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Showing posts from October, 2020

Time Zones, Meridians and the Longitudinal Centre of Canada - 49° 44' 29" N 96° 48' 35" W

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According to worldwide standard time, there are six time zones in Canada - Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern, Atlantic and Newfoundland.  We live on the western edge of Mountain Time and we expected to lose an hour as we crossed into Manitoba (Central) then again as we approached Thunder Bay (Eastern) in Ontario.  Things appeared so orderly and simple. No so fast...   Canadian Time Zones as they  really are! Saskatchewan is Central Time (except for Lloydminister which is on Mountain Time) but choses not to observe daylight savings, so in the summer they line up with Mountain Time.  Manitoba is on Central Time but observes daylight savings. Western Ontario (west of 90°) is on Central Time and observes daylight savings, except the Atikokan and Pickle Lake areas.  They run on Eastern Standard Time year round.  Ontario (east of 90°) and Québec observe Eastern Time.  Oh, except for Québec east of the Natashquan River.  They observe Atlantic Standard Time year round.  Phew.  Confused yet?

Roadside Attractions of Canada - 49° 42' 00" N 96° 48' 35" W

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If you are driving across hundreds and HUNDREDS of kilometres of countryside, it is very easy to whiz through the little towns and villages that lay strewn along your path.  The merchants of the petrol stations and lunch counters would prefer you to stop and toss a few sheckles their way, but what could tear your attention away from that endless dotted line that beckons you into the distance?  How about some of these things that we found? 8 metre tall moose statue, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Reginald, the giant grasshopper.  Because everyone in Saskatchewan loves locusts. Regina, Saskatchewan At the tourist info centre in ... (you guessed it) Indian Head, Saskatchewan. Lumberjack. Iroquois Falls, Ontario. Spaceship with aliens looking out of the bottom portholes. Moonbeam, Ontario. The Big Loonie in Echo Bay, Ontario.  A huge display that honors the most famous son of Echo Bay - Robert-Ralph Carmichael, the designer of the Loonie. Impressive statue for a village of 648 people. M

Lac de la Tonne - 49° 04' 56" N, 65° 54' 53" W

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A birthday misadventure! We packed up our camp in the beautiful Forillon National Park and, being able to go no further east, we started our journey back towards Canmore.  We drove along the north coast of the Gaspé Peninsula along road protected by a seawall against the worst the St Lawrence could throw at it.  And birds, birds everywhere.  Those you expect to see and others I am not used to seeing bobbing on the ocean such as mallard ducks... Although the weather was getting chillier and car camping less inviting, on impulse we decided to drive through Parc national de la Gaspésie and Resérve faunique des Chic-Chocs and wild camp for just one night.  The weather was overcast and threatening rain, the autumn colour was finished and there was the chill of winter in the air.  The landscape was hilly and with many small lakes dotted around. Lac de la Tonne - looks like a lovely place to camp! Around 4pm, we were about an hour from the main road and decided to find a lake to camp on and e