Day 4

8:00am

It's -18. Cold, but bearable. We had an awesome breakfast, said our goodbyes to family and hit the road.

9:00am

The sun is rising high in the sky behind us and it's beautiful. The whole sky is pink and the clouds are thickening. We pass many logging trucks and as the Hwy splits into #11 and #17 - it's official - we're on new ground! Dad and I have never been west of Thunder bay by car so we're feeling nostalgic about this leg of the journey.

9:30am

The snow is falling and it's almost a complete white out in less than 1/2 an hour! We've been so lucky with weather so far and I guess we're due for some good ol' Canadian winter ;)

10:30am

I decide that it's high time we should see a moose after all the signs and safety info and sure enough we do! A big, fuzzy cow tucked into the trees on the side of the road. She's huge - even with the first 2 feet of her legs buried in snow!

From here on there's nothing by trees and road.

12:00pm

We drive by Thunder Lake and it's gorgeous! Lots of little fishing huts are out on the ice and it must be an important place because it has the first lamp post we've seen all day.

1:00pm

There's a sign for Egli's Sheep farm and gift shop and we decide it's time for a pit stop. Dad really wants a pair of mitts and if they've got wool, I'm game.

It's a really big farm, with barns full of animals, walking trails, a big workshop and a huge store with tons of handmade mitts, hats, slippers etc. etc. We're thrilled that we stopped and I'd recommend it to anyone passing through!

3:00pm

We pass over the Manitoba border and cheer that we're finally out of Ontario. It feels like a big achievement since Ontario is so huge. We're only 1.5 hours from Winnipeg which is good, because I just found out that I'll be the guest speaker at a Rotary dinner!

4:30pm (now 3:30pm)

We've gained an hour so it feels like it's getting dark earlier, but the sun is still hanging low in the sky. We're crossing the Red River valley and it's only -1! I can't believe how warm it is.

9:30pm

Well - tonight was interested. Dad co-worker Bob picked me up and after a quick "Hello. Nice to meet you" we were off to his Rotary club. I got to sit at the head table and then after dinner I gave a talk about our JCI Shelter Challenge and talked with the club about Shelter Box. They thought we were brilliant and loved what we'd done - I'm sure they'll be having an urban camp out of sorts in the next year.

It was nice to be talking with someone other than my Dad and it felt good to be able to be an ambassador of Kingston one last time. Sigh......

Good night.