As a teenager, Ralph hitchhiked from one coast to the other fifty-odd years ago. In retirement, he and his wife embarked on a three-month journey across the continent, accompanied by their trusty stuffy called Smarmy, a Vancouver Island Marmot, in their old brown "Marmot Van".
In Alberta they explored a Ukrainian pioneer village.
In Ontario, Ralph helped a great lakes freighter pilot who was locked out at the Welland Canal by assisting him in over the security fence to return to his vessel.
While in the Maritimes, they descended 50 feet of stairs to stroll along the ocean floor. But they had to be cautious; the tides can rise swiftly, filling the bay with water to a depth of 50 feet.
Intertwined within the van narrative is a second story about an life as young hitchhiker in 1970.
Our young traveller unknowingly smuggled drugs across the US border, He fended off a crowd of wicked clowns in a prairie parade, and fell in love in Banff, amid the Rocky Mountains.
The places and people across Canada… will bring a knowing smile to the face of anyone who has made the same journey and a gentle pang of regret to those who always knew they should have.- Bob Collins
Smarmy the travelling Marmot in Vegreville
The ocean floor in Nova Scotia
The Great Lakes Locks. Gate locked? No problem!
Dinosaurs in Drumheller
The Marmot Van Decades later
