Off the “Rock” and into the Highlands

We had a good trip down to Burgeo, NL. This is one of the most beautiful places we have visited on Newfoundland. We had a good visit with Lori’s nephew Ben. I had hoped to see lots of Moose and Caribou but I think we were too late in the year. They must head up into the highlands to avoid the bugs. Burgeo is a small somewhat isolated community on the south shore of Newfoundland.

Sandbanks Provincial Park, NL - Click for larger

Cemetary, Sandbanks Provincial Park, NL - Click for larger

We did a few hikes and found orchids and some landscapes. Sandbanks Provincial Park is one of the highlights of this area.

Small Purple Fringed Orchid

We caught the ferry to the mainland at 5 am and slept in the lineup till 3:30. On the ferry we had a berth. This allowed us to get a bit more sleep, do some backups and charge some batteries.

When we landed, it was pouring rain. We headed to Cape Breton Highlands National Park and met up with our friend Adrien Veczan. Adrien is working for a newspaper in Halifax and had a few days off. We camped at Cheticamp and hiked the Skyline Trail.

Skyline Trail, Cape Breton - Click for larger

We saw lots of moose. It really is a lovely trail.

Bull Moose - Click for larger

Bull Moose - Click for larger

Adrien headed home the next day. Lori and I decided to stay a bit longer. We found lots of orchids and wildlife to photograph and the landscape is very dramatic.

Cabot Trail - Click for larger

Black Bear Cub - Click for larger

Coyote - Click for larger

Male Spruce Grouse - Click for larger

White Fringed Orchis - Click for larger

We are heading off tomorrow to the Sackville area of New Brunswick to look for shorebirds and then on to PEI. I think it will be difficult to top this part of our trip.

Friendly Manitoba!

The trip is going nicely. We finally made our way out of Ontario. It’s such a big Province; it takes days to get to the northern border. As we approached Kenora, we drove through some flooded areas on the road and stopped in to take some photographs in Rushing River Provincial Park.

Rushing River Provincial Park - Click for larger

It rained so hard the night before we were happy to be in a motel.
We travelled to our friends Frieda and Dennis Fast’s place in Kleefeld Manitoba. Both are wonderful photographers. I had the pleasure of sharing a trip to the Seal River in northern Manitoba with the Fasts last November. (See previous posts) We arrived mid-afternoon and had a great visit talking non-stop through dinner. They took us for a drive through the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve and we photographed Western Prairie Fringed Orchids. It is the only place in Canada this endangered flower exists.

Western Prairie Fringed-Orchid - Click for larger

The next morning we got up early and worked the Tall Grass Prairie while Dennis and Frieda ran some errands. We dropped in to see Christie and Laura who work in the preserve, had a good chat and then headed back to have brunch with the Fasts. It was another good meal with endless conversation. They are such great hosts!

Our next major stop was the Chaplin/Morse area of Saskatchewan. This area off Hwy 1 is packed with birds and wildlife. We camped at Morse. This is not a quiet place to camp. It’s clean and well looked after but it’s right on the train tracks and the freight trains come through all night long with horns-a-blasting. Makes for interesting dreams though. I love working this area. There are not many people and you can work right from the car with little interruption from other vehicles. We see thousands of Avocets and some still are nesting.

Avocet on Nest - Click for larger

From Morse, we headed to The Great Sandhills of Saskatchewan. Unfortunately it was raining so hard and the roads were so wet, we didn’t get in to see them. We wanted to photograph this area again and we wanted to see the signs they put up using some of our images. If you have ever driven in Saskatchewan “Gumbo” you will understand why we didn’t risk the roads! Maybe we can drop in on the way back. On the way south from Leader, we stopped at this old one room schoolhouse - The St. John’s School Historical Site.

St. John's School Provincial Heritage Site - Click for larger

We continued on to Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta. It’s hot and buggy. Lots of mosquitoes! After getting a campsite we scout for the evening shoot. We do a hike after diner. It really is an interesting landscape but the bugs!

Hoodoos - Click for larger

We have decided to move on tomorrow. Too many bugs and too many screeching kids! We will head to Calgary to replace my ailing 24-105mm lens and then head to the Rockies.

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