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Not far out of Thunder Bay, high on a hill with sweeping views over Lake Superior and the Sleeping Giant, sits the Terry Fox Monument. Just over 40 years ago, Terry Fox was forced to end his Marathon of Hope as the cancer he was fundraising to cure caught up with him. He was 18 when he lost his leg to cancer and, while in hospital, was dismayed at the amount of suffering the illness caused particularly amongst the kids. So he resolved to run across Canada and raise money toward a cure. This was a new idea and well before all the 'Run for Cures' we do now.  After some training, he dipped his toe in the Atlantic Ocean in St John’s, Newfoundland and commenced his run back to Victoria in BC. On one leg and a prosthetic that was closer to a wooden stump than the fancy running legs we have today, he ran an average of marathon a day, for 143 days - 3339 MILES (5,373km) in all until he was too sick to continue. His dream was to raise a dollar for every Canadian –the huge su...

Words fail me. A most amazing gift from my extraordinary friend Rachael.  Understanding my devastation with losing Dad, she made me a memorial quilt - sails, 'three sisters', kangaroos and a touching dedication. Thank you. I will treasure it forever.

The first night sleeping in the car was supposed to be trouble-free, but ended up with us needing outside help! We were determined to see how bad it could be sleeping with the ceiling 40 cm away from your face all night ... but in a safe environment.  A test of sleeping in the garage was proposed, so at the end of our day, we donned our jammies and toddled downstairs to the garage. Bed for the night! We were both surprised at how comfy the bed was and how well we slept.  There was some initial planning required as we enter and exit bed through the rear hatch, so the lack of a door handle provided a minor challenge, but we overcame that quickly (the key fob has an "open/close hatch" button).  We also wondered how long the interior lights would stay on after closing the door (10 minutes) and whether the car alarm had a motion detector component (it doesn't), but those all solved themselves and we were able to get a reasonable sleep. The next morning, we planned an early g...

With so many plans cancelled due to COVID and summer coming to an end, we needed an adventure. So we decided to drive across Canada from Canmore to Gaspésie in Québec. Not quite all the way across, we know, but certainly a respectable portion. We are taking the blue route - still a very long drive! Our plan is to scurry across the Prairies and meet Sue and Rick at Sue’s family camp just north of Thunder Bay. After a visit, we plan to explore a couple of Provincial Parks along the shores of Lake Superior before meeting Adrienne and Ray at Adrienne’s cabin on Kawagama Lake. Following some R&R, we will continue east along the great St Lawrence Seaway exploring as we go until we run out of country at Gaspé Peninsula. The Maritimes are out-of-bounds due to COVID so Québec is our turnaround. Then it’s back to Kawagama Lake and onto Ray’s family camp in Atikokan (Ontario) followed by a trundle back across the Prairies.