitoba and Saskatchewan -- hopefully the flooding of roads will be diminished and allow us to take our preferential routes; if not, we'll enjoy alternative routes along the way.

Upcoming trip from Toronto, ON to Canmore, AB

On Sunday June 20 we begin our motorcycle and auto journey from Toronto, Ontario to our new home in Canmore, Alberta. The routing plan is north to Sudbury, west to Sault Ste. Marie, and follow the coast of Lake Superior to Fort Frances. Then head north to Kenora and west to Winnipeg for a couple of days. After that, we plan to take roads less travelled, heading west on Hwy 2 or 3 - Manitoba; these turn into Hwys 13/18 respectively in Saskatchewan. This will eventually lead us into Lethbridge, Alberta on Hwys 1 (Trans-Canada) and 3. Our last leg of the trip should take us on Hwy 3 west to 22 where we head north to Longview, AB, and take 40 through the Highwood Pass in the Kananaskis to the Trans-Canada and west to Canmore. About 3,700 km in total.