27-30 June - Goderich and back home to Kitchener

 Our destination after Midland was the cottage of our children's family, north of Goderich. 

We were aware of a good bird viewing area so we decided to drop in at the Tiny Marsh Provincial Wildlife Area. The place is open to visitors year-round, and consists of 8.5 square kilometres of marshes, open water, bog, and upland forest.  There are 25 kilometres of trails taking visitors to dikes, two observation towers, a marsh viewing mound, and a boardwalk. If you get a chance this gem is worth visiting.

We spent about an hour there so didn't see a fraction of what this Marsh has to offer, and I think we could have seen more birds at a different time of year -- during the migrations, for example -- but we did see many birds and enjoyed walking on some of the trails.

a pair of Wood Ducks

a Female Red Winged Blackbird

a Black Tern

a black Tern

a male Red-winged Blackbird

We did learn that there are volunteers in the community who are active in addressing a range of concerns around the marsh including destroying non-native species and creating an environment that is more conducive to turtles.

For the last three days of our trip we had the delight of spending them with Hannah, Mike, their three children, and Mike's parents. It was a total delight to see them after 2 months of absence.

Their cottage is situated on Lake Huron. Their beach changes from year to year -- at times it is sandy and at other times rocky. The little drainage stream that flows into the lake changes course and volume at different times of the year and from year to year.

Our final stop was a lunch date with Clayton and Mary in Goderich. Clayton and Mary lived in our basement a few years ago and Clayton is Dave's sister's child. It was inspiring to catch up with them and learn of their plans, values, and the ups and downs of life. They are working on some cool renovations to their century home.

We've reached the end of our journey and the end of this blog. If you are still reading, we hope you got a bit of a taste of what we enjoyed across Canada. To use a trite phrase, it's been a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip and for that we're grateful.

What stood out for us?

• The people we met along the way -- friends and family -- were all welcoming and we had such great visits....what a gift!
• Canada....what a vast, beautiful and varied country! The landscapes are very contrasting. Mary Lou noted she was overwhelmed by both the immensity being surrounded by mountains, but also by the vastness of the prairies. I wondered if my children and grandchildren moved to BC, how long it would take me to move there!
• Public services for which we do not take for granted. A trip like this couldn't happen without investments by our governments and local communities. 
• We used kilometers and kilometers of paved roads, crossed countless bridges, were warned of changing road conditions, were guided by speed limits and stop signs, and were comforted by the presence of police who kept us safe (in many ways).
• We used numerous roadside stops with picnic tables, maintained restroom facilities, and often striking views.
• Parks. A whole plethora of city parks, provincial parks, and national parks. All are unique, all contribute to the breath of a community. While we paid to stay in a few, especially for camping, we know the costs are greater than what we and other visitors pay.
• Libraries!! Perhaps the most inspiring system across the country - is the local library. We walked into so many and could find a table with a power outlet, quiet, and internet. There was always a clean washroom. Staff were always friendly. There was always a bulletin board that displayed all kinds of events and ongoing community activities. We also saw how these spaces are at the frontline of our housing and addictions crises. While a few places had security, or limited access in some way, all have found a way to be open and accepting. We recognize the toll these challenges take on staff and appreciate that this public service is still there. We were also able to access audio books for the road through our own local library and listened to several on our journey.

Statistics:

• We drove close to 14,000 kms. We actually did two services on our vehicle, on the road -- Saskatoon on the way, and Winnipeg on the way back.
• We slept in our camper for 40 of the nights; hotels for 2 nights; airBnB for 3 nights and friends/family graciously offered us a bed for 15 nights (that does not include sleeping in our vehicle in their garages -- 3 nights!). 
• We worked in countless McDonalds, many Starbucks (they both have good internet and power) and a few Tim Hortons. We've learned with experience that these franchised coffee shops generally have a power receptacle to charge our devices, coffee/tea and will allow us to work for a few hours...though we still try the odd private coffee shops.
• Apart from the cracked windshield, our journey was safe -- no accidents...we thank God!