Back In The States

We crossed back into the States about 12:30 this afternoon. It's nice to see signs in miles instead of kilometers, gas priced by the gallon, etc. You know, I could never quite figure out just how much we paid for gas in Canada.

All of the Canadians we met were really nice. They appreciated our desire to visit their country and were glad to make suggestions about (aboat) what to see and do.

We'll end up back in New Jersey tonight and pickup the girls early tomorrow morning. If the Lord wills we will be back home in Tennessee by tomorrow night.

Happy Canada Day

OK, so I am a day late. We just had so much fun celebrating Canada Day that I didn't have time to post yesterday.

At breakfast when the server brought our check she said, "Happy Canada Day!" That was the first we had thought about it being a Canadian holiday. Everything except restaurants was closed. Even Walmart. They obviously take their holidays seriously here and don't use them as a means of wealth building.

Shortly after finishing breakfast we filled up the van with gas. I bought a couple of drinks and when I completed the transaction I looked at the clerk and said, "Happy Canada Day!" He smiled really big (knowing I was American) and said, "Thank ya! Sames to ya!" And they think we talk funny.

Last night we drove down to Toronto for worship and saw Heather and Dave. Dave's family was in for the holiday (July 4th, not Canada Day) and it was good to see everyone. We got in late but really enjoyed our time last evening.

A bit of history I learned from Dave about Canada Day. It seems that they celebrate July 4th but do it a few days early, shooting off fireworks near Lake Ontario for the Americans on the other side to view. How nice! These Canadians are really great folks.

Algonquin Provincial Park

Algonquin Provincial Park is nearly the same size as the Adorondacks in New York except that all of Algonquin is protected area while the Adonrondacks are combined protected areas and cities with many roads crisscrossing the park. Algonquin has only one main road crossing the park. The rest of the park must be accessed by either canoe, on foot and perhaps by horseback.

The park boasts a considerable amount of wildlife. While in the park only two days Nan and I saw 3 foxes, a woodchuck, several rabbits, and several deer. We also saw numerous beaver "huts." Nan didn't pay too much attention to the bird species but my count was nearly 50 species without really trying hard.

One animal that Algonquin is supposed to have is moose. We entered the park about 9:30, having left our hotel in Belleville, Ontario about 5 a.m. We paid our day use fee and asked about seeing moose. The young lady wasn't too sure we would see any but told us that the visitor's center would have a listing of moose sightings. Our arrival at the visitor's center poured a bit of cold water on our hopes as the rangerette said that she had not seen moose in quite a while.

I had been reading a blog that suggested that the western end of the park was the better location to see moose. Highway 60 traverses the park from East to West and at 80 kmh (50 mph) it takes about an hour to travel. We stopped several times along the way to see the beauty and for me to do some birding.

At mile marker 22km (mile marker for lack of a better word) we noticed numerous cars on the righthand side of the road. It reminded me of the scene in the smokies when a bear was sighted. We pulled over and were pleased to learn that the crowd was watching a bull moose eating grass in one of the ponds. The picture isn't too great but here he is.

By the time we had reached the western edge of the park is was after 2 o'clock. We were very hungry. Locating food isn't the easiest task because the area is not very densly populated. However, we found just the right spot. Here the sign in front of their cafe.

We ate at the Moose Cafe twice. The food was really good. For lunch I got a Moose Burger and for breakfast this morning I got the Moosecakes.

We saw 3 other moose. Last night we went out toward dusk and saw another moose up in the woods above Highway 60. This morning we got up at 5:30 and went out looking and found a cow moose and her calf walking down the road that leads to Rock Lake. Their pictures are below.

Our quest to find moose is much more satisfied but not over. You see, the quest is to find that bull moose with a full rack and get an in-focus, stunning photo. So the quest continues...

Picture From Prickett Fort

Here is the outside view of Prickett Fort. The settlers lived around the fort on their farms. When trouble with the Indians would erupt, the settlers would all go to the fort for protection. At times they would stay in this 100x100 foot fort for weeks or months, depending upon how long the trouble lasted. The fort was a cool place but I wouldn't want to be couped up for too many days were very many folks in that small area.


This woman did a fine job of explaining life during the mid 1700's. She gave us a tour of the Prickett house and talked about daily life as a settler.


The fort is located near Fairmont, Va. This young man demonstrated pottery making and is a student at Fairmont State University. He was quite interesting to talk with and has already figured out he can't change the world. However, he does realize that changing one person at a time makes a difference and he is trying to be influential to those around him. I really enjoyed speaking with him.



The young man demonstrating blacksmithing was also interesting. He was fashioning a piece to go on a chest he and his fellow blacksmiths will use to house their tools.


Since we are on a moose quest I thought I'd show what we found. No, no moose, but this gal and Nan had a long conversation about raising kids.

All of these pictures were taken by Jennifer except for the fort. I thought she did an exceptional job. I promised pictures as soon as we got back to an Internet connection. Now I've kept my promise. I hope you enjoyed them.

Belleville, Ontario

We made it to Ontario in time to go to bed. We're up at 5 this morning to get off to Algonquin Provincial Park. Everyone we're talking with says it should be easy to see moose there. They don't realize the conspiracy that moose have going against me. Perhaps news of our arrival has not spread to the moose on this side of the border.

More tonight I hope, perhaps with pictures this time.

Prickett Fort

We visited Prickett Fort today. It is a reconstructed 1770's settlement with various craftsman demonstrating blacksmithing, pottery, farming, etc. We really enjoyed the visit and Jennifer probably got some good photos. Ut we have no Internet access except email through my BlackBerry. So I will try to post some pictures tomorrow evening.

We're in NJ tonight staying at a really nice Marriott (they had a good Saturday rate). The door man, dressed in fine black attire, opened the door as we entered. The girls were quite impressed as this is their first stay in a hotel more fancy than Courtyard! Julie said, "So is that the way you get treated on all those business trips you take?"
She began to realize the trade off when we declined the $12.95 per day Internet access fee.

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Sent from my mobile device

New River Gorge In West Virginia

Instead of driving straight up I-81 we detoured at Wytheville, VA and went north into West Virginia. Several years ago Nan, her mom and Pauline Wright had travelled in this area and saw the New River Gorge Bridge. They were here in the Fall and the colors were much more beautiful than today. But the views were terrific and the day was fun.

Here is a full look at the bridge followed by a picture from a sign explaining the height of the bridge. It is 876 feet high. If you stacked the Washington Monument and two Statue of Libertys one on the other, you'd still have 20 feet to go to reach the bottom of the bridge.

To give you another perspective on just how tall the bridge is, I took this photo of Julie as we stood below the bridge near the bottom of the gorge. Look at the top of the bridge and consider that there are 4 lanes of traffic up there with the equivalent of one more lane on each side for emergency stopping.

Down in the gorge we found one of several creeks that flow into the river. Rhododendrons were blooming all around and the air was fresh and clean. The humidity was high so shortly after snapping this photo of the girls we stopped for soft drinks.

It was a long day but we really enjoyed it. The girls are so much fun to be with. We're sorry that Jeff wasn't able to come along this year. Unfortunately, life is calling his name these days and he has to work.

Of course, no moose along this portion of the trip. Our first opportunity for moose probably will be in Canada since we will not get into the mountains of New York on this trip. Heather offered to take us to the Toronto Zoo to see a moose but that seems too much like claiming a sighting because we saw it on Wild Kingdom. We want to get with Heather and Dave but probably not to see a captive moose. We should end up in New Jersey tomorrow night if the Lord wills. Until then...

We've Begun

We left later than expected but are on the way. Today our plans are to
go to the New River Gorge bridge in West Virgina which stands 876 feet
above the river. We'll also see Beckley, WV. By Sunday night Nan and I
will be Belleville, Ontario.

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Sent from my mobile device

MooseQuest 4

I guess it is MooseQuest 4. Some number. Anyway, we leave tomorrow! We'll spend a couple of days with the girls travelling up. Then we'll leave them at camp and have the rest of the week to ourselves. Like before I hope to post pictures. With my fancy Blackberry I should be able to post updates along the way so check in often during the day. It is going to be nice to get away for a while.

Next Moose Quest

Our next Moose Quest begins soon. We're looking forward to seeing some new places...places that may very well have moose for us to find and photograph. I have a better way to update the blog this year by using my BlackBerry so we can post information as things happen. My BB doesn't have a camera so I'll still have to wait until we have an Internet connection to post pictures. Until then...