NOUGHT TO NINETY

BOOK CHAPTERS:

PREFACE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Chapter 13

A BIG TRIP

In 1969 John Graham who was a good friend of Reg’s from Melbourne Teachers’ College invited us to his wedding in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. John was doing a Physical Education degree in Edmonton and was marrying a Canadian girl, also a teacher. Of course we would go, and we thought we may as well then drive on across the country; after all it didn’t look far on the map! This is an account of our travels during the nine weeks of summer vacation in 1969. We made our way across Canada to the east coast, then South to Washington DC, back across the US to Denver and then north to Red Deer. We were away for 51 days during which we covered a little over 10,000 miles. All of our belongings were packed into a plywood car top carrier which Reg designed and made for the purpose. We took only a tent, sleeping bags, camp stove, and one suitcase containing all of our clothes. I made a drawstring bag the size of a pillowcase for each of the children and in this they carried their treasures and anything they might want while we were driving. Then at night they stuffed their clothes into the bag to make a pillow.

Friday 27 th June: We left Red Deer at 2:30pm and at 11:00pm we arrived in Saskatoon where we were to attend the wedding on the following day. We lost an hour on the way east as Saskatchewan observes Central Standard time and Alberta has Mountain Standard time. We made only two short stops on the way; the first north of Drumheller where we ate a picnic tea and the second just over the Saskatchewan border. Drumheller is in an area known as the Badlands and looks like the Grand Canyon in miniature - a great eroded gully cut down into the plains to a depth of 600 feet. In most places it is about a mile wide and is very desolate except for an occasional irrigation farm along the bank of the river. The whole area is famous as a graveyard for dinosaurs whose bones are exported to museums all over the world. It’s flat and unrelieved by any hills, even in the distance. After driving another 400 miles we reached Saskatoon and settled into the Colonial Motel; the weather was pleasantly mild, I put the children to bed and Reg went down to meet the Australian and Canadian friends who were staying with John at a motel a mile down the road.

Saturday 28 th June: The children woke early; it was light until 10:00pm and the sun was up again by 4.30am. After breakfast John Graham and Gwenda and Bryan Kenworthy (also teachers from Melbourne, both teaching in Vancouver) called in to see us; we then went off to shop as I’d left home without a sweater. I bought a windcheater (Canadian sweatshirt) and the kids all got new socks to wear to the wedding; everything seemed a bit cheaper than in Red Deer. We drove round Saskatoon and thought it most attractive with the streets lined with trees, many almost meeting overhead; we saw the University, all the buildings faced with fawn coloured stone known as Greystone. Also saw the imposing Bessborough Hotel behind which beautiful gardens and green lawns run down to the South Saskatchewan River on the banks of which Saskatoon is built. Back to the motel to change for the wedding which was held at St Philip's Catholic Church and the reception was at the administration building of the exhibition grounds, very enjoyable and attended by a large number of Australians.

Sunday 29th June: The festivities continued at Ann’s home on Sunday morning and after Mass (a folk Mass with guitar music and the congregation also joining in vigorously) we called there to say our last farewells before really starting on our way east, headed for our first night under canvas at Regina, 166 miles away and the capital of Saskatchewan. We didn't find the prairies at all boring as we had been warned; flat but green and relieved at regular intervals by towns all similar in appearance and each dominated by grain elevators. We camped four miles east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway at Buffalo Lookout, and had our camp made and a meal on the table within the hour thanks to six willing helpers.

Monday 30 th June: All slept soundly until 7.30 despite a record low temperature for that date of 37º F. We woke to find ourselves being closely inspected by field mice which had come under the wall of the tent from a freshly ploughed grain field five feet away. Straight after breakfast we drove to Regina for a day of sight seeing. The most interesting feature of the city for us was the 1600-acre Wascana Centre, which comprises the Wascana Lake (left), the Legislative buildings, the University, a Museum of Natural History and a bird sanctuary. We spent the morning exploring and after a picnic lunch, headed across town to catch the daily RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) parade at 1pm. Regina is the home of the RCMP and each day visitors can watch the Sergeant Major’s parade of trainees in uniform marching around the square to the music of their own excellent band. We were then shown through the Police Museum which contains the chapel, the swimming pool, gym and the drill hall where precision marching was in progress. Hot showers and an early night before the drive of 355 miles to Winnipeg.

Tuesday 1 st July: Canada Day. On the road by 10:00am after a filling breakfast of fried eggs between slices of bread to save washing up. The highway was very good and enabled us to make good time. We shared the driving and arrived in Winnipeg at 6pm; the usual Tourist Information signs guided us to the Legislative Buildings in the heart of the city and while Reg was getting information the rest of us enjoyed a free concert on the steps in honour of Dominion Day. Bands, choirs, singing and dancing groups, many in national dress of different countries, all taking part with great enthusiasm, provided a great show. We received the usual armload of literature about the Province and then made for Bird’s Hill Provincial Park 15 miles north of the city. Winnipeg, like Regina, is notable for neat tree-lined streets both in the city centre and suburbs. The population then was 508,000.

Wednesday 2 nd July: Bird's Hill Park (righ) is magnificent. The area is 8,300 acres and was a contribution from Manitoba to Canada's centennial. The park includes an 80-acre lake dotted with small islands, where we swam and sunbathed all day. Extending back from the sand is about a quarter mile of mown grass broken by lines of trees; in winter this area is a huge skating rink and is serviced by a large car-park, drive-in phone booths, dressing rooms and a store. All of the buildings in the park are of greystone and of modern design. They are all immaculately clean. All roads are paved; the camp site is surrounded on three sides by 100 feet of impenetrable bush; a power plug protrudes out of the ground at each site; hot showers are free and are regulated automatically at the pressing of a button. Also, on each of the sites are the usual picnic table and a barbecue. Abundant supplies of cut firewood are stacked on the sites. These areas which measure about 40 by 40 feet are covered with clean gravel, no dust anywhere. The cost, regardless of the number of people in the party, was $1 per night.

Thursday 3 rd July: The usual 10:00am start saw us in Kenora, Ontario in time for lunch. The countryside is rocky and dotted with lakes, the trees are large and go right to the edge of the water. We stopped at Upsala on one of the small lakes, of which there are literally thousands in Ontario, a very pretty spot but we were attacked by `no-see-ums’ as the Indians call them; a rotten little black fly with a stinging bite which goes on itching for a week and left us all looking as though we had the measles.

Friday 4 th July: Because of the biters our usual 10am start was made at 8am without waiting for breakfast; we simply pulled the tent down, threw everything into the car and tore off before we could be eaten alive by the no-see-ums. Tomato sandwiches as we drove along made a good breakfast and the early start enabled us to easily cover 330 miles to White River but during the afternoon rain had set in that made it impossible to put the tent up so we had a night in a motel, our only one for the whole trip, apart from Saskatoon. We were all glad of hot baths to ease our itches and the kids enjoyed watching TV while we wrote letters and read the papers. We found we had an unexpected hour to spare; 100 miles west we had stopped for a drink and were given the time as Eastern Standard and moved our watches on one hour; but Upsala was on daylight saving so the lost hour was returned to us. Apparently towns may suit themselves since they are so isolated here. Many of the towns advertise air services, sea planes operating from some of the thousands of airports that have been made on lakes and rivers.

Saturday 5 th July: We slept late and left White River at 11am in weather of a perfect 70º F which made the drive to Sault Ste Marie a pleasant one. The scenery was still spectacular and the trees larger and more varied. We went to a municipal campground right on the shore of Lake Superior where our site was only about 20 yards from the water with a lovely sandy beach between us and it.

Sunday 6 th July: After going to Mass in Sault Ste Marie we drove to the locks and got there just in time to see an oil tanker and a number of smaller vessels go through, the whole operation taking only about 10 minutes. Then a quick drive around the city and back to our campground, which was called Pointe des Chenes Park; it was very pleasant with tall trees and large sites and ships were continually passing in the channel about a mile offshore which were interesting to watch. We swam and sunbathed all day and the kids hunted for unusual coloured stones, which abound on the shores of Lake Superior and are sold at all the souvenir shops. The beach was very clean and almost deserted. We had decided to visit my pen friend Georgia Rotter and her family at Holt, Michigan the following day so planned an early start.

Monday 7 th July: At 8.00am (7.00am US time) I rang Georgia and when she assured me that they would be home all day we broke camp and took off. We crossed the toll bridge into the US and paid $1.50, the first of many such charges, and were questioned by the US customs officer who let us through without opening anything although we noticed that in the next lane the car trunk was being searched. The time here was an hour earlier than it had been across the border. The 50 miles between Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace on the other side of the Michigan Peninsula seemed to be covered in no time as we had our first taste of the marvellous Michigan highways which seemed even better than the Canadian ones. We then crossed the "Big Mac" bridge, a suspension bridge nearly five miles long, with Lake Huron on our left, Lake Michigan on our right. The Michigan scenery surprised us both; we had expected big cities but all the way to Lansing it was completely rural, chiefly forests of deciduous trees; at regular intervals there were rest areas developed and maintained by the Highways Department. These are beautiful picnic grounds with tables, toilets, drinking fountains, maps and tourist information, all set in the trees, and very cool and shady. The shade was welcome as it was a warm day and we made several stops but reached Holt at about 5pm. It was great to meet the Rotters for the first time (Georgia and I had corresponded for many years, penfriends through the Australian/American Association) and after supper Bud and Georgia drove us around Lansing including a tour of Michigan State University where there were approximately 50,000 students and the campus extends over such a large area that they travel from dormitories to lecture theatres by bus.

Tuesday 8 th July: After sitting and talking over breakfast until 10am we regretfully left our new friends and made for our first big American city – Detroit. We arrived there in the early afternoon and thought we would like to see the famous Henry Ford Museum. We managed to get on to the right freeway after several false starts and made our way there only to find it was way out of our price range; $2 for adults and $1 for children so we bought an ice-cream instead and then returned to Canada via the Ambassador Bridge into the city of Windsor, Ontario. We drove on to Point Pelee National Park where we planned to camp, passing on the way dozens of roadside stalls selling freshly picked fruits and vegetables, eggs and home-made bread, this being a very productive market garden area.

On the left is an aerial view of the system of overpasses in Detroit which shows why we had a little difficulty getting on to the right freeway.

Wednesday 9 th July: The forecast was for rain which did not eventuate but we were up and away by 10am as usual, on the way to Niagara Falls (240 miles). We drove through beautiful rich country, market gardens and small farms and the towns through which we passed were the prettiest we had ever seen - streets uniformly lined with large shady trees, houses all set on large blocks and surrounded by smooth green lawns and brilliantly colourful flowers. We camped at the Provincial Park at St Catherine’s, about 15 miles west of Niagara Falls. The car park was a flat spot about 120 feet above Lake Ontario so we rolled our gear downhill, set up camp, swam, ate then set off to see the Falls. We found them truly magnificent and exciting, despite the tourist aspect of it all - crowded streets, hotels, souvenir shops, you could spend a fortune there but all it cost us was 15 cents each way on the toll bridge. We drove three miles north of the Falls to see the gorge and the whirlpool and then back to the Falls because by this time it was dark and the area is illuminated at night by coloured floodlights; however, they don't compare with the real rainbow (right) which we had seen earlier. We were all tucked up in our sleeping bags by 11pm.

Thursday 10 th July: We got up to see an odd sort of mist over the lake so ate and packed with speed, and sure enough just as we staggered up the hill with the last of our gear the electrical storm hit us and the rain pelted down. We took off for Toronto congratulating ourselves on having left with a dry tent; all the way to Toronto the rain absolutely teemed but just as we arrived it stopped and the sun came out.

We stopped at the first playground, which contained not only every conceivable type of play equipment, but also a large flock of Canada geese so the kids played happily while Reg and I straightened out our hastily packed gear and pored over the map to work out the best way of seeing `Canada's most swinging city’. We took our usual course of driving through the city streets as we were keen to see the famous $30 million City Hall and found it very impressive. We enjoyed lunch in the beautiful Colonel Danforth Park, a bushy informal park with a creek running through the middle. After lunch we drove the 40 miles to Oshawa where we camped in the Provincial Park; about a mile square it contains 400 sites, overlooks Lake Ontario and was almost empty. The lake at this point is too polluted for swimming and although there were some kids in the water, ours were not. The weather was warm and seemed humid to us after the dry air of Alberta and the humidity became worse as we moved further east.

Friday 11 th July: We rose early after a peaceful night disturbed occasionally by the passing of trains half a mile across the valley. Some we saw comprised 90 to 100 carriages. Oshawa is the General Motors manufacturing centre of Canada and the kids were excited to see huge semi-trailers and trains loaded with hundreds of cars. We packed up smartly and headed for Ottawa but stopped at Kingston to cash a cheque, buy supplies and eat lunch before taking the road along the St Lawrence River through the area known as Thousand Islands. Here the whole wide expanse of water is dotted with islands of every shape and size, many with houses on them. We had intended camping at the Provincial Park at Johnstone but with us arrived a thunderstorm so we got on course for Ottawa and the Rideau River campgrounds which are on the way.

The rain was still heavy when we reached this very pretty Provincial Park and we proceeded on to the new and excellent municipal camping area. Despite intermittent rain we had the tent up in record time on a beautiful wooded site six miles from the centre of Ottawa. The people in the tourist bureau were helpful as always and provided us with the city map on which there is a marked tour with accompanying notes on all points of interest. It was made easy to follow because there is a street marker every few blocks throughout the total distance of 24 miles. Each of the signs is numbered to make the system foolproof so we got lost only once.

Saturday 12th July: With the rain gone, we were on the road early because we wanted to see the Changing of the Guard (right) at 8am on Parliament Hill. Just as we passed the barracks, the new guard of forty Grenadier Guards complete with red coats, busbies etc marched out, escorted by the Scottish band of drums and bagpipes. I jumped out of the car with the children and we walked the half mile behind the guards while Reg went off to park the car. As we reached the hill another lot arrived to join them, this time accompanied by a brass band and all marched together into a large grassed square in front of Parliament House. They were inspected and presented the colours; all very traditional and British and a marvellous free show. We then followed the scenic route and arrived at the residence of the Governor General just in time to see the old guard relieved at their sentry boxes and the new lot take over. We continued on to historical sites and other points of interest and had lunch in a park by the river, followed by a few hours in the National Museum where the exhibits are wonderful dioramas of Indian and Eskimo life. Most of the exhibits are complete with sound effects. Canadian birds and animals are shown in replicas of the actual areas with beautifully painted backgrounds. Confederation in Canada is explained with films, photographs, prints, an actual document or two, together with reproductions of many others, all arranged in historical sequence. We found Ottawa a most attractive and interesting city.

Sunday 13th July: We left for Montreal and stopped on the way to attend our first French Mass at the little town called Orleans, about ten miles out of Ottawa. It reminded us of the old days of the Latin Mass, except that this time even the sermon was unintelligible to us. After a brief roadside stop for lunch, we pushed on and reached the Quebec border at 1.30 and were in Montreal an hour later. Marcus and Celene amused themselves by compiling a list of French words and their meanings which they got from the road signs and advertisements, everything here being in French as well as English. We were on the freeway and missed the turn-off for the city centre but managed to retrace our steps and eventually found a way back to the tourist information centre where we were given the usual excellent load of maps, pamphlets and information on how to reach the nearest municipal camping ground, Parc Cote Ste Catherine, where we quickly established ourselves with plans to be up early next morning for a visit to "Man and his World" (previously Expo 67).

A word here about the freeways: they are really wonderful affairs which enable you to get to any part of the city at 60 miles per hour. Some of them (Detroit for instance) run 30 feet below street level so we did not see much of this city. Montreal has a few very complex intersections; cars passing on two levels overhead and one level beneath and each with cloverleaf approaches leading both off and on to each. No lights, no stops and everyone doing 60 to 70 miles per hour so you need to know ahead just where you want to go and most times we did although occasionally we missed our turn off and had to go round again.

Monday 14th July: We left the camp ground at 8.20 to tour Montreal first and then Expo. Montreal is a lovely city, very French and distinctly different; few of the people to whom we spoke could understand us so it was back to sign language. The buildings themselves are a charming mixture of ancient and modern and many of the old ones reflect a strong European influence. We cruised about the city proper, a good time of the day for seeing the people just going about the day's business, then proceeded through narrow winding streets out to Parc du Mont-Royal which is on top of a hill and affords a wonderful view of the whole city.

At 10:00am we drove onto the Ile St Helene where Expo (right) is situated and parked there, then walked the half mile to the gate. No admission for six and under, and fortunately Marcus would not be seven for another four days so with nothing to pay for the four youngest we felt justified in buying tickets for the Monorail which was really the high spot (in more ways than one) of the whole outing. This is a small electric monorail train with open carriages which travels high above all the pavilions so as to give a complete view of the whole area, now and again passing through one of the exhibits, as it goes through the great American plastic dome. After lunch at an Italian café out of doors, we went through the "Man and his World" pavilions, of which there are three; one on Man and Space, one on Man and his Health, and the other on Man and Life. Having managed to see all these things without having lost even one child we decided not to push our luck too far and staggered on weary legs back to the car for the trip to Quebec City.

The weather was sticky as the humidity was 93% and the temperature was 82ºF. We found a pleasant small private camp ground with excellent hot showers about ten miles out of Quebec City and were glad of an early night after the boys had tried fishing with hand lines in a stream behind the tent, unfortunately without success.

Tuesday 15th July: Quebec City is a fascinating place! Canada's only walled city, it dates back to the 18th century when the French and English were at war. As we drove in, we were impressed by the broad tree-lined streets of modern buildings and lovely houses with glorious gardens - then we arrived at the old part of the city which is carefully preserved and is a tourist attraction of wide interest. We walked through the Battlefields Park which incorporates the Citadel where Montcalm and his troops attempted to defend Quebec against the English under Wolfe resulting in the death of the two brave generals and victory for the British. We then drove off through the narrow streets of the old city, no easy task I can tell you, as we craned out of the windows at many of the original shops and houses, and tried to follow the tourist notes at the same time. Out through the gateway again and from one extreme to another as we shopped in the wonderful Laurier Centre which is a great complex of shops all under the one roof, and we finished our shopping with a cooked chicken and a loaf of crusty French bread for a delicious roadside lunch. Then northeast along the St Lawrence River through a whole succession of picturesque little French villages where the main industry is wood carving, advertised by lovely carved figures, many life-sized, in front gardens and windows. We decided to drop down into Maine for a night’s camping and found the countryside pretty, but camp grounds almost non-existent; in the end we stopped in a tiny town called Ashland where the locals allowed us to camp free on their sports oval.

Wednesday 16th July: Another hot day so while the washing was being done at the local laundromat, we all went to the river for a welcome swim; then on towards New Brunswick and the Bay of Fundy National Park. We stopped again at lunch time to swim in a lake, then on to Fundy where (after making camp and eating tea) we visited the beach for our first sight of the sea in a year. No swimming though because the tide in the Bay of Fundy falls and rises 28 ft and it was low tide at 8.35 so we would have walked miles before getting water over our ankles. Naturally we celebrated the occasion with a feed of fish and chips.

Thursday 17th July: After a beautiful quiet night among the spruce trees, we packed up early and after a quick visit to the beach (which has no sand, only a great expanse of rocks of every size and colour) we were on the road again. Noon found us sweltering in Monckton, New Brunswick and shopping for Marcus’s birthday present of a fishing rod which then had to be sneaked into the car without him seeing it. Soon after lunch we crossed the border into Nova Scotia where we were met by a Highland piper. Free car stickers and badges bearing the words Jeux Canada Games 1969 because the Canada Games were about to begin in Halifax.

We drove down the coast until we found a delightful camp ground at Brule Beach; a vast expanse of grass surrounded by trees, hot showers, swings and a store. We pitched the tent and then went off to the beach for a refreshing swim, very welcome after a warm day. An electrical storm cleared the night air as we lay in our bags listening to rain drumming on the tent. On the right is our campground at Brule Beach, Nova Scotia.

Friday 18th July: Marcus’s seventh birthday, gloriously sunny and a boy almost hysterical with delight over his new fishing rod. We went straight to the pier and to our amazement about a dozen small perch were reeled in and we ate them for lunch. The day was spent delightfully in the sun and sea, with a short excursion to the village of River John to buy a birthday cake for the party for our boy which took place that night.

Saturday 19th July: Another fine day but with a stiff breeze so we decided on a drive to Halifax and Dartmouth to look at an Atlantic beach. As the route took us right across Nova Scotia we travelled through pretty rolling hill country, wooded with spruce and deciduous trees dotted every so often with beautifully clear lakes and rocky streams. The ground appears stony and poor in many places and as many farms are deserted as are producing; most are very small in size. Little villages lie here and there among the hills, as pretty as pictures but no evidence of many rural industries to provide local employment. Halifax and Dartmouth, joined by a toll bridge nearly a mile long are busy bustling cities and we drove straight through them as the day had warmed up and everyone was keen to reach the ocean. This we did at Cole Harbour where we paddled or swam, according to our strength of character. The water is icy cold, perhaps 50º F. The sand is grey whereas at Brule it is reddish brown. After an hour or so we drove back to Halifax, shopped for fish hooks as everyone now wants a hand line, bought one of our favourite cooked chickens for tea and were home in our tent by 8.30.

Sunday 20th July: Another glorious day and we ate a hasty breakfast and left Brule at nine o'clock to drive two miles south along the coast to Pictou for Mass. Hardly another car was on the road and the drive was enjoyable with a view across the sea to Prince Edward Island – site of the Anne of Green Gables books and just 14 miles away at several points. After Mass we had a quick drive around Pictou, a picturesque little town built around a natural harbour, then back to Brule for a peaceful sunny day of tree house building in the woods behind the tent, fishing and swimming.

Monday 21st July: Another day like the last one and the fish were biting so that we finished up with 21 small perch for lunch. Reg had now made a rod for Nick and hand lines for each of the rest of us; he is kept busy diving in to disentangle lines and baiting hooks with mussels from the pier. This is the most peaceful spot imaginable and you would expect it to be thronged with people but the only day when we have seen more than a handful of people was Sunday.

Tuesday 22nd July: Tom’s second birthday today so we drove into River John in the morning to buy stores and give him the pick of the toy department; not as rash as it sounds because it only contained about six things. He seized a pale blue Tonka station wagon which we gladly bought for him. As we returned to the camp, we heard the weather forecast which was for storms, and black clouds were rolling up so we decided to break camp a day early; we were away within the hour and it proved to be a good decision, because not only did we leave the bad weather behind but we found this superb camp ground which, had we done a full day's driving, we would have missed. It is at New River Beach, on the New Brunswick coast of the Bay of Fundy about 20 miles south of St John's. We camped on grass overlooking a wide sandy beach and after tea, a walk on the beach, and early bed, we went to sleep with the sound of breaking waves in our ears.

Wednesday 23rd July: As it was a warm and sunny day, we decided to spend the morning on the beach and break camp after lunch; we all had a swim despite the 50º F Atlantic water and then paddled, lay in the warm sand, or surfed on the air-beds. (On the right) We were on the road by two o'clock and drove down the Maine coastline as far as Bucksport to a private camp ground where the sites were cut out of the woods, flat and grassed, free hot showers and playground equipment for the kids. The only disappointment of the day was the purchase of one of the famed New England lobsters which proved to be a sort of dwarf variety of the kind we used to enjoy so much - as Reg said "like a big yabby". However, the flavour of the one mouthful we each had was excellent.

Thursday 24th July: By 11 am we were travelling towards our destination of Kensington, New Hampshire, to visit my brother John and his family. The trip down was scenic and was marred only by frequent stops at propane gas stations as we’ve had great difficulty in getting refills. The size of attachments is different; we have now been out of gas for five days and have been cooking on camp fires all the time which can be awkward when touring. We took a turnpike road for easier and speedier driving, but were a little shocked at the toll of $1.25 for an hour's driving. However, we duly arrived, a grand family reunion took place and we feasted on a magnificent leg of roast lamb cooked to perfection. A real treat over here where lamb is expensive, while turkey which we used to regard as a luxury sells for as little as 29 cents a pound.

Friday 25th July: Since it was now over 5500 miles since the last service, John introduced Reg to a reliable garage owner who made a few minor adjustments and prepared the car for the rest of the journey. The terrible propane problem was solved by a firm in Exeter (nearest town to John) where they not only managed to fill our tanks, but refused to charge. In the evening Reg drove David, Marcus and Nick to Bodwell's Pond on a nearby farm where they reeled in about 18 horned pout (a variety of catfish) and were eventually dragged home tired and happy at 10pm.

Saturday 26th July: After a delicious breakfast of fish Hank Dillenbeck, a neighbour, took Reg for a ride in his Atex all-terrain vehicle which has six wheels and will climb over low walls, logs, etc up to 2 ft high, go through swamps, swim and climb incredibly steep sand hills. It has an all-plastic body and a 20hp motor which will do 65 miles per hour. Reg tore around Hank’s property and enjoyed the novelty but would find it hard to part with the $1500 purchase price. After lunch we went to the nearest beach - Hampton Beach. It was a strange contrast to drive out of the glorious new England woods dotted with large houses (many very old; John and Mavis’s house is 150 years old but many are older than that), into a shabby crowded area with hippies sitting on rooftops playing guitars or flying kites in the street. Further along, the beach was poorer but houses were richer and people fewer; no people on the roof here.

Sunday 27th July: After Mass in Exeter we all trooped off to the Kensington horse show, a very interesting day; the events known as Western style were great fun with kids on horseback tearing around the arena at full speed twisting around obstacles and similar capers all against the clock. Letter writing and an early night followed in preparation for a sight-seeing assault on Boston the next morning.

Monday 28th July: Off to Boston at 8:30am and the turnpike road had us there (50 miles) before we knew it but as we reached the outskirts of the city it was like driving into a steam bath, dreadfully humid and hot with intermittent rain. We stopped at the North Lynn shopping centre and did the laundry and some shopping; toys, clothes and food are all cheaper here than in Canada and if we hadn't been pressed for car space, we would have done some Christmas shopping. We then went off for our usual sight-seeing drive and saw Boston University, Harvard, Boston Common and public gardens, the downtown shops and a fair selection of the residential suburbs - some very fine and others extremely poor. We wanted to see the famous Children's Museum but beat a hasty retreat when we found that they charged admittance. Back to New Hampshire about 5 pm and it was a delight to return through the beautiful narrow leafy lanes to John's; the country around here is the loveliest we have seen and within such easy commuting distance of Boston that it seems almost a perfect place to live. Everyone was glad of a swim in the private pool two houses down and fishing after supper for Reg and the boys once again yielded breakfast for the next day. That’s our combined family of 14 on the right.

Tuesday 29th July: Celene's ninth birthday, all the more fun for being celebrated in the temporary family of fourteen, but we had decided to leave for New York so despite teeming rain Reg seized a break in the downpour to pull the tent down and after regretful farewells both to family and to glorious New Hampshire we were once more on our way. The rain was now the heaviest we had seen with visibility almost nil and great waves being sent out by the wheels of cars. Luckily it cleared late in the afternoon and we camped in Harriman State Park about 40 miles north of New York City, and went to bed early in preparation for a whole day’s sight seeing on the morrow.

Wednesday 30th July: New York at last! And such an exciting place, even when seen mainly from the car as we did. We had been warned not to drive through the city and advised to take a bus, subway, ferry or walk; but all these involved either extra expense, or the terrible problem of trying to keep eight people together in crowds, or both, so we decided on our time-tested method of travelling through this city - that is, by car. We left the camp ground at 8:30am and drove down to the magnificent Palisades Parkway which is tree-lined and closed to all commercial vehicles and cars with trailers, right along the bank of the Hudson River and across the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan. We then followed the Parkway right down the west side seeing the statue of Liberty in the distance, up Broadway to Central Park where we found a car-park (free) right in the park, ate lunch in Central Park, fed the tame squirrels with crumbs of bread which they took from our hands and chatted to the friendly mounted police.

We then drove slowly (because of the heavy traffic, but it suited us perfectly because we were able to look around) down Fifth Avenue, looking at the shops, people and buildings such as the Guggenheim Museum and the Empire State Building and I took photos from the car window. We went down Central Broadway, then along Bowery where men lay on the sidewalks in the midst of garbage and filth and almost every window was broken, then up the East side and along the Harlem River Parkway back across the George Washington Bridge, and back to our camp. New York would take months or years to see properly but we all felt that it had been an exciting experience and well worth doing.

Thursday 31st July: The first hour of driving today took us through Jersey City where the smog and fumes were so dreadful that we hated to breathe, but after Jersey City the New Jersey turnpike enabled us to miss the cities - at a price though, as during that day we paid around six dollars in tolls.

Another hot humid day and we were all glad to reach the Greenbelt National Park about ten miles north of Washington where we were allotted a delightful site in the woods for the very reasonable charge of $1 per night. Reg made bows and arrows for the kids and they had great fun with them, and fortunately nobody lost an eye. We took the opportunity of buying a Golden Eagle passport for $7 which will entitle us to free camping in the US national parks and national forests and free entry to national monuments and memorials so we can now camp here free. At 8.30 the Ranger gave an interesting camp fire programme to which we all went; he showed slides and gave a talk on the camp grounds west of the Rocky Mountains.

Friday August 1st: Up early and off to see Washington, map in hand. The city runs a tourmobile system of buses which tour the city sites for a round trip charge of $1; you can disembark at each and every point you wish and then hear explanatory talks by guides which go on all day. We had a map of the route so we followed it ourselves in the car and saw the National Capitol, the White House, Smithsonian Institute, and the memorials to Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington. We lunched near the Potomac River and drove through the residential suburbs to the Beltway, a lovely tree-lined freeway which took us right back to our camp. This ring road passes through many beautiful planned suburbs where areas of woodland have been preserved between the rows of houses which seemed to us a very good idea. A sharp electrical storm and heavy rain sent us off to bed early but the night was still very mild so we were able to sleep with the tent flap open which was a pleasant experience as our tent faced straight into the woods.

Saturday 2nd August: We woke to find that the rain had stopped and broke camp quickly to be on the road by 9.30, headed west. We had decided to follow Highway 50 as we were sick of paying tolls but this proved to be a mistake and it soon became clear to us why most people travel on the toll roads and feel it is worth the money. Not only was our progress slowed because of morning traffic in the towns but we even missed the turn-off (impossible on the turnpikes) and lost about 15 miles. We crossed the northern end of Allegheny Mountains early in the afternoon and the road was narrow and winding so our progress continued to be slow. However, the scenery was beautiful so it didn't matter. We reached Grafton, West Virginia in the late afternoon and were surprised to find that the whole town was built on the sides of steep hills so that the streets were all narrow and winding. Later we passed through many more towns in West Virginia all built the same way. A State Park, Lake Tygart, is only a few miles from Grafton so we stayed there overnight. The lake is large and very attractive and the surrounding area is highly developed with cabins for rent, a boat marina, beautiful lawns and a swimming beach but as there was an extra charge to swim we contented ourselves with hot showers all round and went to bed.

Sunday 3rd August: Up and away very smartly, hoping to make up for lost time the previous day; we stopped in Clarksburg (birthplace of Stonewall Jackson) for Mass and apparently the community there is mainly Ukrainian because the prayers and notices were said in both languages although the Mass was said in English. There was no organ, only an old record player which had to be thumped periodically to keep it going, yet the singing was wonderfully hearty and the church was so colourful with statues and candles everywhere that the kids were all entertained and very quiet especially Tom who went to sleep on Reg’s shoulder. Afterwards we drove on towards Parkersburg but soon became hopelessly entangled in an army convoy which seemed to go on for miles. We eventually got clear of them and sped across the border into Ohio. At Athens, a small university city, the airfield runway is parallel to the highway and only 60 yards from it, so that in places the wing tips seemed almost to touch the buildings. We shopped in Chillicothe, the old legislative capital of Ohio, and very clean, green and attractive it was too. We camped 40 miles away at a private camp at Rocky Fork Lake. As there was a coin laundry there we all put on our bathers in order to wash all our clothes, which we did, so you can imagine the problem when we then found that the dryer was out of order and someone had removed the notice. Naturally we slept in our bathers that night.

Monday 4th August: The pile of wet clothes in the back of the car necessitated an early start, luckily it was warm and sunny and while we dried the washing in the nearest town we drank half a gallon of milk and filled up with gas. 100 miles later we found that the cap was missing from the tank, so stuffed a handkerchief in the opening and hoped that nobody would light a match near the back of the car. We stopped in every town and city trying to buy another to fit but had no luck until we got to Strasburg, Colorado where we got a replacement. Noon saw us in Cincinnati, another beautiful city, where we lunched in the park and fed squirrels. The road was concrete and very smooth and we became conscious of the noise of the tyres and after inspection Reg decided that none of the four was going to see the trip out. At the next city which was Bedford, Indiana, we noticed when stopped at traffic lights that three of the four corners were occupied by tyre firms offering "huge reductions" and so left town with four new tyres. Camped 25 miles away at an almost deserted state forest (Martin Forest). After tea Reg washed the kids under the pump and I pushed them into sleeping bags, full of lettuce, tomatoes, cold meat, doughnuts, milk and fresh peaches. (The kids, that is, not the bags!)

Tuesday 5th August: No Ranger came round to collect fees so that was a free night camping in peaceful surroundings and we were on the road by 9.30, but actually 8.30 as we found in the first town because by travelling west we had gained an hour, so this was a good day for a long distance. We did 400 miles without feeling it a strain, although the weather was uncomfortably warm. We passed through miles and miles of sweet corn in Illinois, seemingly more than could ever be eaten, no wonder it sells for three or four cents a cob around here. Beautiful country - rolling hills, part farm, part forest, small neat towns with shady tree-lined streets of neat houses surrounded by large areas of beautifully kept lawn. We stopped for lunch at Flora where the kids enjoyed a very elaborate playground bought for the town by the local Kiwanis club, then drove through to St. Louis where we admired the 192 metre tall Gateway Arch (on the left) and across the Mississippi River. We camped at Concordia Missouri, a predominantly German town about 18 miles east of Kansas City and all enjoyed hot showers and an early night.

Wednesday 6 August: Up and off early again today because our destination was Oakley, Kansas, 430 miles away. We clapped on the pace and managed it without too much effort. The temperatures ranged from 95 to 102º so we made several stops - the first at Topeka, Kansas for lunch in the park and a fill up with gas at 23.9 cents a gallon (price war) then at Glendale and Wakeeney where we had cold drinks and Reg sprayed us all with the water hose to cool us down, to the considerable amazement and amusement of all the smartly dressed American tourists in the Howard Johnson restaurant. We reached Oakley, about 60 miles east of the Kansas/Colorado border at about 5:30pm and found the camp ground to be the first of a projected chain of luxury camp grounds which will be opened next summer. Beautiful Olympic sized swimming pool, tiled showers and bathrooms, a laundromat, carpeted shop selling a great variety of food and drinks including beer, lounge with TV, hook-ups to every site for water, electricity and sewage (for trailers), children's playground and mini golf, all for $3 a night plus $2.50 for the use of the pool, which we felt was very reasonable. We pitched the tent quickly then took the plunge and apart for a short break for eating, we all swam until 10 pm when the pool closed. That’s Tom running laps in Kansas on the right.

Thursday 7th August: We awoke to a howling gale; the kids rushed through breakfast in order to make the most of the pool while we battled with the tent. Highway traffic was light and we made good time to lunch in the Lions Park in the little town of Strasburg, Colorado where we were able at last to replace the lid of our gas tank. The wind had dropped and we enjoyed an hour in lovely sunshine. The country continued flat and treeless with the sunburnt Australian look about it. As we approached Denver (on the left) the sky seemed to be full of jets either taking off or landing and within four miles of the centre of the city a jet came down just to the left of the car and to our amazement shot across the highway on an overpass of about 300 yards in width. Apparently this was the solution to the need for longer runways for the larger jets. Denver, like Calgary, has a background of bare brown hills and then Rocky Mountains. We stopped at Boulder, a university town north of Denver and stocked up on food for a few days, not knowing what to expect in the Rocky Mountain National Park of Colorado.

We entered the park and commenced the long steep drive over the range to the other side; the scenery of course was magnificent but management of the camping facilities was poor. All camps were full except the emergency one to which we were directed, which had only pit toilets and no drinking water. The area is riddled with commercial ventures such as dude ranches, marinas, motels, cabins, souvenir shops and signs, really horrible and a great contrast to the Canadian national parks and also to most of the other US parks.

Friday 8th August: The night was cold due to the higher altitude so that we woke early and Reg, Marcus and Nick quickly got a fire going around which we ate our breakfast, then sat in the gradually warming sun until 11.30 when we finally got going and set off for Yellowstone. The drive was delightful on a well paved almost deserted road. Scenery was varied - tall trees, rivers, plains backed by snow-capped mountains and finally semi-desert. We stopped on a very dry plateau, elevation 6000 ft and temperatures 15 degrees lower than in Denver, in a little town called Walden. An oasis of green lawns, shady trees and flowers had been created in front of the town hall so we had our lunch there and filled a plastic container with icy water from the tap, then proceeded across the dry plains. Little vegetation other than sagebrush which is similar to saltbush, cattle seldom eat it but antelope do (and we saw several) and they sometimes live on it all through the winter, scraping the snow away to get at it. Although all the land looked poor it is dotted regularly with ranch gates; about 7 that night we pulled into a camp ground called Sweetwater River which was a sizeable river with mosquitoes to match. Although desolate in appearance it was really restful, absolute silence prevailed and the country had a lot of appeal for us.

Saturday 9th August: The boys ran a mile during breakfast as part of their muscle training programme which they have worked out (right); they then subsided exhausted into the car and we took off, hoping to reach Yellowstone in time to get a camping place. Stopped at Lander for stores and ate lunch beside an icy creek; the nature of the terrain had changed for the greener and crops were being grown in odd patches. We saw trees almost for the first time since Walden, 250 miles back. We pressed on north and entered Yellowstone National Park at about 2 pm. Too late, for the sign at the gate announced that all camp grounds were full. The distance from south to north of this area is about 100 miles; every part of the road was lined with traffic. However, we decided to press on anyway and see the four points of interest which are:

  1. the wildlife: bears along the road in several places, antelope, elk, moose and many birds. Tourists are repeatedly warned against feeding bears or approaching them but we saw people doing it. If you camp in any of the Rocky Mountain Parks (or especially in the back country) it is very important to lock your food up in your car as bears break into tents for food which they can smell inside.

  2. the hot springs: not as spectacular as the New Zealand ones but they were dotted over a wide area of the park; for 40 miles we saw hot springs.

  3. the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Falls.

  4. the lakes, particularly striking as the water in some is a really brilliant blue or green. We drove right through, stopping every now and then to see the sights and arrived at the north gate about 6.00pm. The ranger suggested a campground about 50 miles on so we pressed on and camped at Paradise Valley on the Yellowstone River, 10 miles south of Livingstone Wyoming.

Sunday, 10th: We woke to another cloudless day after a cold clear night and broke camp in time to reach Livingstone for 10:30 Mass, and when we arrived we found that it was the Annual Trout Fishing Championship with 1st prize of $1000 so the townspeople had plenty on their minds. We shopped at a Safeway (many supermarkets in US are open on Sunday from 8am to 9pm) and went to the City Park for lunch where the kids were delighted to find a large wading pool as well as all the usual swings and slides. It was a hot day by then, they were in bathers and out of the car almost before the engine was stopped. We made and ate lunch, wrote letters, studied the maps and read the paper before leaving; even the smallest country town here seems to have an attractive park and in every state there are rest areas about every 50 miles with picnic tables, taps, toilets and large scale maps. After lunch we made for Missoula, 234 miles away; the country was dry and dusty except in the valleys where the rivers keep it green. The hills were small and bare except for stunted trees and brown grass. At the town of Three Forks a monument marks the headwaters of the Missouri River and there are several monuments along the way to Lewis and Clark who explored much of Montana around 1805.

We stopped at Butte for gas and soft drinks. Butte is built at the foot of what is known in Montana as the Richest Hill on Earth where they mine for gold, silver, copper and zinc, so naturally the area is rather unattractive with shafts and construction work in all directions. After Butte the highway took us through Lolo National Forest where there are four campgrounds but all too far off the road to suit us for an overnight stop, so we went on to Missoula; however the camps there were dry, dusty and unattractive, so on again into the Flathead Indian Reservation where we found one of our nicest camps; in fact it reminded us of Hope B.C. where we camped on Canadian soil for the very first time, last July. This was at Jocko, on the Jocko River - well grassed, with tall trees for shade, and a shallow fast-running river not 20 feet from our tent. The only other camper there had just caught two brown trout using salmon eggs for bait, but the Carrs drew a blank, having only insects from the carburettor for bait. The water was icy but we all enjoyed a wash before bed.

Monday 11 th August: We all woke late after a peaceful night and spent a couple of hours "rock-hounding” as the river runs over round smooth rocks striped in all colours. We left Jocko at 10:30 for the trip to Glacier National Park and drove through rich farming country and cherry orchards around Flathead Lake until we reached Bigfork where we stopped for lunch, laundromat, and propane gas. No luck with the gas (wrong attachment again) but it was suggested that we might fare better in Kalispell, so on we went up the Flathead River Valley; through beautiful farms where the crops were ripe and golden and the whole valley was surrounded by mountains. Success at last in Kalispell; then on into Glacier International Park - called International because it adjoins Waterton Lakes International Park across the border in Alberta. We were now only one day's drive from home but we were in no hurry to get there as we had found the perfect campsite; facing Fish Creek, a shallow crystal-clear little river running over smooth round stones and entering Lake MacDonald (right) which is ten miles long and about one mile wide and is surrounded by spruce-covered mountains, about a quarter of a mile from here. Camping here is free on our Golden Eagle Pass and this park unlike the others is completely unspoiled and uncommercial.

Tuesday, 12 th August - Sunday 17 th August

This last stage of the holiday was a perfect rest, just what we all needed after the long drive and so much excitement. Every day was much the same; the weather was hot and sunny and the nights were cold, clear and blazing with stars. All around us was a shady forest of cedars, poplars and silver birches populated by ground squirrels so tame that they ate from our hands, birds and butterflies, no flies, mosquitoes, or snakes. Each morning we got up at about 7 and lit a campfire, which we sat around to eat breakfast. By 10 the sun would be warm and we went off to swim at the lake or fish. After a late lunch we spent the afternoon reading, sleeping, building dams in the creek (above left) or walking, depending on tastes. About 5 pm we drove into the nearest township, West Glacier (5 miles) where we bought our stores for the next day and occasionally did the washing. We were all in bed before dark because the nights were cold and we were very glad of our cosy tent which zips right up. Tents aren't seen much over here, most people have either a trailer, some of them very large and elaborate and mostly air-conditioned, or a camper which is like a caravan built to sit on the back of a one ton utility truck, or a tent-trailer which opens up on a frame.

On Sunday August 17th, we drove home on the Going-to-the-Sun Road (above) over Logan pass, across the Montana/Alberta border and back to Red Deer so ending an unforgettable trip. That wasn’t the end of that adventure though because we just cleaned up the camping gear, did the laundry and then it was back in the car to drive north to look for a homestead section to enable Reg to fulfil his lifelong dream of farming. More about that in the next chapter.