Sleeping with the Bear

On the final leg of this journey, the thought of home, our beds, meals prepared in a kitchen, a consistently hot shower, fast (most of the time) internet, Alex (our espresso machine), among many other things, has us a bit anxious. We’re making our final stop tomorrow in Sault Ste. Marie, where we’ll visit with Patrick and Renee, and their two boys, William and Felix. This is a long overdue visit. While I’ve seen them a few times in the past few years, it has been a long time since Leia and the kids have seen them. It will be a nice ending to this adventure – sort of, as we’ll still have eight hours of travel to reach home.

We left Rushing River today around noon. I’d say it was a lazy morning, but I was up at 5:30 and on the water by 6 in search of some good fishing. Although I was up early, it was already light out, and the sun quickly burned the mist off the lake. There were a few minutes, however, where I was paddling through the mist, and the rental fee was very much worthwhile in that moment. Admittedly, it is a bit annoying that, despite waking early, I still didn’t beat dawn. Perhaps if I had been out prior to the sun making its appearance I would have done better. I ended up catching a small pike (18-20 inches) and a small bass (13-14 inches). I also lost a fish – Jacob’s year of incompetent fishing continues.

When I got back, the family was just waking up. We lazily made breakfast, cleaned up the truck, packed the trailer, and got ready to leave. Again, we were lucky to pack up dry. Yesterday it rained quite a lot, but the early morning sun burning off the mist also dried up our trailer. It is remarkable that on a four-week journey I have yet to set up or pack up in the rain. Did I just jinx myself?

Leaving at noon, and without reservations, allowed us to proceed at our own pace. Thus, we weren’t rushed when we stopped to see if I could fix our plug. Jordan, when she was helping one day to pack up, accidentally broke off the electrical cord’s cover plate. Today, when I was packing up, I guess I didn’t secure it sufficiently. In Dryden, a stranger graciously rolled down his window to inform me that the plug was dragging some. Probably three or four feet had worked its way out, and the plug itself took a bit of a beating. I’m hoping it works tomorrow, but either way I’m glad it happened at the end of the trip as I can get Dad to help me fix it.

I felt sorry for myself for a bit – I can’t seem to catch a break on the small things. Whether true or not, it sure is how it feels. For example, yesterday’s fishing rod fiasco, which cost me a delicious meal over the fire. Or, the little things that have gotten wrecked in the trailer on this trip, like the cover for the fuses that Jordan accidentally broke – annoying for two reasons: (1) the cover she broke and (2) the breakers she (and Evelyn) keep tripping when they accidentally turn them off because there is no longer a cover to shield them. Some of my problems, of course, are my own fault. Yesterday, while chopping kindling for the fire, I thought to myself, “I should really move my hand.” The next, light (thankfully!) swing of the hatchet left me thinking, “Dang it, I really should have moved my hand!” I busted the nail and took off some skin from one of my fingers. I only swung the hatchet a few inches, but it was enough. Still, my fault or not, I feel like I can’t catch any of the small breaks sometimes.

Driving for hours can be good for you. Small breaks might not be on my side, but thankfully, the big ones are. Need I say more than I am ending a four-week tour with my family of this fine country, visiting friends and cool places? I have a pretty great life. Broken things can be fixed.

Stopping to see if I could buy a part for the trailer took a bit of time, but so did a more important task. We stopped again at the Terry Fox monument. When I stopped with the girls on the way West, we talked about Kathleen and her imminent future. Today was a more somber visit. Since leaving, three people close to me have passed away as a result of cancer: Leia’s great aunt Vera, Kathleen, and my grandfather. We laid flowers today and the girls recounted their favourite memories. It was windy and cold, so we didn't stay long. Probably appropriate weather for how we all feel. Getting closer to home makes some of it sink in more. Kathleen’s memorial next weekend will be tough, as will coming to grips with the fact that Vera is no longer in Waterloo.

We decided to drive as far as we could. Around 11pm, the girls were all coming undone. In fact, earlier in the evening was perhaps the low point – not for them, but for me. Given that there have been long hours in the truck (over 800 kms today), the kids have been exceptional. As should be expected, as the trip nears its end, the kids are increasingly wound up. Long days, late nights, too much excitement, etc., have them bouncing off the ceiling. Tonight, they wouldn’t calm down or listen, and were quite rude about it all. The pressure of driving in moose territory, coupled with the fact that today we passed the 9,000 km point, and the rest of the trials and tribulations of this trip, had me blow a fuse. I went from a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10 in the “quiet down girls” department, to an 11. The girls and I hugged it out at the next stop, and all is now well.  At 11pm, I was more patient with them. I was less patient with the highway robbers known as motels. We stopped in Marathon and inquired about a room. Jordan and Marley were both claiming to feel ill, and Evelyn was crying out of sheer exhaustion. When Leia reported that a room for a crappy, highway-roadside motel was $117 plus tax, we kept trucking.

The girls didn’t really like that. We tried a few more places, but they were either full or equally as expensive. Having slept in the vehicle more times than I can remember, I have an aversion to paying for a room for a few hours on road trips just to sleep. The few times I have gotten a motel room was because my vehicle was packed to the brim, like when we moved back to Ontario from Edmonton, thereby precluding any opportunity to put the seat back. So, I kept trucking tonight. Leia and I agreed, however, that we would try to get a room in White River. I mentioned before that my family hates White River.

Tonight I love White River. The motels had no vacancy, but while Leia was taking Jordan and Marley to the washroom, and as I was mentally preparing to drive further and trying to catch a few minutes of rest, Leia discovered that we could camp in the parking lot for the Winnie the Pooh monument for free.

I’ve never been so pleased to camp so close to a bear.