Forsayth to Mt Surprise

Yet another use for milk crates – on top of a caravan at Karumba

Our Gorge trip was booked for the afternoon, so we took a drive out to the old Charleston cemetery. It had been a vibrant town during the gold rush, but all that is left is a small cemetery. Coming back through town we were swooped by a flight of black cockatoos – they are much bigger than the white variety with spectacular red markings under their tails when in flight. The roadworkers around here had a sense of humour – beside the road in several places are massive boulders piled up in impossible balancing positions, which could only have been done with heavy machinery, and maybe the help of a little concrete?

Cruising in a quiet electric boat up Cobbold Gorge was very pleasant – it is not a very long gorge but quite spectacular and just wide enough to fit the boat through in places.

The bar area at Cobbold Gorge Resort – beautifully hand made furniture and decor

We moved on to Einasleigh the next day, not far away, and the site of a major copper mine back in the day. When it was a boom town, the police station was manned but has now been decommissioned and is available for serving and retired police to use for free. It is a huge house, being the actual station, residence and court house combined. We set up our camps in the grounds, and gratefully used the lovely hot shower. The septic toilet system was playing up so just to be on the safe side, we used the public toilet across the road.

Along the road were a trio of emus, the first we’ve seen except for a dead one beside the road.

Copperfield Gorge is almost in the centre of town, right near the pub, and has a pretty little waterfall with a picturesque railway bridge. A local freshwater crocodile suns itself daily on the big rock in the river, but we had no luck croc spotting at the inaptly named Croc Hole. State of Origin night was great fun at the pub, with Al and Dave proudly wearing their NSW supporters’ shirts. They copped a lot of ribbing from the locals and ringers from nearby Capricornia Station, but all in good humour and with much laughter.

After two very restful nights at Einasleigh, with a lovely run involved of course, we went our separate ways. Dave and Miranda were due back at work, and headed for Townsville, while we took the High Clearance Road across to the Savannah Way and Mt Surprise. It is such a pretty drive with many possible free campsites and a lovely billabong compete with waterlilies called Leichhardt’s Lagoon (I assume the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt passed this way).

This pleasant journey was spoiled when the car suddenly lost power. We immediately suspected the 20 litres of diesel we’d purchased from a 44 gallon drum in Einasleigh. The Nissan went into “limp mode” to save itself, and we were able to get to Mt Surprise eventually. After a few dead ends in our enquiries for a mechanic (due to local politics we later found out!) we found Mr Joe at the Bedrock Village, and what a find that was. Not only did Joe almost single-handedly (with his wife, also Jo, but Mrs) build this park from a 9 acre paddock of weeds and massive rocks, but he is a talented mechanic. He very quickly diagnosed a dirty fuel filter, as we suspected, and replaced it – all for free. The only request was a donation to the staff slush fund. Incidentally, the man who indirectly recommended Mr Joe had a huge black-headed python draped around his body while he talked to us.

We happily booked in to the caravan park, the nicest we’ve ever been to – not in terms of luxury, but for comfort and friendly cheerful staff. One night turned into three, and I did the half day Undara Lava Tubes tour from here the next day. It’s a brilliant experience, just amazing, the largest Lava Tube in the world, and unique for many other reasons also. Al is still suffering with his back, and luckily made the decision not to go – he would not have been able to clamber over the rocks and up and down the slopes.

Undara Lava Tubes – my little camera didn’t cope too well with the dark and dust

Tomorrow we will be moving on, after I do my long run. I did a 10km along the same route yesterday, on the road to the gemfields. The town of Mt Surprise is surrounded by Mt Surprise station, so the road runs through their paddocks, alongside Elizabeth Creek in parts which is very pretty. However one paddock houses their retired bulls (so I am told), absolutely massive Brahmans, and I did wonder how they would feel about me running past. I need not have worried, all but one did not even bother to look at me. On the way back, one stood in bemusement right in the middle of the road, and I had to clap my hands and yell to get him to move out of the way.

Another note on caravan parks: this one is so different to Karumba – still lots of grey nomads, and some young families, going both ways along the Savannah Way, but no permanents, so it’s a very fluctuating population. The oldies here are more adventurous too, tending to having travelled through the more remote areas rather than straight up the middle from Victoria. Our neighbour in the park is a Brit travelling round the world on a motorbike, which he ships by sea or air to the next country. Anyone planning to stay for longer in this area would be camping down at the gemfields, another 40km north on a gravel road.

 

 

Forsayth

We are set up in a lovely camp at Forsayth, in the grounds of the Police Station and residence thanks to Ian and Kelly. Today we are booked on the tour/cruise of Cobbold Gorge then tomorrow off to Einasleigh.

When Ian told us some time ago that he had won a posting to Forsayth, I wondered why he would ever want to come here – but now I can see what a pleasant place it is. It’s very off the beaten path, accessible only by a combo of sealed and unsealed roads, and in the Wet is often cut off altogether. It’s full of history though, with a tourist train called the Savannahlander running out from Cairns. The vege garden in a shadecloth tunnel is evidence of the temperatures in summer being a bit extreme though!

Some galahs are making a racket in the background right now. The birdlife all through the North has been varied and plentiful – hundreds, perhaps thousands, of white cockatoos gathered at a waterhole, drinking alongside the cattle; many brolgas in pairs and small groups, and massive wedge-tail eagles feasting on roadkill. They are so big they need to hop a few paces to get airborne. A strange bird joined our lunchbreak at Croydon – it had a brilliant cerise crest, strangely shaped body and hopped rather than ran. Get out the bird book Miranda!

Fossilised leg bone and crop contents of an ancestor of the emu

Broken right back window, taped left window to avoid further damage

Another little note about the caravan park at Karumba – I didn’t realise brunchcoats still existed, but yes they do, many of the ladies came out of the shower block wearing them. And I saw a lady playing cards with her hair in rollers covered by a scarf.

Some more photos while I have reliable internet:

Gregory Hotel

Dad, Mum and baby in the pouch

Miles and miles of termite mounds

 

 

More photos

Pretty-face wallabies come down for a drink

My reading spot

Here’s the turnoff (don’t tell anyone)

Dave shooting the rapids

Chad in the kayak, Miranda and Dave in the canoe

Al at Adel’s Grove, getting an icepack and a massage at the same time. That water was cold!

 

Photos

On the road from Adel’s Grove to Lawn Hill National Park. I had just run past some brolgas.

Sedan Dip

Gregory River

Miranda at Gregory River

 

 

Karumba

Just text again, sorry. I have some great photos – too annoying!

The caravan park at Burketown was fine, and the men judged the pies at the bakery to be the best in Australia – there are now so many pies with that award! No crocs to be found at the boat ramp where they usually hide to grab unwary fishermen if they are a bit too slow to get their boat out of the water. We inspected the Boiling Down Works ruins, where local meat was once brined for export to Batavia. There’s not much else in Burketown, but the meals at the newly rebuilt pub were good and the beer served from the ice rather than on tap.

Although the locals complain about the Wet not being as good as usual, they must still have had a decent lot of rain in the Gulf because it is green and lush everywhere, and the cattle are rolling fat and glossy. We’ve been lucky with the roads too, they’ve obviously just been graded after the damage caused during the Wet.

Passing through Normanton the next day, the Purple Pub attracted us for its quirky nature but then got the tick of approval for barra and chips for lunch. The chef (who is also the pub manager) was such a weirdo but in a nice way. He slammed the window shut on Al when he proffered a card to pay, then opened up again when Al shouted that he had cash. We could hear him singing and mumbling in the kitchen as he cooked, and exchanged looks of apprehension, but he brought the meals out in good time, very friendly by now, and they were excellent. The front bar and the poker machines were well patronised, it being pension day, and we saw the ATM at the bank doing a roaring trade also. A couple of drunks in the park asked Miranda for a cup which she was unable to provide J, however the hardware store did sell Dave a very good folding chair for a reasonable price. The huge crocodile statue is a highlight there too – the subject of which was shot by a female hunter in (I think) the 1950s, and apparently is no exaggeration.

Now that we are in Karumba, I have found out that the same woman and her husband, after hunting crocs for 12 years, ran a crocodile farm just up the road from our camp, with a lake including an island for the crocs to sun themselves on. They had both salt and freshwater, and sold the skins. The site is now a petrol station.

This caravan park in Karumba, the Karumba Point Caravan Park, not to be confused with the Karumba Point Sunset Caravan Park, is very comfortable. Not in the luxury sense, the amenities while clean are a bit old and shabby, but most of the park is very shady and all the occupants and staff are so friendly. We have ended up staying an extra day because it is so relaxing here.

A snapshot of life in the caravan park here: I would say that 90% of the residents are regulars, mostly from the southern states who come here to escape the winter for 3 months every year. The other obvious statistic is that most would be in their 70s, so that makes us the youngest in the park! Each camp has a boat, usually a tinny but sometimes bigger and better, and every day the men toddle off with their boat hooked onto the car, and hopefully come back with fish to fill their massive freezers. When they return to the south, they take the fish with them to last several months.

All the 4WDs are new and expensive, but some of the caravans are left on-site all year and have become shabby and weathered in this harsh climate. During the Wet, they are sometimes flooded, and the “matey” told me that all boats left here are tethered to the fence so they don’t float away. There are none of the massive motorhomes and 5^th wheelers that you tend to see closer to civilisation, just normal caravans and a few camper-trailers used by young’uns like us. Dave knows some people here who leave their motorhome here, drive their little Suzuki back to Cairns and leave it there, and fly home.

So … while the men are off hunting and gathering, the women do their own sort of gathering, it seems like most of them prefer the spot under the huge tree next to our camp where they play mah-jong. It sounds like a chook-house, after all the chooks have laid their eggs, but they are very friendly and having fun. They tried to get me to join them at bingo yesterday afternoon, but I regretfully declined. When the men return, they join in with stubbies in hand, and the cackling gets even louder. Fortunately they knock it off and all go home to bed about 7:30pm.

And that is pretty much how they spend 3 months of the year. They are nice to everyone, and wander the park, chatting all the way, in and out of the pool, around the fish cleaning table. It’s quite funny though how shrill their voices are – the men as well as the women. I bet there is some underlying gossip and cliques though – I will have to get Miranda on the job! The weather is usually fine, and from now on will get a bit cooler. It has been 30+ deg during the day and a bit cooler at night, but really quite pleasant. I did a long run (18k) yesterday, and a short one with Miranda this morning, and we were told that you don’t run, you walk, in Karumba.

I enjoyed my long run, with one exception – the road kill from the previous night. On my way back, the council truck was driving along picking up all the dead wallabies. Those wallabies are welcome in the area though – they are in their thousands on the golf course, which is watered and sort of green in the Dry season, and although they pick at the grass, they also fertilise it at the same time. Good trade-off. They also wander through the camp during the night, it’s been nearly full moon so when I hear a quiet little hop hop, I can look through our screens and see them nibbling the grass on the edge of the tracks. They are all quite small, not sure what variety of wallaby they are, with the occasional bigger one.

Miranda and Dave did a tourist fishing trip, with Dave the hero of the hour. No-one else but him, on either boat, caught anything, but he caught a big Cobia and several smaller bream. He took a large fillet to share with us, and gave all the rest to the unlucky fisher-folk. Today they have gone with their friends out in the tinnie, croc-spotting. Dave is a bit apprehensive!

We bought some frozen barra and King Salmon to take with us when we leave tomorrow. After my long run yesterday, I was hungry and tired last night so we had barra and chips from the takeaway – yummo as Al would say. Now I am cooking a spaghetti sauce which will have prawns added to it for dinner tonight. Trying to empty out the fridge and freezer to stuff it full of frozen fish. Everything here is wild-caught, and mostly exported – you have to be here on the spot to get the best quality.

The other famous attraction in Karumba is the sunset – it is reputedly the only place in Australia where you can watch the sun both rise and set over the sea. And they are spectacular sunrises and sunsets – there is a traffic jam at the Point just before sunset, standing room only. We scored a table at the pub by getting there early yesterday and had a front-row view.

 

Now we’re in Karumba

Just text, photos won’t upload with this dodgy connection.

Sorry about the long delay in posting — I had a post ready to go, then we lost service before I hit send. There has been only patchy and slow phone and internet service ever since.

I had a great run at Hughenden, 15km out along the Muttaburra Road. It is closed at the other end from flooding, but Al drove around the barrier at the Hughenden end to accompany me as waterboy and security detail. The only traffic was a few locals, no massive road-trains which nearly blow me off the road.

Griffo’s family made us very welcome as usual, including a long and noisy session on the rum on Saturday night. His nephew who lives about 500m away could recite the whole playlist, starting with “Tusk” from Fleetwood Mac.

We met up with Dave and Miranda at Julia Creek, to buy last supplies of bread, milk and fresh veges. For a town of 350 people, they have a good supermarket and I even bought a Wrangler top at the western shop. It’s a great caravan park, well set-up, and we attended the local fund-raiser for Blaze Aid, a support organisation for people struck by natural disasters. The local branch provides help for struggling farmers and graziers whose income has been cut to nil by the drought. They encourage grey nomads to spend a week or so on a property, doing whatever is needed to help, including looking after small children, or supervising older ones on School of the Air to allow the mother to run the property while the father is off working on the roads or something to earn some cash money. Tourism is the lifeblood of the shire during the drought (currently 4 years).

Along the road we needed a pit stop, so took advantage of the racecourse at Sedan Dip. Literally in the middle of nowhere, it is used once a year for a bush race meeting, maybe a rodeo?? but not sure about that. It is a bit spooky, wind whistling through tin sheds and doors banging, and unfortunately we discovered after we used the toilets that the water was not turned on either. Last time Al and I stopped there, the water was gravity fed from high tanks, so no problem.

The road through Three Ways was good, excellent burgers at Burke and Wills Roadhouse. At the Gregory River, we found Bram’s secret campsite without any trouble and set up in the most gorgeous spot. The river runs quite fast here, with rapids just upstream making a constant background burble. Pretty-face Wallabies come down to drink on the other side every morning and night, joeys in their mothers’ pouches and the big daddies keeping a watch over all. The bigger joeys play-fight and tumble around, all seemingly oblivious to the spectators on the other bank.

A couple of caravans set up camp just upstream and out of sight, while Miranda and I were paddling along the bank nearby. They came down to tell us they were naturists, and hoped that would not offend us. Of course we said no, but it has caused huge hilarity in our camp when we are sitting in the water and watching them swimming. They are all even older than us, so nothing worth watching — sorry guys!

Al goes into Gregory Downs each day to use the toilet – his knees are not so good at squatting over a hole in the bush as we are. It’s over 20km on dirt road, but better than the alternative. I am happy to stay in camp and chill out – I am typing this right at the water’s edge, under the shade of the pandanus trees, with a gentle breeze on my back. Each day the temperature is around 30+ deg, and probably 20 deg at night, just perfect.

Miranda and Dave have a Coleman hot water pump, which with the unlimited crystal clear river water provides a lovely hot shower each day. We have plenty of drinking water in our trailer tanks, but really the river water would be perfectly safe to drink. All our batteries, solar panels and generators are working perfectly, so we have refrigeration and gas cookers. At night we sit back around the campfire with glass in hand and track satellites across the sky between the blaze of stars.

I have done some medium distance runs, 10km and 16km, along the road to Camooweal, and Miranda has now run 4km, 2km of that without stopping.

STARTING AGAIN FROM KARUMBA

Internet and phone service has been almost non-existent, although Miranda and Al have managed to post on Facebook. Miranda even uploads hundreds of photos, Facebook must have some secret squirrel way of minimising data. It could have something to do with the fact that she is patient enough to sit on the verandah up at the kiosk at Adel’s Grove until she gets them sent. Not me!

Chad joined us at the Gregory, and then on to Adel’s Grove. His guitar entertainment around the campfire was most welcome (not to mention his scintillating company!) The road from Gregory to Adel’s Grove has been partly sealed (not very well, heaps of potholes probably caused during heavy rainfall in the Wet) and the rest very well graded. What a pleasant surprise – last time the 80km took us 3 hours to travel. Our journey did not start well though – just out of camp, we broke a back window on the Nissan. Stones are flung up from the back wheels and strike the trailer, rebounding up to smash the window. The annoying part is that we KNOW that, and decided not to tape the windows from some strange reason. Anyway, one of the silver sun protectors came in handy, duct-taped over the gap, and later reinforced with another layer and much criss-crossing. It works, just a bit of highway noise but no dust thank goodness, and we have organised a new window to be installed in Townsville (thanks Bryan!)

Adel’s Grove was even more beautiful that we remembered – the trees in the campsite outside the Grove (where we could use our generator, and there was enough sun for the solar panels) have grown much taller, and they have improved the facilities. The showers still run off a donkey system, but it’s obviously someone’s job to keep the fire going because there was always hot water. Only a trickle, but enough to get wet if you stood there long enough. It was a lesson in how little water is necessary to get clean! The river is pouring past a hundred metres away, but maybe it’s the power for the pumps that limits the water. They do filter the water to the taps near the campsites, but it’s not treated. Still fine for drinking though.

The Grove itself is very shady and lovely, but for a longish stay does not provide any way to top up batteries mainly for refrigeration. There are also no shops within hundreds of kilometres, so it’s quite important to keep things cold. Rice and baked beans would get quite boring.

We did the canoe trip up Lawn Hill Gorge, just the most gorgeous relaxing way to see the stunning scenery. Chad had a kayak to himself, the rest of us in double canoes. That suited Miranda and me because the men got to do most of the paddling. In the hot afternoons we spent ages sitting in the rapids in the river near our camp, just before Happy Hour.

Because it is a fauna reserve, quite a lot of snakes are spotted so we had to use a torch to walk around at night. Green frogs like to lurk in the amenities block which attracts snakes to eat them, so notices advise putting down the toilet lid and keeping the door closed.

Miranda did a PB – 4km without stopping, and I did a few longer runs. The roads were all gravel, some nice and smooth and some very bumpy to run on. No shade out there either, so we always ran just on dawn.

I will try to upload this post now, leaving the Burketown/Normanton/Karumba bit for later just in case it stops working.

 

Home to Hughenden

State of Origin in Gayndah at Alyson and Bram’s Grand Hotel was very fun, especially with Queensland’s supremacy in the first game of the series! Al and Dave (and Alyson) are staunch Blues supporters though, so not too happy. Dinner was delicious as usual, Bill is a great chef – we thoroughly recommend the honey prawns and salt and pepper calamari.

Before we left for Springsure next morning, I did my usual run out past the golf course, very pleasant on such a cool morning. It warmed up during the day though. At Cracow we stopped to look at the Mining Museum and Al renewed his acquaintance with the famous Fred Brophy at his pub. He was very pleased to see Al, and made us all a cup of coffee. Miranda and I fell in love with his dogs, very indulged and given the run of the pub. Buck, the red cattle dog, was rescued from an unkind owner and is now happily in charge of security. Maybe I might have go home via Cracow to pick Buck up!

Please can I come home with you?

Fred has the boxing tent set up at the back of the pub, and he said that while it is there, the police never have to deal with fights around the town – they work out their aggression in the ring. The town’s population is swollen by the big gold mine nearby.

Miranda and I went for a short run in Springsure, after a quick camp pack-up with rain threatening. We headed to Emerald for breakfast (nothing around at Springsure) then parted company when they set off for Longreach to catch up with friends. We went up the Belyando towards Charters Towers, a long haul of 587km for the day. I hate travelling for so long, but there is ABSOLUTELY nothing in between. Originally we had planned to go up to Hughenden through Muttaburra (home of the Muttaburrasaurus, a 100 million year old dinosaur skeleton), but very unseasonal winter rain had closed the road and we were forced to go the sealed road route.

Side note: Since we had arrived in Emerald early, and to make up to me for having a long drive ahead, I was allowed to spend a half hour in an op-shop. Success! – three items of clothing, all name-brands, and a lovely heavy glass for my Scotch and soda.

It must have rained recently around Belyando Crossing because there was green grass about 50km  before and after the tiny little settlement. We saw big flocks of brolgas around a dam, and a bit later in a milo paddock – no doubt that was the attraction. Some emus followed us for a while.

Anyway I did get to drive a couple of hundred kms this time (Al must have been tired, usually he always wants to drive). 587km later we set up camp at Charters Towers, a caravan park where we had camped several times before. A massive storm came through during the night, but we were warm and dry in our camper despite buckets of rain. It took a few hours next morning for the canvas to dry, but now here we are at Griffo’s in Hughenden, being totally indulged as usual.

 

A long time between drinks, but here we are again

June 1, 2016

Our lives have taken a bit of a swerve, with both of us now retired – well, I am working freelance which means maybe a month full-on, then nothing for two or three months. Al has been doing some casual security work, just to give a structure to his week and give us a bit of pocket money. The other huge change is that Piccolo is no longer with us, which hit us again like a ton of bricks when we set off on our current trip. Not that she was coming with us this time, it was a dog-free trip to allow us to camp in National Parks, but so many of the places that we are going to bring back memories of a visit with her. I keep wanting to turn around to check on her in the back seat.

We are travelling this time with Miranda and Dave, also dog-free, to visit many places they have not seen, and others that we haven’t been to either. They are too young to be retired and need to be home for work by early July, so we will be parting ways with them as we return down the Queensland coast.

Our rough agenda is : Alyson and Bram’s pub in Gayndah for State of Origin tonight, then Springsure, Charter Towers, Hughenden, Julia Creek then up to the Gregory (where I broke my wrist – oops!) for a week and on to Adel’s Grove for another week. Then across to Karumba and Normanton, Georgetown and Cobold Gorge, back to the coast somewhere and meander down to home by mid-July(ish).

And in other news, we are booked to go to Samoa in August/September on a Police Cultural Tour, which will be totally different! Then in November we will go to Europe for a month in Malta (after I run a half-marathon in Sicily), and on to a week in Copenhagen and a cruise along the coast of Norway for Christmas.

 

Chicago

Driving through Ontario, we were struck by the number of wind turbines – absolute monsters they were too. Bill said they are paid for by the government, a farmer receives $10,000 per year for each turbine, plus free power. That sounds like a good deal. We have seen some roadkill on this section of our road trip – a lot of deer, raccoons and other unidentifiable animals. In the towns, squirrels are an occasional casualty. They are so cute (the live ones!), we watch them with fascination – and always name them Joe because they are gathering their nuts.

Our last night on the road was at New Buffalo in Michigan, a pretty sailing holiday destination with huge marinas, a safe harbour, beach, condos and large houses. We have struggled with the Michigan accent, they can’t understand us and we can’t understand them. Just for once we tried the buffet at the casino for dinner – it came highly recommended, and was indeed the best buffet ever.

En route to Chicago, we passed through the corner of Indiana then into Illinois. From downtown Chicago, the high-rises in Gary, Indiana are clearly visible across the end of the lake. We have paid around US$2.50 a gallon for fuel, a great saving when everything else is so expensive. The hire car was returned at the airport in Chicago, and we took a taxi to our hotel downtown. It is a bit of a treat for my birthday, on the 34^th floor and a very comfortable apartment with full kitchen, so we’ve been able to eat in every night.

The view from our balcony.

Even though it was cold and showery rain when we arrived, my birthday dawned bright and clear. I celebrated with a long run down to Navy Pier, then along the Lakeside Path. Many people had their dogs on the beach, one of them hilarious as he galloped huge circles just like Dylan does. Al cooked a delicious breakfast for me, then we spent the day sightseeing, first of all on a hop-on hop-off bus, then just walking around – it is a fascinating city, full of history and architecturally significant buildings. The first tour guide on the bus was terrible, waffling on and missing out on all the interesting stuff, so we left him to it, and changed to the bus behind. Much better, a very interesting and entertaining young guide.

This building is considered one of, if not the, best in Chicago – designed by the world’s leading architect, but I can’t remember her name.

Besides all the serious sightseeing, Chicago is an amazing shopping destination – ranging from Louis Vuitton to Marshalls, and all within walking distance. What a shame we have no room left in our bags! And the restaurants – thousands of them, and all very inviting. We had hoped to find a blues bar, but none of them open until 8pm, and then there is a cover charge, so for those who are early to bed like us, it’s not worth it.

And then there was my birthday treat – a visit to The Ledge on the Skydeck of the Willis Tower, 103 floors up. It was not expensive, and very freestyle once you get up there. The photos tell the story, but what a view – four states, the whole of Chicago, and of course Lake Michigan. Al was so very brave, lying on the floor of the cube for a photo, when he’s not too keen on heights.

Another example of amazing architecture – cars on the lower section, living quarters above.

Al cooked dinner for me at home for my birthday – huge scallops and prawns, both from Alaska, and a big bowl of salad, bliss!

Tomorrow we leave for home, and it’s about time. Not looking forward to the more than 22 hours in total. I am hoping the weather will hold so that I can have one last run along the Lakeside Trail, going south this time. We are missing our Piccy, although it doesn’t seem like she’s missing us very much. We will be home just long enough to get over the jet lag, then off again to New Zealand with Lyndy and Joe.

 

Goodbye to Canada – for now!

Sarnia was great fun for many reasons, but mainly – it snowed! All day as we were sightseeing, light flurries kept coming through, and the wind was absolutely freezing. Bill, our host, forecast a complete dusting of snow by morning, and sure enough, when we woke up, everything was white. The wind had dropped, and the temperature was about 3 deg C, so we went for a run (me) and walk (Al) anyway.

The nature trail which runs virtually in front of their home goes for about 16km, and is a level gravel track, my favourite running surface. I was a very happy camper, except for the fact that my stomach wasn’t too comfortable after the extra glass of wine the night before. I blamed Bill of course, he twisted my arm! It was snowing properly by then, big fat flakes which stung when they hit my eyeballs.

If you click on this photo to get it bigger, the falling snowflakes are visible.

Snowflakes on my gloves.

The closest thing to a unique national dish in Canada is poutine, a sinfully yummy combo of chips, soft curd cheese and gravy. It was of course essential to try it, so Al ordered it as a side with his burger and we shared it. It is also on the menu at McDonalds, Wendys and even at the Irish pub where we ate the first night in Sarnia.

Our B&B was a comfortable and fun stopover for two nights, where we could either socialise or not as we chose. Bill and Judy also kindly allowed us to use their big industrial washer and dryer, so our laundry is up to date now. We intend to stay in touch with them, and hope to arrange a future visit both ways. And we finally got to use the scraper and brush provided in the car, to remove the snow. The day was so cold though, that we still had snow on the windowsills hundreds of miles later.

We left Canada reluctantly, crossing into Michigan and stopping for the night at Lansing. We chose it randomly for accommodation, and checked into our Comfort Inn on the edge of town. Then as we started driving around sightseeing, we became suspicious that it was actually quite large. Turns out it’s the capital of Michigan, has a huge university and stadium and is quite the centre of government and culture. Ignorant Australians! We will be moving on today, so Lansing will have to wait for another time. It was minus 2 deg C this morning, so the gym was a better option than running outside. Hopefully it will warm up a bit by the time we get to Chicago, because I plan to run by the river.

During this trip, we’ve tried various sorts of hotels, from the large and luxurious to the budget but comfortable, and have decided that in general, Comfort Inns are our favourite. They all have large, clean rooms, comfortable beds, lots of pillows and towels, a gym and sometimes an indoor pool, as well as breakfast, all for between AU$90 and $120. The other benefit of the smaller hotels is that there is very little tipping required. There is no doorman, concierge, bellman or bellboy with their hands out, as you find in the big hotels. We do leave a small tip for the maid when we leave, just because they are so poorly paid, but it’s by no means compulsory.