Ella and I head west…
Just a couple of days before Ella and I get in the truck and start driving. All 4718 kms. Upon completion of the trek, I will post the exact milage (kilometrage) between Hinton Street (Ottawa) and Westway Avenue (Squamish).
I am looking forward to the drive. It will be a close-up view of this great expanse we call Canada. I will have a chance to revisit some places that I visited some years ago. It will be a journey across country, a journey in time, and an emotional journey through my memories.
I used to work for both the Museumobile Programme and the Canadian Exhibits Program. These were initiatives of the Canadian Government, and they took exhibits housed in tractor-trailers into the great Canadian hinterland. Rather than people coming to Ottawa to visit cultural institutions, the federal government took some aspects of Canadian culture to the people, where they lived. The idea was to visit smaller communities that would not have their own museum. As such, I traveled to every province and territory. (I would note that since the creation of Nunavut, that statement is no longer true.) Name a small town in Canada, and I have probably been there….
So, this trek will afford me the opportunity to return to my youth. I will allow myself to meander along the highways and biways of Canada, and meander along the highways and biways of my memory. I intend to take my time. I intend to stop often and stretch my legs, to smell the air, and to pee in the bushes to mark my passing there. I plan to take the roads less traveled. No highway 1 for me.
I am especially interested in stopping in Calgary. I lived there during some boom times. I lived there when I was a young adult. I fell in love there, more than once. I even asked a women there to marry me. There is much to ponder….
I am confident that Ella will agree with my proposed itinerary. In fact, she will be the perfect companion to accompany me on my emotional journey. I know that she will listen, she will be empathetic, and she will not comment no matter how stupid and irrational any of my comments are. She is after all, a dog!
