Terry Fox --remembered...

We wanted to create a blog just about Terry Fox -- a hero in our books.  A giant statue stands just east of Thunder Bay, a tribute to his courage.



Terry started his Marathon of Hope in St John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980. He ran a marathon each day (26 miles each and every day) with his one leg and one artificial leg (which he had lost to cancer). He had to stop at Mile 3,339, just outside Thunder Bay in August, when his cancer came back. He ran 143 marathons in 143 days. He rested briefly in Terrace Bay, a little east of Thunder Bay. 

Terrace Bay

We spent the night here remembering the courageous young man that Terry was! We drove along the highway which he had run through in all kinds of weather, and can't imagine how he actually got up each day to do what he had to do -- his will to conquer cancer was ... unbelievable.

This was extremely painful to remember after all these years ... but so important to remember -- this is what Terry, a hero, needed to do to win our hearts and then to break them when he lost his own battle to cancer.

This is a simple poem that Surrinder wrote while in Terrace Bay.


Oh, Terry ...

Terry, a young man with a heart as wide and vast as Canada,
Dreamt of conquering cancer to give hope to those who had none.

A soldier far from home and those he loved,
On a long journey, a Marathon of Hope.


An impossible, lonely mission.

Sea to sea, 

Hop-stepping the roads and highways.

One painful step 

  at 
    a 
     time.


Trying to cross this country that had produced you.

Challenging yourself every single day,
Twenty-six miles a day.
A marathon of hope, each day,
One hundred and forty-three days...
Through the snow, the rain, the heat
Through the hills and valleys,
Your heart full of love and hope...
Wanting to stop the horror and pain of cancer.

Oh, Terry, though you passed this way more than thirty years ago ...
I still see you on this highway, a lonely figure, dusk falling, not finished the allotted miles
to be covered each day.

My heart   b-r-e-a-k-ing 

          piece 
        by 
     piece 

All over again.



Oh, Terry,
You accomplished your goal to bring attention to your cause.
But, somewhere along your journey ...
You stole our hearts ...
And, then broke them.
Your body let you down ...
The lungs that carried you to such heights,
Wings that soared over the Canadian Shield,
Slowly refused to listen to your impossible commands ...
To forget the gruelling pain that you gave them.
Every ... day.

Your body gave up its fight,
And the Marathon of Hope came to an
End.

Along a lonely highway outside Thunder Bay.

The people of Ontario did not forget you ...
They erected a statue of you ...
Heroes such as you don't pass this way every day
And those who do ... pass away too soon.











Oh, Terry ...
You were too beautiful,
Your heart far more pure.
The world lost its rising son.


Canadians saw ...
We heard your brave words.
The battle has been long,
Your fight still goes on, today ...
So many loved ones saved 
So many hearts remember 

Oh, Terry ...
What pride we feel!




Oh, Canada...
Terry stood tall for thee!

Ontario and its "Superior" Ways ...

Slowly bringing the blog closer to where we are. We've just arrived in Quebec City, and Ontario is sinking in ....

Ontario has been startling with its hugeness in every aspect:

• the enormous distances
• the lakes that go on for countless miles and feel like oceans, even creating their own weather patterns
• industry - the enormous steel mill in Sault Ste. Marie gave a first taste

We seemed to follow the arrival of spring, heralded by lilacs, till somewhere in mid-Ontario

Depending on your definition of lakes, Ontario is said to contain over 250,000 lakes!! Greater Sudbury claims 330 lakes within its borders alone.  And the the remarkably picturesque, twisting Lake of the Woods claims 14,542 islands.  We now more easily understand why Ontarians are always talking about cabins on "the lake" -- there are an awful lot of lakes to choose from!

Lots of venerable train stations throughout

Kenora is a sort of gateway to Ontario from the west as well as being the gateway to the entire Lake of the Woods region.

A small sample of Lake of The Woods

From there, we went south on the reportedly prettier Trans Canada route which took us to the U.S. border at Fort Frances.  We ventured over to the American side -- International Falls, Minnesota. First time for either of us to set foot in that state.  A major economic driver there seemed to be the particle board factory.

It was interesting that there was a toll to cross the rather small bridge, collected on each side of the bridge -- and collected by the Americans each time ...  The cheaper gas across the border is an enticement, given the appetite of our van. When we maintain our conservative highway speed of 90 kph, we get in the range of 17 miles per [Canadian] gallon.

Raw materials for the International Falls particle board factory

After Fort Frances, however, the road became somewhat monotonous -- through forest for almost the whole 300 or so km. to Thunder Bay, with little to capture the attention.  It's been the least interesting stretch of the road for us so far.  We found the Thunder Bay to Sault Ste Marie portion much more interesting, though we've heard that part described as boring.

Kakabeka Falls, west of Thunder Bay - 2nd highest falls in Ontario, after you-know-what ...

Thunder Bay was a pleasant surprise.  We felt it to be quite welcoming - starting with the International Friendship Garden.  There were also facilities to dump our holding tanks and refill our fresh water tank -- something we need to do about every 4 days or so.


It was still rainy weather on and off, complete with plenty of thunder -- this was near the end of June.  We understand the city's name, now!

Thunder Bay!!

This was also our first glimpse of the Great Lakes - beginning with the giant -- Lake Superior.  Amazing statistics in the attached photo.



Hard to imagine that this one lake alone contains about 10% of the fresh water reserves on the entire planet, and contains more water than all the other great lakes combined!  Ontario's southern border consists pretty well of all the the Great Lakes which are in Canada.  Lake Michigan actually is entirely in the US ... and huge chunks of the other Lakes are also within US territory, including the lion's share of Superior's perimeter.

Superior is so huge that it creates weather systems of its own -- we were able to see some of the cloud formation directly off the lake one day.

Weather blowing in off Lake Superior

More Lake Superior weather

And the waves off the Great Lakes are weather-created, not tidal.  There are no daily moon-created tides off the Lakes.

The older among us may remember learning about the two cities on Lake Superior -- Port Arthur and Fort Williams.  They were formally integrated into the single municipality of Thunder Bay in 1970, and you can still feel the distinctly separate town centres, as well as plenty of new development.

As in many older centres, the waterfront was originally based around industry, not beauty.  Efforts are being made to beautify it now, however, at least in certain parts.  There is major redevelopment and improvement in the Marina area, including enjoyable walkways, gardens, celebrations circles, artwork, an amphitheater, a huge Tai Chi circle, and a festival area with built-in infrastructure.  And condos, restaurants, etc.

At Thunder Bay's Marina

From there, you can see the long peninsula which actually creates the bay -- a formation known as the Sleeping Giant.  Look carefully at the photo, and you can see the head on the left, with the arms folded on his chest, and his legs below.

Wandering Thoughts - Surrinder

Sometimes, thoughts come in short sentences.


A single step.
Long walks.
Beginnings and endings.
Here.
And, no place. Far from home.
Somewhere.


Leaves fluttering, green upon (many shades of) green.
Inside the hibiscus blooms.
Luscious pink petals, deep red veins
Unfolding.
The dark branches reach for the light.
My heart awakens
Unexpected splendour.



A new place.
Unknown figures and streets.
Yet, seem so familiar.
Activities continue all around.
I cook.
We eat.
Sleep.



Water sparkles on the pavement.
Rain pounds down.
Replenishing the lakes and rivers.
Dirt washes away.
To reveal another fresh morning.



Seeking shelter from the storm.
Weary from the long days upon the road.
Thankful for the hot tea.
Nutritious breakfast.
Quiet sanctuary.
Serene thoughts,
Respite from the road.
We are all we have lived.
Composed products.
Discard the rubbish.
Keep and cherish the best.


Change of state.
Change of pace.
Change of perspective.
Time to complete the journys.
Write the words, sentences,
Sort the photographs.
The book is written.
The final chapters await.

To be continued ...

Saskatchewan - part 2

We realize the sequence of blogs doesn't follow chronologically ... but sometimes, it takes a while to process the information.  This may happen in future blogs, just so you know ...  Onwards!

Saskatchewan kept surprising us with its rich and interesting history and art.  Our overnight stop in North Battleford was rewarded the next morning with a visit to the Allen Sapp Gallery. 



Allen Sapp is a remarkably skilled painter who brings alive scenes from his childhood growing up on the Red Pheasant reserve.  He gives us an excellent glimpse of life as a descendent of Cree Chief Poundmaker.  Though focused on his work, the gallery also features other First Nations and aboriginal art work. 

Steve, our engaging guide to the Allen Sapp Gallery

Our guide, Steve, a history buff and motorcyclist, infected us with his enthusiasm and informative observations.

As we were trying to leave Battleford, we got lost and ended up at the Fort Battleford National Historic Site.  The National Parks pass we purchased in Jasper allows us to visit any and all National Parks, National Historic Monuments, etc. without paying additional fees, so we decided just to stop in to see what it was about.  We ended up touring the site in detail. 

Thus began our education about the 1885 Uprising in Alberta and Saskatchewan, raising lots of questions which we explored further at Batoche.  The North West Mounted Police (NWMP - the predecessors of the RCMP) and Canadian Militia's victory in this series of struggles had major repercussions for the development of Western Canada, particularly for the First Nations and Metis.

Warning -  history observations coming up ... since we learned a lot, we thought we'd share a little.  Feel free just to look at the pictures if you prefer!  We appreciated that the information seemed to be fairly balanced, showing the perspectives of the various groups, and not just the federal government.  So here's a very simplified take of what we think was what was going on ...  

In response to European settlers' desires for using bison for coats, horns, coat racks, chairs, etc., the First Nations people and Metis took up the bison hunt in earnest.  It was relatively easy for them and the money was good.  

They joined with the settlers, Metis, and others in virtually decimating the bison population from around 65 million to only a couple of thousand at best.  It's truly difficult to imagine such devastation.  You get a sense of it looking at photos of bison skulls piled high.  Brings to mind the picture today with fossil fuels ... we have enough to last forever, don't we ... ? ...

[By the way, the correct term is "bison", not "buffalo".  We learned at Elk Island National Park that the term "buffalo" is applied correctly only to the animals in Asia and Africa - the water buffalo and the cape buffalo respectively.  Our plains and wood bison are different species altogether.  A bit like The Europeans mistaking Native North Americans for Indians ... and again, the incorrect term has stuck with us.]

As the bison disappeared, the First Nations and Metis lost what had become a huge part of their income.  Interesting to see the consequences of a consumer based economy at work even way back then ...  Some of the leaders, such as Poundmaker, realized they would have to transition from hunting to a more agriculturally based economy.  Knowing the settlers had better knowledge of agriculture, many of the First Nations agreed to Treaty Six, which made many promises, including provision of food rations, medical supplies, agricultural tools and support and so on.  Within a few years, the federal government started cutting back on what had been promised supposedly in perpetuity.  

[Has much changed since then? ...]  

The First Nations people were frustrated and confused -- there was food available, but the government wouldn't provide it, even though it was clear people were hungry, even starving -- they were used to sharing in times of need.  

Meanwhile, the Metis were unhappy because the federal government had sent surveyors to stake out the land in sections (640 acre chunks), rather than the traditional long, narrow river lots they had established.  River lots gave everyone access to the critical resource of the river, unlike the artificial system imposed by the feds.

Unrest began in several locations.  Though it was not organized at first, it seemed more sinister to the settlers and NWMP.  They appealed to the federal government, who sent out forces from the East to deal with the situation. 

[Does the FLQ "crisis" of 1970 ring any bells?  A few disorganized and disgruntled folks raising fear and overwhelming response in reaction ...]

The NWMP, mostly from Upper or Lower Canada originally (modern-day Quebec or Ontario), were trying to do what they could, not really understanding the First Nations people, or the varied European settlers.  As people often do when they feel threatened, the settlers and NWMP banded together against a perceived common enemy, and gathered in Fort Battleford.  

One of the militia, Captain James Otter, was eager to show their power.  Contrary to  orders, he went to pursue the Aboriginals at Cut Knife.  Though outnumbered, the Cree attacked from the hills and made it look like their numbers were far greater ... Otter and his men retreated.  Interestingly, many of the First Nations warriors wanted to pursue and even kill the retreating militia, but Poundmaker said no -- they came to fight us, and we have won -- now, let them retreat in peace.

Symbol of the Metis Nation, at Batoche National Historic Site

Other battles took place elsewhere, and about two weeks later, the militia and NWMP fought and defeated the Metis forces at Batoche, northwest of Saskatoon.  

At Batoche cemetery

The Metis were led by local leader Gabriel Dumont and Manitoba leader Louis Riel, whom they had called upon to help fight the federal government on the issue of the river lots, as he had done successfully in Manitoba in 1870.  This time, he was unsuccessful, and paid with his head.  After a controversial trial which raised emotions across the country, Riel was hanged.  

Meanwhile, Chiefs Poundmaker (who you will recall had told his men to let the militia retreat after defeating them) and Big Bear surrendered soon after they learned of Riel's capture, and were jailed for their troubles.  Both died of ill health before their three year terms had been served -- frankly, the prisons were nasty places.

It was fascinating to reflect while learning these things ... Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose ... There is much to learn from the past -- those who don't learn the lessons of their history do indeed seem to be doomed to repeat it.

Batoche - Note that this is the cemetery for the whole settlement - about a dozen or so warriors were killed during the actual battle

Manitoba

Manitoba

For us, Manitoba, is the headquarters of the Harold Fung clan -- we couldn't bypass Brandon without giving them a call and saying hello.  Harold and Didi are Shamir's friends from junior high and high school.  Friends like these make this trip worth doing!  Generous, fun, welcoming ... it doesn't get much better!  Didi, however, had gone to Edmonton to await the arrival of their grandchild -- whose dad and mum are none other than Christopher and Daisy from the Edmonton blog!  As a result, we stopped only overnight, and hope to catch them on the way back.

Winnipeg got the short end of the stick this time.  We were there only a couple of hours ... because we suddenly headed up to Lake Winnipeg with Deb (another of Shamir's junior high classmates) and her husband, Terry.  They have a wonderful pine cabin on a long, sandy beach perfect for walks.  We enjoyed good food, wine and conversation, and met some of their fascinating local friends.

They toured us around the area and we stopped for a drink at a unique tavern filled with stuffed animals, carvings ... not to mention a huge moose antler chandelier -- classic Canadiana.

  

What an inventive living willow tomato cage!

Weather vane, Manitoba style!

Saskatchewan ... part 1

First of all, our hearts go out to family and friends who have been flooded out in Calgary over the past several days.  Shamir has had houses on the Bow River in the past and some or all of them may have been flooded out in this recent devastation.  There, but for the grace of God ...

****************************************************************************************

Saskatoon.  A beautiful city indeed.  From the obligatory classic CN hotel, the Bessborough, to an unexpected statue in the middle of downtown … a huge bust of  Mahatma Gandhi! 

Though not as severe as in Calgary, the rain was torrential at times, waves upon waves ... When we were leaving Batoche, a historic site NE of Saskatoon, we had to turn back from one of the back country roads, and instead take an even smaller one ... which then crossed the South Saskatchewan via a single crossing back and forth ferry.  

It seems that most cities/towns begin on or near a river, lake or ocean, mostly because travelling by canoe was the way to get someplace fast...  Plenty of water for drinking and farming. The beginning of a general store, a church, government building of some sort not far behind on Main Street (just like at home, always a reminder wherever we go) much of Canada got settled this way. But, then again, the towns start to look the same as we drive through ... hoping to catch a glimpse of something special here or there. Saskatchewan has the worst roads we have driven so far.

Instead of sightseeing, we found a quiet library where it was warm, lights to read with, electricity to charge things up. Comfortable chairs, maybe better than home. Great place to sit and reflect and write down our impressions so far.

Did people travel as we do for adventure, or did they travel to get away from the limitations of the time or difficult situations?  Nowadays, if we really want something badly enough ... and we put our minds to make it happen ... dreams can come true.

Prince Albert is on the North Saskatchewan River, a wonderful quiet town, one of the gateways to the north. It is famous for having elected three prime ministers of Canada ... John Diefenbaker being the best known. Sir Wilfred Laurier was also elected there -- as well as being elected in Quebec during the very same election - you could run in two separate ridings at that time! He gave up the Prince Albert seat and served from Quebec.  Mackenzie King was also elected there, and did represent the riding.  The only one who actually lived in P.A. was "Dief the Chief," however.  We toured the house he lived in for ten years and donated to the city to be converted into a museum.  In the home were a sofa and a four poster bed which had belonged to our first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.  It felt like we had touched our history and it became real,  how Canada became a country.

Prince Albert National Park was a treat because we spent lots of time in nature watching wildlife ... including these amazing swarms of swallowtail butterflies.  Again, we were quite lucky with the weather ... but the mosquitoes made our bug zapper (looks like an electrified badminton racquet) compulsory equipment!  And in the van, if a bug did get through and bite us ... we had our amazing Therapik (which we got from Lee Valley) which took the sting out of the bites surprisingly quickly and naturally.

We had hoped hoped to hang around Good Spirit Lake, but the stormy weather drove us to Yorkton, our last stop in Saskatchewan.  We were relieved to find a Walmart.  Whaaat???  Well, you may or may not know that many (though not all) Walmarts allow recreational vehicles to park overnight in their parking lots.  We have now used that resource in a few different towns and cities. Sometimes, it's a relatively quick, safe, and easy solution as to where to overnight when it's dark and we're tired.  It's surprising how relatively pleasant some of the Walmart locations can be, such as this one, with a large open field on the other end of the parking lot.

More on Saskatchewan to come, but since we're so late with this one, here's what you get for now!

June 16, Father's Day. About Alberta ...

Now, honestly, just because we've come from Vancouver doesn't mean the rest of the country has to take revenge and dump rain on us wherever we go.  Since we left Kamloops, we've had some greater or lesser level of rain everywhere -- Jasper, Hinton, Edmonton (though we had a day of good weather there), Vegreville, North Battleford, and now Saskatoon!  But at least Saskatchewan is is indeed the "land of the living skies", as their license plates proudly proclaim.  Comes with the advantage that you can see the weather developing around you, and sometimes take evasive action.

When we left Edmonton, for example, we stopped in at Elk Island National Park.  Since we made the wise investment of a one year full Parks Canada pass, we can stop at our leisure at any National Parks, National Historic sites, etc.  While we were at the info desk asking about the park, the staff person asked if we knew about the tornado warning.  Whaaaaa??  We hadn't turned on the radio, and had no idea.  It threw things in quite a tizzy as the City geared up just in case, as well as all the communities to the east.  Even the wildlife showed some confusion -- this moose ran around the parking lot, as if trying to decide what to do.  He left shortly after this photo.


The bison didn't seem the slightest bit concerned, though.

We hadn't originally expected to stop in Edmonton, having visited 3 years ago.  But we decided we should at least say hello, especially since it was Christopher's birthday, and Daisy is expecting in just a few days!  And after we visited with them, we reached Victor Fung and family, and were coaxed into staying in town a couple of nights.  Gave us a chance to get to know them better, and to deal with some of the mundane chores of life on the road, as we continue to learn what we need, and how to make life easier.  Things are feeling pretty comfortable now, I daresay.  We enjoyed a wonderful Indian meal at the New Asian Village with Victor and Xu Ji, as Alexander and Angela enjoyed one of their year-end badminton pizza parties (they belong to several clubs!).

Nope, this isn't a photo left over from our India trip a few years back -- this is in the heart of Edmonton - a wonderful place to eat, if you're ever in town ...

Surrinder: Vegreville, an hour or so east of Edmonton, was a special destination I'd looked forward to visiting for years.  The Pysanka (giant "Easter Egg", built in 1975 as part of the RCMP's 100th anniversary celebrations) was a wonderful reminder of Grandma Kalina Makovichuk (the kids' great grand-mother) whom I had the privilege of getting to know along with the whole clan in the 1970's.

Some of the stories I had heard came back and I could sense their presence in the land.  It was a hard life, and some of them tried to leave it all behind.

Shamir: In addition to the fascinating history here, with many ethnic groups forming a community ... the actual technical details of the Pysanka were amazing.  Read a bit about it at the right.

So ... it's Father's Day today -- happy Father's Day to all the dads, grand-dads, steps-dads and the like out there.  We've had a wonderful, van cooked breakfast of turkey sausages, fried eggs, toast, peanut butter, and two different jams (Thanks for the meal, Surrinder, and thanks for the jam, Phyllis!). Time to go out and explore.  We'll start off with Saskatchewan next time.

Cheers
From the Road ...