The Great Szerminski Adventure

Today is the last day of the trip. We have been in Ontario for nearly a week, and driving across this huge province has been an education on its size. We knew it was big, but now we have an idea of how big ‘big’ is. As soon as we entered Ontario the landscape was becoming more familiar. We were back on Canadian Shield territory, with rock cuts along the highway and lovely lakes dotting the landscape. We stayed at Aaron Provincial Park the first night. It was a beautiful park. Our campsite was on a small peninsula which allowed us to enjoy the sunset and sunrise. It is definitely a place I would come back to if we make this trip again. The next night we passed through our last time zone change on our way to stay in Thunder Bay at the home of a friend. Deb, John, and Noah were great hosts. We enjoyed the opportunity to share a meal and conversation with other people! Their home is lovely and back onto some really gorgeous country. We loved hearing about life in Thunder Bay and...

Manitoba June 20, 2019 Yesterday was a day for everyone to just relax and recharge one’s batteries. The kids played at the playground and beach at Echo Lake. I went for a 10km run, a first in a while and therefore tough. Today we headed out on the 3.5 hr drive to Riding Mountain National Park in our penultimate province: Manitoba. We’re staying at Wasagaming Campground that has more than 700 sites.  The visitor centre had some really well done taxidermied animals: wild cats, black bears, owls, deer. We also walked to the beach of Clear Lake, which is lovely. Troop moral is a bit low these days. Lucy and Amy are quite home sick from what I can see. Miriam is quite happy to plan things like the pool game at Grollis’s house a week after we return. I’m sad that less than two weeks of our trip remains and then only 2 months before going back to work. June 21, 2019 Last night Lucy came back running from the washroom. She was freaking out because she had discovered...

Blogger: Miriam   SO many Crabs Watching crabs move is one of the most interesting things. Near the start of the trip we would be walking near a beach and then see a crab smaller then a penny scuttling sideways. You need good eyes to see the tiny little guys crawling all over the place. For awhile we did not see and crabs at all. That’s why when we went to a beach in a park called Humbug Mountain State Park the crabs were a surprise.  We were looking for pretty rocks when Lucy called us over to see something. It was a crab huddled under a big rock looking at us like ‘really guys?’ We looked at him for awhile and then I went to the washroom and when I came back Lucy and Mama were showing  me crabs all over the place. If the crab moved you would be surprised that it moved sideways. They look like they could move forwards but somehow they legs make them go the other way. Most of the ones we saw were purple coloured but there would be the odd greenish or yellow. The ...

Blogger:Miriam Today we have ten nights left until the trip ends. We are at Riding Mountain National Park where, I am glad to say, we saw three more animals. The first we wished not too see. I was sitting in the tent when I heard someone running as fast as they could. Then I realized it was Lucy and she was going quicker then normal. When she came to the tent and caught her breath again she said        “It’s a tick! It’s on my neck!” Mama saw it there and daddy went to go and get things to remove it. After we got it out we all checked our body’s for ticks to make sure nobody else had any. That was yesterday. Today we were driving and we saw a black bear on the side of the road. We slowly drove by it but rolled down to windows first to take a picture of it. Mama and Daddy had already seen a bear on the trip but this was me and Lucy’s first time. Then we went to a bison enclosure where we saw so many bison. They sat there at the edge of the road wa...

June 18, 2019 Our first stop today was Moose Jaw. It is great luck for the photographic record that we caught the giant moose (named Mac) with his pants down, so to speak. What I mean is that his antlers have been temporarily removed for embiggenment. This is so that he can outdo his recent evil Scandinavian twin and again be the giganticest moose on the planet, by like 30cm or something. As we ate lunch beside Mac dozens of cute squirrel sized creatures scurried around us hoping we’d drop some food. They had dug holes everywhere, including one under our picnic table for easy access. We were told at the visitor centre that they are gophers or “Richardson’s ground squirrels”. Next we ventured to the Sukanen Ship and Pioneer Museum. Here lies Tom Sukanen’s ocean vessel that he built with his bare hands to sail him back to Finland. She is named the Sontianen (the “little dung beetle”). Amy and I had just learned of this craziness (unless you think ships in the prairies are normal) ...

We have already been traveling east  - towards home - for nearly two weeks. We are half way through the Canadian part of our trip and 8/9 of the way through our big adventure. The last week has been very busy but lots of fun (Rick posted lots of details!) as there was lots to see and do in Alberta and lots of fun to be had with the our friends the Knights. Hiking in Jasper, driving the Icefields Parkway, and visiting the Royal Tyrell Museum will certainly remain near the top of our list of favourite experiences for the whole trip. The moment that Maya and Miriam were reunited in Jasper was a great one. They shared a ferocious embrace, and were inseparable during the days we spent together. I think their reunion helped me see how much returning home will mean to us. Each of us is enjoying every day on the road in our own way, but we are all missing something from our regular lives. We will all be just as thrilled as Miriam was greeting Maya when we get home. Seeing the Knight...