Day 1 - Dec 1, 2005 - Getting there from Quito Ecuador

Today was a big travel day. After having breakfast at the hotel's restaurant, we took off for the airport at 6:45 am. The drive was only about 20 minutes but our GAP representative had to direct us to have our bags x-rayed, tagged and then checked in. We were told we could only check in 7kg of baggage but I think everyone went a little bit over. Kirsten and my baggage alone was 40kg plus our day packs.

I think the main reason for the limit was not the airline but rather how we were to get to our boat and the storage capacity on the boat touring us around the Galapagos Islands. We waited...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 – Day 44

We had a lot to squeeze into our last day on our Cross Canada Adventure. It all started with a stop at the Nk'Mip Native Cultural Centre. An amazing centre in the middle of the desert lands of Osoyoos. Our visit started with an interpretive hike along a desert trail in the blazing sun. Right from the beginning we knew it would be interesting as the kids were warned to stay off of the rocks that lined the path. It was a possible location for the many rattlers and other snakes that can become part of the tour. Although a hot day it was not unbearable and we learned a great deal of the First Nation's history of the region. We learned about the topography, geography and plants of the region before...

Monday, August 24, 2009 – Day 43

I woke up at 6 am to two short toots of an idling logging truck only a few feet away from where we had been sleeping. It was then that the signs around us started to make sense. The signs had indicated that logging was only permitted from 6 to 9am in the morning. That meant that we were at the beginning of the day's logging on this old road. No wonder the pullout was larger than any other I had seen. It was large enough for the big trucks to make a right hand turn from the dirt road which was parallel to the main highway. With us in the way however, the driver was only able to make a left hand turn.

I quickly got out of bed and was in the drivers seat pulling out to relocate our RV...

Sunday, August 23, 2009 – Day 42

As we headed Northwest from Waterton National Park we drove through the small town of Pincher Creek. Along the horizon this town is dotted with dozens and dozens of strategically placed modern windmills. It is obvious that these windmills are taking over agriculture as the regions' bread and butter. I have been told that the windmills are having a direct impact on the farming and ranching as a rancher can earn $5000 per month by having a windmill on their property without having to do any work at all. Farming and ranching however require a great deal of work and don't include a guaranteed income.

The windmills however are mesmorizing and certainly did attract my attention. I had to...