Life as an Artificial Lifeform

Jam Session with Jeremy and some musician friends to figure out if video can lead audio and how both can feed of each other. While it wasn´t perfect for the whole jam there were parts that were extremely tight and working beautifully - very nice.

Now some uncommented impressions from the valley, lake and drive to Nelson BC. The valley is btw the biggest source for a certain forbidden green crop. It makes the area very rich. Most people have this "second income". Some of the houses are just totally stunning.

Nelson BC - a very nice town again with a very very hippy vibe to it. I don´t know why I took so little pictures there - sometimes you just don´t feel it I guess. Here is a side alleyway.

The best (vegetarian organic) burrito ever. You put it together yourself. Choice of 6 organic selfmade sauces - that was ridiculously yummy.

Brian on Nelson Mainstreet.

Nelson Mainstreet - the photo doesn´t do the town justice - just for documentary purposes here.

On the way back in the middle of nowhere on a fallen down barn building on the side of the road this pretty stunning streetart - certain forbidden plants is all I am saying.

To call New Denver a town would be an insult to other towns - but they had great aspirations in former times, just silver price falling of a cliff some 80 years ago didn´t help the expansion much.

A(nother) walk along the lake shore third try to find some old mines (I like holes in the ground). Still totally stunning this lake. Mesmerizing. If you ever need a place to find total inner peace this is the most likely one.

Spring coming - things come alive. How they will survive there between the rocks is another matter I guess.

Balance.

I did mention that the water is as clear as it can get - for a lake this size unbelievable clear.

Ah there it is - a mine. We found many. and they are just that - holes in the ground. I would have loved to climb in but we didn´t have any rope or light with us - damn. One of the mines went in extremely deep. They are just left there open with a very old very rusty fence on top to stop people from intruding.

Forest.

On the walk back we came by an electrical switching station. This is the warning sign :)

Still have no idea what a Block Parents Community is, but the design could be from east germany.

New Denver has a bicycle hospital with emergency vehicle and all - just in case your bike ever gets sick.

uhm somebody forgot his toy - then went on to take the bigger toy apart.

Oh I would have so liked to ride with the cool bus - who wouldn´t.

Just a nice garden in New Denver. All gardens where nice in New Denver - people have a lot of time around these parts to tend their gardens.

just because its a nice framing.

I have a bathtub for growing in the garden as well - it makes a really good flower/vegi pot. I am missing out on the hanging bear :)

Thats right this way pointer was there at our final destination the top one says "Berlin 10280 km" yes thats how far I was a away from home.

New Denver Mainstreet - movie set.

Back at the house the forest just beaming with light -pretty pretty.

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Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Bit of city life got into the way and fatigue of selecting and post processing photos and I want to have fun doing it so I hope you still there looking cause there are is some crazy stuff coming up :) Three more entries to go hopefully in less then a week it should finish it all up.

So just to recap we just left Revelstoke and went on the ferry to that island towards New Denver/Silverton where we arrived at our final destination - a house from a guy called bryce that I haven´t meet yet but the house is totally beautiful inside out here is one view of it :)

Brian introduced me to Jeremy a phenomenal artist - audio and paintings - we had a jam session with him and went on some walks and stuff. On the first walk on the shore of the lake on an old railroad track we tried to find the old mines that are scattered everywhere around this region. Didn´t quite make it to the mines but lots of stuff in the forest telling stories of the past when this area was alive and buzzing with people digging up silver. Like this steelpress thing - no way to move that from where it is ever ;)

Chains.

Not so pleasant but realtiy - clear cuts. Why can´t humans leave the bit of untouched nature alone.

Jeremy and his daughter on the lake. Truly amazing alive nice people.

The forest up.

Green getting greener by the day :) Lush dreamy forest.

Forest. Yes lots of trees everywhere.

Panoramic lake. This lake is just stunning meditative clear nice relaxing - you gonna see more of it here sorry.

Then we went to a place called Sandon. Sandon is a ghost town. Formerly housing 15.000 people now there are maybe 30 people living there. Look at this video to see Sandon in its former glory. The silver mine that made that place big is back up and working. The town used to have a walkway on top of the creek. One day a flood came and destroyed half the town who depended on that walkway the rest burned down in two successive fires. Not much left now but you can see a bit of its former glory. Still spooky place - we didn´t see any people while we were there.

Trying to finally see a mine we made a small walk but the amount of snow made us turn back soon. It did snow the night before you can see the snowfall line in the trees.

Back in Sandon there was a steam locomotive - there is no traintrack going into this town and that adds to the mystery why that vehicle is there.

p

The few houses (10 maybe max) that are there are great looking.

Oh and I didn´t see a sidewalk but don´t spit on it alright!

No this is not a mistake. Explaination further down.

The only shop in town - but there were two museums (closed for the season).

You seen the detail above. There are about 25 electric busses in town coming from winnipeg. Like with the steam locomotive its a bit of a mystery why they are there (nice too look at but strange in that place). The story goes that there is a guy in town who has two woman and acts like he is the mayor of the town (but not official) and he brings in these old vehicles. Why and what he is going to do with them and stuff nobody knows.

The reopened Silver mine - run by one guy. It produces silver and goes almost 40km into the mountain :O

Going back to New Denver you come across these lodge houses - adorable.

New Denver mainstreet - buzzing with life.

The lake again - no ripples totally smooth.

And back to the house.

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Revelstoke by far the nicest of the skitowns we have visited and the ski resort just plainly rocks - while still pretty young there is so much backcountry to ski down ones you are up with the lift its crazy. Next time a bit more fresh powder and its heaven on snowboard earth. Anyway let me take you on a early evening stroll through the town.

Lovely houses again. The photos don´t do them full justice but you get the idea.

And powerlines :)

The highschool building - straight out of a western movie. Massive entrance.

A lot of attention to detail everywhere - the beautiful streetsigns.

Masterfull signage everywhere.

that chinese restaurant and its signage had some intense magic to it.

Mainstreet (not very long). Lots of organic bakeries and foodplaces - all in very lovely western styles - again movie set like but totally real.

The presentation center - former bankbuilding? Greek Columns FTW! ;)

Well…

Lower mainstreet.

A driving tired brian that was worn out on the mountain in Golden earlier in the day.

uhm. Pinging home.

Not high noon yet…

For my home possy a little inside joke.

An epic long train came along these lamps made beautiful sounds and we have this video of this girl on a really cool bicycle waiting to pass.

This was back at the Motel - I was told that these are very famous chairs that where every Motel back in the 70s - stylish.

Next morning sunrise. We are leaving to our final destination.

The trashcans all had funny shapes across the nation so I finally asked Brian if there is anything behind it - short answer: "Its against bears" - so they don´t like the shape? Anyway bears are a real problem in communities as they dig through trash destroy the trashcans in the process - yes there are lots of bears around - no sadly I have not seen one - they are coming out more in autumn.

Before reaching our destination one more obstacle to pass. A ferry would get us onto a peninsula behind one of the deepest lake in northern america. The lake was chrystal clear and it never freezes - the ferry is part of the road system and massive and free of charge. So we off into just after sunset - dreamlike landscape and just a hint of how nice it would become.

Off into the darkness for another 45 minutes and we will have reached Silverton, BC where the house we would stay is - the middle of a very dense very dark forest. up a very icy road behind a couple of bends - but thats for another entry :)

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Leaving Wildwood the next day first next town we encountered was Edson. Unremarkable town in itself but a few things stuck out. First they seemed to have hired a very capable Corporate Identity Designer who made a logo for the town that actually stuck with me (one can debate if its nice or not - not too bad at least). The logo was put onto every lamppost - if you want to promote your town and your town is mostly a drive through town this is very very effective (if done nicely).

And Edson had a skatepark too - covered in snow still but quite massive. They have a mayor that understands a few things it seems.

The graffiti is not the most sophisticated in the world but humorous and playing on wild west themes and I like the stencil of the flower in the middle ;)

Just a tad out of Edson something appeared on the horizon that I was soooo looking forward too. The Rockies in all their glory and as with any other mountain range they changed my mood they made me a little kid wanting to play in the dirt and climb them board them hug them - just the mountain goat that I am accused of being coming through.

We drove into the mountains and came to Jasper - a touristy town with almost no native people to be found. Most people in the town where from the philipines. We stayed at the Atha-B - cheap but very nice hotel in town - boarded a bit next day under prestince conditions (and no photos from on the mountains - its my off time from pixels don´t want cameras around ;) slept another night in Jasper and then rocked on north to south inside the Rockies. Beautiful drive here some impressions.

Totem poles at last after I heard that they actually tell a story and I have never seen one in person I wanted to see one so badly. Really cool story telling tool they had if you ask me. So its a bit hard to see the story but let your imagination run wild and there are lots of stories in them.

Oh I forgot - in Jasper we left the camera in the hotelroom for a evening stroll - what a stupid mistake - we missed a picture of a lifetime with a caribou standing on the railway line while a lokomotive heading straight toward it making loud noise and all but the caribou (a huge deer like animal) wasn´t moving at all - just shortly before impact it very calmly and slowly marched off the track. The caribou had balls. Could still hate myself for not having the cam with me. The caribous we saw next day chilling out in middle of town - they are just not afraid of anything it seems. This is the closest I can give you for a picture of a caribou - a sign warning us that they are in the area - yes they are.

The "famous" icefields - a formerly huge glacier that the road went through and just as in the alps - the glacier is gone - receded so far that you had to guess where it is - just the gravel left behind gave you a glimpse of its former glory - but yeah global warming is surely a myth.

Avalanches are a bigger danger here then in the alps I would say - no matter where we looked a avalanche had come down - they are smaller then in the alps but surely not less deadly.

I call this mountain alien Mt Rushmore - I hope you can see why ;)

The frozen waterfalls where everywhere. A feature I have not seen like this in the alps either.

Yes thats champaign powder up there. :)

The deers are elegant around here.

Somewhere here we arrived in Banff - contrary to Jasper it was filled with australien people - and was bigger and even more touristy - didn´t like it at all - but the Banff University is quite a nice place. We stayed two nights boarded at Sunshine and drove to Golden and then onto Revelstoke - mostly boarding and little concentration for nice pictures.

Our Motel in Revelstoke and that was actually a real town - a town to like with a really nice spirit to it. So there are lots a pictures from this cute place in the next entry.

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So after a long long drive from Flin Flon through Edmonton we were tired enough not to push our way to the mountains but instead eyeing the best next motel. Just that there where none. One on the other side of the road we kinda missed because there was not an easy turnaround and generally turning around wasn´t really our style anyway so we drove and drove and then a town sign for "Wildwood" came up with the tiny icon representing an opportunity to sleep with a roof over our head - we took the exit and found ourselfs in front of this place - well it was weirdly inviting and as it was our only option anyway we went for it. What came up was probably the most surreal night we had on the whole trip - in a very good way. The Silver Spur Hotel and Salloon was like a cross mix between a classic oldschool western bar with a bit of studio 54 a modern disco and a casino mixed in. Really a film could not have build a more fun crazy set then this. There where only three people in the bar. The barkeeper whos name we forgot (and we appologize here), Chrystal the waitress and Justin the woodsplitter. I get ahead of myself.

The bar had this still live with two real stuffed bears and a stuffed owl in one corner.

The really dry and funny barkeeper.

Chrystal the waitress.

Justin the woodsplitter.

Who ordered us a B52 which the barkeeper mixed to perfection (after fact checking the recipe in a book ;) - with a loose tongue we came to a very interesting and open talk that blew me away. Forget stereotypes fALk really they don´t exist. The young chaps were happy where they lived. They don´t like cities - they like to have no concrete under their feet, they want to get energy independent, they grow their own food. They totally know that they are percieved as rednecks (that word was brought up by them) and to a degree
like that monicker as it gives them an identity but they are not the Sarah Palin kind of rednecks they just like to have fun in their own unique ways - like sitting on an old car hood thats tied to a car and running down a frozen river at 100km/h :) Chrystal is planning on getting solar panels they manage some forest etc etc. all that while they have oil pumps on their fields. And yes they all have internet - I think the main reason for their awareness.
(If any of you three are reading this - you rock! There is hope in the world :)

Me trying to hide as per usual especially after the B52 ;)

The Sivler Spur Saloon event schedule. Its usually more busy but there was a brithday party in the next town so most people went there.

Crazy idea worth having for the club - towel material in pink wrapped tablecloth. It would only work in pink and it needs to be washed after every night but it surely had style.

The hotel room was a timecapsule.

This is the Silver Spur Hotel and Saloon from the outside. There was also a chinese restaurant inside - contrast people is where its at :D

And two more (not so minor) inhabitants of this small village. Again - it was an experience of its own. The village is bleeding inhabitants as the main highway was moved about 300 meter away from the village so people do not stop anymore here. I don´t think this will be bad for them in the long run with such lovely people and a working community.

If you are ever near make sure you stop by there and have a drink its really an experience to be had.

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So fluently we went from Saskatchewan to Alberta - no fancy sign or anything alerting us of the change but something strange happened on the fields all of the sudden.

Upon closer inspection it became clear what was happening - oil and gasfield exploration in the midst of agriculture. land cattle and fossil fuels would be the slogan for Alberta province.

Still straight roads it gets a bit more hilly billy.

#

And modern oilpumps come in different flavors but all of them are painted in bright colors. To make them more friendly looking?

The classic oil pump.

And yeah just fields I like fields.

more fields with more gastanks they have serious natural gas reserves in Alberta. Makes it a wealthy province - even so - as we later found out - the famers get only a tiny compensation for having something like this on their fields - if they refuse then the companies go to the neighbor farmer and just drill vertically to access the same gas/oil bubble. Not nice practice if you ask me - leaving the farmers poor and the oilcompanies rich.

Huge all over the place along our journey sticking out like monuments of human technological feats - so we could not figure out what they actually transmitted because it was neither cellphone nor radio most of the time.

More jumpin moose.

Don´t ask. I don´t know.

And we found the road that leads to heaven - if you believe in such things - I don´t so it just too us further west instead of into the sky.

Two of my favorite field pictures of the whole trip :)

Me the Sunset Sucker. I mentioned already that this was the longest sunset I ever witnessed because we where driving right into it without any interruption for hours and therefore we think that must have made it longer.

With the sun just set we arrive in Edmonton. The oil refinery glittering in the distance like a scene out of star wars. It didn´t make us feel like we wanted to stay so we went on looking for a better place - that was a a real good decision - see it in part 3 of day 5.

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So from Flin Flon we set out into the sunrise and into Sasketchewan province. Like Manitoba a mostly prairie province except for the road we took it seems - because that presented us with more forest tunnels for almost six hours. Not much to take pictures you would think but some things need documenting.

For example this monster of a snowmobile - small tank might be a better description. I surely would want to try to ride that one day just to see how it feels.

The most shocking thing was the amount of dead trees on the way. You had these patches running for miles with just dead trees on them. Brian was insisting it was logging but it didn´t made sense as the trees stumps where still there. Looking at the warning signs that made you aware not to transport firewood around the country it was clear the pine beetle has struck this part of canada extremely heavily.

Yes it seems we are on the right route.

Brian recreating in the wind on a frozen lake on a little detour we took to have a break from the tree tunnels.

There was a truck on a deserted parking lot and it had these charming number plates.

Yes told you more dead trees - the only distraction on the forest tunnels - a sad sad sight - its quite hard to see the scope of the destruction on the photos - its massive and everywhere.

The main northern highway turns into a dirt road at one point. The dirt road is better then a lot of paved road in this world - I have no idea how they make it but its smooth as butter.

And this is how a clear cut looks like.

Ah the trusty professor (the car) and brian. Yes this car took us on the 10.000km journey with only one small hickup (alternator carbon sticks worn down). Very comfortable to sit in for all these long hours.

Then we came out of the tree tunnels all of the sudden and back into the prairies.

The roads get straighter and straighter and longer.

And also the territory more untrusting - pre pay for your gas or you aint get none - not that you have any chance to escape here - they could see you for miles down the road if you try.

also dead trees in the prairies.

and funky golf course signs.

Town of Willness - Land and Cattle - thats the best description for what lays ahead.

And the Moose are flying in Sasketchewan.

Now this picture might seem unpostworthy but but - the next 3 towns all looked exactly the same with the exact same towers in the middle - you will see.

Dusty roads and land and cattle.

And yes still the Moose are flying around here. Fun fact of the day moose charge cars. So instead of like deer who just stare at bright lights and stand still the mighty moose come after you. Nobody could tell me how to actually react when one does. Seeing one on the way back in the night I think I really don´t want to find out - they are freaking massive animals.

Land. Pretty Land.

Glaslyn - town two look alike (town three will be in the next entry as that was already in Alberta province).

Long Roads that seemed to never end.

Deserted houses left and right.

Very very very long roads.

Dusty long roads and the start of the longest sunset I have seen in my life.

Rythmic pretty clouds.

Town three in the row - its not really good visible but these structures were the most prominent buildings and there are just a dozen or so houses scattered around them so that made three towns in a row look so much of the same that it was like a déjà vu.

And an eye forming in the sky - I am sorry to bore you with this but please understand we just had been through five hours of tree tunnels so everything seemed to be enormously exiting.

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On Day 4 we took off from The Pas (and yes I liked that town) and went to Flin Flon - not very far away. First stop was the trainyard in The Pas - you have to understand the trains here are long - really really really really really long. Mostly just dragged by two of these super locomotives - how they do this is a mystery to me. Anyway the trainyards are unsupervised and unfenced - so anybody wants to "have fun" with a 3 km long train may go to The Pas.

About half way to Flin Flon we came to a place where I don´t quite remember the name but it came to existence because it was a portage - the Cannery Portage to be precise (the town probably was named similar). A portage is where there is a watershed - meaning there are two rives/creeks flowing in different direction not far away from each other - so you take your canoe and carry it from one river to the next so you can enjoy more free riding down the water. When first entering the town we where almost ready to swap the volvo to the bombardier snowmobile sitting around. Brian took a test drive but since snow levels where not high enough we stayed with the volvo for the time being.

Just wanting a bit lunch at the lake we met this photofriendly husky who barked at us very loudly but stopped and posed ones the camera was directed to him. So he gets his wish of a published photo I guess.

Oh and people living in this house sure ain´t getting wet feet anymore.

This is the memorial for the Cranberry Portage - a very important point - you can go to the Hudson Bay from here all down river and very far inland on the other side. Was used by the First Nations and then later by the hunters and settlers.

Leaving this place Flin Flon was (finally) coming up. This is kinda the first impression.

The mine and its smokestack rules the city everywhere

Yes real people living here who also seem to wear clothes.

As every city out west the obligatory watertower and 9000V on the multitude of powerlines

And they have culture too!

But the industrial side of town rules the impression

With a huge open pit mine in the middle.

Cute houses.

Old empty houses.

More cute houses.

Oh and did you know that in Flin Flon you can find the home of Rock'n'Roll? Well I didn´t either but it went bankrupt and was empty - seems that Rock'n'Roll is dead (or homeless).

The youth in Flin Flon (and The Pas) uses the rocks that line the streets for their graffitty playground - not sophisticated and strictly forbidden but to be seen everywhere.

The decorating commitee (oh yes that became a running joke with all these oversized statures in all these small towns) likes santa claus.

Tourism is apparently a bit slow in Flin Flon. The guy looking over the sign is actually Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin. The guy who gave the name to the town - purely fictional character - I direct you to the wikipedia entry for more information about this - its a funny.

Smokestack peaks out everywhere I mentioned that already.

The media and the church caters to the big industrial complex.

We were blessed with another super nice sunset - like pretty much every day on our journey so far. Here is the main red mine building.

Some textures we liked.

There is something about raised structures that I find appealing.

Powerline yeah :D

Flin Flon looked like the moon - there was only forest all around it but the city itself is enormously bare rocky. The trees must have been logged for the mining business.

This smokestack was captivating sorry to bore you with more.

And ähm more powerlines :)

A memorial I just liked the light on it don´t ask me what the brave men and woman of Flin Flon actually did.

Typical typical street in nice light.

I am a romantic sunset sucker.

And old buildings with lots of texture.

But yeah more sunset.

Just the perfect CD cover for some death metal or too hard to listen to dubstep :P

We went to see the Flin Flon Bombers ice-hockey match. They won handely in some league that I can´t remember. Was my first live ice-hockey match I have seen - couldn´t have lost my ice hockey virginity at a more authentic place. And yes the guys are rough.

The queen reigns them all.

Flin Flon wasn´t the best stop on our trip sadly - we didn´t find many locals and couldn´t figure out where the afterparty to the icehockey match was so we went on the next day. Still a surreal town for sure.

Posted by fALk at 20:05 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sorry for the long pause. It was all a bit too eventful to keep up with the blog - the landscape just too stunning to stare at the computer, snowboarding in between and all, but we try to catch up a bit. So here is Day 3 the day we entered Manitoba. Driving from Kenoa to Winnipeg then up road 6 through the interlake all the way to The Pas. We thought it would be a beautiful drive along lakes but as you can see there was road and woods - straight roads through woods not much going on other then road and woods for hours and hours.

We enter Manitoba in the late morning.

This is how Manitoba presented itself 20 minutes drive in.

The great plains. Agriculture. More Agriculture.

And electricity crisscrossing.

Yes everything in this country looks like a movie set or a pretty postcard.

More electricity poles - why the obsession? well first of all they give depth second of all they have a visual rythm and after all we are on an educational trip and rhythm is a big part of it.

Yes thats how the street looked like for at least 5 hours and all of next day and the day after as we where to find out.

Deer crossing. I found out too late that the signs for animals change drastically from region to region - so this is the start of a series on signs - the charging moose will be photographed on the way back

I called it Barcode Road.

The only part of the lakes we got to see midway through the upper part of what is called the interlake (a dried up lake between two big lakes as we later found out) a little resting place and the start of the sunset. Since 4 hours we saw nothing but trees and road with maybe 5 cars/trucks in total. So I craved some detail.

The small lake we where allowed to see. The big lakes all behind thick tree lines.

Endless straight wide big huge I tell ya.

Long sunset on a straight road with trees by its side. Yes same road - we came through 1 town and passed two crossing otherwise road and trees but now at least some action in the sky.

No not shopped and no - no idea where he came from or walked to next intersection was 30 minutes drive away last intersection 3 hours and no you can not walk through the forst either - a mystery.

Finally the end of the 6 - that was a very very very very very long straight stretch of road - it wouldn´t be the last.

The 60 led us straight out west right into the sunshine

Yes thats exactly where the sun is - no sign really needed - but before you overlook eh. I mean there are so many trees its easy to miss the sun.

And there ends the day with a glorious sky.

Shortly later we ended up in The Pas where we stayed the night. had a nice chatter with the bar girl of "The Good Thymes" - that bar reminded me so much of the Affenclub at home in a way - very spooky. The whole vibe and people where so similar in a way. Very friendly folks out there living their own life - sweet. Sadly no camera and no audio recording here - we had to warm up to that.

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We made it to Flin Flon yesterday. Watched the local Ice Hockey Team win. Interesting surreal mining town. But I still have to catch up with the "old" photos so here goes a rather uneventfull day two that ended in Kenora.

Sunrise on Lake Superior

Ice Crysals

Icy Shore Sunrise

Still Lake Superior (yes its a freaking huge lake).

Long empty roads - a reoccuring theme pretty much through all our journey to this point

Empty roads becoming more straight as we get closer to the great plains.

Not much going on would be nice if these radio towers would transmit internet but they are just for radio it seems - not even basic cellphone coverage most of this part of the journey. Still they are somehow pretty.

Granit rock everywhere in all shapes and colors.

Small Lake giving us a pretty sunset.

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Little Update - we are in The Pas (spoken The Paw and thanks to Rachel for the heads up tricky town name) we are now on the way to Flin Flon - to not completetly loose track of the photos here is the next batch - still from Day 1 - I never gonna catch up again at this rate ;)

Left Restaurant in some small town

We are on the lookout for movement - the windmill was the first (and last) movement for a very long time

Empty old houses - haunting

But with modern ornamentals

and a Brian in front

who is still happy driving - super triple mirror inside

And scrap yards full of gorgeous old cars and other mobiles

Canadian Shield has granite mountains

Driving along Lake Superior - the last of the Big Lakes - People are Ice Fishing - even so the ice started melting

The little stone man figures are everywhere we go like little ghosts watching over us

Lake Superior is really big and it has nice nice nice sandy beaches that except for the pine trees (and the ice) they could also be in the Caribbean

And always the devestation to nature comes into view - mountain top mining.

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Originally planned as a snowboarding trip with a study element the weather on the ground and general things that needed to get done morphed this idea into a fully blown road round trip from Toronto to the Rockies and back - probably close to 9000km in total. While planning the trip roughly we have decided on just a very few waypoints to leave us enough room for decision making. One of those targets is Flin Flon the town where the most northern road that goes west starts. Oh and we have power and 1 Gigabyte of 23Mbit internet on board while the coverage won´t be available everywhere a lot of our route is covered so I try to keep up to date as much as possible.

Driving out of Toronto just before sunrise we have now entered the venerable canadian shield - territory of the Mohawk tibe. Harsch rock formations and beautiful meditative lakes lining the street. Our destination for the day will be Wawa on Lake Superior said to be the most beautiful road in Ontario - so we try to make it til sunset and then also get the other half on sunrise.

Internet has been extremely rare - had no cellphone coverage for 1200km so I am running behind with report and photos. We slept last night in a Motel 200km after Wawa. Today we drove along the last bit of Lake Suprerior - stunning road. Then went west direction Winnipeg to stay over in Kenory - the last town in Ontario. We are offered a stay at Brian Cousin, computer geek with fast network so I am able to finish at least the photoset of the first half of the first day. More on next internet connection.

gasstation - half price of germany at least.

Last time to see so many cars on one place our start in Toronto

Canadas Wonderland just outside of Toronto

Brian having fun driving

Sunrises in the snowbelt. Breathtaking start of the trip.

The canadian shield - still with us after 2000km - hard granit holding beautiful meditative lakes. At this time of the year all lakes should have icecovers - its much too warm everywhere. Coldsnap and snow expected next week - perfect timing for snowboarding if it happens.

The land of the First Nation of the Mohawk 2.5 hours north of Toronto

First Nation of the Wikwemikong

Lots of not so pleasant views, the blue sky was brown over the smokestack

Prime property on southside view

A horsefarm on the road

We are going west - far west

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