straight from the darkroom

I went on a beautiful little ski trip with Jen and Nan this past weekend. It was our first time going to Québec together, and we drove to the Réserve faunique de Papineau-Labelle, about 2 hours drive north-east of Ottawa.

Jen rests partway up while Nan approaches the crest of a hill on trail La Ouest en route to the réfuge Ernest.

Leaving Toronto on Thursday night we many snowy kilometres driving slowly to beautiful Brockville in the “World Famous Thousand Islands.”

Jen catches a few more minutes of sleep in the motel room on Friday morning while Nan showers.

After a full day of logistics on Friday we skied away from the Accueil Gagnon in the park on Friday afternoon. We were happy to have a nearly full moon on Friday night as we skied the last hour by the light of our headlamps and the moon.

Nan washes pots in the hut.

We enjoyed a good dinner (basmati rice, eggplant and zucchini stir fry, asiago cheese), some nice wine (cabernet sauvignon), a warm hut (with roaring woodstove) and we slept in Saturday morning. Highlights from Saturday include: Pancakes with maple syrup, reading by a roaring woodstove, snowshoeing on the lake, trying to link a few telemark turns in wet, heavy snow.

The three of us take a break on our Saturday afternoon snowshoe.

Le gang.

We left by a different route, and both Jen and Nan were feeling more confident on their skis as we cruised back to the Accueil and the rental car.

Our ski route in (pink highlighter) and out (yellow highlighter).

Getting changed and packing up, it was back to Ottawa for an expensive and generally lackluster dinner (my fault) at a restaurant that I only barely managed to track down after several wrong-exit misadventures on the 417 .

Nan and David celebrate with sparklers.

It was a perfect way to celebrate my birthday, and I was lucky to share it with these kids. Jen made me birthday brownies, they sang me the birthday song, and they even brought sparklers.

Jen hearts davie.

For some years now I’ve been making trips by bus across parts of Canada.

I have made a multimedia piece about my experience on my most recent long bus trip: Vancouver to Toronto.

Here it is:

(audio-visual format)

Beyond talking about my bus trips, it’s also about taking pictures of myself in mirrors in bathrooms.

David Parsons: Self Portrait, 2003, Indira Gandhi International Airport( DEL), Delhi, India

My first substantial trip was from Toronto, Ontario to Whitehorse, Yukon in 2002. (This remains my longest in Canada-by land-trip to date, at approximately 86 hours.) The bus makes some stops between Toronto and Whitehorse. For instance:

1. Wawa, Ontario
2. White River, Ontario
3. Wabigoon, Ontario
4. West Hawk Lake Junction, Manitoba
5. Winnipeg, Manitoba
6. Wapella Junction East, Saskatchewan
7. Whitewood, Saskatchewan
8. Wolsely Junction East, Saskatchewan
9. Waldeck Junction, Saskatchewan
10. Webb Juntion, Saskatchewan
11. Walsh Junction, Alberta
12. Whitecourt, Alberta
13. Wonowon, BC
14. Watson Lake, Yukon

and, naturally,

15. Whitehorse, Yukon

My initial trip was followed later that month by 38 hours en route from Whitehorse to Chilliwack via:

1. Morley River, Yukon
2. Smart River, BC
3. Swift River, Yukon
4. Coal River, BC
5. Liard River, BC
6. Toad River Lodge, BC
7. Prophet River, BC
8. Buckinghorse River, BC
9. Salmon River, BC

and:

1. Iron Creek, Yukon
2. Contact Creek, Yukon
3. Dawson Creek, BC
4. Commotion Creek. BC
5. Cache Creek, BC

as well as:

1. Watson Lake, Yukon
2. Muncho Lake, BC
3. Summit Lake, BC
4. Azouzetta Lake, BC
5. McLeod Lake Lodge, BC
6. Bear Lake, BC
7. McLeese Lake, BC
8. Williams Lake, BC
9. Lac La Hache, BC

Recent Vancouver-Toronto trip statistics:
60 hours;
Abbotsford, Banff, Calgary, Dryden, Ernfold, Falcon Lake, Golden, Hope, Indian Head, junction after junction, Kamloops, Lake Louise, Medicine Hat, Nipigon, Oak Lake Junction West, Portage la Prarie, Qu Appelle Junction, Regina, Sicamous, Thunder Bay, Upsala, Virden, Winnipeg, Yorkdale.