Raw on the Road: The Journey East Part II

Here's the next part of my account of our recent trip across Canada. (You can read Part 1 here.)

The Journey East - Day 4
We left Ghost Lake, Alberta and continued traveling East while sipping on a green smoothie that I'd whipped up the night before in Sandy's RV. We all felt rested and energized from our time at Ghost Lake, and the day's drive went by super smoothly.

We stopped for the night at Cavan Lake Campground near Medicine Hat, Alberta. It's old farmland that was transformed into a recreational campsite. Once again, being the middle of the week, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Kylo went crazy running in the nearby fields, chasing who knows what little critters.

We decided there was no point in leaving Puss on the leash here either. She kept going back and forth between the car and the tent - her new 'home away from home' - and even ventured in the nearby bushes.

As you can see, she was turning into quite the adventuress!

*~*~*
Breakfast: That morning, I discovered a really delicious combination that became an instant favorite: Sweet Seed Crackers topped with a generous layer of raw almond butter and banana slices. Yummy!

Dinner: Green soup I'd made in the RV, tuna salad on crackers, asparagus, and salad drizzled with a little oil and tamari.
*~*~*

After dinner, Don and I and Kylo went for a walk along the lovely Cavan Lake. It had been a while since we'd seen so much sky! lol

We leisurely sat down in our camping chairs later that evening to watch our first real sunset in years. What a treat!

The Journey East - Day 5
Treeless and exposed as our camping spot was, the sun forced us out of our tent early the next morning. We took the time to sun worship a little and do the 5 Tibetan Rites before heading towards Saskatchewan. That's when the Prairies began in earnest.

As Don says: "That's what I call flat!"

That day's ride was uneventful, with the animals gradually (and thankfully!) relaxing more into our travels. We stayed the night at a small private campground, Creekside Gardens, in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. It was almost deserted which was fine by us. Puss roamed around like she owned the place!

*~*~*
Breakfast: Chia pudding

Dinner: Cucumber Soup, Kristen Suzanne's Gourmet Italian Quiche Tarts, and salad drizzled with a little oil and tamari.
*~*~*

After dinner, we enjoyed a lovely walk in the gardens, admiring the gorgeous flowers, so carefully tended by the Lipp family.

The Journey East - Day 6
We managed to get a fairly good night's sleep in spite of the nearby train tracks, and by 9:45 AM we were ready to roll. That day, we covered the most mileage, making it all the way past Winnipeg, Manitoba. We had read about a new campsite that sounded interesting, but once we got there, we were told the tenting area wasn't completed yet. Actually, the place wasn't very appealing anyway; each site being so close to the next. I have difficulty understanding why people make the effort to escape from the crowded cities to stay in such places where they hardly have more privacy. *shrugs* Perhaps I've been living in the boonies for too long! lol

We ended up having to backtrack a few miles to Rockgarden - a family oriented campground. As a general rule, we tried to stay in small, quiet and park-like sites, but this was the weekend and we were too tired to keep going the extra hour to take us to a more suitable place. With all the noise and comings and goings around us, Puss was totally freaked out. She escaped and went hiding under a shed on a nearby site. We decided it would be best to keep her on leash overnight. As there's no way we could have gone to bed early with all that racket, we rented a DVD from the office and watched it on our laptop; no small feat given the techno music blasting from next door.

*~*~*
Breakfast: Sweet Seed Crackers topped with raw almond butter and banana slices.

Dinner: Zucchini Soup, fermented cashew cheeze and crackers, and salad drizzled with a little oil and tamari.
*~*~*

The Journey East - Day 7
Between the music and the loud talking around the fire until dawn, the bright street lights, and did I mention the skits?, let's just say we were surprised we managed to survive the night!

We were on the road for less than an hour when Puss started complaining. This was not good, so we decided that we could all use a good rest after such a traumatic experience and stopped at the beautiful Falcon Lake Beach campground, located in Whiteshell Provincial Park, just before the Ontario border. What a radical difference! When we first got there, several campers were still around, but most of them were gone by mid-afternoon to head back to work in the city. The whole family went into recovery mode...

Puss got comfy in the car and didn't move all day. (Literally! We even had to take her in our arms and bring her to the tent for the night!)

Kyky took his fave spot under the car.

After having a small lunch, Don and I went to the beach to soak up a bit of sun and go for a refreshing dip in the lake. Then we came back to our site and prepped our evening meal. We weren't alone for dinner (read: LOTS of skits), but we weren't complaining; at least it was peaceful and quiet! ;-)

*~*~*
Lunch: Corn on the cob, coconut wrappers with fermented cashew cheeze, avocado and tomato.

Dinner: Quinoa with marinated veggies, and salad drizzled with a little oil and tamari.
*~*~*

I discovered a yummy dessert treat: Sweet Seed Crackers with Artisana's Cacao Bliss. Need I say more?

Don relaxing after dinner.

The Journey East - Day 8
The next morning we packed the car in record time under a light drizzle. I had sent Heathy an email just before leaving the Okanagan to let her know we were going to be in her neck of the woods, but unfortunately, the timing wasn't good for us to connect. It felt strange to shop at the big supermarket in Dryden where I know she goes all the time. On the bright side, I bought a couple of young coconuts - probably the last ones I was likely to see for a while. Don and I sent Heathy a big raw wave as we passed the turn off for Sioux Lookout.

That night we stayed at Rousseau's Landing, a fishing hot spot, in Ignace, Ontario. There were so many skits that we prepped dinner and ate inside the tent. I saw a fox cross the road when we first arrived, so we felt it would be safer to keep our pussycat inside with us.

*~*~*
Dinner: Fermented cashew cheeze on crackers with avocado and tomato, and salad drizzled with a little oil and tamari. Mango and papaya for dessert.
*~*~*

The Journey East - Day 9
This was another smooth day in the car; although by now we were all becoming weary of being on the road and were looking forward to reaching our destination. Still, the animals were super chilled, making the going so much easier.

Kylo being a good boy, as always.

Puss usually liked to hide between the black sleeping bag and the mattress, but that day she decided that the mattress was more comfy after all. ;-)


Driving by one of Ontario's many beautiful lakes.

We spent the night at Wild Goose Lake Campground near Geraldton where we were given an awesome site right on the lakeside. We were expecting a thunder storm that night, but it passed right over us. Yay!


*~*~*
Lunch: Chia pudding with mashed bananas.

Dinner: Quinoa with marinated veggies, and salad with my House Dressing. Dessert: Sweet Seed Crackers with Artisana's Cacao Bliss.

*~*~*

The Journey East - Day 10
Getting there, getting there...

We slowly made our way to Moonbeam in spite of the many construction zones and stayed at Twin Lakes Camping - another pretty crowded, family oriented place. Their tenting area wasn't finished either so they gave us a spot on a green patch next to the toilet/shower building. We were just happy to enjoy the luxury of using our Vitamix to make fresh soup and doing our dishes under running water.

We whipped up a lovely feast for our last supper on the road.

*~*~*
Breakfast: Fruit Salad with chia seeds.

Dinner: Tomato Soup, corn on the cob, zucchini pasta & veggies tossed in my House Dressing, and salad drizzled with a little oil and tamari.
*~*~*

Yummy!

The Journey East - Day 11
We woke up early to yet another lovely sunny day and packed up the tent for the last time. Yay!

We drove through forest devastated by some kind a disease;
not a pleasant sight.

Don cruising along!

Can you tell I'm ready to get there? My poor bum was getting sore! lol

What a name for a town, eh?

Just a little ways to go now!

Yippee! We made it at last!

My sister wasn't home when we finally arrived at her place. It gave us a chance to set up the tent, wash up and relax in the sun for a while. We had seen each other when she came to Vancouver in the Spring, but back then we had no idea we were to get together again so soon. (Let alone live under the same roof!)

We all contributed something to dinner that evening: Zucchini Soup, veggie sticks with Cheddar Cheeze, raw and cooked crackers, salad with House Dressing, and artichokes dipped in butter (olive oil for us).

I think Josee's liking the soup! ;-)

And you know the rest...

Phfew! What a journey!

Now let's see what new adventures Life has in store for us! *wink wink*

Raw On The Road: The Journey East Part I

In my last post, I was telling you about the recent major shift in our lives. After spending many years in British Columbia, a few weeks ago we made the jump into the Unknown and moved to Quebec, where I'm from originally.

As promised, here's the first part of my account of our (long!) journey across Canada.

Getting Ready
As I was mentioning before, we didn't have a great deal of time to prepare for this sudden turn of events. Thankfully, as we didn't have much stuff, it wasn't too difficult to go through it and decide what stayed and what came with.

When we first thought of going east, we of course wondered how the animals would fare on such a major adventure. Kylo had traveled with us on a couple of occasions and there were no problems with him. DaPuss, on the other hand, was an unknown element - to say the least - as she was pretty freaked out when we recently moved from the Kootenays to the Okanagan. In an attempt to make the journey somewhat smoother, we bought Puss a little harness. As it turned out, she quickly learned how to sneak out of it (don't ask me how she did it, little furry Houdini that she is!), but it still proved helpful in locating her sometimes. (Way easier to spot a fur ball with a long leash trailing behind. lol) The day before we left, we tried the new harness on, see how she'd do with it.

She barely noticed having it on! lol

In the past, when Don and I traveled, we ate only fruits which simplified things a LOT. However, this time around circumstances determined otherwise; the freezer was full of savory goodies which we brought on the trip. I did manage to have a D day so we could also have some sweet snacks for the road: Heathy's Super Granola Bars from her Just Desserts ebook as well as her Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and the Sweet Seed Crackers published in one of the early issues of Purely Delicious magazine. The morning before heading off, I also whipped up a batch of my House Dressing, Ranch Dressing and Oh My This Is A Tuna!, as well as a raw soup for that evening.

Raw On The Road - General Notes
~ As I was just saying, we had lots of goodies in the freezer which turned out to be a blessing. We packed our cooler with various crackers (Onion Bread, Just Like Ritz and the Raw Cheeze Itz), Matthew Kenney's basil coconut wraps, a batch of plain fermented cheeze, Rawvolution's Burgers, and Kristen Suzanne's Gourmet Italian Quiche Tarts. Since they were still frozen, they also conveniently served as natural ice packs. ;-)

~ You'll notice that most of the time, we didn't have breakfast or lunch per se. Instead, we grazed throughout the morning and afternoon on lots of fruits, granola bars, seed crackers, and a trail mix that Don had prepared with various nuts, seeds and dried fruits.

~ We had kept the Vitamix handy and we did use it on a few occasions, plugging it in electrical outlets in public bathrooms or at campsites.

~ Some condiments and food items we took along that proved helpful: sea salt, seasoning salt, wheat-free tamari, miso, pepper, dried tarragon, oregano and dill, cinnamon, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, agave, honey and maple syrup, various teas (I harvested a bunch of herbs on the property that I dried in the sun before leaving), Krakaus (a coffee substitute), fresh garlic, olive oil, hemp oil, almond butter, chia seeds, almonds, cashews and raisins.

~ I also brought some quinoa which I had pre-rinsed and dehydrated for convenience. We occasionally eat it cooked as we're not fans of sprouted quinoa, finding it has a bitter taste that we don't care for. According to Wikipedia, quinoa is technically a seed, not a grain, and "contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source." The fact that it's alkaline, ready in only 15 minutes of cooking and is light and easy to digest are other factors that make quinoa a relatively good and healthy choice for us when we feel like something warm and sustaining.

The Journey East -
Day One
Amazingly, we managed to fit everything we wanted to take on top of and inside the car; mostly raw food equipment, clothes, my knitting stuff and a few boxes of raw specialty foods. Well, almost... We had to leave a few gallon jars that I used for kombucha tea and sprouting behind. No biggie.

As you know, cats are notorious for being psychic; as we were all ready to go, not surprisingly, Puss was nowhere to be found. She could probably feel that something big and challenging was afoot. This gave us the opportunity to take one last stroll along the lovely Shuswap River before hitting the road. Puss showed up when we returned and our journey began in earnest.

Due to our late start and our running some errands in Vernon, we didn't get very far that day. Poor Puss was so traumatized during the car ride that she'd get into panting fits. We spent our first night at what we've nicknamed 'the campground from Hell', just outside Revelstoke. We paid $30 for a basic spot with no services, and soon found out that train tracks were virtually next to the site. (EEK!)

Our original intention was to unload the car every evening and sleep in the back of the minivan, but that turned out to be way too labor intensive. We had a tent as well, so it seemed much more convenient to sleep in it. Between the sound of trains passing almost every 30 minutes and the highway traffic, needless to say we didn't get much sleep that night.

*~*~*
Raw on the Road - Day 1
Dinner: Cream of Zucchini Soup that I'd made that morning, salad with my House Dressing, asparagus, and Tuna Salad on crackers.
*~*~*

The Journey East -
Day Two
We got up early the next morning and headed towards Alberta, where we had arranged to get together with Don's sister, Sandy and her family. Sandy and Bruce sold their house in Calgary last year, partly on Don's recommendation in light of the ongoing financial crisis. Instead of reinvesting in real estate, they decided to go nomad and purchase an RV. They spent 6 months traveling around the States over the fall and winter, then came back to Alberta in the spring. We were looking forward to connecting with them before leaving Western Canada.

After some initial complaining and panting, Puss eventually calmed down a bit. She left her hidden spot in the back of the car to get closer to Kylo. It seemed to give her some comfort to be next to her big buddy. She was still very much in shock by our new routine, though, and as you can see, was pretty out of it.


We were blessed with gorgeous weather when driving through the Rockies (and for most of the whole trip actually) so we could enjoy their beauty one last time before saying goodbye to BC.




Throughout the journey, we encountered lots of wildlife along the way: a fox, swans flying in V formation, a goose, 2 turtles (right on the road as we were having our walk one evening), deer, and oh yes, a pair of wolves in a field in the Prairies. As we were driving that day, Don noticed a coyote strangely on the side of the road, so he immediately slowed down and pulled over. Amazingly, the coyote didn't run away, but instead came a little closer (perhaps two or three feet away!) We must have stayed there for at least five minutes, staring at each other through the window. It was a truly magical moment!

Sandy had found us a campsite at the Ghost Lake Recreational Area, near Cochrane where their own RV is parked for the summer. Being a weekday, we had the place virtually to ourselves and the caretaker gave us the best spot in the whole campground! What a radical difference from the previous day's nightmare! We arrived at our 'Hilton of the woods' soon after lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon setting up. To our great surprise, Puss seemed so relaxed (no doubt due to the fact we were the only campers in sight!) that we decided to let her wander at will.

Mmmm... Nothing better than a nice juicy slice of watermelon on a hot summer day!

Sandy and Bruce joined us later for dinner. As always, it's such a pleasure to spend time with them; they are both such beautiful and caring spirits. A couple of years ago, Sandy, her daughter Jaime and I had so much fun in the kitchen! I actually wrote a series of posts about it if you'd like to take a peak.


*~*~*
Raw on the Road - Day 2
Dinner: Salad with my House Dressing, Heathy's Pasta Primavera tossed in Ranch Dressing and Cafe Gratitude's Almond Joy for dessert.
*~*~*

The Journey East - Day Three
The next day, we had a bit of an 'open house' (or should I say 'open tent'? lol). Sandy arrived around 2pm with Diana Stoevelaar, the 'raw lady' behind the Calgary Raw Vegan Network. She and her partner Manu are spreading the good word about raw by organizing a number of events such as food prep classes, conferences, and monthly potlucks. Diana and I first met during my Calgary visit in January 2007 and instantly connected. We share a special bond that is difficult to explain rationally. Even though we've only met a few times, we feel completely at ease in each other's presence and have many little things in common. We've concluded that we must be soul sisters. ;-)


While Don was talking with Sandy, Bruce and Jaime (who has recently made a surprise return from a 2 year trip to New-Zealand, Nepal and India), Diana and I were busy exchanging raw tips at the picnic table. Diana was thrilled to sample the many raw goodies I had brought. For my part, I got to try two of her divine green smoothies. Mmmmmm... Seriously yummy stuff! She also spoiled me with cute little cookie cutters in sun, flower and butterfly shapes (yay!) and a bag of her delicious and crisp Rainbow Flax Crackers.

The afternoon flew right by and it was soon time to start working on the evening meal. Bruce had brought along their 'house on wheels', as it looked like rain was in the air, so I took over their little kitchen. We ended up being 7 for dinner, but even though I hadn't planned a menu, the meal came together smoothly and effortlessly. I also whipped up a batch of almond milk to be used for dessert that night and for making chia pudding.

*~*~*
Raw on the Road - Day 3
Dinner: I made two different soups: a Tomato and Herbs and my new Zucchini and Lovage Soup. The main course was Rawvolution's Burgers which I'd broken up in little pieces, served on Onion Bread with a dollop of Ranch Dressing, along with a mixed green salad.

I still had a couple of containers of young coconut in the freezer when we left, so I made Heathy's yummy Butterscotch Shake for dessert.
*~*~*

Sandy's son, Evan, and her grandson, Bodhi, dropped by to see us for a few hours and stayed for dinner. This little guy wolfed down his raw soups in no time!

As you may remember, Jaime is really artistic and has a great eye for photography. When she came to visit Don and I in Winlaw a couple of years ago, she took several food pics for my first ebook and did a little photo shoot of us. (That's where that pic in the sidebar came from!) Naturally, she's the one who shot the photos that day, including the following of 'the Boyz'.

Kylo, who took the whole traveling thing in stride.
He's such a great wolfie!

Don, the man behind the wheel

Jaime graciously accepted to do a few food photos for GLiving who would like to feature some of my recipes. I was so excited when I received them a couple of days ago; they look so professional and appetizing! Woot Woot! THANKS Jaime!

My Super Choconana Shake

My Spinach & Cream Pasta Casserole

OK, I think I better stop here for now.

Back soon with more of our rawdventures... ;-)

To The Desert And Back

Did you know that we grow bananas in Canada?

Yep, that's right! But that's not all; Canada even has its very own desert! (Now, how about that, eh?)

Osoyoos is the capital city of the South Okanagan, aka the 'fruit basket' of Canada. It is renowned for having the only hot desert in the country. Its dry, sunny climate, irrigation and long growing season makes it ideal to grow cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, apples, grapes... and yes, bananas too!

Sounds like a raw foodie's dream? Probably... but that's not why Don and I drove out there yesterday. We were taking our good friend, John, to meet up with his wife. From there, they headed to Vancouver where he is to get an angeogram and then, possibly heart surgery. He's been trying alternative therapies for the last year or so, with little result (at least, in a physical, calculable kind of way), and now the White Coats are saying his time is running out...

The Raw Kitchen Hits The Road
It was our first time traveling together, Don and I, since we left Vancouver Island almost 5 years ago. A bit of an eventfor us. You should have seen all the food we brought along! Well, you know, with 3 mouths to feed and all... ;-)

Here's what we packed:

- 2 huge containers of green smoothie
- Lots of water
- Veggie sticks
- Some rye bread and onion bread
- Cheese sauce (to use as dip and spread)
- A big container of salad
- Sprouts
- Tomatoes, cubed
- Avocado
- Don's Creamy Citrus-Herb Dressing
- Garlicky toasts
- Seasoned seeds
- Trail mix
- Chocolate chip cookie

Oh yeah, and I got a little fancy and threw in a few of Maraw's Banana Nut Pancakes and some Coconut Vanilla Custard to go on top. (Raw gourmet food while on the move, why not!?!)

I thought we were probably bringing way too much stuff (you know how it can be!), but in fact, it ended up being the perfect amount! We came back with a little left-over trail mix, and that's pretty much it!

Cruising Along
The whole trip couldn't have gone any smoother. We left early, as John needed to pop by the hospital in Nelson first. The weather was just right, even once we hit the desert, and the scenery was beyond spectacular. We were surrounded by orchards in the Okanagan, and the view, as we approached Osoyoos, was breathtaking!

It gave us a welcomed opportunity to connect with John, as he is about to enter this challenging phase of his healing journey. It was also neat to retrace our steps after all these years. We couldn't help but revisit the circumstances around our move. Quite an adventure that was too, I tell ya!

Magic Picnic
After dropping John off, we decided to give ourselves a special treat on the way back, and had a picnic at one of our favorite camping spots, just outside Grand Forks.

To say that it was magical would be an understatement!

We saw at once why we love that place so much! So peaceful and quiet, with the sound of the river gurgling and wild flowers in bloom everywhere we looked.

Aren't these just gorgeous!?!

We had our picnic by the river and were serenaded by birds as we ate. The entire sky was covered in clouds, but somehow, a steady stream of sunlight was shining right on us the entire time. Pure bliss! Talk about the unexpected!

Here's the view from where we were sitting...

Don stretching out the car kinks!


Gotta head back already... Time to put everything away! (Sigh)

We were pretty wiped when we got home, but were totally stoked about our little road trip. Such a nice break of continuity!

Our only regret is that it was too early in the season, so we couldn't load up on fruit. Ah well... perhaps in 5 years, when we take our next trip! ;-)

*~*~*~*
Photo Credits
Osoyoos from http://www.osoyoos.ca/

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