DAY TRIPS:

Bryce Canyon will always bring back fantastic memories of the long family road trips we would take during summer vacation when our kids were young. Some of our best times were times spent in Bryce Canyon - and even more so the nearby Red Canyon campground. Flash floods. Lightning storms. Sandal races. Gorgeous hikes. And mostly lots of smiles and laughs.

​

It was so nice to see the beauty of Bryce Canyon again - especially in the wintertime under a pretty blanket of fresh snow. The ever-present summer crowds were non-existent. Even the parking lot at Ruby's Inn & General Store, which is normally absolutely packed in the summer, was virtually empty.

​

We drove through the park as far as we could before encountering a gate and a closed road - likely due to the recent snow. Then we backtracked and stopped at a few of our favourite old viewpoints - concluding with a few extremely windy and extremely cold selfies at Inspiration Point. 

​

And as an added bonus after a truly perfect day we got to pass through Zion National Park on the way back to the rig. If we've said it once we've said it a million times: Utah is amazing!

We're not sure how we missed this one on our past trips through Utah! Cedar Breaks looks spectacular even on a windy, stormy, snowy day. And it was really nice to take a drive that was brand new to both of us. Our motto is 'always take the scenic route' - even in crappy weather!

​

The drive up to the 9,910 foot summit of the winding highway between Cedar City and Bryce Canyon was slow and challenging due to the snow, slush, and generally blustery conditions. But we were rewarded with some breathtaking views of the mountaintop valleys and plateaus. And we weren't even able to make it to the actual national monument - the road was buried under several feet of snow and won't be open until May.

​

What we did see was forest that reminded us a little bit of British Columbia, with tall trees and wide open endless views. The area is also clearly a favourite of the snowmobile crowd, with dozens of sleds and riders unloading near the summit and enjoying what looked to be close to a foot of fresh powder.

​

We're not sure when we'll be back to this area, but if our next visit is during the summer months we'll be sure to add Cedar Breaks National Monument to our 'must visit' list.

What a crazy week this past week was! A last-minute business trip to New York City meant I needed an airport - and with Las Vegas being the closest major city it was the obvious choice. So we spent last Saturday night in Las Vegas before I headed off to New York for three days. Then it was back to Zion to wrap up the week.

The work week couldn't have ended more differently than it started. On Monday morning I woke up in Manhattan, and after work on Friday we explored Kolob Canyon near our RV resort in Virgin, Utah.

​

What a find! Veronica had explored the area a little bit with the dogs earlier in the week but on our Friday afternoon trek we drove as far as we could along Kolob Canyon Road... stopping only when we reached a snow-covered road inside Zion National Park. Along the way we found a red-dirt mesa at the top of a rough mountain road, countless sandstone cliffs, the largest herd of deer we had ever seen, and a mountaintop meadow with stunning views of the mountains surrounding this area.

​

There is truly no way to capture the beauty of this area in a photograph or video - but I won't let that stop me from trying.

After nearly 15 years of traveling more than 100 nights per year on business, it was incredibly nice to say 'goodbye' to business travel for a couple of years during the pandemic. But if there is one city that could easily lure me back onto an airplane or into a suit and tie it would be New York. I just can't get enough of the Big Apple.

​

My short trip to New York revolved around an important dinner with an important client. But I also had time to go for a few long walks around the city - which never disappoints in terms of its ability to provide interesting experiences. This particular trip occurred during the opening days of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, and there were pockets of Ukrainians throughout the city hoping to draw the world's attention to their country's plight. The largest demonstration was in Times Square - an area that I typically try to avoid like the plague but which was an interesting place to be during an event such as a growing war and looming disaster in Europe.

​

One thing I didn't know until after I left New York to rejoin Veronica in Utah was that the hotel I stayed in - the joint Residence/Courtyard at 54th and Broadway - is actually the tallest hotel in the western hemisphere. I stayed on the 61st floor with an incredible view overlooking Central Park and portions of Midtown. This was the highest hotel room I have ever stayed in - eclipsing some of my stays in Toronto by around ten storeys. Having spent over 1,000 nights in Marriott hotels during my career definitely has some benefits, the biggest one being always getting the nicest available suite in any of the chain's many brands. If only my company would make it easier to book at the Ritz. lol

Not gonna lie... it wasn't disappointing to have to travel to a city with an airport in order to catch a flight for my first business trip in two years - especially since that 'city with an airport' happened to be Las Vegas. There are worst places to spend a Saturday night before catching a flight!

​

We loaded up the dogs for their first trip to Sin City. I don't know if they had a good time, but we definitely did. Our one night in Vegas gave us more than enough time to do some Major League people-watching, go for a long afternoon walk along the Strip, get all dressed up, and have some awesome drinks and a truly amazing dinner.

​

Then I was up early to hop a flight at McCarran (oops... Harry Reid) while Veronica made her way back to the rig near Zion.

I had been in Ohio the first time that Veronica hiked Boynton Canyon, but she told me it was a place I needed to see while in Sedona. So we hiked there again after I returned to Arizona.

​

What a place! There simply wasn't a moment that went by during our hike that we weren't treated to a fantastic view. There are such an unbelievable number of great hiking trails in this area. It's the type of place that we can see ourselves returning to year after year.

​

And as an added bonus after we finished our hike, we saw a pack (?) of javelinas. We had heard about and read about these boar-like creatures, but it was a real thrill to see them with our own eyes.

The day after I returned to Arizona from Ohio we had no plans, so we decided to take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. We had never been to the South Rim before - and our one trip to the North Rim long ago had been a little underwhelming.

​

Our take on the Grand Canyon is this: it's truly impressive to see it with your own eyes, but there's not a helluva lot to do there! We were a bit constrained in terms of the hikes we could do this time since we had the dogs with us - and they are not allowed on any of the trails that head below the rim of the canyon. But still, I suspect we have made our last trip to the Grand Canyon unless we plan an excursion sometime that includes a hike (or donkey ride) to the bottom.

​

Don't get me wrong... if you're in this part of the world the Grand Canyon is pretty much an obligatory excursion. But if you've been to places like Zion or Bryce Canyon then prepare to be underwhelmed by GCNP.

As a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan, I had always believed that if my team ever made its way to the Super Bowl again I would spare no expense and go watch the game in person. But when it came time to put money where my mouth was, I opted instead to go 'home' to watch it with my father and the rest of my Ohio family. I made the right decision!
 

Despite the Bengals' loss to the Rams, I had a great time visiting my childhood home for the week - and even sleeping in my childhood bedroom. But the cold Ohio  winter weather was a bit of a shock to the system - since I had been spoiled by temperatures in the 70's and 80's while in Sedona the week prior. 

​

Veronica had a great time while I was gone, entertaining one her dearest friends (Deanna) for a week of hiking, wine, laughs, and girl-time.

Veronica and I had first come across Slide Rock while going for a drive one evening after work. It looked incredible from the air during a drone flight, so Veronica added it to the list of hikes to do with Deanna during her visit from British Columbia.

​

The park is gorgeous, with a pretty mountain stream surrounded by rolling red sandstone banks. The hiking was nice, but the highlight was soaking tired feet and legs in the icy cold (39-degree F) water.

This spectacular hike is a Sedona icon - but unfortunately 'icon' status comes with tons and tons of other hikers!

​

It's a short one, highlighted by a walk over a natural red stone arch. The trail is about 4 miles out and back and heavily trafficked - but worth checking out nevertheless. Cars were lined up forever along both sides of the road leading to the trailhead but the ladies managed to snag a prime spot. Timing (and patience) is everything!

The 'sister' hike to the Bell Rock hike that Vee and I had done, the Courthouse is another Sedona icon. It is heavily trafficked as well, but the geography of the trail makes it seem less crowded. And even though the highway is nearby, the traffic noise seems to completely fade away on these beautiful hikes.

​

Veronica and Deanna did this one during their week-long hike-fest in mid-February... a week during which they were blessed with near-perfect weather every single day.

As much as we like full-time RV life, sleeping inside of an actual building also has its appeal - especially a hotel with views like the ones at the Sky Ranch in Sedona.

​

Veronica and Deanna stayed here for a few nights to be closer to the action and the trails in Sedona - and the hotel impressed them with views as nice as you'll find anywhere in Arizona. The hotel has been featured on the Today show - and after staying here it'll be obvious why. The hotel is older and somewhat dated, but the red rock mountain views - and the gorgeous botanical garden - make this a perfect place to stay while enjoying Sedona.

​

​

This one is an absolute stunner! Just past the trailhead for Devil's Bridge, this trail is another Sedona must-hike!

​

Veronica and Deanna did this one during their time at the Sky Ranch. The narrow, winding trail is fairly flat for the first few miles before climbing somewhat through the forest as you get deeper in the canyon.

​

There are hundreds of gorgeous views along the trail in both directions - with high red rock mountains sporting tons of green vegetation, rolling sandstone cliffs and a beautiful red dirt trail that often gives way to rocks and tree roots. On a gorgeous sunny winter day under deep clear blue skies it feels like hiking might not get much better than this.

What an amazing surprise Jerome was for us. We had never heard of the town before, but we had read that there was a nearby ghost town so we decided to look for it after visiting the Tuzigoot National Monument. We never did find the ghost town (we'll be back!) but the town of Jerome was so cool!

​

The entire town is built on the side of a mountain in an area where you wouldn't think a town would have any right to be. But like many mining towns, where there's a will there's a way, so they made it happen. The incredibly narrow and winding streets are definitely not rig-friendly, but they made for a great drive after work visit. And after driving on a very primitive road about half way to the village of Perkinsville we went back into Jerome for a cold one at the saloon.

​

I expect we'll make a return visit to the area after I return from my week in Ohio. The views from the Perkinsville Road are incredible - rivalling the view over the Grand Canyon in our opinion. And there appears to be some really cool (and really remote) hiking in the area too.

​

The town of Jerome sprang from the desert to support the nearby copper mining operations, and another cool thing to see in town is the mine. In particular, the 1900-foot mine shaft that reached straight down into the earth. It is covered with thick glass so that you can walk over the top of it, and it is artificially lit all the way to the bottom so you peer down towards the old mine. You can't see nearly all the way to the bottom, but it is pretty menacing to be standing on top of such a deep, spooky hole in the ground. 

Just another example of the neat history in the area around Sedona. The Tuzigoot National Monument was a massive pueblo near the Verde River that at one point would have supported around 225 people in more than 100 rooms. That means that a population the size of our former home town in Shirley, BC would have all lived in the area at one point.

​

The pueblo was constructed in stages - beginning more than 1300 years ago - until one day the Sinagua people just began to move along and abandon the site. In the 1930's the entire structure was largely in ruins, but a post-Depression jobs initiative led to the rebuilding of a significant portion of the dwelling. Today, it is a must-see while in the Sedona area.

​

In addition to exploring the pueblo, there is also a visitor's centre and museum with displays including authentic tools, pottery, and other crafts found while the National Parks Service archaeologists were excavating and reconstructing the site.

This was on our 'must see' list during our time in Camp Verde, and it did not disappoint. At one point hundreds of years ago there were dozens of these absolutely amazing cliff dwellings all over the Verde River Valley - and even more widely spread throughout Arizona. Montezuma Castle was such an impressive sight.

​

The dwelling was not closed to the public until mid-century, so there had been a lot of looting and vandalism at one point. But a large section of the structure has remained largely intact and, for me at least, it was almost breathtaking to see when I got my first look at it. Stuff like this is interesting to see in history books or online, but the true majesty is impossible to appreciate until seen with one's own eyes.

​

In addition to the sheer beauty of the architecture, the other thing that struck both of us was just how peaceful the river valley is - and how impressive it is to see such greenery in the middle of the desert. It definitely reinforces something that we only came to appreciate in our late 40's while living on Vancouver Island - which is just how vital and life-giving water is. It is something that so many of us take for granted, but over time will likely become a more and more valuable resource. Seeing the size of the gorgeous white-barked trees growing amongst lush grasses in the middle of the desert was an impressive reminder of the importance of water.

This was one of many hiking and dog-walking spots frequented by Veronica during our time in Sedona/Camp Verde. Nice trails and lovely views - and no people!

This was yet another really cool adventure that we just kind of stumbled in to. After finishing an incredible hike at Bell Rock just outside Sedona we weren't quite ready to call it a day so we decided to look for a nice spot to catch the sunset. We hit a few dead-ends before we found a Forest Service sign that said "Bull Pen Road" so we decided to check it out. Before venturing out of cell phone coverage we googled the spot and learned that there was an oasis-like swimming hole in the middle of the desert at the end of the road so away we went.

​

First of all, like every other dirt road in the area the views were stunning. The road was a bit rough in some stretches, but we figured that we could probably get our rig out there to do some boondocking - which we might do for a night or two before saying goodbye to Sedona at the end of our three weeks. Along the way we also found an absolutely killer campsite for Veronica and her friend, Deanna, to do some backcountry camping at during the week that I'll be in Ohio.

​

And when we finally made it to the 'Bull Pen' - the swimming hole - it was even better than we had imagined. We walked along the river for about a quarter-mile and found a whole bunch of individual little swimming areas, some of which were gorgeous and included views of the surrounding red rock cliffs. Vee decided that she and Deanna will definitely visit this spot for a swim after one of their upcoming desert hikes.

Well... there are views and then there are VIEWS. Our hike at Bell Rock provided some VIEWS! However, this is not unique in Sedona as it seems like everywhere you look is a vista more impressive than the last.

​

This was a short hike - probably no more than 3 miles - but we opted for the trail that not only wraps around Bell Rock but actually climbs it, as well. The trail was not well marked but was generally easy to follow anyways - and the whole trail system in the area is within sight of the highway, well-trafficked by hikers and bikers, and not at all challenging. But it was definitely rewarding!

​

We are still in awe of the beauty of this entire region. It's something about the deep red of the rocks and mountains, the endless blue sky, and the surprising amount of green provided by the vegetation that thrives despite the hot, dry climate.

​

When we made it to the maximum elevation of our hike we stopped and sat down on one of the rock ledges and just looked out over the valley and surrounding mountains and tried to take it all in.

Since we had overnighted so close to Camp Verde the night before, we had a very short drive to our RV resort on Sunday. So after unhooking the rig and getting it situated for our three-week stay we spent the afternoon walking in the 'uptown' area of Sedona.

​

The surrounding red cliffs are astounding, and it's hard to imagine that any town or city in North America is situated in a prettier setting than Sedona. The view is truly awe-inspiring.

We enjoyed a short stroll down the main street and had a decent lunch at an overpriced Mexican restaurant before heading back to our 'home' about 30 minutes away in Camp Verde.

After a very quiet and peaceful night boondocking in the Coconino National Forest we decided to kill some time exploring one of the many nearby forest service roads. We decided to drive the Sandrock Canyon road - a fairly tame 4x4 trail with a couple of dry creek crossings and a few steep and rocky sections.

​

Our truck performed like a champ and we had no problems whatsoever with navigating the trail for several miles. But since we were so far from the highway - and since we had already pushed our luck getting the truck and trailer to a sketchy boondock location the night before - we decided not to push our luck on the final steep and rocky section of the road. So we hiked to the top to a less-than-overwhelming viewpoint. We had much higher expectations considering the beauty of the surrounding area.

We drove through the plains near the end of our drive from Alamogordo to Datil. But we got out best view the morning after we boondocked in the Datil Well Recreation Area.

​

A short trail adjacent to our campsite led into the hills overlooking the plains, at one point providing a 270 degree view of the stunning golden valley. We were in the area for close to 24 hours and did not see a single other soul at any point during our stay.

We didn't get to take a tour of the Very Large Array (aka the VLA), but we were totally impressed by it as we drove through it in the New Mexico desert. We stopped to take a few photos while passing by and then researched it after the fact.

​

The complex is comprised of 28 radio telescopes, each of which is 25 meters in diameter. They are visible from many miles away, but it's almost impossible to appreciate their size until you get close enough to have a good look. They are each located adjacent to a special set of railroad tracks, allowing them to be easily moved and transported for maintenance. 

​

Scientists using the VLA have made many important discoveries - and the site has been used as a setting for many movies, TV shows, and even album covers (Bon Jovi).

We had originally planned to spend the night in Valley of Fires in the Carrizozo Volcanic Field, but after a brief stop for a walk and some photos we continued along towards Datil. But we're really glad we stopped there.

​

The Valley of Fires is a massive lava flow and volcanic field in central New Mexico. The lava originated not through volcanoes, but rather through fissures in the earth.

It is believed that the lava flowed for roughly 30 years, creating two distinct lava flows. The larger (the Carrizozo flow) is one of the longest in the world at approximately 42 miles long.

Pistachioland was worth a visit if for no other reason than to take a selfie with the world's largest pistachio! But we also loaded up with some pistachio brittle, roasted nuts, and a few souvenirs.

Alamo Canyon was a short drive from our RV site in Alamagordo, and was a great place to walk the dogs. Veronica took several hikes there while I was working - and I made one visit at twilight to take some pretty photos of the nearby mountains.

What a unique place! White Sands is small by national park standards, but it is completely surrounded by the famous White Sands Missile Range. Over the past 60-some years more than 42,000 missile tests have been conducted here - including the first ever nuclear bomb detonation at the nearby Trinity Site.

​

We walked the intradune boardwalk and learned a lot about how the silica dunes here were formed. Then we took a longer walk on the dunes, giving us a real understanding for how dangerous this place could be in the heat of summer. The gigantic white sand dunes, which seem to stretch forever, would be totally disorienting if you managed to wander too far away from the (barely) marked trails.

​

We asked one of the rangers about backcountry camping, which seems like it would be incredible here. It would probably feel like camping on the moon. She told us that the backcountry camping area was 'permanently' closed, indicating in the process that a camper a few years ago had wandered way further into the backcountry than they were supposed to. She wouldn't confirm it, but it sure sounded like the person had left the park and walked right into the missile range.

​

Speaking of the missile range, there are still active tests here on a very regular basis. During the tests the highway is closed for 1- or 2-hour blocks of time, as is the entire national park. It would be really cool to be close enough to a missile test to see and/or hear it. We'll keep an eye on the test schedule during our week here, for sure!

The museum building is quite nice from the outside, as is the collection of outdoor exhibits. But, in general, online reviews of the actual museum are pretty bad so I decided to stop short of entering the building.

​

This attraction is located really close to our RV park, so it's possible we may make a return trip to see the inside. But I doubt it.

This cool little ski town in the mountains of Lincoln National Forest came as a genuine surprise to us. We headed up into the forest looking for a nice spot to catch the sunset and stumbled across an honest-to-goodness small town - complete with snow. Anyone planning to visit White Sands National Park or any of the other destinations in southern New Mexico should add the forest as well as the town of Cloudcroft to their to-do list.

​

There are all sorts of shops, as well as a few restaurants and a cool bar - one of the ones where people staple dollar bills all over the walls and ceiling. We also picked up some gourmet dry tea leaves while in Cloudcroft, and some other souvenirs in the tiny town of High Rolls: a not-quite village with a post office, a couple of stores, and elementary school, and sometimes a bar! 

We enjoyed a very nice sunset trail ride through Big Bend Stables in Study Butte. Our horses were easy riders, our guide was great, and the scenery was breathtaking. We came very close to missing out on this because we decided to take the 4x4 road (Old Maverick) out of the park rather than the paved road, and the going was slower than we had expected. 

​

There is something so calming and relaxing about being on horseback, and Mother Nature brought her 'A game' with respect to the views. We also learned a bit about the rich mining history of the area and about some of the geology.

​

After our ride we went to the local watering hole in Terlingua - the Starlight Theater for dinner. What a cool place! And the food and service were both really good. A perfect way to cap off a perfect day.

This scenic 13-mile '4x4 only' road was the alternative to retracing our steps along the entire 30 mile Ross-Maxwell Scenic Drive within Big Bend National Park. We had wanted to drive Old Maverick during our first day at the park, but after a couple of hikes and a trip into Mexico we didn't have 13 miles of rough road in us. This is a really cool route through the desert, and really didn't require 4-wheel drive at any point during our trip but is likely much more technical after heavy rains.

There's no doubt this in a cool hike, but we felt like we had kinda spoiled ourselves by doing the Closed Canyon hike the day before we did Santa Elena. 

​

The cliff walls surrounding the Rio Grande River are over 1500 feet tall in some places, making for some breathtaking views. But there was something really special about Closed Canyon that made it more enjoyable - in our eyes at least.

​

It sounds like Santa Elena Canyon is one of the top destinations in Big Bend National Park and we can see why. But after being there we'd still say that the nearby State Park is almost as inviting. 

This scenic drive of around 30 miles is a must-do at Big Bend. There were a bunch of really enjoyable stops and short hikes along the way, and we probably didn't even stop at half the places we could have.

​

We explored an old homestead that still has a working windmill driving a working well pump - bringing water out of the ground and creating an honest-to-goodness oasis in the middle of the desert.

​

There was also a 'pour out'... a waterfall hundreds of feet tall that was dry on the day we visited but explodes with water after heavy rains.

​

And along the route - which terminates at Santa Elena Canyon - there were a bunch of viewpoints that we checked out for a few minutes each.

OMG... another amazing find! We have decided that the state park here (Big Bend Ranch State Park) is almost as impressive as the national park (Big Bend National Park). The spot we explored tonight was as pretty as just about anyplace we've seen in the national park.

​

The Closed Canyon Trail is a super-easy walk (not even a 'hike') through a deep canyon that is full of water after heavy rains. The canyon runs from near the highway all the way to the Rio Grande, winding its way through cliff walls that must be at least 200 feet tall in some places.

​

The trail becomes impassible shortly before feeding in to the river due to steep falls and narrow passages. But this easy stroll should be on the 'to do' list of anyone who plans to be in the Big Bend area.

OMG... another amazing find! We have decided that the state park here (Big Bend Ranch State Park) is almost as impressive as the national park (Big Bend National Park). The spot we explored tonight was as pretty as just about anyplace we've seen in the national park.

​

The Closed Canyon Trail is a super-easy walk (not even a 'hike') through a deep canyon that is full of water after heavy rains. The canyon runs from near the highway all the way to the Rio Grande, winding its way through cliff walls that must be at least 200 feet tall in some places.

​

The trail becomes impassible shortly before feeding in to the river due to steep falls and narrow passages. But this easy stroll should be on the 'to do' list of anyone who plans to be in the Big Bend area.

This was a great place to stop for a picnic and watch the sun set. It was really cool to pull out our camp chairs and sit at the side of the highway and watch the sun set over the vast valley surrounded by mountains - especially considering that half of everything that we were able to see was actually on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.

​

On the way back to the rig after watching the sun set we were flagged down on FR170 by a man at the side of the highway. It was just about completely dark but his red jacket caught our attention. He was a former professional biker from Italy (now living in the Northeast) who had gotten two flat tires near the end of his 63-mile mountain bike ride. He had walked his bicycle the last 15 miles through the rough terrain to reach the highway and still had about 5 miles to go to get back to his vehicle. Of course we threw his bike in the bed of the truck and drove him the rest of the way - enjoying our conversation with him and capping off a really great day.

Well... this was amazing. We were looking for something to do after work and decided to head just a bit out of town to an old movie set that we had seen on our first day in Lajitas. The "River Road" blew us away! We decided this drive belongs in the Top 3 list of most scenic drives we've experienced on this journey. 

​

The road from Lajitas to Presidio is about 60 miles long, and is part of the Texas Mountain Trail which stretches over 1,000 miles. It hugs the Rio Grande for the most part, and we had absolutely no idea that it was considered one of the most scenic drives in Texas.

​

In addition to the abandoned movie set ("Streets of Laredo", amongst others) we encountered a shit-ton of beauty throughout the drive. The grassy banks of the Rio Grande were so pretty, and the breathtaking Madera Canyon was one of the highlights of our entire trip. There were hoodoos, a steep and deep canyon (that we'll be hiking at some point), and even a cement mixer painted to look like a lunar lander in the middle of nowhere.

​

There were also some amazing campsites high on the bluffs overlooking the Rio Grande, and massive dark skies with a ton of stars.

​

We will forever insist that anyone visiting Big Bend National Park also visit the less-travelled Big Bend Ranch State Park - and that they be sure to drive the River Road towards Presidio.

This 27,000 acre property has tons of trails and dirt roads to explore, as well as a golf course that has consistently been ranked as one of the very best public courses in Texas. We didn't golf, but we did explore the (small) village, hike on several of the trails, and visit the 'Thirsty Goat' saloon for a beer and our first queso in Texas.

​

Our RV park was also part of the golf complex - Maverick Ranch RV Resort. This was a great place to stay while visiting Big Bend. In fact, we think our recommendation to anyone planning to visit the national park would be to stay in Terlingua or Lajitas. Those charming little west Texas towns are a bit further from Big Bend NP, but they're located between the national park and the state park - both of which are totally must-do when in this region.

The town of Terlingua boomed in the early 1900's with the discovery of Mercury. The region was the third-largest producer of Mercury in the United States, led by the Chisos Mining Company. But by the end of World War II the district's ore production dropped considerably, plummeting the town of Terlingua into ruin.

​

Now, there are funky VRBO's and guest houses all over the town's hills, but these modern properties sit amidst the ruins of homes and businesses dating back to the early part of the last century.

​

This is a really cool spot to visit, especially at sunset when the sun is dropping behind the Chisos Mountains and the old buildings seem to come to life in the golden hour.

Veronica went for a long, uphill 9-mile hike one day while I was working during our stay in Lajitas. There was a trail in our RV park that led to the base of a nearby mesa so she decided to check it out.

​

She saw lots of cool stuff on her way to the top, including some animal skeletons and tons of interesting vegetation and rocks. But the highlight was a whole bunch of petrified wood she spotted along a dried creek bed.

​

Altogether the hike took her 3+ hours and was a gruelling one with plenty of elevation gain. And even though it was January, the sun packed enough of a punch to make the beer taste extra good afterwards.

This will probably be one of the more memorable excursions of our first lap around North America. While staying in Lajitas we took advantage of the Mexican border crossing in Big Bend National Park to cross the Rio Grande and visit the tiny town of Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico.

​

After checking in with US Border Patrol we crossed the river in a small rowboat. That cost us $5 each, and then another $8 each got us rental horses and a guide to lead us up the hill into the town. Our guide was a 19 year-old kid from Boquillas who spoke about as much English as we spoke Spanish, but we managed to have a decent conversation with him over the course of the afternoon.

While in town we had a great lunch (tamales and tacos - with cervezas) and explored the town with our guide. He then took us to his home and introduced us to his dog and his mother before getting us saddled back up and heading back to the river. 

​

We loved meeting so many of the locals, especially the smiling children. We left Mexico with some great memories and some great hand-stitched souvenirs. 

We didn't do a lot of hiking today, but we were on our feet (or at least on the move) all day long. So the hot springs were our reward.

​

Actually, they were Veronica's reward. I forgot to bring a pair of shorts so I just dangled my feet in the water and enjoyed the beautiful scenery all around.

Our first short hike in Big Bend NP was to Balanced Rock. This was an easy hike, probably only 2 miles or so and taking less than an hour. The last quarter-mile of the walk was extremely steep, but led us to the top of a small mountain where we took some pictures under the namesake balanced rock.

​

The drive to the trailhead was a slow one, about 7 miles each way along a (well-maintained) gravel road. We were the only ones at the trailhead when we arrived, but by the time we were leaving there were close to a dozen cars full of hikers heading out onto the trail.

We decided to take a sunset drive along the Rio Grande on our first night in Lajitas. We have a clear panoramic view of Mexico from our rig, but to see the river we needed to drive a few minutes into a small valley.

​

We started with a very short hike at sunset to watch the sun drop behind the mountains across the border, and then drove for 10-15 miles along the Rio Grande, stopping a few times to take pictures and enjoy the silence.

What a great little town! I had already been to Gruene once during the week, but only to check out Gruene Hall. After work on Friday we had more time to explore the cute shops and have a bite to eat. And, of course, to have a beer and listen to some live music at the dance hall.

​

The people in town were amazingly friendly - and clearly proud of their gem of a town!

The Riverwalk had been on our list of things to do during our time near San Antonio - and it was way cooler than we were expecting it to be!

​

We got to stroll along the San Antonio River a couple times during our day trip to the city - once before dealing with the police and once afterwards! Our first walk along the river was interrupted when I received a message from a stranger saying he had found my backpack on the street - the backpack that also contained my work laptop and an iPhone amongst a bunch of other stuff. Incredibly, not only was everything still in my backpack, but the thieves who stole it had not done much damage to the truck when they broke in. After retrieving the backpack and the truck and dealing with the police report, we decided to continue our trip along the Riverwalk. This worked out well, as seeing everything lit up at night added to the experience of the walk and the barge tour in the afternoon.

​

Despite the experience of having the truck broken into, the afternoon trip into San Antonio was a really nice one.

Tons of history in the Alamo for sure, and they're clearly working very hard on restoration and preservation. It is quite lovely, and really cool to have such history right in the middle of the modern city.

​

We didn't pay for a guided tour of the site, opting instead for a short self-guided walking tour of the church and gardens. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our visit and were intrigued by the history surrounding us.

This was a highlight of our time in hill country. Gruene Hall is a famous music venue, and in fact is the oldest operating dance hall in Texas. The atmosphere of this old building is so cool, and it likely looks very much today as it did 50 or even 100 years ago.

​

Originally built in 1878, it has seen some (maybe even all) of country musics's most famous acts over the years. We had watched an entire concert from the hall on YouTube before starting our RV journey, and we came ever-so-close to being able to see one of our all-time favourite acts (Colter Wall) there during our stay in New Braunfels. He had been scheduled to play two shows at Gruene Hall during our time in the area, but unfortunately both shows were cancelled due to Covid. Had we been able to see him perform at this tiny, iconic venue it would have been one of the brightest highlights of our entire journey.

​

Regardless, being able to have a beer and watch some live music in a place like this is exactly the sort of experience we were most looking forward to when we decided to live and travel this way.

This was a little bit disappointing. Both Veronica and I made separate trips to Canyon Lake based on the fact it was rated highly as a 'thing to do' in New Braunfels. We would safely say that it didn't live up to expectations. 

​

It was a nice place to walk the dogs, but as far as breathtaking scenery is concerned this was a dud. However, the drive through Texas hill country to get to the lake was interesting and pretty - and the Guadalupe River looks like it would be an amazing spot to tube and cool off on hot summer days. There is also a concert venue and guest ranch adjacent to the river that would likely be an amazing place to see a show.

There probably aren't a lot of situations where a trip to the gas station would qualify as a 'day trip'... but when the gas station is the world's largest then it would seem to reach 'day trip' status. (In fact, there is a video online of a couple of YouTubers who spent 24 hours living inside the store). 

​

We have seen lots of RV'ers mention Buc-ee's on Instagram - primarily because the restrooms are said to be so nice and so clean. But you would have to see the New Braunfels Buc-ee's to truly appreciate it. In fact, in addition to being the world's largest gas station it is also the world's largest convenience store. You have never seen more junk food in one place - I guarantee it.

​

The station had 120 gas pumps when it opened. It now has more than 160 pumps, as well as over 1,000 parking spots and over 65,000 square feet of floor space in the store. There are also more than 100 toilet stalls and countless urinals to help purge the insane amounts of absolute garbage, candy, soft drinks, and all sorts of other shit masquerading as food at this place.

​

I never thought I'd add a gas station to our list of 'day trips', but after seeing the Buc-ee's in New Braunfels I couldn't resist.

On the drive from New Orleans to Vacherie we were amazed by how many uprooted trees and bent highway signs we saw - and by how many houses had blue tarps affixed to their roofs. It looked like a disaster zone. And then we realized it was a disaster zone - and a recent one, at that!

We knew that the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season had been a bad one, but since we're west-coasters we didn't realize that it was the worst ever. There were 9 named storms, 4 hurricanes, and 2 major hurricanes that hit Louisiana last year. And in late August, Hurricane Ida became the second strongest hurricane ever to make landfall in Louisiana (behind only Katrina in 2005).

​

It is amazing to see how much damage still remains. Many homes are completely destroyed, likely to never be rebuilt. But so many more are still lived in, many with 'temporary' blue tarps still in place almost five months later. It will likely be many years before the area appears 'normal' again - and of course all it would take would be another storm to inflict still more damage.

​

Seeing this sort of destruction is something that will stick with us after our journey ends. Several places we have visited still bear witness to the incredible power of Mother Nature.

After leaving New Orleans we drove around the west side of Lake Pontchartrain towards Vacherie so that we could see Oak Alley. This is an incredibly pretty plantation that we had visited during a spring break trip with the kids years ago, and it was just as pretty as we remembered it. We didn't feel a need to take the tour again, but shortly after leaving Oak Alley was passed another plantation that we hadn't known about: the Laura Plantation. This was a great find.

​

The Laura Plantation was formerly one of the largest sugarcane plantations along the Mississippi - and was actually still inhabited by families of some of the former slaves until the late 1970's. The home and the gardens were beautiful, and Veronica decided to take a tour while I killed time exploring the area. The home was constructed in eleven days after it had been pre-fabricated off-site, and it is incredible that a structure built without nails could have stood the test of time as well as it has - especially in hurricane country!

We felt it would be a shame to be so close to the Big Easy and not actually visit the city, so we drove downtown to explore for a few hours. It's always cool to see iconic places like Bourbon Street - but we decided that New Orleans isn't a place we ever need to see again. It was kinda gross, to be honest. Really dirty streets, lots of buildings in desperate need of repair, and just kinda yucky overall.

​

The architecture was, as always, really neat to see. So much about New Orleans reminds us of Viuex Montreal and Quebec City - it's just not as pretty or as welcoming. But even though we don't feel a need to visit the city again we're glad we made the trip as part of our RV journey.

We couldn't resist a drive across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway into New Orleans.

This is the longest continuous over-water bridge in the world at nearly 24 miles. (There is a series of bridges somewhere in China that are slightly longer in aggregate, but because they also traverse small parcels of land they aren't considered a continuous over-water bridge).

​

There is a $5 toll at the north end of the bridge, and the crossing took us over 20 minutes start-to-finish. It was a misty day on the day we crossed and at one point after driving about 17 miles we were unable to see any land in any direction... which was pretty awesome. 

​

We didn't cross the bridge on the return trip to our resort - we drove around the west side of the lake in order to check out some plantations and other sites along the Mississippi. 

It's shocking to us how we continue to find impressive things to do as part of our stay in Eastpoint. Veronica was speaking with one of the hosts at our RV resort earlier in the week who suggested that we visit the state park. It was only about 60 miles away so it was an easy day trip on a Sunday morning.

​

As soon as we stepped out of the truck we were amazed by how quiet and peaceful the park seemed. We had booked a one-hour boat tour along the the Wakulla River and as we approached the boathouse and dock it was stunning to see how many large birds were roosted in the trees and soaring on the thermals all around the lodge.

​

The springs are located about 15 miles from Tallahassee, and produce on average around 300,000 gallons per day. If you check out the Wakulla River on a satellite image you can see that the river quite literally just materializes out of nowhere - fed by the springs that have been recorded producing over 1 billion gallons per day (more than 14,000 gallons per second).

​

The highlight of the boat tour were the manatees that we saw - which was something we had really hoped to be able to experience. But it was also amazing to see so many varieties of large and colourful birds - many of which we are unlikely ever to see anywhere else. And aside from the wildlife, the scenery alone was worth the trip. Some of the bald cypress trees we saw riverside were over 500 years old.

​

This was a day trip we likely would not have made without the recommendation of the resort host - giving us just one more example of how important it is to connect with locals and ask for their suggestions during our journey.

This was a short half-mile boardwalk through the woods that ended up on a viewing platform high above the Apalachicola River. We saw a few eagles and a turtle, but the best part of the short excursion was definitely the view of the river and the massive estuary.

We kept our eyes peeled for alligators on the portion of the trail that ran along the ground and through the woods. But even if we had come face-to-face with a 'gator it wouldn't have been as scary as buying groceries at the Piggly Wiggly after our walk. We'd strongly suggest that everyone avoid grocery shopping in Apalachicola.

It will be a real shame if this little town ever changes! Apalachicola lies in the heart of the Forgotten Coast, and is legit and authentic 'old' Florida. An old fisherman we met at one of the bars called it 'a quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem' - which seems like an apt description.

​

We drove around town exploring the narrow old streets a few times during our first week in Eastpoint. But after deciding that we needed to extend our time in Florida by an extra week we were able to spend Friday night in the town of Apalachicola. And it was a really great night! We had the best shrimp dinner we've ever had - including blackened shrimp fried in Mexican beer (they were spicy as all hell!) and a great shrimp po' boy. Then we hit a couple of dive bars for some live music.

The first bar was the High Five - which was cool and divey but just didn't quite do the trick for us. Then we found another one that we hadn't even known was there - the Apalachicola Ice Company. The live music was phenomenal - a local artist who we think was named Tommy Cooper. He was amazing... and the only accompanying instrument was an old guy who sat on a tub he thumped for percussion.

​

The Apalachicola Ice Company bar is in the old icehouse that was used by the village fishermen to preserve their catch. There is a ton of old belt-driven machinery still affixed to the ceiling, but most importantly a great sound system, unique stage, and locals! There were only about 5 or 6 people there when we arrived, but the crowds eventually arrived and there must have been at least 12 people in the bar at one point. And at least one dog.

​

The town was also still decorated for the holidays, so we got to see the palm trees all lit up with Christmas lights and some other tropical decorations. We will be back to Apalachicola on future legs of our journey for sure - but next time we'll be sure to plan to stay for a month or more.

The 'Forgotten Coast' (as Franklin County, Florida is called) just kept giving us gem after gem after gem. St. George Island State Park was about 15 minutes from our RV resort and had the most amazing, deserted, white sand beaches. Veronica went to the park several times, including a 12-mile (return) walk one day while I was working.

​

Walking along the beaches looking for shells is incredibly relaxing, and she made a bunch of really cool finds. It got to the point where she was taking her backpack with her on her walks to carry all of her treasures home - as well as to carry a bunch of water to stay hydrated since she was walking for hours some days while lost in the 'shell hunting' zone. 

​

We went to the park at sunset a couple of nights and got some gorgeous photos and drone video. And we also met a very confident blue heron in the park who seemed to think that if he stood and stared at us long enough we'd feed him. 

This was the first place we explored during our stay in Eastpoint, Florida. It's a funky island accessed via a 4-mile long bridge, and it was extremely windy on the evening we visited. The beach stretches for miles and was tough for walking when we visited because of the wind - and because the sand was so soft and deep. 

​

It seemed to us like this was an island paradise just waiting to be fully discovered. There was still a lot of land available, and the whole island seems to be ripe for gentrification and development. Please don't tell anyone!  =)

St. Vincent Island is actually a National Wildlife Refuge. It is only accessible by boat so we didn't make it out there, but we did walk along the beach adjacent to the island while we checked out an RV park there.

​

The entire island is a wildlife sanctuary, apparently inhabited by alligators, osprey, bald eagles, falcons, loggerhead sea turtles, storks, alligators, and more. There is a water shuttle to the island from the mainland that costs around $20 return - but we opted to move on instead of visiting the island. We'll add it to the (long) list of things we want to do on the our next lap of North America.

I had heard of Mexico Beach and knew that it had been nearly wiped out by a hurricane. But I didn't know it had happened just a few years ago: Hurricane Michael in October, 2018.

​

While driving around town it is evident just how much devastation was caused by the storm. Many homes are completely gone, leaving only their foundations or driveways behind. The scene reminded me of when we visited the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans and saw firsthand the remnants of lives shattered by Hurricane Katrina.

​

But it was also really cool to see how much of the town has been rebuilt. New homes have popped up everywhere - and you can clearly see just how much construction is happening as people try to rebuild their lives.

​

In addition to the history lesson, it was a treat to visit Mexico Beach because of the seemingly endless white sand beach. I'm sure I sound like a broken record when I mention the beauty of the beaches in the Carolinas and Florida - but there is no denying just how great it is for the soul to walk amongst such power and beauty.

​

A link to a news story about Hurricane Michael can be found here:

https://youtu.be/n9EPIRbbHXQ

​

Named one of the country's best state parks for many years, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park didn't disappoint. The park stretches for miles along the gulf, and we went for a nice walk despite the howling wind on the day we visited.

​

We'll remember two things about this park: (1) the cool dune formations all along the beach; and (2) the thousands of blue jellies that we found washed up all over the place.

​

We believe the jellies were Portugese Man-of-War, but we're not 100% sure. Some appeared to have already been broken down by the wave action after washing ashore, but others appeared to be intact and beautiful in their splendid blue colour.

This small county park in Gulf County, Florida caught our attention as we were driving by after visiting a nearby state park.

​

The elevated boardwalk looked almost brand new, and was really impressive as it wound its way through the treetops overlooking the gulf. We saw several birds of prey during our short walk, including a bald eagle riding the breeze looking for a snack.

This wasn't really a 'day trip'... it was actually a 'two week trip'... but you get the point!

We knew there would be a limit to how long Veronica would able to be away from the kids... and that limit turned out to be around six months! So she booked a trip home for a couple of weeks to spend time with Colin (Vancouver) and Iain (Invermere). To say that the trip was good for her soul would be a massive understatement!

​

She started by sending a few days in Vancouver with Colin and his girlfriend, Kathrine. There was some work that needed to be done and some appliances that needed to be replaced in our apartment there, so that was the first order of business. 

​

Then she met up with Iain and they made their way to Iain and Deanna's new home near Fairmont Hot Springs. They had just bought their house and this was the first time either of us had seen it since they had moved in. She had a fantastic time visiting with them, seeing their happy new home, and exploring the Invermere area in winter. Our future plans will likely see us buying (or building!) a home in the aread and it was great to check it out in winter after spending so much of the spring and summer there this year. 

​

While with Iain, Veronica made it up to the condo we purchased at the Panorama ski resort earlier this year. We had recently had new carpeting installed and some other work done and it was nice to finally see the finished product with her own eyes. We bought the condo on a whim and in hindsight we're so incredibly happy that we did. 

​

After wrapping up her time in the mountains Veronica headed back to Vancouver to spend a few more days with Colin and Kathrine. She absolutely loved her visit with them, and as an added bonus she got to surprise her girlfriends by joining their annual Christmas 'Dress Club' event before flying home. It was a busy, whirlwind two-week trip but one that she had been looking forward to for months.

Normally when we visit North Carolina we stay in Carolina Beach. But normally when we visit North Carolina we don't have a 37-foot fifth-wheel with us. Since only RV park in town is pretty sketchy - and since the only other one nearby doesn't allow dogs - we ended up staying in Wilmington. This was a bit further than we would have liked from Carolina Beach, but it didn't stop us from making many trips into our favourite little beach town.

​

Being in CB brings back so many great memories of summer trips and family reunions. We'll all be so happy to put Covid in the rear-view mirror and get back for our annual summer visits here. In the meantime, it's sure nice to see the tiki bar and the Fat Pelican again!

Freeman Park in Carolina Beach was a perfect place for me to exercise the dogs and tire them out before work each morning while Veronica was back in BC. This massive park at the north end of Carolina Beach has one of the few ocean beaches in North Carolina that allows visitors to take their 4x4's out onto the sand. But the best part is that during the winter months dogs are allowed off-leash. 

​

While Veronica was back in BC for a couple of weeks I was getting up around 5am to feed the dogs and then driving them to Freeman Park for a sunrise walk/swim. Some of the sunrise photos I took there were amongst the prettiest photos I've ever taken, in my opinion. The sunrises were simply gorgeous.

The North Carolina Holiday Flotilla is an annual Christmas boat parade for which boat owners decorate their vessels with lights and cruise from the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge to the southern part of the harbour. I was able to get some drone shots of the parade, and also walked to the drawbridge to see some of the boats pass by. There were a ton of people there, with many dressed in Santa hats and other Christmas clothing - which I suppose makes the event the official start of Christmas season for us!

We took a long walk along the riverwalk in downtown Wilmington on the day after Thanksgiving. The day started with some clouds and rain, but as has been the case just about every day for us since leaving BC the skies cleared and we had nothing but blue skies and sunshine during a nice walk.

It seems to us that the riverwalk gets longer and longer each year - and probably covers at least a half-mile of the Wilmington waterfront. There are a lot of restaurants, shops, and several docks for private moorage as well as commercial boat tours of the waterfront. 

​

We have been to Wilmington many times but have never taken a boat cruise along the Cape Fear River. Since we're here for such a long time this year we may plan to do that at some point during our stay.

One of the highlights of our trip so far - and one of the few events we had actually built a plan around - was Thanksgiving at the home of my aunt and uncles (Joan and Pete). Their lovely home was built by my other NC-based uncle and is truly breathtaking. A total dream!

​

We had a fantastic time with two aunts, two uncles, three cousins, and all of the kids that go along with such a large family. There were 20 people at Thanksgiving dinner - and it was a real treat. It was my first American Thanksgiving in over 40 years - and Veronica's first ever.

​

We feel so lucky to have been able to be here for such a wonderful holiday. It's just one more memory from what has been an incredible seven months of our RV journey!

We have made daily trips to the beach for the past eight days - including six trips to Wrightsville Beach as well as a couple to Carolina Beach. We have gotten into a routine of feeding the dogs nice and early and then getting them to the beach as early as possible each day to tire them out.

​

As you would expect, the amount of sand that we have swept up in the rig over the past week is incredible!

Charleston is one of our favourite places, and it is such a treat to be here in mid-November. The weather looks like it will be perfect for our entire week here and we can't wait to spend more time in the area than we've ever been able to spend here during our short summer trips. And while there were a ton of people shopping and exploring along King Street in the afternoon, there are none of the crowds that we've come to expect here during the summer season.

​

We'll probably visit the downtown area several times this week, but a few highlights of our time in Charleston so fa  have included...

 * A visit to a wine bar that we visited late one night pre-Covid along with our youngest son, Colin. The place looks exactly the way we remembered it, and the service and selection are still top-notch. It brought back some great memories.

​

* A new discovery - the Citrus Club atop the Dewberry Hotel. This is a place Veronica found while doing some research online. It seems really new and hip, and on a perfect sunny day it was a great place to enjoy a glass of wine before dinner.

​

* Husk - regarded as one of the best restaurants in the country, we had tried to get a table here on three earlier visits to Charleston but had never gotten lucky. But this time they were able to seat us for dinner on their patio, marking the perfect end to a perfect day. This place is considered one of the very best restaurants in the South, and was Bon Appétit magazine's 'Best New Restaurant in America' in 2011. The meal and the atmosphere were exactly what you'd expect from a restaurant with such a great reputation. And our server was terrific, which always adds to the experience.

The dogs had had two really boring, shitty 'dog days' while we were in Knoxville. So we got up early on our first morning in Charleston to take them to the beach and let them play and swim. We drove out to Kiawah Island, which was about a 45-minute drive from our RV park. The beach was massive and largely empty, so there was a ton of room for them to romp and play. And the weather was just perfect - sunny and warm with just a bit of breeze. A perfect beach day!

​

The hours we spent at the beach tired them out - so after dropping them off we quickly changed clothes and headed to downtown Charleston.

The reason we opted to spend a couple of nights in Knoxville after leaving Nashville was to see Eric Church in concert again. We had seen him less than a month earlier in Pittsburgh, and again just two nights before at the CMA Awards. 

​

We are so glad we decided to see the Knoxville concert. Firstly, it was a completely different experience than the Pittsburgh show. His entire band was in Covid protocol during the Pittsburgh show, so it was essentially a three-hour solo acoustic set - which was amazing. But the Knoxville show was the full Eric Church experience, and it was great. Really loud, great lighting, and great music until well after midnight.

​

We also met some really great people that night - a couple of locals from Knoxville as well as a great taxi driver. It was a late night, but definitely worth it.

This was a very full day!

We started out with a few hours in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our timing was good and bad: good because the weather was perfectly sunny and warm and the changing leaves were probably very close to the height of their beauty - and bad because there had to be close to a million people driving through the tourist dumps otherwise known as Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. These tacky places are probably really popular with families with young children or people who love standing in line for shitty food, but we'd definitely look long and hard for a way to bypass both of them if we are able to visit the park again - which I hope we do!

We didn't have nearly enough time to do justice to the second most-visited national park in the States... but the crowds really made us appreciate some of the wide open spaces that have spoiled us while living and adventuring out west!

​

On the way back from the park we stopped in downtown Knoxville for a little bit, getting some cool drone shots of Neyland Stadium (U of T football) as well as of Knoxville National Cemetery.

We had no idea the CMA's were being held in Nashville during our planned visit there, but when we saw that country music's biggest night would coincide with our last night in town we were tempted. We hemmed and hawed before finally buying tickets on the morning of the event. What a great decision.

​

The show was hosted by Luke Bryan, and was essentially 3+ hours of one great country music performance after another. All of our favourites were there, including Chris Stapleton, HARDY, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Jason Aldean, Amanda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Breland, Kane Brown, Blake Shelton, Jimmie Allen, Dan + Shay, Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan, and probably a bunch I've forgotten.

​

Chris Stapleton was the big winner, taking home four of the biggest awards. But the Entertainer of the Year award went to Luke Combs - which came as a bit of surprise after all the awards that had been swept by Stapleton.

​

Chris Stapleton was also part of the best performance of the night: Jennifer Hudson's cover of a few Aretha Franklin songs. Her voice and stage presence were enough to give you goosebumps.

​

A perfect way to say 'goodbye' to Music City! Thanks for a great time, Nashville!

A recurring theme of our entire trip - and maybe even our entire lives since becoming empty-nesters - is that planning anything far in advance is way overrated. We have always been firm believers that you simply cannot PLAN to have a good time... you have to just let it happen. And the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville is just another example of this.

​

My stepmother, Sandy, messaged us on Instagram one morning during our time in Nashville asking if we planned to visit the Bluebird Cafe. It hadn't been on our radars - in fact we're not even sure if we had ever heard of it. She hadn't been there either, but was familiar with it through a television show called "Nashville". (we had never heard of the show, either!). Anyways, she googled it and realized that it was an actual place rather than a fictional one and thought it looked interesting. Fast forward a few hours to Veronica and I standing in line hoping for 'standing room' tickets to a $10 show.

​

We managed to be the last ones seated - at a tiny front-row table that was only available because another group didn't have their proof of vaccination and were denied entry. The entire experience was incredible! We had never heard of any of the three artists performing 'in the row' on the night of our visit but this will be a night we'll remember long after our RV journey has ended.

Performing 'in the row' at the Bluebird consists of a 'host artist' (Ele Ivory, in our case) inviting two other songwriters to perform their original music (solo/acoustic) and describing the inspiration and meaning behind their songs. The two other artists last night were Matt Jenkins and Cindy Morgan. The entire performance was just over 90 minutes - but we wished it had lasted for hours.

​

Ele, the host, was so cute and funny and fantastic and enjoyable. Cindy played a variety of her music on an assortment of several different guitars (and a ukulele), including a song recorded by Robert Redford for the movie "Blind". But the best surprise was hearing Matt Jenkins perform several of the #1 hits he has written for the likes of Old Dominion, Keith Urban, Sam Hunt ("Cop Car"), Blake Shelton ("Happy Anywhere"), and Luke Bryan ("Buy Dirt"). We genuinely had no idea of who he was or how talented he was, and to hear him describe the process and the 'story behind the story' of some of our favourite songs was so memorable.

​

This was the hands-down highlight of our trip to Nashville thus far. Thanks for the idea, Sandy!

​

ps. This place is a tiny 90-seat venue located in a strip mall next door to a barber shop and a dry cleaner. It would be an easy one to dismiss as not looking worth the effort it requires to get tickets. Trust us... get tickets! Artists like Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, Keith Urban, and Lady Antebellum all got their starts here... so you just never know who you might get to see in such an intimate setting before they make the big-time! And even if none of the artists you see do make it big the entire experience gives Nashville a much more human touch.

I had stayed at a Gaylord Resort in Washington, DC while traveling on business one time so I knew how grand their signature hotels were. But we were blown away by their property in Nashville. We didn't stay overnight at the resort, but it was a short 5-minute Uber ride away from our RV park so we were able to spend an afternoon and an evening strolling through the resort and being amazed by how pretty it was. The hotel is apparently one of the 30 largest in the world, and is the largest hotel in North America that doesn't also have a casino.

​

The three massive atriums are filled with beautifully landscaped plants and trees, and there are a ton of restaurants - as you'd expect in such a large hotel. The entire property is beautiful, and unfortunately we will miss (by one day!) probably the prettiest part of the year as they dress the entire property up for Christmas. (We did get to see their massive signature Christmas tree all lit up... but it looks like there'll be millions of lights covering the acres and acres of indoor and outdoor grounds).

​

We caught some more live music (shocking!) and also had a bite to eat and a couple of drinks while watching the football game on Sunday night. We'd definitely say that, regardless of where you're staying in Nashville, the Opryland Hotel is a must-see.

Not sure if everyone who spends a Friday night in Nashville has the same experience we did, but for us the 'three day hangover' is definitely a thing! We had a late night on Friday and were still feeling it a bit on Monday morning. What a town!

​

Our Uber driver suggested a bar that turned out to be a perfect place for us to start our night: the Wildhorse Saloon. It's a massive three-story bar with a huge dance floor. And since it was so big it was also really comfortable inside... not nearly as crowded as a lot of the other places we had walked and driven past elsewhere. There was a very good cover band, cheap beer, line dancing, and lots of people-watching. Good job, Uber Driver Larry!

​

After wrapping up at the Wildhorse we found a great rooftop bar with a great view of the river, and then a basement bar with another good live band. (We have never seen a city with more rooftop bars. They are everywhere!) There is live music just about everywhere you turn in downtown Nashville, with a little bit of everything: country (of course), bluegrass, rock, loud, acoustic, and everything in between.

We have always loved Las Vegas, but Nashville definitely gives Vegas a run for its money from a party-town perspective because all of the fun is so condensed into the downtown entertainment district - unlike Vegas where things are so spread out amongst the massive casinos. We wouldn't say one is better than the other... they're both incredibly fun towns!

Bowling Green is a short 20-minute drive from our site in Cave City, so we went there to check out the National Corvette Museum after work. It was really interesting despite the fact we have never owned a Corvette. There were lots of vehicles from each generation of the 'Vette, plus a bunch of concept cars and vehicles of other makes and models that were related to the Corvette in various ways.

​

There were also vehicles that had been swallowed up in a giant sinkhole at the museum back in 2014. In total, eight vehicles fell into the cave-in. Only three have been restored, while the rest are still on display at the museum exactly as they looked immediately after the cave-in.

What could be more perfect on Halloween than a tour inside the world's largest cave system - complete with bats, bugs, and pitch blackness?

​

Our visit to Mammoth Cave National Park was a great experience. We did a 2-hour tour that only covered about a mile in terms of straight-line distance but also included almost 600 stairs - some of which were on staircases that seemed virtually straight up or straight down.

​

The sights were amazing - and this is something that we'd definitely recommend to other travellers. And it appears that there are a bunch of different tour options - so there is probably something for just about everyone at this National Park. We'll likely get back to the park a few more times before we leave Kentucky, as it also looks like there are a ton of hiking and biking trails to enjoy.

This wasn't originally part of our plan for Kentucky - but it would have been a shame to pass through the state without a bourbon distillery tour. And since Woodford is my absolute fave - this one just made sense.

​

We got an early start from New Carlisle, dropped the rig at our Harvest Host in Versailles, and then headed out into the beautiful countryside for our tour. It did not disappoint. The grounds were very pretty, with buildings that we in some cases almost 200 years old. The tour itself was actually quite informative - and the tasting at the end was a real treat. And of course I picked up a few bottles - and some nice  bourbon glasses - at the end of the tour. The entire day was just about perfect!

This doesn't really count as a 'day trip' since it was only about five minutes from my dad's home - but since it was such a cool place and since it was his first time there I'm going to call it a 'day trip' anyways.

​

This cool 6th-generation distillery sits on a beautiful property in New Carlisle - which once also housed a grist mill and a sawmill. The distillery specializes in bourbon and rye, with several varieties of each. I bought a bottle of their bourbon but I haven't tried it yet. I'm sure I'll get to that sometime soon.

They distill in 200+ year-old copper stills - which are apparently the oldest operating stills in the United States. They are certainly pretty - as is everything else at this place.

​

In addition to the spirits, they also had things like maple syrup and honey from local farms. So we got some syrup and honey, too. And we even managed to do a little bit of Christmas shopping there, as well.

We had been planning for quite a while to get new tires put on the rig, and because we were planning to be stationary in Ohio for a few weeks we decided to do it here. And since we had been moochdocking in the driveway of our family for a couple of weeks we also needed to dump our tanks. So... seeing as how we were going to have to hook up the rig anyways - and since my sister and brother-in-law had invited us to go camping with them and some of their friends - we decided to join them all at Hueston Woods State Park. We're happy we did!

​

We had a great time! There was a big group of friends, lots of food and drink, some leaf blower/mop bucket shenanigans, and a campfire. This was only the second time we've enjoyed a real campfire in almost six months of full-time RV living! On most nights we use our propane fire table since it's quick, easy, and not smoky and stinky like a real fire. But there's nothing that compares to a real campfire - especially on a cool drizzly night.

​

Another great weekend - and one more experience we would never have had if we hadn't decided to sell it all and hit the road!

We had been looking forward to visiting Amish country - near Millersburg. For weeks we've been looking for a nice wooden chest for seating and storage in our rig, and the Amish furniture stores seemed as likely a place as any to find one. 

​

We went to a bunch of stores and eventually found one that was pretty close to what we were looking for. But mostly we enjoyed the drive through the countryside and the unique sight of dozens and dozens and dozens of horse-drawn carriages transporting entire families from their farms into the little towns and villages. Seeing horses and buggies tied to hitching posts outside of the shops brought smiles to our faces. Each person we spoke with was super kind and helpful, and the area left a great impression on us. 

​

After we had found the furniture that we were looking for we stopped at the 'Bridge of Dreams' on the Mohican Valley Trail. This was, until recently, the longest covered bridge in Ohio. It sits high above a slow moving river - and the changing leaves and crisp fall air were a real treat!

The Jason Aldean concert at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls was an awesome time - one we're sure to remember. 

​

Firstly, the venue was amazing. We've been to lots of outdoor concerts, but never in an outdoor amphitheater as impressive as Blossom. There are about 6,000 covered seats as well as a massive lawn area with room for up to around 10,000 more. We sat on the lawn - and it was so nice to be outdoors at a big show with tons of room to move and dance.

​

The show was great. Jason Aldean always puts on a fantastic show - but two of his opening acts were much better than we expected. In particular, Hardy quickly became a new favourite! But the night wasn't without its interesting moments.

Firstly, the purse that Veronica has taken to many concerts and sporting events was apparently too big for her to bring into the Blossom Center - so she wasn't allowed to bring it in. Since we had taken an Uber to the venue we had nowhere to leave it, so she emptied it out and stuffed it in some bushes near the security checkpoint. She was pretty happy that it was still there after the show... along with a bunch of other bags and purses that other ladies had needed to stash as well! 

​

Then there was the rain. We had known that rain was forecast - and for once the weather forecast was deadly accurate. Man oh man, did it ever rain! Thankfully the rain didn't start until well into Aldean's set, and truth be told the weather had been absolutely perfect until the skies opened up. It was pretty cool to be watching the show in the downpour - but I'm not exaggerating when I say there wasn't a square inch of dry clothing anywhere. It'll be a while before we can wear those shoes again. And you'd be amazed at how much water a pair of jeans can absorb!

​

Then our Uber didn't show up to get us back to our hotel. We had booked Ubers to and from the event in advance, and the ride to the concert was smooth and easy. That wasn't the case after the show.We knew we'd have a long walk to the pickup point (around a mile... in soaking wet clothes) but when we got there we received a message from Uber saying "Sorry... no drivers available... here's a $5 voucher for your next ride." Shit. In the end we made it back to the hotel by doing what any rational person would do... we knocked on the window of a random car stuck in traffic and asked the guy how much cash it would take to get him to drive us to our hotel. We would have probably paid him $1000 at that point but he said he'd do it for $40! Too easy... and he wasn't even a serial killer!

​

He got us back to the hotel just as a huge drunken wedding party was coming back from their reception, which meant lots of people (including the groom) wanted to talk and pet and play with the dogs - when all we wanted to do was take them out to pee and then go to bed.

​

A super great night we'll remember for a long time!

Something that we had both been looking forward to for quite a while was the Eric Church concert we had bought tickets for in Pittsburgh. And it did not disappoint.

​

We had a great time before the show tailgating outside the arena with two couples we met - and we were amazed that a bar had set up what looked like a 'lemonade stand' on the sidewalk where we could buy cheap beer to drink in their parking lot. We're not 100% sure that the whole arrangement was above-board, but the beer was cheap and we made some new friends. We can only imagine what tailgating for a Steelers game would be like.

​

The concert was fantastic - with the added bonus of the show being almost exclusively an acoustic show due to the fact that the rest of the band was isolating due to Covid exposure. Our seats were great, and the entire night was a great way to end what had been a really shitty week.

We were both exhausted after our longest and most complicated travel day the day before, so we didn't have any big adventures in us while in Portland. In fact, we had originally planned to just spend one night here, but ended up extending our stay by an extra night because we just didn't feel up to any travel.

​

We did manage to explore the Old Port area of Portland in the evening. It seems a lot like an old port! This was another working harbour - and a busy one at that. And we were really surprised by the number of tourists out and about on a Monday night in October. The restaurants were all packed, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We didn't stay long - just long enough to add it to the list of places we've seen. Then we headed home and made a really nice dinner and were in bed by 9pm.

Our last full day in Nova Scotia - in fact our last fully day in Canada - included a trip towards Digby Neck and the Bay of Fundy. There were a few property listings that we had seen in the area so we wanted to check things out before heading south for the winter. We didn't make it all the way to our planned destination as it just seemed a little too remote for our liking and just generally wasn't an area we could get too excited about. But we did find a great beach at Sandy Cove that we spent an hour or so at.

​

The dogs had a great time in the salt water - likely their last taste of the ocean for a few months. And we sat in the sand and walked along the beach and talked about how great the trip across Canada had been. It was something we had always wanted to do and it exceeded all our expectations. Along the way we spent time with friends and family we hadn't seen in years, former clients, and made some great new friends in the RV community. We saw places we had always wanted to see, and lots of even cooler places we had never heard of.

​

It really has been a great RV journey so far!

It was shocking for us to see how much Peggy's Cove has changed since the last time were there - which we think was sometime around 2013. There are new (widened) roads leading into the village from the highway, new docks and wharves, and what appears to be a big restaurant or hotel under construction. It was a little bit sad to see the gentrification of such a quaint little town, but it would be pretty hypocritical to complain too much since all of that is surely happening because of tourists just like us.

​

The entire area surrounding the village is beautiful - like something out of a coffee table book. We stopped at the side of the highway before reaching the village, and hiked for a while along a gorgeous trail that offered a completely different vantage point of the lighthouse and the colourful shacks that surround it. The photos we are probably some of the prettiest we have taken on our entire journey.

​

And after visiting the village of Peggy's Cove, we stopped once again at the memorial for Swissair flight 111. This airliner crashed just 5 miles from the coast in September of 1998, killing all 200+ souls on board. The memorial is tasteful and peaceful and beautiful - a lovely spot.

​

The visit to Peggy's Cove was yet another great memory we'll take with us when we leave Nova Scotia this weekend.

Halifax is a beautiful city, with a vibrant waterfront and no shortage of history. So it feels strange to say that despite the amazing fall weather we were quite happy to leave after only four or five hours. There was a ton of construction underway along the waterfront, and a lot of traffic everywhere we went. So despite the fact that we both really like Halifax, it just felt a little bit 'off' for us.

​

A big reason for the relatively 'blah' Halifax experience was likely the fact that it came so soon on the heels of one our favourite stops - Lunenburg. In fact, we picked up a piece of artwork in Halifax that is actually a depiction of part of the Lunenburg waterfront that we fell in love with (again) during our stay there over the past few weeks.

​

We did do a couple of cool things during our short stay in Halifax. We visited the Citadel once again - always an interesting destination. And we walked aboard the HMCS Sackville - a corvette that was part of the U-boat hunting fleet during World War II. They have done a great job with the restoration of that vessel.

We had been planning to check out Hirtle's Beach in Kingsburg ever since we arrived in Lunenburg and finally found the time. What a great spot for an after-work walk. The waves were really impressive, and there were lots of surfers and swimmers in the water. 

​

We can't believe how warm the water is here - I'd say every bit as warm as we have found it to be in Carolina Beach. And the white sand beaches seem to stretch forever here - also like in the Carolinas.

​

This province is spectacular, and once again it is going to be hard to leave. But we have made our plans for crossing the border, and if all goes smoothly (which it should) we'll be in Maine just five short days from now.

​

We can't think of a nicer place to have spent out last days in Canada!

This was one of the little fishing village we had driven through during our last trip to Lunenburg. It is hard to believe how much the village has changed. There are a bunch of nice brand new houses along the rocks overlooking the ocean, and even some of the old shacks and cottages that previously dotted the shore have been gentrified. 

​

This is such a cute little area just a stone's throw from Lunenburg. And even though it has really been 'cleaned up' in recent years it is still offers a genuine glimpse into the lives of the people who make their livelihoods on the ocean.

Our plan was to picnic on the beach and check out an oceanfront acreage that had caught our attention online, but the evening turned out even better than we could have hoped.

​

We couldn't find the property we were looking for, but we figured the fire chief must know (!) so we stopped at the volunteer fire department in Cherry Hill to inquire. 30 minutes later we drove off after having great conversations with the entire volunteer fire department - an experience that made us think of our old home town of Shirley. Some of our favourite people there were in the Shirley Volunteer Fire Department, and our time with the folks in Cherry Hill was such a nice reminder of our old hometown on Vancouver Island. 

​

We eventually found the property we were looking for (very nice), as well as a few others that hadn't been on the MLS (also very nice!), but terminated our search so that we could be at nearby Crescent Beach by sunset. This is one of the few - or perhaps the only - beach in Nova Scotia where vehicles are permitted on the sand. So, of course we did that!

​

Our truck was one of a half-dozen or so vehicles on the beach - in addition to dog walkers, joggers, photographers, and more. The sunset was spectacular, and there was no way I could avoid taking some drone photos and videos while there.

​

Once again, another 'off the beaten path' experience that we were glad not to miss out on.

I really hate to sound like a broken record, but is it actually possible that every place we visit can be our 'favourite place so far'?!? With all due respect to the other places we've visited, it definitely wouldn't be a stretch to say that Lunenburg deserves the 'favourite so far' title.

​

This is quite possibly the prettiest town I have ever seen. And our site here is perfect - a Lunenburg Board of Trade campsite that is literally right in the middle of downtown. We have been here for a few days at this point, and each of us have walked into town and along the waterfront multiple times per day. I have also gotten up early to fly my drone each morning, and the weather has been absolute perfection since we arrived.

​

There is so much history here. But the really cool part is that this is still very much a 'working' maritime town. We are quite literally experiencing history in real-time. The entire town is entirely tied to the fishing and marine industries - as well as tourism, I suppose - to the point where today there was a celebration for a brand new vessel being launched by one of the local shipyards. The cheers and air horns could be heard clearly throughout the entire town, and the spectacle would have been an incredible one for us to witness had we known about it ahead of time. So great!

​

There isn't a single negative thing I could say about this place, and while we have already extended our stay here by an extra week it is not an exaggeration to say that we could quite easily spend months here if we didn't have other places to be in October.

​

What a place! Quite possibly our favourite place yet!

This was, in a word, spectacular. We couldn't possibly have had better weather for one of the world's great drives. Our only wish is that we had been able to explore more of the out-of-the-way places that we came across.

​

The scenery we encountered as we circled the trail was almost indescribable. We must have pulled off to the side of the road 25 times, and there were dozens of other vistas and viewpoints that we easily could have explored.

​

The ocean sparkled all day, and we saw cliffs, fishing villages, plateaus, valleys, lakes, changing leaves, lodges, and so much more. The views were awe-inspiring. It is so easy to see why the Trail is consistently named as one of Canada's - and even the world's - top ten drives.

​

We'd do it again in a heartbeat. Our only regret is that we weren't a few weeks later, when we would have gotten to see the changing leaves in all their glory.

This was a great visit - not only because of the scenery and natural splendour but also because this was Veronica's birthplace. We spent a bunch of time exploring the old stomping grounds and visiting with relatives that - in most cases - Vee hadn't seen in over 25 years.

​

It is so great to be with family! There was food and drink, and tons of time spent talking about the old days and sharing memories. In hindsight we wish we could have spent more time on Cape Breton - but we'll definitely plan to visit again the next time our journey takes us through Atlantic Canada.

​

So many memories - and so great to reconnect with family in person! Our hearts were full as we moved along...

A lovely after-work drive to the town of Antigonish along the coastal Sunrise Trail. The highlight of the drive was probably the Cape George lighthouse - which sits atop a large hill overlooking the ocean and which we had entirely to ourselves during our stop there. The town of Antigonish is beautiful, as well, especially the campus of St Francis Xavier University.

​

There was some disappointment this evening, though. We came across a tiny fish-and-chips shack at a small wharf just before getting into Antigonish, where the food smelled about as good as anything could smell. But they were cash-only, and we didn't have any cash on us. Definitely an example of 'first world problems', but disappointing nonetheless!

We're really not 100% sure where we were. Maybe Elmira? Maybe North Lake Harbour? We're pretty sure the region of PEI we went next was called 'East Point' but, truthfully, we're not even 100% sure of that!

​

Regardless, the little fishing village we came across was incredibly cute. The colourful buildings and dozens of fishing boats made for great photos, and the big surf and nearby dunes were perfect for a drone flight. The wind was howling, though, and the battery in the drone didn't have the juice to make it back to me so I ditched it on the beach and got Veronica's help to find it. 

​

We always take the road less travelled - always! - and it's places like this that fuel our love for getting off the main roads and exploring aimlessly. Another great find!

Basin Head - a beach we had never heard of - was recommended to us by the lighthouse keeper in Souris. He told us it had been ranked annually as one of the best beaches in Canada. And after spending the afternoon there, we can see why.

​

The rustic beachfront buildings and boardwalk seem to be straight out of a magazine, and the beach itself stretches for mile after mile of soft white sand and picturesque dunes. We napped in the sun and then walked way down the beach - a walk during which the truck key somehow fell out of Veronica's pocket. Luckily another couple had found the key in the surf, walked about a mile to the parking lot to see which vehicle it belonged to, and then walked all the way back along the beach looking for someone with BC Veteran's plates and a Ford F-350 truck. We are really glad they didn't give up looking for the owners, as the rest of the way would have looked a lot different for us had we had to find a way all the way back to the rig - which was around 70 miles away - to get the other key!

​

Basin Head was another great find - and one more example of how important it is to always chat with locals and get their recommendations and suggestions for cool places to visit!

On one of our trips to the north shore of the island we returned to Cornwall via a town called Souris. This seems to be a popular French tourist town, which actually connects directly to Iles de la Madeleine, Quebec via a 5-hour ferry.

​

The highlight of our brief stop in Souris was the lighthouse, at which we happened to arrive just before sunset. Veronica went straight to the top of the lighthouse and I went straight to my drone. I got some fantastic photos and videos - and Veronica very nearly got locked in the lighthouse for the night by the volunteer host. 

​

We didn't have much time to explore the town, but it looked lovely and quaint and clean - just as the rest of the island does. PEI is truly a Canadian gem.

The relatively small size of Prince Edward Island makes exploring easy - and convenient. Most places are within a one- to two-hour drive.

​

Veronica was able to visit the various blocks of Prince Edward Island National Park every day during our stay in Cornwall - near Charlottetown. I was able to join her after work one day, and we did have a couple of weekends at either end of our stay that allowed for some exploring.

​

A highlight was Greenwich National Park. Massive white sand beaches stood in contrast to the red sand elsewhere on the island, and the dunes that frame the beach are covered in beautiful vegetation. Parks Canada has done an excellent job here, as there are literally miles of boardwalks traversing the dunes, making it easy to reach the beach without disturbing the natural beauty. The highlight is the 'floating boardwalk' over Bowley Pond. The boardwalk is over a half-mile long, and connects a nicely wooded trail with a stunning white-sand beach.

As fantastic and unique as Old Quebec is, the lower city (Petit-Champlain) is even more fantastic and more unique. Maybe the coolest few square blocks anywhere in Canada.

​

Vieux Quebec is filled with history, but Petit-Champlain IS history. This small town-within-a-town was the original Quebec home of Samuel de Champlain. He was a French explorer and diplomat, and made dozens of trips across the Atlantic. He founded Quebec in 1608 in the part of Quebec City that now bears his name. Most of the buildings in this neighbourhood are more than 300 years old and represent living history as well as the pride of the Quebecois.

​

For as long as we could remember, as 'westerners' we had never understood the passion of Quebec to maintain a society so distinct from the rest of Canada. But a few days into our first visit to Quebec City - during a business trip years ago - we completely understood. The history of 'French' Canada is just as much a part of Canadian history as that of 'English' Canada. Having visited and fallen in love with Quebec we feel it would be a tragedy for Canadians not to respect - and be proud of - the way that the country evolved.

There is no doubt that Quebec City is one the coolest places we've ever visited - definitely one of our favourites. So much so, in fact, that it was very sad to leave after staying for just over a week. When we started our RV adventure we weren't sure what to expect in terms of how long we would want to stay at each of our stops. We figured a week would be about right in most places, with two weeks (or even longer) in places that we really enjoyed. If we didn't have other destinations in mind we definitely would have stayed longer in Quebec City - and we'll almost certainly return at some point during our adventure.

​

This is considered to the most 'European' North American city - and that would certainly be the case in Vieux Quebec (Old Quebec). This UNESCO world heritage site is the only North American fortified city whose original walls still exist, and stepping inside those walls quite literally feels like going back in time. The city is the capital of the province of Quebec, and the national assembly building (parliament building) is the most beautiful building I have ever seen in person - especially when lit up at night. 

​

The feel of walking the streets in Old Quebec is hard for me to describe. It is beautiful and charming and unique - and feels almost 'fake' in its authentic charm. We would strongly encourage everyone to visit Quebec City at least once. We had previously been in the winter, but during our stay we made several visits to Old Quebec in lovely late-summer weather and it was perfection.

​

Can't say enough good things about how much we enjoyed our time here - and how difficult it was to leave.

This was another cool day trip that we probably wouldn't have been able to take if we were on a regular 'vacation', since it involved about 7 hours of driving. But it was worth the early wake-up and the drive along the Saint Lawrence to experience a great day of whale watching outside Tadoussac.

​

We saw a ton of humpbacks and minkes, as well as some fin and beluga whales during the trip. It was a gorgeous day with sunny skies and calm waters, which made spotting the whales a piece of cake. It was really a spectacular way to spend a few hours.

​

It's incredibly ironic to us that, after spending over 30 years each living on the west coast that our best-ever whale watching experience would happen on the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. Chalk another one up to 'who woulda thought?'

Perhaps the most picturesque drive through 'civilization' we've experienced thus far was the drive around the permiter of Ile d'Orleans. There are five stunningly quaint French towns scattered around the island, and we loved every one of them. The highlights were the walk through the entire length of St-Jean and a tasting at a family-run winery/cidery in Ste-Famille. We also loaded up on French cheeses at a fromagerie along the way. An interesting fact about the island is that there were originally around 300 French families that settled the island, yet many of the millions of French-Canadians today can trace their family roots back to the island and its original French inhabitants.

​

We also explored the basilica at Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, which was spectacular inside and out. There is definitely no shortage of Catholic churches in Quebec.

​

Our final stop was the falls at Chute-Montmorency - probably the coolest waterfall that we had never heard of. We didn't want to pay the entry fee to walk across the pedestrian bridge at the top of the falls - so we explored from the air with the drone.

​

This day - along with our travel day along the north shore of Lake Superior - perfectly exemplifies the reason we're making this journey. Since we never have any reason to be in a rush to see all there is to see in an area in a fixed period of time, we have the ability to explore as much or as little as we want to at the stops we make along the way. This was just about a perfect day.

Such an incredible weekend in Montreal! Our getaway to Montreal is described in more detail in entry #23 under the 'Our Trip' tab, but included so many great experiences! We cannot wait to go back - although our next trip to Montreal will be a lot longer than a weekend!

​

Boat cruise and endless exploration of the Old Port. 

Exploring the F1 track.

Walking trails at Mont Royal.

Such old architecture, streets, and neighbourhoods.

Great terrasses with great views.

And absolutely incredible meals and wine!

​

We took a weekend trip to Uxbridge to visit our friends Steve and Laura. Steve is a work colleague of mine, and since he and Laura had visited us at our home in Shirley we were excited to visit them in their hometown. It was a fantastic weekend - not only the time spent with our friends but also several cool stops we made along the way.

​

Perth: On our way to Uxbridge on Saturday morning we saw a sign on Highway 7 that read "Visit historic downtown Perth". Neither of us had heard of Perth (Ontario) before, but we're sure glad we drove the few kilometres off the highway into the heart of downtown. A gorgeous place - and our timing was perfect to enjoy the farmer's market. Veronica even found a purse, wallet, and phone near the statue of Big Ben. We checked the address of the owner, and drove a few miles out of town to return it to her. We figured that was good for the karma situation.

​

Coburg: Another cute little city, this one is located on the shore of Lake Ontario and comes complete with a nice big sandy beach. We didn't explore the town itself, but we did find a small park with a scenic view of the lake and stopped there to enjoy the lunch that Laura had packed for us.

​

Belleville: We didn't explore Belleville on foot, but we did take a little tour in our truck. Once again, a cute city with a lot of historical architecture. We're constantly struck by the amount of history in Ontario. There are hardly any old 'historical' towns in BC - and it's rare to see old houses in cities like Vancouver where most people just tear down the past and replace it with ugly modern houses.

​

Kingston Mills: We will try make it back to the town of Kingston - as well as to the 1000 Islands - before we leave Ottawa. But we were happy to have stopped at the locks at Kingston Mills. This is the southern terminus of the Rideau Canal. We got to see a couple of small yachts make their way through the four locks on the beginning of their 4-day trip to Ottawa.

Since we'll be in the Ottawa area for close to three weeks we'll have lots of time to visit the historic sites, museums, parliament buildings, etc. The trip downtown is an easy 15-20 minute evening drive. We'll just lump all of the various trips to these sites into one 'Day Trip' event.

​

~

Trip #1: Our first trip downtown was for an easy evening stroll around the Parliament building complex. Many of the buildings are surrounded by cranes, barricades, and temporary fencing due to renovations and upgrades. But it is still a beautiful area, with such cool architecture. We loved looking at the myriad gargoyles and other creatures that were incorporated into the construction. So interesting and cool to see - and made us wonder whether new construction these days includes these types of interesting features that future generations will stop to admire. Probably not.

​

We also visited the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A very impressive and somber monument, but beautiful nonetheless. Overall, our first trip to visit some of these historical sites made us realize how happy we are to have a few weeks to spend in Ottawa. There is so much to see and we're going to do our best to visit as much of it as we can.

​

~

​

Trip #2: A really cool night. We started with a glass of prosecco before our cruise along the Rideau Canal. This was a 1.5 hour tour that happened to take place in North America's largest all-electric vessel. Our tour guide was great, and since the only way to avoid having to wear a mask was to be eating or drinking we helped ourselves to a few glasses of wine during the trip.

​

The canal is very interesting. Initially planned during the War of 1812, it was finished some years later but soon became largely obsolete due to the development of the St Lawrence seaway. Today it is a 200 KM+ UNESCO World Heritage Site largely used for recreational and leisure purposes - including becoming one of the world's most famous skating rinks in the winter months!

​

A nice dinner afterwards was our planned finale, but as we were walking to the truck we heard fireworks over the Ottawa River. So we enjoyed a great fireworks display at the Parliament Buildings before heading home. A truly unexpected treat, and further proof that it's a complete waste of time trying to over-plan things. The fireworks will be a great Ottawa memory and we just stumbled upon them. So many of the best experiences we've had over the years have been unscripted and 100% spontaneous.

​

~

​

Trip #3: A bike ride along the Rideau Canal and through the streets near the Parliament Buildings. We bought bikes last week, and this was the first opportunity we've had to go for a long ride together. We made stops at the football stadium, the Aberdeen Pavilion, and various other scenic spots along our route. Afterwards we drove into Quebec (Gatineau) and then back past the Prime Minister's residence at 24 Sussex Drive. It was a warm humid evening but it was a really beautiful night for a bike ride.

~

​

Trip #4: A picnic at Dow's Lake with Jeff's cousins daughters. Actually more of a 'snacknic' because the fridge was pretty bare when we were packing for the trip. A fun time driving downtown, followed by a few games of Crazy 8's and throwing crabapples into the lake. Topped off by dessert at an ice cream place recommended to us by the girls.

​

~

​

Trip #5 Canadian Agricultural and Food Museum: This was another place we never would have thought to go without some local connections. We took the girls to the 'farm museum', where they got to see and interact with all sorts of farm animals and see how a lot of our meat and grains are produced. Then we picked up some fresh strawberries for a snack and rented a canoe for a paddle in Dow's Lake and the Rideau Canal. After a McDonald's stop we came back to the rig for some Crazy 8's and snuggles with the animals. There were definitely some tears when saying goodbye to 'Mr Wallace' for the final time. We had forgotten how tiring it can be having kids around!

​

~ 

​

Trip #6 and beyond: TBD

​

We probably should have expected more from the drive around Lake Superior, but frankly we hadn't given it much thought. The nice thing about having no expectations is that those expectations are easily exceeded. And we now know that even if we had had high expectations about this part of our journey we still would have been pleasantly surprised.

​

On two separate occasions we rounded a curve on Highway 17 as it hugged the coast and caught glimpses of what appeared to be big sandy beaches with hardly any people on them. Both times we stopped at the side of the road and made our way to the lakeshore - and both times we were blown away by what we saw. 

​

The first stop was Old Woman Bay, which reminded Veronica a lot of some of the beaches in Thailand. The sand was perfect and the beach was massive - with only a few dozen people scattered around. We stopped here for a while to wade in the lake and take some pictures before moving on.

​

Our second stop was even more impressive, as there was only one other group on the entire beach. There was a rope strung amongst the trees to help navigate a steep and slippery section of the path on the way to the beach but once we made it to the shore we had the entire (huge!) beach essentially to ourselves. We brought the dogs with us this time and they played in the water for about an hour while we napped and chatted and planned.

​

Then we drove on in need of a place to spend the night. We found an amazing pullout on the shoulder of Highway 17 that was big enough for the rig - so we pulled over and spent the night on the side of the highway. The sunset was fantastic. After an 'okay' night's sleep we got up early and hit the road looking for our next stop.

This place was incredible... a real gem and a must-visit for Canadian history buffs. The fort played a major role in the early Canadian fur trade - and therefore was an important part of the formation of the country.

​

The one-time inland HQ of the North West Company, it became part of the iconic Hudson's Bay Corporation when the British government convinced the two warring corporations to merge. The fort was a trading centre that served to consolidate the furs and pelts obtained through trade with the Indigenous peoples for shipment overseas. The voyageurs from throughout eastern Canada would canoe to the fort with the previous year's furs, then return to their respective territories with supplies to get their families and communities through the winter.

​

The fort has lots of staff/actors in period costumes fully immersed in character, which in this case really added to the feel of the whole experience. Most parks like this seem hokey - but this was a genuine experience that gave us the opportunity to learn a lot about Canada's history.

​

They also let us hook the rig up to their 50A service while we visited so that the dogs and cat had A/C, which was an added bonus. It helped that we were virtually the only people in the park when we arrived. We had the place almost all to ourselves for the first hour or so. There are some definite advantages of traveling during a pandemic

Not really sure whether this would classify as a 'day trip'. More like an 'evening stroll', but I'll capture it here briefly anyways.

​

This provincial park sits right on the US border (Minnesota), and after a short hike provides a pretty nice view of High Falls... the tallest waterfall in Minnesota. I wouldn't say it took our breath away, but it was a lovely night for a walk and gave Hattie an opportunity for her first swim in the Great Lakes.

Grasslands was already one of the most remote and isolated places we had ever been - so naturally we decided to find a way to make it even more remote! Veronica loaded up our backpacks while I worked on Tuesday and then we took off into the backcountry for an overnight stay in the Valley of 1000 Devils.

​

This was an incredibly awesome place to spend the night. We hiked a few miles with the dogs in the late evening (it was still over 100 degrees when we started the hike) and set up camp on a lovely plateau overlooking the badlands. The view was incredible, the sunset spectacular, and the night silent. We heard some birds when we arrived and some coyotes while getting ready for bed, but absolute silence all night after that.

​

Grasslands National Park is the darkest 'dark sky preserve' in Canada. There is no artificial light whatsoever at night, making the sky light up with stars at night. A really awe-inspiring experience.

​

And one more interesting fact: after defeating Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull and his Lakota Sioux travelled to Canada - specifically to an area that is now part of Grasslands National Park. In fact, the Rock Creek campground in the east block of the park is named after one of the five creeks (Rock Creek) at which Sitting Bull and his people settled in the years after Little Big Horn.

​

​

Our hike at Top of the World Provincial Park in Skookumchuck (south of Canal Flats) was one of the most spectacular we have done. We drove about 180 round-trip miles including close to 80 on a pretty rugged logging road. The total hike was around 12 miles - but it was an easy 12 miles... and totally worth every step. The entire hike out to Fish Lake was stormy - with heavy rain at times and lots of lightning and thunder. We huddled under the cover of the backcountry cabin for about half an hour while waiting for the rain to stop. And then the sun came out, and we had the lake almost entirely to ourselves for a couple of hours.

​

The views were incredible. This hike should be on everyone's bucket list - and it's easy enough for just about anyone to do. On the trail on the way out we passed several large groups and probably half of the hikers were little kids. A great family destination. 

​

We will be back for sure!

We had heard a ton of great things about Fernie so we drove a few hours to check it out. It is set in a gorgeous area... at the foot of the Rockies and surrounded my really impressive peaks and mountains. The town was full of cool old buildings, but it feels like they're missing an opportunity to make the heritage downtown area even more enjoyable. The traffic on the main street detracts from the 'quaint mountain town' feel. It would be nice if they made a few blocks 'pedestrian only' - at least during the summer. We definitely preferred Kimberley - so we went there again after leaving Fernie!

A murderous day hike. Actually, this is probably legitimately considered a 'mountain climb' rather than a 'hike'. Veronica did this one without me because I was working.

​

The elevation gain of 2,870 feet happens over the distance of just 3.4 miles - so the slope is very (!) steep on this one the entire way! The summit sits around 4,000 feet - and the views are out of this world. There's no water available on the hike, meaning a lot of extra weight all the way up if you want to stay hydrated - which you MUST do on this one. Luckily the dogs had their backpacks on, so they were able to carry their own supplies.

​

A thrill to reach the top of this one, but likely NOT one we'll be in any hurry to do again.

What an amazing little town! Neither of us had been to Kimberley before, and we were blown away by how pretty and vibrant and beautiful the town was. This is definitely a little town we'd recommend!

​

We found a great (!) antique shop, so we picked up a bunch of cool stuff for the re-design of our Panorama condo. Can't wait to see it all come together!

We also made several trips across the Rockies into Alberta during our stay in Radium. The drive across the Continental Divide is stunning - and one that we didn't complain about despite doing it several times. Especially when we saw grizzly bears and moose!

The highlight of our time in Calgary was the purchase of our new Arcadia fifth-wheel after we determined that our Winnebago Minnie just wasn't going to be large enough for full-time RV life.

We made several trips to Cranbrook from Radium Hot Springs during our stay in Radium Hot Springs. The drive is a scenic 90-minute cruise through the Columbia Valley, nestled between the Purcells and the Rockies. Unfortunately, the trips to Cranbrook were not glamourous. There were several shopping trips, as well as multiple trips to the hospital to attend to our son's surgery and follow-up appointments.

With a population of 41 souls, there isn't much to Spillimacheen. However, we made three trips there in order to visit the BeeLand store. It's a hard place to describe. Think 'gourmet grocery' combined with 'garden market' combined - with stunning views of the Purcells and the Columbia Wetlands as a backdrop. We'd highly recommend the lobster ravioli!

While staying with our friends - John and Deanna - we made several trips to various wineries in Oliver, BC. Phantom Creek and Checkmate were both amazing and we're looking forward to a special occasion to enjoy some of our purchases!