It Ain't Easy
With some last minute running around to do in town,
I didn't pull out of Terrace in northern British Columbia until almost 6pm Friday evening. I had hoped to make it to Prince George or a little further that first evening, but exhausted, I pulled into a motel in Burns Lake, a little town well short of Prince George. I would get an early start and be out of BC, across Alberta and maybe even into Saskatchewan before it got too dark on Saturday.
Five days of driving, and five thousand and three kilometers later, I pulled into my sister's driveway in southern Ontario. Canada is a BIG country!
That was yesterday.
I am still a little stressed and road weary. Although undoubtedly it would be a pleasant journey if one had weeks to do it and could stop and smell a couple of roses and take a few photos along the way. The landscape is varied and beautiful. Mountains, valleys, prairies, lakes, rivers, towns, villages and cities: but mostly miles and miles and miles of empty wilderness. And "Watch for Moose" or "Watch for Elk" or "Watch for Deer" crossing the road signs every few miles.
Somehow, I almost always seem to be in a hurry and facing some kind of deadline or other. Someday I want to make the trip when I can stop and spend a day or three wherever strikes my fancy. No more petal to the metal!
I did stop, for a few minutes, and just once, to take some photos. The name on the sign intrigued me:
I'm glad I did stop that once! The panorama was fantastic (there were many, many, many others that were equally or more so, but as I said, a sign had caught my eye at this one) :-)
Oh, if only I could have stopped to set up a tent, start a campfire, and put a hot dog on a stick to roast over it. Why must heaven always wait?
I'll be back, some day this lifetime or next, with a tent, some kindling and some hot dogs!
Over and out,
@onceuponatime
I had to read your last post to get the context, I did recall that you had been in Greece. Under no circumstance can my husband read your last post (He wanted to name our son Maximus but I vetoed it, Ethan is fourteen now and it's been some time since the subject was brought up, I definitely do NOT want him him reminded lol!)
That's fantastic about your hip, but I hope your overall health is improved since you spoke about it.
I'm a huge fan of camping, I would also lament a journey through beautiful country without being able to linger and enjoy it.
The last time we bantered it became a music video conversation...my brother wrote a tribute for Chris Cornell that I recorded (we'd just come back from a brewery so it's not a perfect rendition, lol, but still pretty damn great- and my niece is just so freaking cute)
Wow! Nice beach without human beings! I mean, where do you get those these days! Do check out my blog and follow and resteem if you like it :) I recently travelled to Ladakh. Awesome place!
https://steemit.com/travel/@ashfreqk/ladakh-diaries
Cool. I have been through the Rohtang Pass into Lahoul and Spiti by motorcycle, but I never made it to Ladakh (despite a strong desire to do so!).
Oh wow! Yes riding a motorcycle on those roads is truly an adventure! The weather, the terrain and especially the riding experience! But let me tell you that going from Leh to Pangong Lake or Leh to Nubra Valley is an even tougher task, as the climate is more harsh and after all, Khardung La is THE HIGHEST MOTORABLE ROAD IN THE WORLD! If you go directly from Pangong to Nubra you take a difgerent route which is really beautiful and scenic... for a part of the journey you also ride through a landscape which looks like it was taken straight outta the old west cowboy movies! I think it would be worthwhile if you came back to India just to visit Nubra Valley too... I liked it even more than Pangong Lake! I have been to Manali and Rohtang too but Nubra is just pure and raw beauty 🙂 Unfortunately I don't have a DSLR or I would have captured some photos of Nubra at night... us, in the middle of the big valley and the Himalayas on all four sides... their peaks shimmer so brightly in the moonlight and you're really lucky if you get a cloudless sky... I saw many more stars there than I had ever seen anywhere else... I keep telling so much about this place to everyone I meet LOL 😅... But really the experience of staying the night there is just... indescribable ❤️
Camping is one of my most favourite activities during summer, you should always have a tint sitting around,especially when your are chewing miles by the thousand factor. Question, is that open sea or just a lake?
Lake Superior is a lake - but I would hardly call it "just a lake" :-)
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes of North America. The lake is shared by the Canadian province of Ontario to the north, the US state of Minnesota to the west, and Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the south. It is generally considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It is the world's third-largest freshwater lake by volume and the largest by volume in North America.[6] The furthest north and west of the Great Lakes chain, Superior has the highest elevation and drains into the St. Mary's River.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior
Max. length
350 mi (560 km)[2]
Max. width
160 mi (260 km)[2]
Surface area
31,700 sq mi (82,100 km2)[1]
Average depth
483 ft (147 m)[1]
Max. depth
1,333 ft (406 m)[1][3]
Water volume
2,900 cu mi (12,000 km3)[1]
I'm on the shore of Lake Michigan right now, and yesterday we took a ferry to Washington Island and then another to Rock Island, which it off of the Door Peninsula. No vehicles or even bicycles are allowed on the island, and it is an amazing spot to go camping.... unfortunately we had many other matters to attend to, but I know how you feel.
So, if "great minds think alike" I guess it is only natural that Great Hearts Feel Alike! :-)
hehe that is cute and beautiful =)>
old women bay
Beautiful journey and, especially "pit-stop"in Old Woman Bay!
Thanks for sharing, it brought back many memories of my multiple crossings of Canada, including the marathon three and a half day trip from southern Georgian Bay area... Memories!
Glad you made it in one piece, you almost make me wish I had done the trip with you! Namaste :)
Yes bro you are correct
Amazing country....yes, you should have stopped to smell the roses...and eat a hot dog or two...there may not be a second chance....
It's funny how life works @onceuponatime... even those of us who have deliberately chosen a path of independence (for me, through self-employment) seem to end up either being in a hurry, or wishing we could stop and just take some "unscheduled" time to explore.
A couple of years ago, my wife and I went back to my native Denmark for three weeks... and very deliberately had "no plan." The trip was significant because it marked the first time in almost 20 years we'd taken more than a couple of days to "do nothing." We didn't have to visit anyone; we didn't have to see something, or do something... and we weren't traveling with others who had a schedule. Frankly, it was an amazing experience... and-- getting back to the context here-- a reminder that we often spend so much of our lives rushing around.
Old Woman Bay looks like one of those spots where you can just set up camp and feel your feet reconnect with the earth below... let the eternal rush melt away.
Hi @onceuponatime, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
I appreciate your effort, but did not upvote your post because you consistently referred to me as "she" and "her" when, last time I turned my conscious attention on the matter, I was still standing up to pee :-)
I'm often referred to as 'man', 'dude', 'he', 'bro' etc and I sit down. I survive it and so will you :)
You, like me, have a name that doesn't convey gender.
Ah, and you have assumed my photo avatar is fake news like most other things?
it's a default avatar.. why would i notice it
I know what you mean @onceuponatime I would love to have the time to stop more often take pictures or just enjoy a small area for longer as you drive up to somewhere. As for the old woman bay I believe there is a cliff that does look like a face I think you have to walk around to see it, either that or someone was pulling my leg.
I love Prince George!
I have spent quite a bit of time in BC. Sure hope you get some free time to rest and sink into the moments of peace and beauty!
Wow. I'm not fond of Prince George at all! The smell from the mills can be really bad.
But that is where I used to go for my ayahuasca sessions, so the city does hold some nostalgia for me.
But mostly I tend to drive right through Prince George without stopping.
hahaha yes I know what you mean but for me it is a special place as I have had many beautiful experiences there....Just goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Thanks for responding. Comments on Steemit are so blasé these days....
SteemON!
Are you ever scared of running into bears? I've heard it can be quite cruel...
They could make a movie about me: "Dances with Bears" :-)
Haha, I'd love to watch it!