Day 19

Being sunnier and warmer than yesterday, everyone is excited about cruising around in the pontoon boat.  At first we thought we were at full throttle and going about 5 mph, but fortunately there were several more levels and soon were headed to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore at a good clip.  There were some very sweet colored rock formations, but watching Emma and Gordon drive the boat was the highlight of the 9 hour excursion.  Beaching the boat on a secluded white sand beach of Grand Island was really cool and there were 3ft. fish swimming around quite close to shore.  There was probably a 30 degree drop in temperature from the sun drenched beach to the lake-chilled winds 1/2 mile off shore.  Dad bought 'pasties' (pastry on the outside with dinner on the inside) to enjoy on the boat.   After a great, and exhausting, day on the water, we drove to the locks of Sault St. Marie and saw some very big boats navigating between the Superior and Huron great lakes. Our campsite for the night is right along the channel and everytime a boat comes through we hear the loud ship horn warning all of us of its approach...should be a memorable stay. Gordon prayed tonight that we'd all have a good sleep

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Day 18

The intention for the day was to rent a pontoon boat, but it was cold and rainy, so, fortunately, the company was fine with postponing our reservation until tomorrow.  This afforded opportunity to do our laundry and enjoy some local bagels in downtown Munising.  We also extended our stay at the campground for a night and, after it warmed up, spent the day walking and playing on the lakeshore beach.  S’mores was the order of the evening and Emma burned at least three times more marshmallows than she ate.  She also found a great 25-pound piece of driftwood that Dad agreed to bring home along with a fine selection of pebbles.

Day 17

Reaching Lake Superior for the first time for all of us (except mom) by any direction is awe-inspiring; although, coming by way of Duluth does remind you of its industrial heritage.  We read of the current day salvaging of huge logs that have been sitting on the lake bottom for 150 years having sunk during the journey of being floated to the mill, and then noticed some stores selling carved pieces from these ancient timbers.  The streams and waterfalls of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were a great find and we enjoyed one of these close up en route to the lakeside campground. Throughout the day Andrew kept us focused upon the goal of finding someplace to watch the Pens’ game. It was helpful this time to be in the same time zone….the last two games we had watched in various and sundry places in both mountain and central time….but we knew that these games were important to even the youngest Schartners who have been faithfully following the Pens this season. So, as soon as we pulled into  the Munising Tourist Park and discovered they provided some wi-fi, all onboard devices were put to use in our search to watch what could be the Pens’ final game and Pittsburgh’s 4^th Stanley Cup.  Fortunately, we found a large local pizza place just down the road in the tiny town of Christmas, MI, where we were not the only Pens’ fans, but we were definitely the loudest, especially when the game was over. The staff even rushed to turn up the volume for the ceremony, just so we could hear it.

Before our nightly time of praying together, we had our own Sunday service in which we all mentioned something we were thankful for…Carl wisely said only one person could mention the Penguins and of course we gave that privilege to Andrew!

Day 16

We woke up roaring down the road; the diesel engine raring to go on these wide open flat lands and Carl happy to make some time towards Lake Superior while the rest of the crew slept.  The speedometer/odometer has been determined to be underreporting by 13.5%, which means we’ve been getting a respectable 9 ½ miles per gallon of diesel fuel and that there’s actually been no reason to get upset with all the drivers seemingly going under the speed limit on Canada’s many two-lane roadways. Playing Frisbee golf on the grass lawn of Horse Thief Falls’ town park was the highlight of the day.  That happened just after forfeiting our oranges, based on the current citrus alert, to the immigration officer who carefully examined every child’s face through the front driver’s window. Our time in Canada will long be remembered.  We stopped for the night at a road-side rest next to a beautiful Minnesota lake and read aloud from a western novel and from the Bible to end the day.

Day Fifteen - 500 miles

Today we ventured into the barn to gaze upon some of the most beautiful horses I’ve ever been close enough to touch…admittedly, I probably haven’t been close enough to touch very many horses,  but these were truly magnificent, well-mannered horses. Two very kind and friendly students introduced us to the trainer who also had recently been competing in the Olympic trials; she very graciously gave us front row seats to watch her practice with her horse as she prepares for the next competition. It was an amazing display of strength, control, and grace.  We all have a new appreciation for these amazing creatures and those who dedicate themselves to train them.

We had to cover the miles today, but it was also important that we find enough wi-fi for Amy to submit her final exam in Geometry, one of the joys of cyber-schooling.  Finally we reached Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Then, it was a matter of finding some free connection that we could tap into without a password! Carl, the amazing bus driver,  maneuvered the motorhome in and out of at least 8 different options…we were beginning to get astonished looks from bystanders when, at last, Lowe’s gave us  enough bars to warrant parking there for the next 2 hours. While Amy took her final, the rest of the crew explored The Noodle Wok, Tim Horton’s Donuts, and, of course, Walmart.

We’ll travel late into the night as far as Carl wants to go and then we’ll find a spot to pull over for the night….all part of the adventure! But, as of today, Amy is  a sophomore.

Day Fourteen - Progress 250 miles

Driving east out of the mountains and into the Canadian plains we were treated to two bull elks by the road, each with very intimidating racks.  With the pine and mountains now yielding to pasture land with hundreds of cattle, we had to bid the Rockies farewell.
 

We were now headed towards the Flying Colours Horse Farm, south of Edmonton, which is part of a cool association of private farms that make space available to motor homes for overnight stay at no charge.  This dressage stable had no other visitors for the evening, so the kids enjoyed Frisbee on the grass lawns and a bit of interaction with two of the magnificently well-trained and beautiful horses that enjoyed running synchronously in the fields. Amy definitely has the touch with horses; they came right over to the fence for her.  I think that perhaps they were quite curious about the big white beast that rolled onto their grass.

Day Thirteen - Progress 200 miles

Carley and Joel began their travel back to their Seattle home early in the morning. The good byes weren’t as hard this time because they will see us in Pittsburgh the day after we roll in to the burgh!  Still, it always gives us a little lonely feeling without the older kids.

 The rest of us packed up and headed out, our destination being north and also a bit more west into the heart of the Canadian Rockies.  The Columbian Icefield is an incredible feature of Jasper National Park with glacial runoff streams that feed the Pacific, Atlantic, and even the Arctic Oceans.  We will now roughly follow one of these flows for the coming days as it forms the Saskatchewan River and winds east to the Great Lakes. 

 Seeing bear, mountain goats, a wolf, and elk were also highlights of the drive which ended in a Jasper area campground where it remained light almost until the 11pm quiet hour restriction.   Since this was our first night with all 7 of us in the rig, bedtime was anything but quiet.  We had never really tested the wooden platform bed that Carl had engineered back at home for Ian to sleep on and now “we” were forgetting just exactly how to put the thing together….Carl persevered to the point of exhaustion at which point he decided to take a little rest atop his creation. It was then decided that a lighter candidate like Gordon should try the new bed and Ian would sleep in the hammock with an air mattress suspended from the ceiling. (Carl in his wisdom had evidently foreseen this when reconstructing the motorhome ceiling to include the perfect hooks for hanging a hammock.) Anyway, when it was all figured out, no one slept on the floor and we were thankful to be safe and fairly warm inside, while the rain pattered on our roof. 

Tomorrow our crew of the five youngest Schartner children and two parents will begin to head east on our long journey home.