Canadian Health Care...up close.

Today we're in Thunder Bay Ontario on the north side of Lake Superior. Kind of a pretty town and a great view of the lake. This morning I finally reconciled the fact that I had a sinus infection and got to see first hand Canadian health care. Apparently there are very few family doctors in Thunder Bay so most people go to walk-in clinics and the one I went to was in a back room of a local pharmacy. The small waiting room was overfilled with about half the people standing. I stood in line to see the receptionist (who was very friendly actually) and she held out her hand to collect my government health card. I told her I was from the US and she said it would cost me anywhere from $20 to $100 depending on the doctor's opinion. Then she said by the looks of me it wouldn't be over $40...so I guess that was a good thing. There was one doctor and one receptionist and things went amazingly fast for such a large number of people waiting. When I got in it was obvious they weren't changing the paper sheets on the exam table so I opted to stand. The doctor came in in a few minutes and immediately asked me what was wrong with no eye contact or introductions. I told him chronic coughing more so at night and I thought it was a sinus infection. He listened to my lungs and agreed. He saw I was from the states and felt sorry for me and gave me a bottle of Canada's equivalent to flonaze (out of his backpack) and a prescription for Moxiscilan. It all took less than 60 seconds and I was charged $30. The Mox was $27.69. So for essentially $60 with no insurance and 60 seconds of the doctor's time I was done. Now for sure you would not go to a place like this for a true emergency or illness but I suspect with the new health care in the US we'll be seeing places like this spring up. It was definitly impersonal and like a cattle call but it was also very simple and down to earth. Not sure if I liked but I did admire the efficiency...sort of like the feeling you get flying Southwest. JWS

Saskatoon to Kenora

The RV parks around Saskatoon were packed and we were glad we had a reservation. We never could quite figure out why. Not that Saskatoon is a bad place but certainly not that much of tourist destination. We never did catch up with our mail even thou we stayed a few extra days hoping it would show up. It was pretty darn swampy at the RV park and we were beginning to feel like we were held hostage by all the mosquitoes. Plus, the weekend was coming and the park was booked up for Jehovah Witness convention. We were being kicked out. Better pack up fast before the JW's come a knocking with their white shirts and ties! We were glad to leave and decided to do a drive by of the rest of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Along the way saw fields upon fields of yellow flowers. Looked it up on Wikipedia. Turns out it was rapeseed which is used to make canola oil. It made for a pretty picture the yellow flowers against the blue sky with big puffy clouds. Took a few pictures while we were driving, here's the best one. If you surf the web turns out a lot of folks thought the same thing so there are better pictures than mine on the web. Stopped for an over nighter in Neepawa - nice little city RV park and continued on to Kenora, Ontario the next day.

Kenora turned out to be a tourist destination. Nice Rv park right on the "Lake of the Woods". Spent a pleasant night and morning there enjoying the warm weather and sun. The town looked interesting but we did not unhitch so we did not get the chance to explore the area. JLS

The Soggy Prairies of Saskatchewan

One might ask why are we heading to Saskatoon? Answer - to catch up with our mail. We had it forwarded to a campground in the area. This area is an extension of the great plains and prairies down below in the lower forty. We had planned to get there on Saturday but left Edmonton area a day early. Called the RV park and they were booked so we could not get in a day early. And all the other RV parks listed in the guide were also full. Is Saskatoon really a tourist destination? Hmmm, looks like we may have to find a Walmart to park in for the night when Jack spotted an old and faded sign off Yellowhead Highway 16 for a little Provincial Park on the Saskatchewan river. Eagle eyed Jack saves the day!

This turned out to be a pleasant surprise! Not so much for the park itself, it was not much more than a grass field ( and quite soggy) but for the warmth and friendship we found. Turns out they were having their annual baseball tournament a long standing tradition held on Father's Day weekend. Our neighbor Ernie knocked on our door asking if it was okay if he fogged the area. Oh yes please! These prairie mosquitoes are fierce. This area has been getting much rain and the ground is saturated and prime breeding grounds for those pesky bloodsuckers. Later we shared a few drinks and campfire with Ernie, Michelle, Ted and Agi. Very friendly folk and they shared some great stories! And why didn't I take some pictures??

In the morning we shared email addresses and hot cinnamon rolls. Time for us to head to Saskatoon and hopefully our mail will be waiting. JLS

Edmonton Elks me

We left Hinton on Wednesday and started heading to Edmonton. We stayed at Elk Island NP which is about 30 miles east of Edmonton. Sorry no pictures of this area.

Edmonton itself is fair size city noted for having one of the largest indoor malls in North America. The weather was on the dismal side and we decided to check out the mall. Turned out to be longer drive than expected through some heavy traffic. Plus the TomTom GPS (we have it programmed with the voice of Pres George W. Bush) failed us and we missed the turn off. George did redeem himself and we did eventually find it. What can one say - it's a mall and much like any other mall except for the giant ice rink, water park and rides. Malls are not our cup of tea but if shopping is yours, then check it out.

I have to say Elk Island NP was bit of a disappointment. It is more like a large urban nature preserve then what one expects of a national park. It was quite expensive to camp inside the park. They charge a per person per day fee on top of the camping site fee which all totaled came to $40 a day. The sites did not have any water, electric or sewer and the park overall looked a bit run down. Plus they charged another $8 a day if you want to have campfire. It looked like it might be weekend hangout place for Edmonton youth crowd. We did see some buffalo but nothing like what you see at Yellowstone NP or Custer State park in the Mt Rushmore area. Never did see any elks or beavers. Lesson learned -we will stay away from the Canadian NPs for camping. Provincial parks seem to have larger sights and seem to be more maintained. So we decided to leave a day early for Saskatoon. JLS

Not Exasperated in Jasper

Jasper and Banff are two of the great Canadian NPs and are not overrated. This area is a must see once in your life. The color of the lakes is quite unique due to all the glacier melt. Try to see them on sunny day to get the full effect of color and light. I have never seen anywhere else the color of these lakes. Pictures truly do not capture how beautiful the lakes and mountains are in this area.
We did a drive by through Jasper NP the first day out from the Wells Grey area. You can drive through the park for free if you tell them you are just using the road to get to the other side. But know the name of your destination because they will ask.

We were not sure if we could fit in the campground in the park so we stayed just outside the park in the Hinton\Jasper KOA. Very nice KOA and has some great views but very slow WIFI. Plus a large field you can let your dogs run around. Zuzu had a great time! On the ranch next to us there were three new baby colts and it was fun to watch them with their moms.

From Jasper

We were in for shock when we went to go into Jasper NP the next day. It was $20 a day entrance fee. We were pretty sure it was free 7 years ago when we were there for our honeymoon. If not free - much less. Regardless, we had great time down memory lane. I didn't take a lot of pictures since I still have our honeymoon pictures of this area. We did stop to have dinner at one of the restaurants we ate on our honeymoon. Chatted with the waiter a bit and he gave us the low down on his home town Saskatoon which we will be staying for a few days to catch up with our mail.

The next few days we decided to explore the Hinton area. They have very nice large Provincial Park that had a lot of camp sites that were large but no hook ups. Talked to few of the park rangers and they told us what to check out and said we might even see a mama moose and her babies in the one area. But alas no luck. Hinton itself is an odd mix of tourism and industry. On one hand it is the Eastern gateway to Jasper and on the other the home of a large paper mill and thriving industry . Heading towards Edmonton next. JLS

Alls Well with Wells Gray

We started heading north east towards Jasper. Driving through the greater Seattle area was as expected - crowded! Passed into Canada without a hitch ( except for the 5th wheel). We took a back road avoiding the I5 crossing. It was late afternoon and I think the boarder official was tired. Stayed hitched and stayed in Chilliwack on a road called Luckakuck ( where do they get these names?) The RV park looked like it may have seen better days but was still ok. It was given very high ratings in Trailer Guide. Right off Canada 1 and as result very noisy. I don't recommend using the laundry facilities unless you are unhitched - the walk from the sites was far.

From Wells Gray

The drive once we got pass Chilliwack became quite beautiful and we ended up in small town called Clearwater near the entrance to Wells Gray NP. I had never heard of this park and this turned out to be quite a nice surprise. The park had series of waterfalls that were very spectacular. The KOA was nice and great Wifi to boot. Definitely worth staying a day or two.JLS

Home of the gods and town of the queen

Ok - so it's been awhile. We headed out of Bend and stayed two rainy days in the Columbia Gorge area. Very wet and very green and full of water falls. It rained hard and steady for almost 24 hours straight. It was raining so hard that we couldn't get pictures of the famous Multnomah waterfall. Is that moss growing on the dogs?

From Columbia River Gorge

Started our trek to the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park. Rain cleared a bit but still over cast on the way up.We found a great state park (Salt Creek Recreation area) to stay. There was even fellow Excel owner we chatted with a few times. It was bit on the remote side hence my lack of posts. No Wifi and the broadband stick could not find service. We had great views of the Juan De Fuca Straight and on a clear day even see Victoria from our windows.

From Olympic Penn and Victoria

This area is incredibly beautiful with snow capped mountains, ocean views, quaint towns and some of the most hauntingly beautiful forests. The Hoh Rain forest in Olympic NP is must see in this area. Pictures do not do this area justice. This area and the town of Forks is gaining some fame for being the setting for "Twilight" books and movies and taking advantage by exploiting that fact. Years ago I got a ticket in Forks. The town hasn't changed much.


The town of Port Angeles offers a ferry to Victoria BC and I recommend doing this as well. Very charming and the Butchart Gardens were something to see as well if a bit pricey.


We decided to take the Port Townsend ferry to the mainland and started our way up to Jasper. It is short ferry ride and you do need to reserve your spot. We had fun taking the Biff on the ferry and it saved us a lot of driving time. JLS

From Olympic Penn and Victoria