Posts Tagged ‘Road’

Visiting Ontario On Your Next Road Trip

Much like its provincial neighbor to the east, Ontario is filled with both urban capitals of culture and wild lands rarely explored. Consider it the best of both worlds. The barrenness of the Hudson Bay shoreline dominates the northern landscape southward until becoming a crowded collection of Canadian cities that mark the shoreline of four of the five Great Lakes. But fear not, the most populated of Canadian provinces has more than its fair share of outdoor escapes for its visitors and locals alike.
Set along the vast shores of Lake Erie, in the area called Ontario’s “South Coast,” travelers will be charmed by this seaside stretch. Enjoy strolling along white, sandy beaches, and exploring quaint fishing villages and lighthouses. Climb aboard the Port Stanley Terminal Railway for a scenic journey throughout the valley. Nearby Long Point Provincial Park encompasses about 25 miles of beaches, marshes, wetlands and sand dunes – making it a habitat for thousands of migrating birds, fish, reptiles and plant species. Take a leisurely stroll along the walking paths of the peninsula, and be sure to visit Long Point Bird Observatory, the oldest, privately funded, avian observation area in North America.

In the middle of the widest part of the St. Lawrence River lies the series of connected islands known as Iles de la Madeleine.

In Ontario’s easternmost reaches, across the St. Lawrence River from New York State, lie the Thousand Islands, a cluster of numerous (probably not a thousand, but lots) tiny islands. First and foremost, it’s a boater’s playground, but anyone who likes to do anything on the water will be pleased with the choice of venues. The waterways attract visitors from Canada and America in huge numbers.

From the Thousand Islands, take Highway 401 south, past Toronto. There, wedged in-between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, you’ll find one of the world’s most impressive sights: Niagara Falls. Formed about 12,000 years ago as glaciers retreated across the region, today the Falls is of course a major tourist attraction. Yet, the grandeur and immensity of this sight can’t be denied, no matter how crowded the area can get during peak season. To get up close, visit Table Rock, where the promenade actually hangs over part of the falls. Otherwise, grab some rain gear and hop aboard one of the boat tours that ventures right up into the falls. Climb aboard the Maid of the Mist tour boat and head upriver for a close-up view of the spectacular Horseshoe Falls, as well as the Rock of Ages, Cave of the Winds and American Falls. Consider visiting Canadian Horseshoe Falls, for one of the most incredible views of raging, rushing, and thundering waters.

Like any big city, the people of Toronto have their favorite weekend getaway spots. Some of the most popular destinations lie three hours north in places such as Stony Lake, Georgian Bay and Saint-Marie among the Hurons. Stony Lake, less than an hour’s drive from Peterborough, is home to Canada’s largest concentration of ancient stone carvings, some dating back as much as 1,000 years. The Georgian Bay, due north of Toronto, is a terrifically scenic area that was often the subject matter of Canada’s celebrated Group of Seven painters from the early twentieth century. Here also lies the Georgian Bay Islands National Park, a series of more than 60 islands, dotting the bay’s impressive shoreline. Some of the area’s larger islands greet guests with miles of terrific hiking trails and opportunities to glimpse some of the region’s native animals.

Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula is a 50-mile stretch that separates the Georgian Bay from Lake Huron to the west. Two-hundred-foot limestone cliffs are in abundance along the peninsula’s shoreline. The Bruce Peninsula National Park is also the starting point for Canada’s longest hiking trail, a 400-mile trek for those who bring their boots. The Fathom Five National Marine Park is also located on the peninsula and showcases the shore’s limestone rock formations. The park is also quite popular with scuba divers who enjoy crystal clear waters and the water’s many shipwrecks.
East of the Bruce Peninsula lies the immense Algonquin Provincial Park. Consisting of nearly 3,000 square miles, the park is home to more than 250 animal species that find shelter among the dense forests. And there’s water too, lots of it. For canoeists, there’s nothing quite like the Algonquin and its more than 2,500 lakes, many of which are connected with small natural waterways revealing even more possible adventures.
For those willing to test the barren and windswept reaches of northern Ontario, the shores of Lake Superior offer a number of exceptional national and provincial parks. The Lake Superior Provincial Park, Pukaskwa National Park and Sleeping Giant Provincial Park all make for wonderful summer destinations when the weather is far more predictable.

Ban’s Diving Resort Koh Tao and Khaosan Road Go Hand in Hand

Banâ??s Diving Resort Koh Tao and Khaosan Road Go Hand in Hand

When you think of diving or learning to dive in Thailand, itâ??s hard to think that the huge metropolis of Bangkok would have any connection with scuba diving whatsoever. For a start Bangkok only has one beach and if you went diving off there then you would end up swallowing a mouthful of the tons of sewage that gets flushed out with the Chaopraya River every day. But there is a place near the centre of Bangkok that is synonymous with diving in the South of Thailand.

Khaosan Road became a popular hub for travelers to South East Asia in the 1980s when a large event in Bangkok celebrating its first two hundred years convinced the locals on Khaosan Road to rent their rooms out to western backpackers. Ever since then millions of travelers every year western and Asians alike pass through Khaosan road and it has become the gateway of South East Asia and a hub for those going to dive or learn to scuba dive in the south of Thailand.

Over the years dozens of guesthouses, hotels, travel agents and diving agents have sprung up on Khaosan Road with scuba diving agencies often working for or employed by the diving centers and resorts in the south. And with Koh Tao being the diving Mecca of Thailand it is noticeable that most of the scuba diving agents on Khaosan Road have the same name as the diving centers and schools on Koh Tao like Buddha View and Banâ??s Diving Resort two of the most popular diving resorts in Thailand.

Banâ??s Diving Resort itself has at least three scuba diving offices on Khaosan Road and this is simply because one office is not enough to deal with the thousands of walk in customers. Banâ??s Diving Resort and PADI CDC diving center is probably the largest and one of the most popular diving schools and resorts on Turtle Island and the first in the region to be awarded the PADI award for excellence.

Due to Banâ??s Diving Resortâ??s high standard of operations it encourages all its staff and agents to take diving certificates so all know exactly what they are talking about when dealing with customers and answering their questions about their diving courses. All the staff at the resort and on Khaosan Road operate like one big happy family making sure that everyone is in constant communication with each other to ensure that they can deliver the highest standard of service and that every customerâ??s individual needs are catered for. With just a few hours notice diving courses from open water to diving instructor  can be taken in all major languages including, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Swedish.

The newest addition to the Banâ??s Family on Khaosan Road is Banâ??s Diving, Tour and Travel office which can be found at the entrance to the 7 Holders Guesthouse across from the Buddy Lodge Resort. Banâ??s Diving Tour and Travel Office is not just a diving agency but also a travel and tour agents offering diving courses, multi day vacations, sightseeing tours, flight tickets and train tickets. They provide a warm and friendly service and welcome walk in customers and also internet customers who can book online via their website www.bansdivingthailand.com.

Visiting Prince Edward Island On Your Next Road Trip

Although I suppose it’s technically illegal, I found several places in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces where I camped overnight right along the coastline. I was away from towns and homes, and made no mess or disturbance, of course. Quiet, picturesque. Free. And I wasn’t bothered at all; folks didn’t even honk their horns as they cruised by. One of my favorite places was in sight of Confederation Bridge, which is the 9-mile long connection between mainland Canada and the Province of Prince Edward Island. I stopped near the bridge on the New Brunswick side and did some casual beachcombing (with practically no waves, not a whole lot washes ashore). I read some, and wrote in my journal. In the evening, I dragged out my camera and tripod because the prospects for a spectacular sunset were good. No filters were needed as the lowering sun turned the clouds orange, red and crimson. It was one of the few times I’ve used a 400mm lens for a sunset shot, but the most intense colors were in a small area, so the long telephoto lens was the right choice.
Early in the morning I drove across the bridge to Prince Edward Island. The crossing was free! However, the return trip would cost a bundle (2008 fees are $41.50 for the first two axles and $6.75 for each additional axle), but P.E.I. is worth it!
At nine miles, Confederation Bridge is the world’s longest bridge over ice-covered sea water (in winter only). Once on the island I drove straight to Charlottetown, the provincial capital. It’s a lovely old city, with multi-story red brick buildings indicating a definite absence of earthquake activity. I was raised in California and notice such things.
The folks at the visitor center were quite helpful, so off I went in search of the real P.E.I.
But first, I had to get some propane for my travel trailer. It was not that easy to do in eastern Canada because they didn’t use the same propane “fill-up” valve connectors that we did in the states. So I had to track down a propane distributor who had the parts to make the right conversion. That took an hour going from one gas station to another. Finally, I found a place where, with considerable searching through the parts bin, the man was able to come up with half of what was needed. He sent me to a building supply store for the rest. Overall it was a pain to search out several stores in a strange city while pulling a trailer. For starters, where do you park at each of them?
When all was said and done, the whole thing cost less than Cdn. $40.00 (the man charged no more than a few dollars for all the time he spent putting the pieces together). It was another example of the honest, friendly and helpful eastern Canadians with whom I’d come into contact.
Leaving Charlottetown, I immediately entered the rich-looking red-earth farmland that makes up much of P.E.I. But it wasn’t just the red soil that contributed to the overall beauty.
There were lupines by the tens of thousands. The only lupines I’d seen in the far west were the short, blue variety with white markings. In the Maritimes, it was different. Especially on P.E.I., where they were long-stemmed and of many and varied colors, and happened to make their homes alongside the highways. It really added to my driving enjoyment.
With the recently acquired provincial map in hand, I continued my counter-clockwise circling of the island, taking every paved road that indicated it might be at the water’s edge. As my first evening on the island approached, I headed down a dirt road that went right to the end of a small peninsula. Finding a place with good views of the ocean on three sides, I waited for what promised to be another lovely sunset. Just a few clouds were in the western sky to mute the harshness of the sun and lend several varieties of pink to the clouds and the bay.
Comfortable in my silent sleeping sanctuary, I was awakened at the un-godly hour of “fourish” in the A.M. by what sounded like dozens of insects buzzing loudly, yet far away. Rising to my elbow to look out into the darkness, I saw their lights. Still half asleep, I decided they were nothing more than gigantic fireflies. But at 4 A.M. my curiosity was exceeded only by my desire to get back to sleep.
At the grey light of pre-dawn I was again awakened by the buzzing, so I got up. There must have been fifty small outboard-motor-driven lobster boats noisily checking their traps.
Prince Edward Island not only has rich-looking red earth and wonderful wildflowers, but tidy-looking houses and villages, pampered farmland that grows potatoes, alfalfa and scrumptious strawberries! You-pick is common here, and I picked and ate many boxes of strawberries. They were small, red all the way through, and exquisitely sweet—flavor that I hadn’t found at the market for many a year.
And P.E.I. was green everywhere! I’d never seen so much green in my life.
Selecting a small, unmarked road at random, I turned onto it, in search of one of the hundreds of tiny natural harbors all along the edges of the island. I wanted picturesque views of a quaint little fishing port. The road led me a mile from the highway, right to the dock. Dozens of lobster boats were coming back, having disturbed as many boondocking tourists as they could.
Talking with one lobsterman, he said that he had 300 traps. Current prices paid him from CDN. $5.50 to $6.50 per pound. The daily catch varied from 100 to 1000 pounds.
All the lobstermen I talked to complained about the difficulty in making a living because of interference by the government.
During one conversation, I talked to a retired government fisheries inspector who said that over-harvesting had killed off one of the best cod fisheries in the world, and if the fishermen weren’t careful, they’d do the same with lobstering. Then he added, “Besides, even though they complain all the time, them lobstermen all live in real nice houses and buy new pickups every year or two. Do the math.”
Math was never a favorite subject of mine, and besides, such complications are commonplace when it comes to harvesting nature’s bounty. Currently living in the Pacific Northwest—where we had our own similar problems—I made no judgments, and after another hour of poking around, I drove off.
Lobster fishing is among the few industries on Prince Edward Island; I’d been following the coastline as much as possible and photographing many of the tiny, natural harbors that served as bases for the fishing boats. It was time for a lobster dinner. Hah! At a very modest cafe, the cheapest meal featuring lobster cost more than $20.00, and contained only 2 to 3 ounces of meat (at the store, lobster was selling at CDN. $45.00 per pound). And I was only fifty feet from the boats that trapped the creepy, crawly crustaceans!
One night I made the mistake of boondocking at a picturesque fishing port. Lobster fishermen and women start work really early. I didn’t make that mistake again.
Considering that I’d been following the water’s shoreline practically from the time I entered Quebec and the Maritimes, I had seen very few coastal birds, such as seagulls. There seemed to be few dead things that washed up along the shore. Perhaps that was the reason. Yet, there were many fishing ports and canneries. Shouldn’t that attract scavenging seagulls? Apparently not.
Turning into a corner gas station out in the middle of nowhere, I had to do a figure 8 in order to get my fuel filler next to an open pump. After coming to a stop, I got out of my pickup. From a group of obviously “dedicated” bicyclists sitting around drinking cold beer, one red-headed man smiled and said, “I give you eight and a half points out of ten for that maneuver.”
I responded by saying that I only needed seven points in order to get my driver’s license.
At Malpeque I got some good photos of the boats and the harbor, and struck up a conversation with two old-timer fishermen. Like many others among the island’s fishing community, they were of Irish/Scottish background. No wonder they were so friendly; the Irish and Scots are among the friendliest people on earth.
Completing my circle of the island, I paid the toll (gulp) and crossed the bridge to New Brunswick.
Prince Edward Island is small (only 2144 square miles), yet it has an extensive and rugged coastline. Numerous towns have RV parks or campgrounds, and there are the provincial parks as well. With short travel distances, finding suitable camp sites should not be a problem. As always, selecting one early in the day is better than waiting until dusk, especially on weekends.
If you like small fishing villages, a rocky coast, lovely pastoral scenery and friendly people, P.E.I. should be on your list of Atlantic Provinces worth visiting.
Plus, summer brings the best strawberries ever.

How did you adjust to driving on the left side of the road when visiting countries that drive on the left?

I am going to New Zealand in April, and plan to rent a car for my travels to explore the island. Living in the USA, and only driving in Mexico, USA, and Canada I have always drove on the right side of the road on the 10 years I have been driving. How hard is it to adjust to the left side of the road? Usually when I visit other countries I never rent a car, so its never an issue. Are there any tips? Right now my plan is just to wing it, and hope I dont forget. I also figure thousands upon thousands make the same adjustment who have been driving for far longer, or less than me, and have no issues, but I just want to make sure I dont spend my vacation taking care of a head on collision. I have a clean driving record, so I am a safe driver, and I live in LA, so traffic, and other hazards dont bother me much, I am also a very defensive driver. I’m just kind of nervous on driving on the left side of the road. Thanks.

A Breathtaking Road Trip In Colorado

ALPINE LOOP, Colorado. If you want to ‘get away from it all,’ then going on a road trip to the Alpine Loop Back Country Byway will easily prove to match your idea of haven. Situated in Colorado’s southwest, this picturesque destination effortlessly enthralls its visitors with a breathtaking landscape of snow-capped mountains, serene lakes and meadows dotted with wild flowers.

With its laid back feel and unspoiled beauty, and featuring an elevation of more than twelve thousand feet, The Loop is a place that will surely make for a memorable family road trip or a sought-after outing with friends. Such a Colorado road trip will help you discover that The Loop is not lacking in activities to keep you – and everyone in the group – happily occupied. From hiking and biking, to several great camping options, or simply lounging away the hours sightseeing, a weekend trip here will open up the wonders of the great outdoors.

For starters, try navigating your trip map to check out some of the most popular attractions The Loop has to offer. If you want to get breathtaking views at an altitude of 12,800 feet, then the Engineer Pass should definitely be included in your family trip planning. It is bordered by Mt. Sneffels in the east, Uncompahgre Peak in the northeast, and the vanished Lake City in the east. Now, if you want to bask in a little solitude and detour from your companions, a trip alone to the Whitmore Falls will revive your senses. The falls can easily be reached after a short trail.

Another great Colorado road trip is the GUANELLA PASS. If you want a family road trip that combines your historical interest without boring your kids to death (let’s face it, very few children will find staring at old buildings amusing), then you might consider going on a road trip to Guanella Pass. This scenic pass, located in Colorado, stretches for 22 miles. The driving time takes roughly two hours, but with diverse things to catch your attention along the way. The trip map of Guanella Pass begins at Georgetown, an utterly quaint and charming place that reflects a great deal of Colorado’s genteel past. Plan a stopover there and take in the well-preserved old buildings, many of which have been converted to museums. While you’re looking at precious artifacts, let your kids explore the town via carriage rides, which is one of the most popular attractions of Georgetown – with good reason.

When you think you’ve had enough sightseeing, head on to Idaho Springs, which is situated nearby. There are several hot springs you can opt to soak in, and of course the tranquil view helps you relax even more. When everyone has replenished their energy, continue your road trip through the old gold mines, or a countryside dining experience the whole family can enjoy.

If at last you’re ready to call it a day, there are bed & breakfasts you can stay in along the South Platte River. And don’t forget to cap off your road trip checking out the famous Coney Island Hot Dog Stand in Bailey!