"In every walk with nature one receives more than he seeks."
John Muir

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Discovering Canada's Roadways

Canada-"yours to discover" sure gave us lots of discovering!
Especially the roads.



If one must be stuck behind an RV on desolate roads, looking at the huge mural on this particular one made the event tolerable. Rather like we were racing on a wide river and, if we paddled just a bit faster and harder, we could pass this boat.



Not a far distance from the border crossing and customs,
we grew all excited at the remarkable change in the speed limit.
Somehow the road conditions did not seem to match the new permission to
travel at such high speeds. Do you see the curves around the edges of the mountains ahead?


Jack remarked incredulously several times,
"I cannot believe there are no guard rails here!"
The combination of sharply winding roads, steep drop offs, tall cliffs,
narrow, if any, shoulders, and breakneck speeds of 100 mph seemed a bit
reckless and treacherous.
No cell service and an only occasional other vehicle added to the danger.
We commented once that, were we to (gulp!) go off the road, we would travel down quite a way and be buried by the trees and brush. Passing motorists would never even be aware we were lost down below and our family only knew we were somewhere within a 600-800 mile section of our trip... Bottom line, until a search chopper found us weeks or months later, it would be a tad late for rescue but then a recover operation.
We didn't dwell on that conversation very long.
AND we made it safely several days later.
Thank God.


To share some insight with you, we were joking about the 100 mph speed limits.
Although not on every signpost, that little "km/hr" is most significant!
The actual speed ends up around 68 mph.
But, with no "Big Brother" watching and so far to go, we tended to push that limit a bit...



Much of our time in northern British Columbia was spent at high elevations of 3,000 feet or more as we crossed over the Rockies.
The mountain lakes were stunning. Here is Muncho Lake, one of the loveliest.
We drove right along the very edge and admired the reflection of the snow-capped
mountains on its surface. Not a boat, animal or person in sight.
The most natural beauty --just us and the wilderness for most of the time.
Silence often permeated the car as we considered God's majesty,
creating a world such as ours.
So many people never see these most incredible views of glassy lakes, white-capped mountains blending into white clouds high above, blue skies and, the very best part, not another living soul around. We were so blessed to see our world in its virgin form.


A small sign stood out stating that a rest area was ahead. This was noteworthy as we'd not seen any other such sign nor rest areas for hundreds of miles. Before long we noted this white tent set way out on the very edge of ground while on an extremely high mountain cross. It looked perilous. Since nothing else ever appeared, we decided this must have been the rest area.
No other signs identified this tent. Odd, to be sure.
As so many miles unravelled behind us, I felt the sensation of my lungs expanding and my ability to deep breathe improving. The expansive world out our car windows seemed to creep inside of me somehow. I felt larger than life.
Paul Bunyon sized.
I am quite sure I could live as a hermit and be content within myself.
Just a cabin surrounded by uninhabited beauty such as this.
And my Bible, some favorite books and music, someone I love, and my dog.
I'd willingly leave the schedules, traffic, noise and commitments behind.
I believe could do this. I really do.

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