Sometime in 1998, BB invited me and a couple of others to go on a possible trip to the west coast. The plan was to drive from Toronto to Vancouver, at which point we would fly back to TO. We lost a number of people to commitments and lack of interest during the months following the original idea. The rest of us began to doubt that we would ever leave, but after a year of uncertain planning and anxious waiting, we still had a will, and were given a means to go (Kudos to BB for doing all the work).

When we left on the 21st of July, 1999, our travelling group consisted of BB, MJO, Laz, and I. We went on a voyage that I think will stay in my memory for a long time. The pictures below (taken by Laz and BB - Laz pictures are higher quality due to his digital camera) chronicle our journey across the country.

Wednesday, July 21, 1999

[Day 1: The Car.]

This is a picture of most of us and the car just before leaving for our cross Canada trip. We were a little surprised at how nice the car was, but heck, I was tired (having not slept a wink the night before) and I just wanted to eat and sleep. Funny how it didn't show up like that in the picture. Ah well.

I'm being flanked on Laz on the left and MJO on the right.

[Day 1: Parry Sound.]

Our first stop of the trip was at the quaint little touristy town of Parry Sound. The weather was very good and we had a nice little walk around the docks and bridge area. If you look closely at the photograph, you might notice a sea plane in the background. (It took off soon after the picture was taken.)

From the left, we have me, an oh-so-happy BB, and an even more happy MJO.

[Day 1: Sudbury.]

Reaching Sudbury, MJO and I went into explorer mode and began to discover far off smoke stacks, and remote radio towers. I can't remember what exactly I was pointing at, but it must've been something just as irrelevant.

If you didn't know already, MJO is on the left, and that's me pointing.

[Day 1: The Big Nickel.]

The main attraction that we wanted to see while we were at Sudbury was the Big Nickel. We didn't have any idea where the thing was, nor did we have any tourist maps of the area, so we were quite lucky when the waiter told us that the thing was basically on our way out of town. After the tip, it wasn't hard to find. I've seen the Big Nickel already during a family trip many years ago, but it's always good to come back and make sure that it's still there.

That's BB, me and MJO at the foot of the monument (from the left of course), wondering how we're going to fit the nickel in the trunk.

Thursday, July 22, 1999

During our voyage across the country, there were many designated "scenic points" where people can stop their cars, rest, eat, and enjoy the scenery. Highway 17 was littered with these rest points. A couple of these points had breathtaking views, which is too bad, since we had to skip a number of them due to time (and endurance) constraints.

[Day 2: Looking at Manitoulin Island.]

The first scenic point we stopped off at was not actually as good as a couple that we had passed along the way (I missed a good one while I was driving - my bad!), but the view nevertheless was very good. At that point in the trip, we were approaching the point where Manitoulin Island (the largest freshwater island in the world!) was closest to the mainland, so you can see the island in the background of this picture.

From the left to the right we have MJO, me, and BB.

[Day 2: The Wawa Goose.]

The giant Canada goose just outside of Wawa is always something to come and look at (even if you're just looking for goose eggs). The view from the statue overlooking the surrounding countryside is also quite nice. I wanted to get a post card of the goose, but the girl at the TIC told me that all of the postcards were in Wawa (so that people would actually visit the city). We only stopped for half an hour at most to rest and prepare for the next leg of the trip, so I had to settle with this picture.

Well, Laz is the only one in the picture (if you don't count the goose behind him).

[Day 2: View from Wawa.]

This is the (great) view from the top of the ridge where the Wawa goose is situated. You can see the visitor's centre on the right end of the picture.

[Day 2: Pukaskwa National Park.]

One of the best sights during the second day was at Pukaskwa National Park. Although we only stayed for an hour, we did manage to get a good peek of the area around the reception center. The view from the hill that we climbed was fantastic, and the photos we took are proof of that. This was only part of the view that was available to us from our perch.

BB is sitting on the left, MJO is sitting in the middle, and I'm the one standing in this photo.

Friday, July 23, 1999

[Day 3: Fort William.]

Our first stop was at Fort William, which was just on the outskirts of Thunder Bay. The weather wasn't very cooperative, and it rained heavily when we got there. Fortunately, before we went into the fort, the rain let up and skies cleared, heralding a warm and sunny day. Our tour guide just happened to my one of my sister's friend's sister. Quelle coincidence! Anyway, the tour was very good, and the fort was well preserved, definitely worth the time and money.

Guarding the door are MJO (the left guard), me (the center guard), and BB (wearing right guard).

[Day 3: Ouimet Canyon.]

Backtracking a bit (around 100km), we headed to Ouimet Canyon and took advantage of the good weather that day (a far cry from the bleak morning we had to wake up to). The hiking around the canyon wasn't particularly interesting, but the view from the two observation decks was superb. The pictures we took don't do it any justice, but at least you'll be able to see what it looks like. I never thought that we had anything like this in Canada, much less Ontario, but this was a pleasant surprise and I would recommend anyone to see it for themselves.

[Day 3: Kakabecka Falls.]

Our last major sightseeing thing on this day was Kakabecka Falls. Located an hour or so from Thunder Bay, it is probably one of the more popular tourist attractions in the area. The fact that there is a town (also named Kakabecka Falls) and camping ground right around the falls will attest to this fact. Although not as majestic as Niagara Falls, they were still quite large, and had a good view looking down the mouth of the canyon.

Starting from the left of the three right-most people are MJO, me, and BB.

[Day 3: Max the Moose.]

One of the things that I just had to do during this trip was to stop by Dryden. I just wanted to get a post card to send off to Squishy to show her that I finally visited this quaint little town and tell myself.. boy, this place is small! She did tell me about the giant moose in the town, and I just had to go and check it out (so did MJO, but BB and Laz didn't share our enthusiasm). With a little help from some guy at the gas station, we were able to find Max without a hitch.

Staring into the sun in front of Max the Moose are MJO, me, and BB.

Saturday, July 24, 1999

[Day 4: The Forks.]

As we were approaching Winnipeg (and even before we started the trip), BB was telling us how one of his friends mom told him to go and visit the Forks while he was there. He never did, and so he wanted to check them out on this trip. I had no idea what the Forks were until we got there. Let's just say that I was a little underwhelmed. We still took a picture to show off that we actually did stop by.

That's an excited me pointing on the left and a surprised MJO on the right.

[Day 4: Casino Regina.]

Without much to do in Regina, we had planned (after days of debate) to go to the Casino to blow some money, and karaoke for the rest of the night. After we got to the Casino and started playing around, we found it to be much more fun than we had expected. To top it off, we even won a fair bit of change! Happy with our winnings, and tired from gambling the night away, we never got around to singing karaoke.. but that's probably a good thing.

Hiding in the dark with our loot are MJO, BB, and me, with Casino Regina glowing behind us.

Sunday, July 25, 1999

[Day 5: The Prairies.]

Being in the middle of the prairies, the landscape was flat. Very, very flat. I personally didn't notice that much since I was driving for most of the time, and sleeping whenever I was not on my shift. The fact that you can see so far makes some of the cloud formations and weather phenomenon look amazing. I guess you get used to it after a while, but I was only exposed to it for a couple of days, so things like this was still interesting to me. It's too bad we never got a chance to get a completely unobstructed view (i.e. no cars) for a picture, but it looks to me as if we stopped just for this picture.

Nobody I know is in this picture, but there are some clouds and it's pretty flat huh?

[Day 5: MJO napping in the back.]

After blazing through Manitoba and most of Saskatchewan the day before, we cleared most of the rest of the prairies on our way to Drumheller. Despite checking out the Chinese tunnels down at Moose Jaw, it was a fairly uneventful day.

That's MJO taking a nap, and BB who's wide awake (at least when Laz was taking the picture).

Monday, July 26, 1999

[Day 6: Drumheller Sneering Match.]

Even though Drumheller is in the middle of nowhere, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology was a very large, and good exhibit. We spent a fair bit of the day there wandering around and taking pictures.

Personally, I think Laz (on the right) won the sneering contest.

[Day 6: Larry, Moe, and Curly.]

At the end of our tour of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, BB figured that we should get a semi-group shot with one of the larger specimens before we left. I just love this picture, since each one of us has a distinctly different facial expression.

That's a dazed Laz on the left, arrogant me in the middle, and happy MJO on the right.

[Day 6: Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.]

After leaving, we checked out the observation deck that was located just in front of the museum. The view was not as good as the view the first time we drove into the town (the drive in was spectacular), but I did manage to convince Laz to let me take a picture of the museum itself.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology as seen from the observation area.

Tuesday, July 27, 1999

[Day 7: Laz napping in the back.]

The final day of the trip across the country started off early as we wanted to have breakfast in Banff. Some of us were pretty tired from all of this travelling and most of us took advantage of the morning drive into the Rockies.

That's a peaceful looking Laz.

[Day 7: Banff.]

Banff was a very nice and attractive little town. Couple this with the gorgeous weather we got that day, and our little stop at Banff was a good (albeit short) stay. I think the mountains in the background make any picture taken in Banff something different. Laz took this one just before we headed in for breakfast.

From the left is BB (who is to the right of the guy in the red jacket thing), MJO, me, and the car.

[Day 7: Columbia Ice Field.]

The first time I heard of the Columbia Ice Field was from Zippy. I imagined it to be a huge expanse of ice and snow where people could go and enjoy a bit of skating and other wintery pursuits. I was a little disappointed to find out that it was just the name of the ice rink and activity center that was a part of the University of Waterloo.

From the foreground is BB, MJO, me (mostly concealed), and Athabaska Glacier in the background.

[Day 7: Athabaska Glacier.]

Years later, when I was looking for the Columbia Ice Field homepage so I could find out rink schedules, the web search spat out way more hits than I had anticipated. Checking one, I was surprised to see that there was another Columbia Ice Field in Canada, this one had a bit more ice, and was a bit larger than the one I was used to. Since that day (sometime in February), I have wanted to go and see it with my own eyes (and stand on it with my own feet). Today I did, and I wasn't disappointed.

Standing on the ice is MJO, me (the only time I wore my jacket!), and Laz.

[Day 7: Car of Idiots.]

After all this time travelling, taking all of these pictures, we never got a photo of all four of us at once. Laz remedied that (on the last day no less) when he handed me the camera and told me to point it backwards. So this is the one photo with all four of us together.

From the left is me (ugh), MJO, Laz, and BB (Bandanna Boy).

[Day 7: Lake Louise.]

Our last major stop of the day was at Lake Louise where we stopped off for a little while to enjoy the scenery. Not much to see there except for the lake and the fact that the colour of the water was an aquamarine due to the rock flour. We didn't have much time, so we weren't able to check out the hotel next to the lake, but I have a feeling that I'll be back..

Within the crowd, you can see me, MJO, and BB with the pristine Lake Louise behind us.

Monday, August 2, 1999

[Day 13: Laz taking a view.]

During our stay in Vancouver, Laz and I convinced his buddy Pops to drive us out to Victoria. It was a very nice city, and we stayed at the Wharfside for dinner, and it had quite a nice view.

That's Laz looking outside, enjoying the nice view.

[Day 13: Laz giving a blow job.]

Pops took the previous picture, and played around a bit with the camera (he took pictures of the salt and pepper shakers for some odd reason). While he was fiddling around, he managed to catch this shot of Laz which.. is quite interesting despite being a little awkward.

That's Laz.. uh.. yeah.

[Day 13: Pops and me.. eating.]

During the entire trip to Victoria, Pops was nearly impossible to catch on camera, despite Laz's repeated attempts. This is the only photo I have which actually shows Pops's face. Of course, it's also a picture that makes fun of me a bit, but hey, when isn't that happening?

Pops is on the left, trying to give me (on the right) those bunny ears.

[Day 13: A nice sunset.]

The ferry rides to and from Vancouver Island were quite leisurely, and weren't that long (about an hour and fifteen minutes). Tons of people were coming and going that day, a lot which had to do with the BC day long weekend. The view from the deck was also quite nice, although the deck on the Pacificat was unbearably small (the old ferries were much better). Still, we left the island as the sun was setting, and since the Pacificat deck only faced the rear, we were lucky enough to catch the sunset.

A very nice picture of the sunset from the rear of the Pacificat ferry. A nice way to end the trip.

Tuesday, October 15, 2024 @ 20:20:56 EDT

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