Some general observations

Since the beginning of my road trip, so much has happened that first impressions are blurred by later impressions. So far I have traveled through the mountain ranges of British Columbia, through dry and dusty Alberta, the prairies of Saskatchewan and of Manitoba, and crossed the woods, rocky outcrops and bogs of Ontario. Meeting fellow travelers, as well as locals who were very interested in our background and could tell us interesting stories, meeting and traveling with friends who have lived a long time in Canada and are knowledgeable, is a special joy. The prairies of Saskatchewan are just as impressive in their own way as the beautiful mountains or the ruggedness of the Canadian Shield. The history of this country, the struggle of so many settlers and immigrants who came here hoping for a better life, the loneliness of the homesteads which have mostly been abandoned now and lie sagging and neglected, the hopes of groups of people who tried to build their own Utopia, it is all very humbling and often moving. Dreams which did not come true, hopes which were shattered, communities built or inspired by dreamers and idealists, all those things make Canada a very interesting place. 

abandoned farm equipment next to a deserted homestead, Saskatchewan

It is difficult to organize my impressions. I know they are just impressions and that I have only got a glimpse of the many aspects of this fascinating country, in spite of the 6000 kilometers I have covered. I have not seen the East, just a part of the West and Mid-west. Nor the North or the Yukon. Canada seems as multicoloured as my impressions and the pictures I have taken, in the hope of catching in them some of the different aspects of this vast country.

Soon I will give more details of this trip. For now, as an interlude, just some personal observations.

General

It surprises me again and again that while this country is so beautiful, the towns are often so ugly. Or at least the entrances to most towns. Out in the country many farms are not just surrounded by farming machinery and equipment, new or rusting, but often also by old cars and trucks, even by buses. It all looks like a scrapheap to me. Against the backdrop of the mountains or the big blue skies, this is an eyesore. Fortunately in the National Parks it is different. Is it because there is no lack of space and so people don’t care? The business strips which welcomes one when approaching a town, however small, all built along the main roads, are undoubtedly very convenient, but amazingly ugly. Why can’t all towns be like Banff for instance, where all shops can only have their names in very modest lettering on their shop fronts, and where even MacDonald’s has to downsize its M and can’t put it high up on a pole for all the world to see, but only on its shop front? It makes the town look very pleasant. Banff of course is in a National Park, so there are strict rules and regulations.

Autumn colours, Thunder Bay

Over Canadian Thanksgiving we have been in another province, in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Thunder Bay is beautifully situated on the end of Lake Superior, and has a natural bay. The countryside around it is stunning: rocks, hills and low mountain ranges, lakes, woods with dark pine trees, larches and aspen. Thunder Bay is a city composed of two former towns, Port Arthur and Fort William, once very important ports from which grain and lumber were shipped via the big lakes to the USA and to Europe. Along this beautiful lake the ugliest logging mills have been built, as well as huge and unsightly grain elevators. The lumber is pulped for the paper mills. The big lumber port in Port Arthur has not been in use for several years, and although very ugly and totally obstructing and spoiling the view of the bay, it has not been dismantled. The pier stretching far and high into the water is rotting. Disintegrating piles of now useless lumber lie in big heaps on the closed-off site.

Paper factory at Thunder Bay, taken from Mount McKay

In 1798, the North West Company built Fort William near the mouth of the Kaministiquia River, which quickly became a lively community of Scottish traders, French voyageurs and Native trappers, so for the fur trade. Historic Fort William has been rebuilt further inland as Fort William Historical Park, because its position at the waterfront was spoilt by all these mills, elevators and other factories. It is a heritage museum now. In fact the waterfront is useless for recreational purposes. The railway, once so very important, blocks off the town from the waterfront. Admittedly there is a new waterfront in the making, which already looks attractive and which might make Thunder Bay more attractive for tourists. It has a marina with board walks, a nice park and will be accessible by a modern walkway high across the railway lines. 

Big modern grain elevator at Thunder Bay seen from the newly developed  park

When I hiked up Mount McKay, the scale of the ruin of the bay area was clear. A big paper factory near the airport is also an eyesore, but at least not placed on the lake. And so are all the main routes into town: bare and ugly. The residential streets are quite pleasant, tree lined with attractive wooden houses, all very different in shape and size. The center of town once was bustling with people, has beautiful old buildings, characteristic hotels which are of historic interest, and a central park, besides many viewing points. But shops have moved away from the center to malls along the main roads. The center looks as if it is dying. As soon as one has left the city, nature takes over. When I was there the woods were ablaze with autumn colours, mainly a golden yellow and some red and pink of the shrubs and undergrowth. The contrast with the dark pines and spruces, and the reflection of all this beauty in the many lakes, is wonderful. Waterfalls, wild life, it is all out there.

Autumn Colours, Canoe Meadows, BC

Motels:

On the trip from Pemberton to Winnipeg, via de Rockies and through Alberta and Saskatchewan, we come across quite a variety of motels. Even the cheap ones with basic comforts have clean white towels and powerful showers with piping hot water. No mean trickle from the shower head as from the so called British power showers! The doors may be draughty, but there is always a microwave, a fridge, a coffee maker and a big wide screen TV. What to think of three big flat screen TV’s in one motel apartment, one in each of the two bedrooms and another in the living room? Tea is not a popular beverage, so kettles are not always provided. And how odd to find a unit with a bedroom, a full kitchen and a hot tub in the living room opposite the TV and the fold-out settee, the second bed? The latter was in a standard motel on a business strip, in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Sometimes we stayed in such a small “town”, that there was only one motel and we had no choice.

Trains and grain:

I have never seen so many trains in my life! Although most trains now are only freight trains and no longer take passengers, they are everywhere. The main highways follow the train lines. Understandable as in the Rockies there isn’t a lot of choice and both train and highway follow the rivers and go through canyons. In Yoho National Park and the Kicking Horse Pass along the Trans Canada, there is a very ingenious construction as the trains had many accidents here and couldn’t cope with the steep gradient. Two spiral tunnels were built, an upper one and a lower one. We are in luck and in both tunnels we see trains entering, the front of the train emerging on another level going of course in the opposite direction, while the end is still entering the first tunnel. It is quite spectacular. The trains are almost two kilometers in length, so that is why we can see them on all three levels.

You may just see three parts on the train on different levels

Apart from the main line which still crosses Canada from West till East and which goes through those tunnels as well as the freight trains, there are other lines to former mining towns and small villages. Some of the former mining towns are ghost towns now, although they were booming towns with hotels and bars, churches and even an opera house at the height of the silver or gold rush. Not much is left of Sandon, for example, a former big mining town which now lies high up in a canyon and only has a museum and a few houses left to testify to its former glory. The rest of the town has long been deserted, burnt down and swept away by the swollen creek and heavy snowfalls. The train line is no longer in use. There is still a working silver mine, but roads make it possible to commute and live in a better town, with less snow and more amenities.

Old City Hall of Sandon

On the prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan grain elevators line the train tracks at regular intervals. The elevators were located no more than a day’s travel by horse and wagon to allow farmers to haul their grain to the nearest rail line where the elevators were built. That’s one reason why many Saskatchewan communities are located 10-15 kilometers apart on rail lines. Villages were built around each grain elevator. During the 1980s the agricultural economy shifted, and grain companies were closing elevators when railways began to abandon rail lines. Producers had to haul their grain further and further from their farms to elevators. It is sad to see that many of the once thriving little towns are now slowly dying. In most little towns the obligatory hotel and saloon near the station is boarded up and falling apart, the roof sagging, paint peeling. The gas station will be closed, and so will the general store. Sometimes the old fridge is still there, but no sign of life! 

abandoned shop in Rama, Sask.

In one such village we found three rather substantial churches, a Catholic Ukrainian one, an Orthodox Ukrainian one and a Roman Catholic one, the latter with a shrine and grotto for Maria where pilgrims gather in August. It is sad to see the decline of the towns and the destruction of such communities, but since connections to bigger towns and cities are so much better now, that is where people prefer to live. And who could blame them.

The old grain elevators are rare now, and modern ones have replaced them which seem to me rather ugly and ruin the skyline. Along some railway lines they are still in use and are sometimes right next to a modern one. On the flat prairies the old ones formed picturesque landmarks.

Old grain elevators, Saskatchewan