Scott's Blog

Venturetour Signing Off

Scott Warris — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 19:34:09 +0000

While travelling, it’s always fun to see the odd way things are signed and named. Especially in other languages, signs can translate with surprising results.

While we didn’t manage to photograph all the wierd ones we came across, below are a few we did. We hope you enjoy them.

Saskatchewan

I could understand seeing this in Asia, but in Saskatchewan?

Manitoba

Are beaver’s normally not friendly to farmers?

Near Thunder Bay ON

The unfortunate reality of our great lakes.

Quatre arr�t de fa�on.

A perfectly good canoe.

Wonder what they sound like?

Apparently kids sleep in the streets here.

Not sure what Tom thought.

The sinister side of Peggy’s Cove.

Apparently a very popular place. Cape Breton

Near Lansdowne ON

Pretty well describes most realtors.

This intersection was right next to the location of my grandfather’s park in Delhi.

Venturetour 2006 – The Last Post

Scott Warris — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 00:50:11 +0000

All great things must come to an end, and our excellent east coast tour was no exception. After leaving Nova Scotia on Oct 19th, crossing the Bay of Fundy by ferry to Saint John, NB we spent a few days in the beautiful resort town of St. Andrews by the Sea. The image above is from that town which is stratigically located across a narrow straight from the US.

We had decided to take the U.S. route through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Sounds like a major trip but in reality it took less then 2 days to make our way into Ontario at Cornwall. The only real excitement there was a major wind storm in Maine that brought a tree down just a few yards behind our van. Fortunately, there was another exit to the rest area nearby.

After a great reunion with friends and family in Southwestern Ontario, we decided to leave the van in storage there for the winter, returning to Alberta on November 18th by Westjet. Since we’ll be returning to the area next summer, it made sense to avoid an early winter drive across the prairies and return instead with the van on dry roads.

I’ve selected a few final images for this post, and will finish the trip posts off with some unusual and sometimes humerous signs we came across during our travels. I hope you have enjoyed these image highlites, and as always welcome your comments.

Dock at St. Andrew’s by the Sea, N.B.

Windblown tree in Maine rest area. A close call.

CBC Broadcasting Museum in Toronto.

Actual opening set from The Friendly Giant.

The drawbridge was “automated” in the seventies. Looked suspiciously like Mecanno.

Steam Whistle brewery at the old roundhouse in Toronto.

Main entrance to the Quadica Developments Inc. world headquarters, Burford ON.

Rear yard at Quadica facility (aka: Tim’s house), with 1950’s era steam boiler built by our grandfather awaiting restoration.

Clearing area for new Quadica building. Quadica brother Russell and his son Chris.

Russell displaying one of his products under development, an HO scale miniature golf course kit.

Nova Scotia ~ Forges, Folkart and Fall Foilage

Scott Warris — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 03:25:28 +0000

All our plans came together in an explosion of fall colour throughout Nova Scotia. But nowhere was it as stunning as Cape Breton Island. The weather cooperated precisely and our timing was right on.

Besides following the obligatory Cabot Trail route we made our way to a few remote spots such as Meat Cove in the far north, Sherbrooke Pioneer Village and lessor visited areas such as Kejimkujik National Park.
Although we would spend nearly a full month exploring this province one thing became quite clear, you would need far more time to see it proper – a lifetime perhaps. Nova Scotia certainly does have much to offer and I would highly recommend the experience.

This also marks the most easternly point of Venturetour 2006. Once we rounded the southwestern “French Shore” at Shag Harbour, we began our long journey back toward the prairies and our beloved Rocky Mountains.

We decided to return to Ontario through the U.S. via Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and even a little bit of New York state. (That will be on the next posting). Hope you enjoy this small sample of images from the nearly 3500 kilometers we covered in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton and as always I welcome your comments.

Our Nova Scotia route.

Our Cape Breton route.

Hall’s Harbour NS

Quirky colourful concrete cottages from the 1920’s. (Near Hall’s Harbour)

Folkart in front of Avard and Judy Brydon’s Home. Black Rock NS.

Scarcrow Festival, Mahone Bay NS

That’s our neice Tammie Creed, she joined us for a week in Cape Breton.

Maritime Museum, Lunenburg

Lunenburg

Swissair 111 memorial, near Peggy’s Cove

Peggy’s Cove

Folkart encrusted house.

Sherbrooke Pioneer Village

Hydrofoil, Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Beddeck NS

Cabot Trail

Celtic Colour

Pleasant Bay

North America’s only single malt whisky distillery.

Near Mabou NS, home�of the Rankin Family.

Share the road.

Big Fiddle. Sydney NS

Halifax Waterfront.

Alexander Keith’s Brewery, Halifax

Titanic Gravestones, Halifax.

Chester Harbour

Burying ground near Kejimkujik National Park.

With Judy Brydon at Kejimkujik National Park.

Images from Kejimkujik National Park.

Shelburne Harbour

Wooden boat shop, Shelburne circa early 1800’s.

Sunset on the French Shore. Time to head West.

Blown Away in Halifax

Scott Warris — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:36:04 +0000

While battling our way through 90KPH winds on the Halifax waterfront yesterday, a photographer from the Daily News caught a few images. You could imagine our surprise this morning to find the 3 of us on the front page of the paper!

It will certainly be a highlight of the trip. Here’s what it looked like:

Not bad for Friday the 13th…..

No White Dogs ~ PEI

Scott Warris — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 03:17:12 +0000

Leaving New Brunswick on September 21st, we crossed the Confederation bridge to PEI, the longest bridge over ice filled water in the world. An engineering marvel with a Calgary connection – Straight Crossing Inc., the company who built the bridge was a Calgary company. Odd that such an incredible Maritime icon was built by a landlocked company from the prairies.

The bridge took us not only to a new province (Canada’s smallest), but also into new and welcomed weather. After nearly a week of rain in Quebec and New Brunswick, we finally had a picnic lunch in the sun of fresh caught Atlantic Hallibut and french fries cut from potatoes harvested that very morning only a kilometer away. This was in Victoria By The Sea, a picturesque little village only 20 minutes from the bridge.

Map of our route on PEI.

We ended up spending 9 days on the bright red dirt (and mud). Of course we heard the comments that you can drive around the entire island in a day, which is technically true I suppose, but that’s certainly not doing the place justice. What must be Canada’s most picturesque province demands more time. Altogether we criss-crossed nearly 1500 kilometers of her front roads and back roads, met many of the islanders and visited both tourist attractions and local events. We sampled seaweed pie and the best fish chowder ever. We were pleasently surprised to learn the real story behind Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and the fact that the Canadian government had the foresight back in 1936 to purchase the entire area she grew up in and turn it into a National Park and Historic Site. Not quite the tourist trap of Anne’s Land that we had expected.

Of course, we pretty well had the island to ourselves. For some inexplicable reason most attractions, campgrounds and the like shut down on labour day. We found the odd provincial park open, but ended up spending most nights free camping where we wished. Fortunately the van is fully self-contained so this did not pose a problem. However it seems to me that there’s business to be had here if they just extend their season another month. Certainly September weather is typically sunny and clear and there’s plenty of travellers still on the road who feel that’s the best time of the year to go.

With the island being so picturesque, it is also very photogenic. I’ve picked out a few images here I was able to capture but in no means did I do it justice. A photographer could spend many hours trying to capture the rich hues of red earth, green grass and blue skies and sea. It’s an ideal combination that just must be seen to be believed. Until you’re able to do that first hand, I’ll leave you with a little taste of our experience here.

Subtle….

Victoria By The Sea

Deserted campground, all to ourselves.

Cavendish Beach, PEI National Park

The green gabled house that started it all.

Roadside Folkart.

PEI is the largest lobster producer in Canada.

Cut crystal lighthouse reflector from the turn of the last century.

One of my favorite Island images.

Great Blue Heron near Victoria By The Sea.

Snowbirds to Wood Sculptures

Scott Warris — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 23:30:01 +0000

Wooden sculpture at St.Jean Port Joli, Quebec

Our trip continues rolling east through the Capital Region, rural Quebec and Quebec City, and on into the Maritimes through northern New Brunswick. We’ve had no breakdowns and our van home has been cozy and comfortable. Willow has settled right into the travelling routine like a veteran – adventure and exploration during the day and once the curtains are drawn each night, into her evening routine like we never moved. Travelling in a van is a little (very little) like travelling on a cruise ship. You visit different places during the day but stay in the same bed every night. The best way to see the country in my opinion.

I’ve combined the last few weeks into one map to make it easier to follow. We spent just over a week with family and friends in Southwestern Ontario before leaving from my brother Tim’s place in Burford on Sept 6th. We spent a few days in Ottawa visiting the excellent museums there then on to the Laurentians at Mont Tremblant then over to Quebec City. Our weather has been mixed at best. The further east we go, the more rain days there are. Temperatures have been comfortable in the high teens most days and single digits at night. We tend to adjust our plans to match the weather best we can. Unfortunately, all of New Brunswick was seen in the rain while both Willow and I battled head colds.

I am writing this post from Charlottetown, PEI parked in front of a UPS Store. We’re able to access high speed internet here. We’ve become quite skilled at finding “hotspots” for high speed, although we do have daily low speed access while we’re driving through the use of a Telus aircard. It’s been invaluable for keeping us in touch with email and Skype chats. Penny has also done a substantial amount of Pipestone work “enroute” using the card. So keep in mind we do get your emails and blog comments on a daily basis and appreciate them very much, thank you.

Brantford Air Show

Lancaster Bomber, one of only two in existance capable of flight.

Harvard Trainers

Three Harvard trainers in formation.

Installing new windows in Tim and Vita’s Burford Ontario Century Home.

That’s my dad and his wife Irene on the left. Tim, me and Vita on the right.

Old Ontario resort area east of Peterborough

Willow and I on Parliment Hill, Ottawa

Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau Quebec (across river from Ottawa)

Ottawa resident.

Pretty clear – en francais

Perfectly good canoe

On the Ottawa River west of Montreal

Mont-Tremblant Quebec

Quebec City

Images from inside the oldest grocery store in North America, c.1874

Quirky French art. This was a display of full-size buses “artified”.

Of all places, these were on the Plains of Abraham.

A knitted bus Kozy with a very long scarf.

Seat upholstery

The artiste – Guy

Interior – 6000 photos of kids who ride the bus.

Sculpture at blacksmith Economusee

Wood sculpture garden at St. Jean Port Joli, Quebec

These are all concrete sculptures

Far more appealing option for a dead tree.

Near the border of Quebec and northern New Brunswick. Acadian Country.

Even when the weather doesn’t cooperate, there’s plenty of photo opportunities.

These mushrooms were taken on the trail down to Hopewell Rocks, NB.

Home to the highest tides in North America.

Interior of a covered bridge in Routhieville, Quebec

Moncton, bridge over Petitecodiac River

Just can’t resist those sunsets.

Until next time, here’s a peak of what’s to come:

Venturetour 2006 – Week 2

Scott Warris — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 05:18:45 +0000

We covered a lot of distance this week, basically from Manitoba clear across Northern Ontario to our families in the Southwestern part of the province, about 1500 kilometers altogether.

Besides a flat tire outside of Winnipeg (actually a hole in the valvestem delaying us only a few hours), we had no van problems whatsoever. We have worked out a good routine (as routine as is possible in these circumstances) with Willow. She tends to nap for 1-2 hours around noon so most of our road travel is in the middle of the day with a playground break once or twice (as needed).

Besides the trip home, this week will probably be the most continuous driving we do. We will spend week 3 in the Ontario area visiting family and friends (and taking care of a bit of business), then move on to Ottawa, Quebec and points east. Hope you enjoy the images.

Regarding last weeks mystery shots, surprisingly no one actually guessed correctly. Here are the answers:

The small tents are actually temporary protective enclosures for honeybees which are moved onto fields as needed for polenization.

These are Filmstrip Canisters mounted in a display board. For those of you too young to remember, filmstrips were like slides but not seperated. They were loaded into a projector and used for classroom shows before videos etc.

Map – Day 5

Canoe anyone? (Riding Mountain National Park MAN)

Map – Day 6

Signposts at Youth Hostel

Map – Day 7

Terry Fox Memorial outside Thunder Bay. A surprisingly moving tribute to an amazing man.

Map – Day 8

Agawa Bay, Lake Superior Provincial Park

Lake Superior Provincial Park’s new 8 million dollar interprative center

Map – Day 9

Gitchee Goomee at Wawa

Map – Day 10/11

Ferry between Manitoulin Island and Tobermory ON

Shipwreck “Sweepstakes” in Big Tub Harbour, Tobermory

Shipwreck “City of Grand Rapids” Big Tub Harbour, Tobermory

Incredibly clear azure waters of Georgian Bay

Flowerpot Island near Tobermory

Map – Day 12

An unfortunate reality in Lake Huron (near Kincardine ON)

No mystery photos this week, instead I’ll leave you with an appropriate sunset at Wasagaming in Riding Mountain National Park Manitoba.

Venturetour 2006 – Week One

Scott Warris — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:48:04 +0000

So we just about have our first week behind us and have pretty well ironed out all the wrinkles.

Posters on the wall of the old schoolhouse (circa 1940) in Hudson’s Bay, SK.

Of course the first few days were somewhat dishevelled. It took us a while to get things just right in the van and figure out the best routines for Willow and ourselves. Most of the van upgrades have worked out excellent, making the tight living quarters much more bearable and actually quite comfortable. (The only hiccup has been our BBQ, seems the regulator has clogged somehow so it’s been unavailable, we’ll just have to wait until Ontario for those strip loins).

Here’s some images from the week along with maps showing each day’s progress:

An early start, Friday August 18th

Map – Day One

Day One, Camp One, Tired One

Would you have guessed Saskatoon?

Crosses Near Aberdeen SK

The Peaceful Prairies

Map – Day 2

The Cockpit

Common road companions

So this is where he’s from…explains a lot

Say again?

Mural in Hudson’s Bay, SK depicting the journeys of Henry Kelsey in this area. Apparently he is an ancestor of our family.

Tool box on Frost and Wood grass cutter. Our grandfather Bill Kelsey worked at this plant in Smith’s Falls as a young man. (To learn more about this remarkable man, click here.)

The above are all images from the Heritage Park at Hudson’s Bay SK.

Map – Day 3

Only in Canada…..

Map – Day 4

That about cover’s it for the first few days. We had an excellent time in Riding Mountain National Park but I don’t have the images ready yet and it’s time to hit the road again.

I’ll leave you with two mystery shots – see if you can guess what these are:

These little tents dotted the fields around Hudson’s Bay SK.

These were found in the old schoolhouse in Hudson’s Bay.

The answers in the next post….Feel free to leave your comments.

Venturetour 2006 – Maritimes

Scott Warris — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 20:46:29 +0000

Many of you will recall our 2 year around the world odyssey back in 1990 and 1991 in our 1973 VW Camper Van. In fact a lot of you supported our trip through purchasing a lapel pin and subscribing to our newsletter �The Venturetour News�.

~At Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin 1990
in the original Venturetour Van.

It�s been 15 years since Venturetour 9091 and Penny and I are finally on the road again.

And of course, a lot has changed�.

The biggest change is the two of us are now three. Our 15 month old daughter Willow May is part of the adventure and brings a whole new element to traveling in a camper van. Needless to say, we needed a bigger van, the old VW Westfalia was great in it�s day (and great in our day), but it just wasn�t going to cut it for this trip. (If you�re curious, it�s now somewhere on a beach in Baja California).

Enter the Road Trek 190, in my opinion the finest camper van on the market today. It is built in Canada and is rated the number one unit in the world, and for good reason. The manufacturer holds over 20 patents on their design innovations, ingenious ideas such as a lowered floor that�s actually the shower, an easily converted king size bed, and every amenity found in much larger units. All cleverly compact and uniquely constructed.

Of course, anyone who knows me well, knows I�d never be satisfied with �out of the box�. I have spent many hours over the past few months modifying the living space to include an office complete with 2 laptops and full mobile internet access, GPS navigation and satellite radio, BBQ, upgraded cabinetry, integrated invertor power system and all sorts of little extras to make this trip just a little more comfortable then our previous one.

~The new Venturetour Van in Saskatoon.

Visible in the sky are the Canadian Snowbirds, part of the Saskatoon Air Show.

Our planned route should take us east from Calgary following the �northern route� across Saskatchewan and Manitoba picking up the Trans Canada at Winnipeg. Then on through Manitoulin Island to southwestern Ontario to spend a week or so with family. We hope to leave that area just after Labour Day spending some time in the Ottawa area then Quebec City and on to New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia for the autumn colours. Our return route will take us through New England, upstate New York and back into Ontario before heading back west through the U.S. by mid November.

My hope is to post regular dispatches from the road on this site, probably a week�s worth at a time. These will not be a day to day – play by play, but instead just the highlights of things that catch our eye and interest. Of course I will include a good dose of images to round things out.

So I hope you check back often and enjoy tagging along. Your comments of course are always welcome.

By the way, I will also be doing regular posts on Willow�s blog of her adventures. Feel free to check it out as well at www.willowwarris.com.

Cheers and Enjoy!

Scott, Penny and Willow�..

Click Here to see the latest posts.�

Creed/Salisbury Wedding June 3, 2006

Scott Warris — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 16:06:52 +0000

Welcome to the image gallery of the June 3rd Creed/Salisbury wedding.

When you click on the “Entire Wedding” link below, you will be re-directed to a slide show of all images. You can pause the show by clicking the pause button located between the arrows.

To order prints of any of these images, follow these steps:

Note the image numbers located to the left of the image in the FILE field. It will look like this: DSC_5085pe
List all these images in an email along with the quantity and size desired.
Include the location of a Wal-Mart store where you wish to pick up the finished prints.

For a list of Canadian Wal-Mart Locations Click Here
For a list of American Wal-Mart locations Click Here

Send the email to scott@warris.com
I will advise when the prints are ready to pickup.

CLICK HERE to see the Entire Wedding

�