Canada Trip: Journal Entries/E-mails

This page is something new I want to try out for my website in general -- I don't know how it's going to work out. It contains some selected trip journal entries and emails I wrote to some people while I was on my trip, and gives a hint of what the trip was like for me (including what the trip did to my sanity). For the emails, I've edited out the "TO" list, but no contents of any emails have been edited....

First the trip journal entries:

DATE: JULY 14, 2002

5:40 PM = The Odyssey begins (PART 3) ... 0.0 trip miles; 73,777 Total.
Song on CD = "Born To Be Wild"; I've been waiting for this day for a loooong time . . . . . . . .

DATE: JULY 15, 2002

2:25 PM/74,777 total miles = FIRST 1000 TRIP MILES!! (near I-10m222)

DATE: JULY 18, 2002

1-1:05 PM = Passing through Champaign, IL : The Rain Gods cleaned my car completely in only 5 minutes! I thanked them. Now it's sunny again at 1:07 PM.

DATE: JULY 22, 2002

ALASKA OR BUST!!!!

DATE: JULY 22, 2002

8:12/4058 = Entered Good Ole I-75 North.
8:33/4089 = near I-75m280 = Crossed 45 Latitude - half way between Equator and NORTH pole!!

DATE: JULY 24, 2002

1:20/4885 = In Dryden, ON -- This town has EVERYTHING -- even a Walmart!

DATE: JULY 25, 2002

9:37/5919.7 miles = End of Hwy 106; Turn right (West) on Hwy 55 to have a nice view of a nice sun in a nice sunset behind some nice clouds. how nice!

DATE: JULY 26, 2002

3:21/6222.8 = 80,000 total miles!! (40,000 since this car's first birthday)

DATE: JULY 28, 2002

11:35 AM = Entered BANFF NATIONAL PARK. 6754.6 trip miles.
"i wanna run
i want to hide
i want to tear down the walls that hold me inside
i wanna reach out
and touch the flame
where the streets have no name" -- U2

Until 12:50 PM/6765 miles : At Visitor Center in town of Banff. I'm a little overwhelmed by all this (even humbled).

DATE: JULY 29, 2002

2:42/7094 : It's snowing -- at the end of July.

ok now it's freezing rain.

DATE: JULY 30, 2002

I have a feeling I'm going to remember this day for the rest of my life.

DATE: JULY 30, 2002

4:02 - 5:05/7013.0 = AT MILE 0!!!

DATE: JULY 31, 2002

9:40 AM = Checked out. As of today this has become the 3rd longest driving trip ever. Today is also "Day #1" of Alaska Highway!!! And... throughout the day it will be farthest north I've ever driven!

DATE: JULY 31, 2002

2:06/7895 = Snow next to the road - fell last night. The road does not have any center line here. I'm listening to my good ole Hits #30 CD, with songs in random order. The trees are becoming shorter and thinner -- in rare cases some are even thinnier than me!

3:00/7947.5 = Finished entire box of 12 "Mini Carrot Pudding Muffins" bought this morning OH WOW what a road ahead!!

DATE: JULY 31, 2002

5:34/8016.0 = 2 more caribou ON the road -- and without any intention of WHOA ONE MORE ... moving.

DATE: JULY 31, 2002

9:10-9:16 PM = YUKON!!! AND 60deg North Latitude!!! 8274.9 trip miles!!! and thanks to an "evening shower" the car looks GORGEOUS! I might have been bitten by a mosquito on my forehead -- couldn't really tell. I did let out 2 of them through the sunroof after started driving again.
9:51/8312 = The sun is still completely above the horizon, but it's about to go down in next 15-20 minutes, which means daylight will last until about 10:30 PM!! It's a beautiful sunset!

DATE: AUGUST 1, 2002

2:15/8542.2 = Saw sign for Fairbanks for the first time since Dawson Creek: 1065 km from here (and "here" is Jake's Corner, YT) "Paradise City" playing on CD -- coincidence. I rewound it to play it again -- not a coincidence.

DATE: AUGUST 2, 2002

10:54/8601.8 = Turned left on Alaska HWY at JCT Hwy 1A, going East/South......but the trip is not over yet!

DATE: AUGUST 2, 2002

4:47/9016.1 = Entered Muncho Lake Provincial Park
5:06/9036 = Saw about 10 or 11 goats, some of them babies
5:!3/9043.7 = 3 more goats and a late 80's model white Toyota Tercel EZ hatchback with Alaska plates
5:20/9051.8 = A deer
5:28/9061.2 = Caribou
5:34/9067.4 = Left Muncho Lake Provincial Park
5:58/9094.1 = Caribou
5:59/9056.6 = Stone Mountain Provincial park
6:00/9096.7 = another goat
6:03/9098.8 = 8 more goats
6:06/9099.2 = 7 more goats
6:06/9099.4 = 5 more goats
6:09/9100.2 = caribou (picture)
6:13/9104.2 = caribou
6:14/9104.8 = Left Stone Mountain Provincial Park
6:14/9105.3 = 2 caribou

DATE: AUGUST 2, 2002

6:30/9124 = Had one heckuvan accident -- gravel road + 60 MPH + probably an oil slick made the car skid out of control -- landed in a ditch! Fortunately everything was fine, including me! Two cars stopped, one had tow cable -- pulled me up with it -- I gave him $100 (CAD) cash for his help. Back on the road (after cleaning up grass/mud from under the car and verifying everything looks ok) -- at 6:54 PM.

Car drives great -- wheel alignment is also good -- no flats -- so except for some shaken nerves, and dirty hands and pants, everything is good! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW LUCKY I AM FOR BOTH CAR & ME TO BE OKAY AND ON THE ROAD AGAIN

DATE: AUGUST 4, 2002

10:12/83,777 total miles = 10,000 TRIP MILES

DATE: AUGUST 4, 2002

Stats on previous 3rd longest roadtrip ever:

10:42/83806 total = So far, this trip has been:

DATE: AUGUST 4, 2002

2:15-2:55 PM/10203.3 = $10 (cash) = DIED for the third time! (This time I had a Tangtalizer - for old times sake!)

DATE: AUGUST 4, 2002

4:58 PM = 10,238.2 TRIP MILES = 84,015 TOTAL MILES = BACK IN THE U.S.OF.A.!!!
5:02/10239.7 = Entered Good Ole I-5 for the first time since Day #0!!! AND... cellphone is saying "AT&T" instead of EXTENDED AREA, ROAM, or NO SERVICE
Canada and Canadians were great, but it's good to be back in my country!! Also feels good to be on I-5! That also was the longest amount of time spent in Canada in a single stretch (12 days, 3 hours, 59 minutes, 6019.7 miles).

DATE: AUGUST 5, 2002

2:09/84,777 total miles = 11,000 TRIP MILES! Trip expenses so far (Probably final): CAD $2181.32 (x0.68); USD $669.32 = TOTAL $2152.62 USD = $97.85/day AVG

DATE: AUGUST 5, 2002

4:39/11888.5 = Passed above Hwy 101 in SAN JOSE (2,318.2 miles from the SAN JOSE sign at the Signpost Forest in Watson Lake, YT)

And the emails:

DATE: JULY 24, 2002

Howdy,

Since you honored me with the first e-mail you sent from Canada, here's the honor, right back!

Right now I'm in the town of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, Earth... which is approximately 721 miles or so (roughly) East of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Earth... and approximately 152 miles or so (roughly) West of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Earth. And it is also approximately 13,802 miles North, East, South, AND West of some town in China, Earth.

Got it?

So far i haven't sighted any bears, just one moose in the wilderness of Northern Ontario. So that's good.... Cleveland was fun too (honest!) .. So was a barbecue at my cousin's friend's house in Columbus, OH. So was Niagara Falls... and everything in between los angeles and niagara falls (except Phoenix) and everything between niagara falls to here... and "here" is Brandon, MB. But you knew that.

Anyway, tomorrow it's off to Calgary and then NORTH to alaska!!!! (I hope you don't mind but i won't yell wooohooo right now coz everyone here will start staring at me...)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

hmm. Hello. How are you doing? Nice weather we're having today, isn't it? Is it? I gotta go reply to some other emails. Byebye.

- me.

DATE: JULY 24, 2002

I called today and Pratima said you were at an interview at Extreme Networks... how'd it go? Never mind, i'll probably talk to you before i check my email anyway!!! Right now in Brandon, Manitoba - about 150 miles west of Winnipeg and 700 miles East of Calgary, which is where i'm headed tomorrow.

Trip has been GREAT so far... Northern Ontario (North of Lake Superior) is gorgeous! It's a remote road that winds through several forests, views of lakes etc.... and the sunset is at 10pm, so daylight lasts a long time too!

Tomorrow i'm off to Calgary, then stay there on Friday and leave for Jasper/Banff National parks on Saturday.... then north to Alaska! So if you see the schedule i mailed you before leaving, i'm 1 day behind. but that's fine... it's been a great trip!

My cellphone doesn't have coverage in most places (most places i'm going to are pretty remote)... it only beeps that i have some voicemail message every time i enter a city! So i can only make/take calls while i'm in a city. So far after leaving Michigan, the only "cities" have been Thunder Bay, ON and Winnipeg, MB. Next one will probably be Regina, SK and then Calgary... that's where i'll have coverage.

I'll call tomorrow............

DATE: JULY 24, 2002

If you ever find yourself in the wilderness areas of Northern Ontario on the trans-canadian highway, it is very beautiful. Just watch out for a moose or two crossing the road.

oh, and pack the cellphone in your bag, coz it's pretty useless up there!

that's all. that's all i gotta say. except this:

byebye,
-me.

DATE: JULY 26, 2002

I altered my trip a little bit.... yesterday instead of going to Calgary I went north to a small town called Flin Flon, MB -- which is about as far north as you can drive in Manitoba on a paved road. It's at 55degrees latitude... about 900 miles south of the Arctic Circle. I wanted to stay there the night (to see aurora borealis if i could) but it became overcast so i drove down to Prince Albert, Saskachewan, which is where I am now. The car is WHITE right now, from about 5 km of (white) dirt road!

Today's itinerary (not "plan", because that can change on a whim) is to go to Swift Current, SK... matching my original itinerary, but being (I think) 3 days behind. It's either 3 or 2 days behind.... dont remember. Doesn't matter either.

Then tomorrow to Calgary.

I'm averaging anywhere between 500-800 kilometers/day. There aren't any freeways here, so can't go too fast, but the sunlight lasts until about 10:00, even more further north I go.... last night I reached my motel at 10:15pm and the sun was just setting! In Fairbanks in August there is 20+ hours daylight... which means probably sunset will be after midnight!

I am checking my email in any big city i go to... That's also where I have cellphone coverage. In between cities there is neither! just the (very beautiful) Northern Canadian wilderness, and gas stations spread out about every 80-150 kilometers!!!!

Will check mail again in Calgary....

DATE: JULY 29, 2002

So far on this trip I've experienced the following:

1. One of the worst "monsoon" thunderstorms in Phoenix in the last 100 years.
2. One of the best sunrises in Southeastern Arizona I've ever seen (the morning after)
3. An amazing sunset in Michigan City, Indiana at the pier on Lake Michigan (accompanied by the stink of fish).
4. The complete wilderness of northern Ontario ... wondering how far away i was from the next human being... 10 miles? 20? 50? I dont know..
5. The complete wilderness of Northern Manitoba, going about as far north in Manitoba that any paved road can go... And this is STILL south of the lowest point in Alaska!
6. The weather changing from bright and sunny in Calgary in the morning, to overcast and eventually raining in Banff National Park in the Canadian rockies (which is why I'm still here today).
7. Saw a moose crossing the road in Ontario, a couple of mountain goats (5 feet away on the road in Banff), an elk (20 feet away next to the road in Banff), several squirrels and chipmunk-like animals (crossing the road in Banff), and an uncountable number of bugs, including crickets and grasshoppers (some of them inside the hood of my car, on top of the engine). By the way I started out with full windshield washer fluid, and since then i've finished that, bought another bottle, finished that, bought another bottle, finished that 3/4th, and had it filled up to max again when I had the oil change in calgary. If it had not rained yesterday (and overnight, and today), i'd probably have finished that too. That's how many bugs there are. And I can't find any mosquito repellant or any regular insect repellant anywhere!

I wrote in my trip journal (this email will also become part of it, which is why i'm writing it, to keep another record)... anyway i wrote in my notebook yesterday that Banff is so gorgeous it's overwhelming me... it's too much to take in. And i thought Rocky Mountain national park in Colorado or Parixit's pictures of Switzerland were beautiful... Banff is better.

And now I want to go north to Jasper National Park... along the way is Columbia Icefield. Along the way to that is Yoho national park.

After that: Alaska Highway (finally!)

DATE: JULY 30, 2002

> I hope you are keeping your eyes peeled for harp seals. and polar
> bears.

as a matter of fact i saw a grizzly bear yesterday.... a fully-grown, adult bear about 300-400 feet away from the road... took a few pictures.

no seals yet.

DATE: JULY 30, 2002

Bonjour,

[Continuing what will eventually go on my webpage Alaska trip description:]

Today is "Day #16" on this trip ... with "Day 0" being the day I left L.A...

I'm writing this from Dawson Creek Public Library in the town of Dawson Creek,
British Columbia, Canada -- which is the furthest North I've ever driven in my
life, and much more importantly, it's "MILE 0" on the Alaska Highway!!! From
here, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA is exactly 1,523 miles. And i think everyone I'm
sending this email to knows HOW LONG i've been waiting for this, and HOW
EXCITED i am right now that i'm finally here!!

Oh, I saw a grizzly bear yesterday, but i'll get to that later...

For the last few days I've been [can't think of any words for my feelings...
how about.......] overwhelmed/amazed/mesmerized/humbled by the Candian Rockies,
especially the ones in Banff National Park... It really surpassed all my (very
high) expectations... For those of you who've been there, you know what i'm
talking about. I wrote in my trip journal it's the single-most scenic place
I've ever been to in my life -- more than Rocky Mountain National Park in
Colorado and more than Glacier National Park in Montana! And more scenic than
Hawaii, Florida, California, or Utah (yes, even Bryce Canyon!) The mountain
ranges are amazing, the scenery is gorgeous, and the wildlife is everywhere!

In just the last two days i've seen 8 deer (pictures of 6 of them), 1 elk
(picture), 6 mountain goats (picture of 1 of them), many small furry "critters"
running across the roads (no pictures), and one big, fully-grown, adult, wild
grizzly bear (lot of pictures). This was in Banff N.P. -- i was driving
admiring the mountain and valley views, and came across what's called an
"animal jam" over here... a big traffic jam caused by drivers stopping along
the side of the road to take pictures of some animal(s). I asked one person
what all the fuss was about, and she said there's a grizlly "somewhere over
there, behind the trees, kind of far away". So I stopped and contributed to the
animal jam (not supposed to do that, and especially not when there's a bear
relatively close by, but that's a once-in-a-lifetime experience).

It took me a while to find it with my binoculars -- must have been about
300-400 feet away. I took a few pictures with my camera, zoomed all the way,
and only (at best) the top half of the bear have come in all the pictures i
took (about 4 or 5). It's an incredible sight to see a bear that big in the
wild! It was just foraging for food, and all of us roadside onlookers ......
looked on. Then I left.

I dont know what else to say! That was just amazing!

It's raining over here right now, and snowing north of here (snow level is at
1000 meters ASL). So it's also very very cold! But that's ok.. it's an Alaska
trip, it's bound to get cold! Anyway, I'm looking forward to more wild animal
sightings in the next few days... that is, if this trip continues.

And in spite of how gorgeous Banff was, I'm still expecting Alaska to be even
better!

I've got 10 more minutes left in my allotted time here... so...

Adieu,
-- me.

DATE: JULY 31, 2002

> You are going to read this email in Alaska.
> Congratulations
>

Not quite, but thanks! I'm in the local library at Fort St John, BC - 73 km
north of where I was when I sent that email yesterday.

IT'S NOT RAINING TODAY!!! (it's still very cold though - 6 degrees C over here,
colder in the North) and there is no forecast of rain north of here all the way
up to the Alaska border for the next 3 days! Tonight I've made another
reservation in the town of Watson Lake, Yukon Terr (60 deg. latitude, about 900
km north of here) -- furthest north i've ever driven... so far.

Exactly 101 pictures on this trip so far after leaving Niagara Falls/Cleveland.
Of those 101, more than 10 were taken yesterday in Dawson Creek at "Mile 0" of
Alaska Highway and a large majority (probably 60-70) others were taken after
Calgary: Banff, Kootenay, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks. almost as many
pictures of the wild animals as of the mountains/lakes/rivers/canyons/glaciers
scenery.

Will cross 7,777 miles on the trip today (starting from Mission Viejo). I'm on
the second memory stick (of 3) on my camera now... and just went grocery
shopping for the second time on the trip this morning... Most nights are being
spent in motels - they're relatively cheap. Today is also "Day #17" -- making
this my third longest driving trip ever (# of days, not # of miles).

I made a revised itinerary yesterday night, and if i stick to that one (I most
probably won't), I'll be back in San Jose on August 18th.

I was reading a Yukon Territory guidebook I picked up, and it says there that
the Aurora Borealis is most dramatic "at midnight" and "Early August" *AND*
although it is always there, it follows a cycle of every 6 years, and in 2002
it's supposed to be at its peak! So by luck or coincidence, I'm in the right
place at the right time in the right year! Who knows... maybe even tonight!

Table of Contents