I started out from Thunder Bay Ontario heading West on 11 with full plans to stop and see the Kakabeka Falls. Well I did see the falls except they weren’t flowing. They were frozen solid. Of course I got a few shots and had a good look around before moving on. It was a gloriously beautiful day (although -16 Celsius) so I was taking my time.
Just down the road I encountered a large wrecking yard filled with semi trucks and commercial vehicles. There was two big signs on the gate “Beware of Dog” but I looked and didn’t seen any evidence of life in the pristine snow. I took a chance, hopped the fence and wandered the yard for close to 3 hours, filling all my 3 memory cards and depleting one camera battery completely. The challenge, every step was in snow up to my knees, sometimes higher. By the time I got back to the truck my legs were cold and my ass was wet.
As I did yesterday after the session with the old Packard (a lot of snow there too) I found a roadside spot to drop my trousers and change into dry ones. I can just imagine some hinterland animal watching from their hole in the snow, smirking and laughing at the sight of my white ass hopping on my shoes beside my truck, trying to change before any traffic comes. Life on the road is fun sometimes.
After that stop I stopped for a little dilapidated house then moved on. As I got closer to Dryden the snow came, then it got thick. By the time I arrived here it was a whiteout and I’m here for the night. Starting off at the library, transferring some shots and updating. Should be into Manitoba tomorrow.
Kakabeka Falls - Frozen in Time
Category: Cross Canadian Road Trip 2009-2010, Highlights
Tags: Dryden, junkyard, Kakabeka Falls, manitoba, ontario, snow, thunder bay, trucks, wet pants, wrecks 2 Comments
After sleeping in (got every dime out of my cheap room), I made my way downtown St. John, New Brunswick for a walk and some exploring. It was just drizzling a bit when I started but that soon turned to rain, of course as soon as I decide it’s too wet and take my camera back to the truck it then stopped. I took a few more shots before it started up again, then I called the game.
I started to drive a bit and saw a coffee place that might have Wi-Fi. I was correct in my assumption and soon found myself sitting comfortably in Java Moose, editing my photos on my laptop. Since they are located downtown which apparently rolls up at 6pm they closed at five. So I was out again, in the rain.
I’ve found a spot to borrow wireless from and have uploaded a bunch of new photos from Day 7 of my trip. The yard of cars I found in Kyle Saskatchewan. I got through one card’s worth, and still have another to go through. Another day.
Anyway, I’m still in St. John, hanging around to see what the weather holds for tomorrow, may find myself back at Java Moose for a bit tomorrow. Who knows.
All is good, just slowing down a bit for some reason, kind of feels good to idle even slower.
Bedspring Kiss
Category: Highlights
Tags: cars, coffee, Java Moose, junkyard, Kyle, New Brunswick, old, rain, rusty, saskatchewan, St. John, vintage 2 Comments
So just as I started heading out of Kamloops I saw out of the corner of my eye a yard with some old 50′s cars in it. I swung around and found Central Equipment, a heavy equipment repair shop that owned the yard. I talked to an awesome gentleman named Brian who graciously let me wander around his yard, even after he closed. I spent a couple hours there and got some great shots of the old cars.
I continued on towards Mabel lake. I’m not sure why I wanted to go there, mainly just because I remember it being nice when we went on a family vacation as a kid. On the way I encountered even more cool old cars. Some were in a private yard just past Falkland BC, and the others were at the Route 97 Diner and Bakery. There are a couple of guys who rebuild old hot rods in a shop in behind the diner. Some old jalopies for sale out front. I got a quick peak of a nice 55 Chevy that they were rebuilding, very nice.
On to Mabel lake, I got there and got a few shots off just as the best light was disappearing. So after that I made my way up a Forestry Service road that was definitely a “back-road”. I veered off that to a campground called “Noisy Creek”. It was the furthest thing from noisy. If it wasn’t for the trickling of the creek there would have been no sound at all. It’s nice to know that there are still places within a day’s drive of the city that one can find silence. I had the whole campground to myself. I got the best spot right in front of the beach, made a fire and some soup, took a few long exposure shots then watched the moon cross the sky in the darkness and climbed into the truck and had an awesome quiet sleep. I woke up to a foggy overcast day so didn’t get any daylight shots of the lake from there.
Category: Highlights
Tags: 50s, cars, classics, hot rods, iron, junkyard, mabel lake, night, quiet, rusty, silence One Comment
