Loved to Death

I drove through one of the most beautiful places in the world and did not take one photograph. After leaving Kananaskis, We drove north through Banff to Lake Louise. It was jammed packed. They had people in the intersections directing traffic. We looked for a campsite and everything was full. I had wanted to stay and get a few new images of Moraine Lake since I have had quite a few images of this lake published in the past.

Moraine Lake, Banff

The above image is the cover of the Backcountry Maps of Southern Alberta book. We will hopefully come back this way on our way home. It should be less busy in September. Lori and I continued up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. All of the campsites were also full there so we got a cabin. I was hoping to shoot some new landscapes of Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park. Again there were just too many people.

Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper

The main campgrounds in many national parks are now “reservation only”. We don’t like to book much on our trips. That way we can stay flexible regarding weather and shooting time. We may have to rethink this for areas like the Rocky Mountains. Hopefully September will be better.

We headed to Hinton for an oil change and to do laundry and now are on our way north.

Braving the Bugs

You loose your tolerance for things sometimes. I find the first couple of days among biting insects hard. You would think I would be used to it by now. We have spent so much time in some very buggy places.

Blood Filled Mosquito

In late May and early June in Ontario you tend to see a bit of everything - black flies, mosquitoes, deer flies and horse flies. We have had four trips so far this spring and spent time on Manitoulin Island, Killarney, Sandbanks and Bon Echo.

Black Bear Mother and Cub

Common Merganser Male

Spring Ice Formations

Outlet River, Sandbanks, ON

The first 3 locations were wonderfully bug-free except for midge flies.

Non-biting Midge Flies

Bon Echo was not so bug free. The moment we stepped out of the van I realized that a short sleeve shirt and short pants were not a good option. I don’t use bug spray very often but the bugs were so thick, we both quickly sprayed our entire bodies. It was just enough relief to get the dining tent set up. I wondered if it would be better at the beach parking lot so we drove there and got out. There was nice breeze keeping the number of bugs down. We decided to have a swim and then cook dinner there. Later we wandered down to the point to shoot the cliff on Mazinaw Lake. The light was nice but the breeze killed the reflection I was hoping for. I used a 10-stop neutral density filter to smooth out the ripples on the water and create a soft reflection. We had a nice evening at the edge of the lake.

Bon Echo Provincial Park, ON

The next day we shot at a waterfall in Flinton Ontario. The bugs were thick there too. Once I started working though, I was able to ignore them for the most part.

Flinton Ontario Waterfalls

There were lots of turtles at the side of the road. We found a young snapping turtle willing to pose.

Young Snapping Turtle

It started to rain so we headed back for a game of cribbage and cooked dinner. Having a dining tent allows us to work out of the bugs and rain. It is the only way we can stand to camp in the spring.

Campsite with Dining Tent

It’s a Big Small World!

Finally we had everything packed into the van and headed out the driveway around 2 p.m.

The Loaded Van

We drove north on Hwy 400/69 stopping at Nobel where Lori took over driving. A little north of Pointe Aux Baril traffic stopped. A woman parked at the side of the road said there was a bad accident and the road would be closed for another 6 hours. If we wanted to continue, we would have to go back to Parry Sound, go east to Sundridge, north to North Bay and then head west on Hwy 17. At that point, I thought it best to just camp for the night and try again in the morning. We drove back south to Killbear and got a campsite at the edge of the beach. Very nice. We had a bite to eat and then I wandered over to the rocks to take a few snaps. I was shooting a landscape when a man and woman with a little girl came by. The woman and the girl sat right in the middle of my scene so I asked them if they minded if I take their photo. She looked unsure and asked her husband if it was ok. He said, "Sure", and Lori asked them to sign a release. I shot quickly as the light was changing. My 24-105mm lens is acting up. It gives an error. Seems the contacts between the lens and camera have a problem. In spite of all that, I think I got a good shot.

Killbear Provincial Park - Click for larger

When I handed the man my release he looked at it and said, “Scarborough eh? Do you know Marc Crabtree?”
"Yes I do!" It's a small world. After chatting with them for a while Lori and I headed back to camp. We played a little cribbage and then went to bed. Sleeping in the van worked really well. There is lots of room and it is surprisingly comfortable. We just need to make sure it’s level next time!

The next 2 days we spent on Manitoulin Island. We had a nice visit with Lori’s Mom.

Canola Field on Manitoulin - Click for larger

The Farm

On Thursday we drove to Pukaskawa National Park. After setting up camp we lazed on the beach. What a great way to spend Canada Day. I love this place. It’s so rugged and beautiful. After dinner at our campsite we walked back out to North Beach. It had clouded over but I shot anyway. It was very dramatic.

Pukaskwa National Park - Click for larger

Pukaskwa National Park - Click for larger

The back of the van makes a good platform for doing backups!

Doing Backups

The next day we moved on to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park near Thunder Bay. Our campsite was so tiny there was barely space to squeeze the van in beside the picnic table. Good thing we didn't need to pitch a tent! After dinner we shot the cliffs at the edge of Lake Superior.

Cliffs in Sleeping Giant - Click for larger

From Sleeping Giant, we headed to Lake of the Woods. It was stormy so we got a motel with WiFi. Nice to be inside when it’s stormy outside!

Tomorrow we will head further west. Our next major stop will be the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in southern Manitoba.

Adventures in Caffeine Withdrawal

Okay, I admit it. My wife is smarter than I am and she has proven it many times over the years. I have learned to accept it. Recently I was under the weather from a bad caffeine withdrawal induced headache. I insisted that her idea wouldn’t work, how could I possibly function as a photographer with a bed box/platform in the back of the van? No, that just wouldn't work. As the veins in the side of my head popped out from the pain of the coffee-coloured monkey on my back, Lori explained again what she wanted to do.

Finally she said, "Maybe today isn’t the best day to do this."

So I fell into a fitful sleep. The next day, I was a little better. I was still grumpy but able to go out in public. We went to Home Depot with a drawing and a list of what we needed. Lori handed the list to a guy by the big saw at the back of the store. He looked at it once and quickly made all the cuts in the two sheets of plywood. We grabbed some screws and brackets and headed for home.

“You know this will require beer,” I said as we gathered all the tools. She just sighed and got out her drawing. We laid out all the boards and everything looked good.

Van Bed Platform - Click for larger

We screwed the thing together and put the large boards on the top. With a few adjustments we were able to make up a comfy bed and get in. If I move the seat forward a bit I can stretch right out.

The Completed Bed - Click for larger

I felt a bit sick. No not from the caffeine withdrawal. But because I would have to yet again say that dreadful thing that we men have to say all too often,

"Yes dear, you were right. And yes, you were also right about quitting coffee for the summer. Although next time I go through withdrawal, I suggest you stay at your sister's place..."

Planning

It's my favourite part of travelling - looking at maps searching for interesting places to go. I get a calendar out and plot our course and think about where we want to be and when. We start to buy things like a cargo container for the roof of the van and camping stuff. We need a new dining tent and I would like to get some new camera accessories. Nothing major, just some little things. Oh, and I need new hiking boots and maybe another pair of shorts. I have recently replaced my worn out Tilley hat. It was guaranteed for life so the store replaced it for free.

The Worn Out 20-year old hat - Click for larger

We talk endlessly about our trip. I enjoy the planning as much as the trip. It’s kind of like buying a lottery ticket and then planning on how you will spend it except we really get to do this!

I make lists. Lists, it turns out are very important. Without them you forget stuff, you get to remote places and look for something as mundane as black pepper for your morning eggs and can’t find it. We usually do a short trip in the spring. It helps us refine our loading technique for the van and get a sense of what we need and what needs replacing. Lori is the van arranger/rearranger. She just has a way of sorting things out so they are accessible. When you travel as much as we do, things wear out much faster. Most people use a tent for 3 – 4 weeks tops per year. We might use ours 10 – 12 weeks per year.

The Tent - Click for larger

The Dining Tent - Click for larger

We will need guide books on birds, plants, and flowers, with us along with maps and travel brochures, and notebooks and pens for our journals.

We also need to look after things at the house. We have great neighbours and family members who look after our mail and check on the place regularly. As far as worrying about valuables in the house, well, they are all with us in the van. Cameras, lenses, computers, they all get loaded up and make the trip with us. We turn off the water, empty and turn off the fridge.

I have 2 Mac Book Pro laptops, 3 TB of storage, cables, power cords, battery chargers, cleaning supplies, tripods and filters. All have a place, all will be used. It takes three backpacks for camera equipment.

Bear spray. Still need to get some bear spray...

Bear Warning Sign - Click for larger

Gargantua and Other Dreams

Gargantua Bay Sunset - click for larger

Everyday began the same way. Our tent was at the edge of Gargantua Beach on Lake Superior’s northern shore. Thick clouds had rolled in overnight. It looked like a heavy rainstorm was on its way. At 6 a.m. we would get up to relieve our swollen bladders and go back to bed. By 9 a.m. some of the clouds had started to clear. It looked like it could go either way. I would get out and walk naked to the edge of the water. No need to cover up, our closest neighbours were way down the beach and they didn’t usually get up till 11 a.m. anyway. I would go for a swim and stand naked in the sun to warm myself up. The constant sound of the waves hitting the beach was hypnotizing. Every now and then, there would be a loud bang, like someone dropping a big log on the ground. But it was just the way the water would slap the beach sometimes. I would hear voices too, but there was no one there. Even when there was little wind, the waves continued to roll in, probably from a storm on the south side of the lake. By 10 a.m. the clouds would clear along with our ambition to go anywhere. We would swim and laze in the sun reading. The day would pass at its own pace and we would be in a trance looking at the water, waves, sand and rocks. Dinner and wine, often while sitting on the beach, followed by a swim followed by a game of cards is how we would spend the last bit of light. We would then gather our books and head to bed. The sound of the waves blocked every other sound. Sleep came easy. Deep, undisturbed sleep is such an unusual occurrence for me these days. My dreams were lucid and in Technicolor. It was as if I watched a movie every night - as if I was slipped a mild sedative along with a hallucinogenic substance. What were the men in the New York Subway trying to tell me in sign language? Why was the security guard drunk at 3 am and where was he taking me? Why didn’t the bullets hurt or even make a dent? Dreams. Wonderful Technicolor dreams. I would awaken the next morning to the sound of the waves and repeat the whole thing over again. It was simply intoxicating!

Superior has not revealed herself fully to me yet. Maybe she never will. Still I continue to hear her call.

Michipicoten Bay Panoramic - click for larger

Dawn on Michipicoten Bay - click for larger

Remembering Dad

It’s rarely good news when the phone rings after midnight. As soon as I heard Mom’s voice, I knew. I was numb. My Dad was 82 years old. He lived a good full life. I knew the day was coming but it’s still hard when the call comes.

Dad was born in 1925. He grew up on the Danforth in Toronto. Life was hard for a family with 9 kids in the depression. We didn’t hear much about those early days. Dad was the oldest and he went off to war at the age of 16½. He didn’t talk much about it when he was younger but in his later years he would often reminisce about his Navy days. He told some great tales about his many adventures while he was stationed on the East Coast. He often told us about how the destroyer he was due to be shipped out on, the HMCS St. Croix, was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic in September of 1943. Dad was in the dentist chair having a tooth removed and the ship and all his buddies had sailed without him. 81 men were rescued by the Itchen but it too was torpedoed and sunk two days later. There were only three survivors from that ship, one of which was from the St Croix. I guess I’m here but only for an abscessed tooth. Funny how events as small as a trip to the dentist can ripple through the generations.

After the war, Dad came back to Toronto and got a job at Carswell, a printing firm on Adelaide. He met my Mom shortly after. Mom said that after their first date, Dad was standing at the bus stop with my future Uncle. He said Dad was trying to light the wrong end of his cigarette. He was obviously hopelessly in love. From the pictures of Mom in those days it’s no wonder. She was a knockout!

Dad worked hard, a workaholic really. He was never out of work his entire life. He always provided for us. We didn’t have much, but we had what we needed and we had each other.

I fondly remember our family camping trips although I don’t remember my first time; I was only 6 months old. We would go for a week or two every year. It was a big production. Mom would bake and cook for a week before we left - butter tarts, “hunks of junk”, cookies and bread. She would make a big pot of chili and would pack all this stuff and head out. We had so much fun swimming and eating till our heart’s content.

When I was around 13, Dad was offered a partnership in a company in Smith’s Falls. His old friend Sam wanted Dad to help run the bookbinding company Sam had started a few years before. It was a very tough decision for Mom and Dad. It meant that they would have to sell their home and move leaving my oldest brothers, John and Rob, behind in Toronto. Dad never ever felt comfortable with this decision but we all know this was the right thing to do. His lifestyle improved a lot and he got to show the world how really gifted he was as a manager and a businessman.

I worked in the plant after school and summers. It was physical, hard and hot work. I remember one day, he came down to the machine I was operating. He yelled and said some things to me and about me I knew I didn’t deserve. He was angry and yelling and swearing at me. This went on for about 5 minutes. When he was done, he put his hand gently on my shoulder and winked at me. He walked away. We never talked about this day. But I understood what he was doing. I was the boss’s son and he knew this was a tough position for me. After that day, I was just one of the workers and they all accepted me as one of them.

Dad didn’t show his emotions much. He had a hard outer shell. I watched him wrestle with his demons. Sometimes he won those battles, sometimes he didn’t but I always knew he cared and I knew he loved us all, he just had a funny way of showing it sometimes. I don’t remember my oldest brother having a nickname, he was just called “John”. My brother Rob was called “Robbie” and of course Bill was always “Willy”. For some reason, Dad didn’t think “Ronnie” quite cut it for me. His favorite term of endearment for me was “the little fat fella” or on many occasions, he would refer to me as “Lard Ass”. My friends would be horrified; even they didn’t tease me about it. They thought this was way beyond funny. But you know, it never, ever bothered me. I just knew that was Dad’s way of saying, you’re ok, you’re one of us.

In his later years, he slowed down but he remained a friend and mentor to all of us. I would often call him for advice and guidance. I’m sure there will be a few times over the next few months that I will pick up the phone to call him to ask him something about a car or a plumbing question. It’s hard to accept that he won’t be there to answer the phone.

It was wonderful to watch my brothers and their families rally around each other and my Mother. As my brother Bill said as he spoke about Dad at a private family service, “I’m sure my Dad would be proud of us all”.

So we shed a few tears, and we laughed and remembered him. We raised a glass and said goodbye. I will miss him always!