flowing / going

Last summer, Joshua and I had the chance to go one a three day canoe trip. I can remember a point in our journey when we could feel ourselves getting closer to our final destination. The faint sounds of cars or the occasional truck reminded us that we were getting closer to the inevitable. On the one hand,we were drawn to this and excited about completing such a challenging course. On the other, we realized that we had gotten into a new rhythm, and wondered how much further we could have kept on going. Much like that last stretch of water, which we could not stop from flowing towards our goal. This road we are on continues to draw us closer to our starting point, closer to home. With each new dashboard departure, rain or shine, mystery muffin or not, we are thankful. With each mile marker up ahead, bumpy or smooth pavement, fast or slow stretch of traffic, we continue to count our blessings. We know that home is almost in sight, we hear its sounds. Soon, we will see them.

perhaps the heavy fog helped everyone with their "height" issues, we gave Katrina space she needed to face this bridge, and slowly watched her walk....unlike the shorter bridge in BC, this time there was no intentional shaking or jumping to make it move... :)

because this was the second day of the season, many of the animals we encountered were not afraid of humans yet, and and kept on eating even with us getting closer...

Samuel took the opportunity to spread more mushrooms along this trail with a few quick stomps and jumps...

being early in the season, this wish pan was not yet full of change....still, some of us plotted a course up or down the rocks to try to get the toonie left behind. Those ideas were left behind as we realized that there was another bridge up ahead, a longer one then before..

we all made it, step by step, and can look back, up or down and be thankful....this was the "longest" bridge the signs kept telling us about, and with the fog, we could not see where it ended until we started walking.

Today we went to eagle canyon adventures and when we were driving to the sight, Isaiah saw a fox in the ditch of the dirt road so Dad backed up and rolled down his window he made a squeaking sound the foxes ears perked up and he looked right into my eyes. Then he just kinda was doing his thing and went back to looking and hunting.  He pounced on a mouse he carried it in a hole that he dug and then we kept driving.

-Samuel- 

if you look closely, there is a tail coming out of this foxes mouth...when we passed by him on our way home he was still hunting, and stashing up treats up the road, and celebrating the fact that the snow is gone.

while waiting for our laundry to finish, we drove down to the water...and were saddened by all the boarded up houses....once we got to a brand new chain link fence in front of the local paper mill, we realized what had caused some of this.  This also explains some of the feel of the town in general and is something we have to acknowledge along the way.

no matter where we are, warm, clean, clothes are a blessing and to be cuddled, or at least Abigail seems to think so! 

with every new destination reached, or every province entered the two "back seat cowboys" give us a  cap-gun salute, I always make sure to crack the windows just right to get some of the wonderful gunpowder/smoke smell to the front of the van, as my sidekick up front smiles with no comment... 

last call for wonder

We left Winnipeg this morning as it was beginning to rain again. How thankful we were for a day of sunshine yesterday! Breakfast this morning was Safeway donuts, not the healthiest way to start the day but the quickest. Trans-Canada Highway took us right downtown Winnipeg to leave the city. We actually enjoyed one more stint downtown, even though we hit some rush hour traffic. Joseph informed me on the way out that he would enjoy living in Winnipeg. I didn't say a whole lot....... :) About .5 hour outside the city the rain stopped and the sky opened up to grace us with sunshine again. We had barely crossed the Ontario border (shot guns were fired ) when the surroundings felt Northern Ontario, it all happened so quickly. Rocks, lots of lakes, beautiful forests and our favourite birch trees! Even though there was a lot of driving today, there was plenty of good energy for we all felt like we were close to home. As Abigail put it in a text home to grandma “we are in Ontario now, so close yet so far!”. One thing I love about Ontario is all the pull offs for restrooms and picnics. Today I was able to make sandwiches on a picnic table beside a beautiful lake instead of in the back seat on a cooler lid. What a treat! Our driving time (8.5 hours) was spent today napping (the kids swam and did the water slide until 10 pm last night) and listening to Jack London's A Call of the Wild. Great day, great trip. Joseph and I periodically look at each other and say in awe “we're doing it, we're actually doing it, our long awaited road trip!” We are so thankful for this opportunity. Thank you God.

on the left side of my door is a bundle of maps for every state and province we've driven through, today Katrina asked for the bundle one last time, only this time it was our Ontario!

we pulled over in a secluded rest area along a blue lake, Katrina took sandwich orders, and others explored on foot

I found another message left for me, and appropriated it into present tense of enjoying the moment together.

with such clear and available water....some dared to waid in and feel it between their toes,  others were excited to find a "crayfish kitchen" from the local raccoons... 

predator and prey takes on a whole new meaning in "musky" country, most lures were larger then the fish we would have kept, and cost an average of 30.00-50.00 each...but we were told by the person in the store that it was an amazing sport, we went away wondering...and looking up at any mounted monster we could find before we kept driving.....

Today was the first day in almost a month that we have been in Ontario. Over the course of the ten hour day we saw many changes that included hills starting to form out of the flatness of manitoba. One thing that I enjoy about Ontario is that it feels accessible where the rocky mountains were so big, that it almost felt unreal where these cliffs are beautiful but they are formations that feel down to earth. Down to where we are on the ground,  not just huge mountains that feel realy far away. I am excited about coming home and tomorrow we are going to the largest suspension bridge in North America.


-Joshua-

as we drove next to this car, we could not help but wonder what was smarter, not running out of gas between gas stations with signs about purchasing something before we use the wash room...or adding fuel to a fender bender? 

our great, grandbrother

Our day started with letting people sleep in as long as possible. After a late night of swimming, and a schedule that keeps changing with the time zones, extra rest is always helpful. My job for the morning was a bit different. I had the task of getting the oil changed, and tires re-torked all in time for our brunch at Jake's house. It seems that some of our best days off, are with friends and in homes.  This was no exception. Later that morning we had a windy, but sun filled hike at a local marsh area, and education centre. And so for the rest of the day, we turned off the GPS, and Jake sat in the front seat and gave us a first hand tour of some of his favourite spots in Winnipeg. We are blessed to know him, and it was refreshing catching up our lives with one another. These moments with friends and family, add colour and context to the map we've been on. They bring Joy and are part of the many blessings we are bringing back with us. Thanks Jake for some great time together!

-Joseph-

believe it our not, for this trip I've made it all the way to Manitoba drinking my own "roasted" coffee, the three origins I chose for the trip have been holding up ok, but it was also nice to finish the kenyan at jakes house...with or without 10% cream for some...   :)

Lets just say, that on this trip we have had our share of many different waffles in many different places. However, the waffles Jake made us were special, we wondered if it was the maker, the technique, even quizzed him on the recipe, only to find out that one of his secrets was a mix. I did not promise to keep it a secret though, and now you know.

almost everything in Jakes house that was made out of wood he "made", after our megabrunch, we had a chance to see his workshop, and some of the tools.... 

one thing we found out later in the day, was that Manitoba is 41% marshland, which can explain why everyone recommended this place as a good start for understanding the province.

as some of you may already know, new birds can haunt me, this one in particular the "yellow headed black bird" was seen by me on the side of the road for less then a second...and upon hearing my yell, those in the vehicle thought I was avoiding an accident....I was hoping for a better glimpse of this new bird, but zoomed in from the observation deck, this was about as close as it came - still a treat!

later in the day we went to "the forks" a place downtown where two rivers meet, this building was actually the first railway station, and is now a thriving artisan area selling many thoughtful things...one of them was the "Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company" started by the church that Jake started many years ago. They also had another business that allowed people to do their own canning, as well as sunflower oil pressing. As a motivator to get to Thunder bay in good time....We have two containers of chocolate banana bread pudding for our drive out of town tomorrow.  :)

this was one of the nicest skate parks I"ve ever seen in my life, unlike the wavy, and "organic" shapes of the california parks we saw, this one was all "geo" with inlaid metal on all edges...the attitude was best described with quote on the wall and the general attitude of this place and people.