Road Trip to Peace River, Days 3 & 4

Winnipeg, Manitoba:

Today’s trip started off very early, as we did not realize that Dryden is in the Central Time Zone (Dryden is one hour behind the Eastern Standard time). We were up by 6:30 and on the road by 730!

The best scenery was on our way to Winnipeg where we saw a Red and White fox, as well as a few dear and hawks.

The MTS Centre in Winnipeg - could be the future home of
the Atlanta Thrashers.

When we made it to Winnipeg we spent the afternoon walking downtown and exploring the city. We saw the MTS Center, which could be the new home of a Winnipeg NHL team.

We visited an area of the town called The Forks, which is where the Red River and the Assiniboine River intersect. 

The water levels were so high in some places that streetlights and trees were halfway under water.

One of the outdoor skateparks in Winnipeg at The Forks;
right on the water, it was gorgeous!

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan:

After leaving Winnipeg, we began the 7-hour trek to Saskatoon. The scenery is very different here as the land is flat for as far as our eyes can see! 

We wanted a quick dinner and were both craving pizza (we kind of felt like Harold and Kumar searching for White Castle). Fortunately, Pizza Hut was a popular restaurant in almost every small town we passed through on the way.

We obviously got stuffed crust:)

Although the drive was not quite as exciting as the previous days, the flat land provided a great view of an unbelievable sunset - definitely the best one yet. 

When the evening struck the bugs came out and as we were driving it sounded like rain hitting our windshield. We had to stop 3 times to wash our windshield off and in order to be able to see through it.

By the time we arrived in Saskatoon and found a hotel it was around 11 PM and we were both exhausted. We went straight to bed as we still had a 5-hour drive to Edmonton the next morning.

Saskatchewan sunset

Edmonton, Alberta:

We were on the road by 10 AM Thursday morning and arrived in Edmonton at around 3 PM. The drive to Edmonton was fairly bland and consisted mostly of cows and empty land, with the site of a few buffalo.

We headed straight for the West Edmonton Mall (one of the biggest malls of the world). We will let the pictures speak for themselves…

After we shopped till we dropped we made our way over to Willie and Marilyn’s house (Jeff’s great uncle and aunt). They reside in Sherwood Park, a town just on the outskirts of Edmonton, and were kind enough to welcome us into their home for the evening.

We enjoyed a relaxing evening in the comfort of a home (rather then a hotel), watching local news, and admiring Willies pride and joys, including old country records, and the deer and wolves that were mounted on the walls. 

Today we will be checking out downtown Edmonton (Jasper & Whyte Ave) and making a short drive to Grande Prairie, Alberta (3.5 hours from Edm), staying the night, then travelling 2 hours in the morning to Peace River - our destination!

We will post our final installment once we're in Peace River!

All the best, 

Jeff & Cass 

Road Trip To Peace River - Day 2

The big Canadian Goose, Wawa, Ont.
It was windy, so our eyes our closed :p

This morning we left Sault Ste Marie at 9 and our first stop was the town of Wawa, ON. Home of NHL player Chris Simon, as well as the big goose!

After Wawa, we drove through the towns of White River and Terrace Bay (home of Jesse Bedard, our friend from back home).

We noticed that no matter how small the city, 500 or 15,000, there seemed to be an LCBO in each of them...

Our drive today was much more scenic then yesterdays and we saw some pretty cool wildlife.

One of the many natural beaches between Sault Ste. Marie
and Thunder Bay.

At one point, two hawks were circling the highway and one swooped downwards towards our car. The wingspan was about the size of our windshield! We made some stops along the highway to take some pictures and enjoy the breathtaking views.

We also got to enjoy the Lake Superior shoreline for the majority of our trip, which consisted of natural beaches and many steep climbs that provided a good view once we were at the top. It was truly beautiful.

A view down a mountain and through an opening in the
Canadian Shield. Lake Superior at the foot.

We continued our trip to Thunder Bay where we stopped for dinner and refueled. Along the highway gas was priced at $1.56/litre, however, we discovered a cheaper gas price within the city (still $1.4
3), making us a little happier!

Jeff would like me to mention that Thunder Bay is the home of NHL brothers Mark, Jordan, and Eric Staal.

We then decided to continue our travels to Dryden, Ontario where we are going to get some rest, making today’s trip a total of 1045 kilometers.

The sun was shining bright until 10 p.m., and when we arrived in Dryden at 10:30, the sun had just set and it stayed bright until 11:30ish. Unreal.

Since we decided to push our trip to Dryden today, we will be passing through Winnipeg early tomorrow morning, checking out the city, and then heading into Saskatchewan to end tomorrow’s leg of the trip. Keep posted!

Love and peace to everyone,

Cass & Jeff

Here are a few pictures taken on today's drive... Click them for a bigger view.

Stopped along the highway just outside Sault Ste Marie,
to get a great shot of the Lake Superior shoreline.

A small but beautiful waterfall located along the highway just
outside of Wawa, ON.

Finally came across a "restroom" stop.
Not much of a restroom if you ask me (Cassie). 

Jeff and I with the waterfall! There are resting areas along
the highway, near the most picturesque places.

The small towns between the Soo and Thunder Bay were
definitely preachers. This was the last of about 15 signs we
saw along the highway.

A great shot of Lake Superior while driving along the shore.

Jeff with the Manitouwadge welcome sign

Road Trip to Peace River, Alta. - Day 1

Departing St. Catharines!

We made great progress on our first day – skipped any long-weekend traffic and set it on cruise control the whole way.

Our first stop was in Muskoka on Horseshoe Lake Rd. (near the Blay's cottage) at a Petro Canada to refuel, and then we stopped in Sudbury for lunch.

After taking the 69 to Sudbury, we then took the 17 to Sault Ste Marie.

When we first got onto the 17, we saw this black Nissan Altima with no license plates (or dealer plates) of any kind and two gangsta’s were driving it, so obviously we thought it was stolen. 

We ended up behind the car for a couple hours, but it sped ahead. However, we did catch up to it a bit later – pulled over on the side of the road by two O.P.P. cruisers; our suspicions were right!

It was neat going through a few small towns between Sudbury and the Soo, and after departing St. Catharines just after 7 a.m., we arrived in the Soo by 4 p.m.

If you've never been to the Soo before, you're not missing much, but it seems to be a very old city with some character. We stayed by the waterfront and you can view Michigan across the water. 

Aside from the beauties of Muskoka and the Canadian Shield along the highway that we have all seen many times, there wasn’t much visual excitement worth taking pictures of, and Sault Ste Marie didn’t have much either, which is why you’re only getting a picture of the welcome sign.

(Hopefully our next few days will bring some better and more interesting images. Today was the longest day of travel, so we will have time to stop and check things out more from here on in.)

As previously mentioned, the Soo doesn’t have much to it – but with just 75,000 people, they do have a gorgeous arena downtown called the Essar Centre (below) where the Soo Greyhounds play (proves a small town can still build a decent facility).

Essar Centre, Sault Ste Marie, Ont. Home of Soo Greyhounds (OHL)

We're going to be watching the Bruins/Lightning game before bed and getting up bright an early to embark on our second day of the trip. 

Thanks for checking in, and we will be updating again tomorrow night from the Thunder Bay area. 

Catch yah then, 

Jeff & Cass

Paul Brandt - Alberta Bound

Another Alberta tune.

Alberta bound-Gordon lightfoot

What we'll be in a week!

Pictures and Peace River Info

Aerial view of Peace River.

Links: 

• Peace River Record-Gazette
• Record-Gazette on Twitter 
• Peace River, Wikipedia
• Travel Info & Pictures
• Town of Peace River 

A view across the river.

*Click images for a larger scaled view.                                                                                                        

Peace River Fact...

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to give you a fun fact of the day!

Remember Jillian from the Bachelorette?

Well, she was born in the tiny town of Peace River!

Talk to you all soon!

MUAHxoxo

Roadtrippin'

Hello friends and family.

As you know, we will be departing for Peace River, Alberta on May 23, taking roughly a week to drive there through Canada.

We will be updating this blog daily from our hotel rooms with pictures and updates from the trip, so check back in frequently!

Our first day will take us to Sault St. Marie Ontario, and from there we will be headed to Thunder Bay, before exiting the province and making out next stop in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

From Winnipeg, we head to Saskatchewan, through Regina and into Saskatoon. Our last stop will of course be in Edmonton, Alberta, where we will be staying for a couple days to take in the West Edmonton Mall and the city in general.

The final leg of the trip will take us through Grande Prairie and into Peace River, where we will be residing for the summer (and longer for Jeff).

To give you a grasp on just how far into the boonies our destination is, below is a link to a map of the area.

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=peace+river+alberta&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Peace+River,+AB&gl=ca&ei=0x-_Tb-xNI2btweP1Oi9BQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ8gEwAA

More exciting things to come throughout the trip!

Check back soon,

Jeff & Cassie