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  #21  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2014, 6:14 AM
ue ue is offline
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Originally Posted by middeljohn View Post

Forgot to add, another thing that struck me hard was that there was nothing in Edmonton that made me feel like I'm in some far off place in terms of culture. It was still 100% identifiably Canada. I've gone off before on here how Detroit feels more familiar than Quebec (a statement to which I still stand), but Edmonton felt more familiar than Detroit, despite being 3500km away and despite a huge portion of the population in each province never having gone to the other. I don't know why I was expecting any different, but even 3500km away I still knew I was home.
I agree completely. This is exactly why I have stated in other parts of the forum that despite vast geographic distances, Ontario and Alberta still feel very similar, culturally. Yes, there are quirky regional variances, but the base culture is still very familiar. It makes it kinda funny to then see the two provinces bicker at each other over petty differences.

Quebec (and Newfoundland to a lesser degree) are oddballs within the Canadian context, therefore I'm not surprised you identify more with Detroit than Quebec City. But I find that farther flung places like Ontario feel more familiar than Montana, directly across the border, or other states not too much further, like Idaho and the Dakotas.
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  #22  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2014, 9:42 PM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Originally Posted by feepa View Post
You need to expand on what oil does. It's not just about driving you and baby mama's around or even just transportation of all our goods/services and trades. Oil of some sort is in just about every product we buy or use or consume. Without oil/gas, none of these goods moves around the planet like they do. Without oil, your life would be unrecognizable now.
I find environmental groups that attack the 'tarsands' are quite hypocritical, and ignorant. These hate on oil, but turn a blind eye to many other primary industries in Canada, even in their own backyards, that do as much or more damage to the environment.
Next time you buy anything, consider what it's made of, and just how far it had to travel from origin as a product of the earth to get to you, and how infuse oil is in every step sourcing/creating/transporting that product to you.
Those in Toronto (and else where) that hate on the Oilsands should realize that Oil and gas companies make up 20 to 30% of the value of the TSX. According to the TSX, the petroleum companies trading at the stock exchange were worth $357 billion as of December 31, 2009, with approximately half of these shares owned by Canadians.
Yes, I should've expanded on that. Synthetic oils have come a long way though and most of those things you mentioned can be done with synthetic oils. It's more expensive obviously. Different oil fields also have different compositions. Hell, even the different layers of the field have different compositions. The composition makes a huge difference in what the oil is used for, whether it be regular gas, jet fuel, oil for plastics, etc.

Getting back to plastics though, while manufacturing it isn't exactly A1 for the environment, it's actually better than recycling. Recycling uses more energy, still requires oil and is far more expensive. Ditto for paper recycling. Only thing that makes economic and environmental sense to recycle is metal. That said, it doesn't mean we should go ape shit and throw plastics in the dumpster, we need to focus as a society to making plastic containers reusable.

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Originally Posted by CMD UW View Post
^Very true. I spent 3 years in Waterloo while attending university and I call SW Ontario my home away from home. It felt like home. I also have a soft spot for Toronto and find my way back there at least once a year for business reasons.
I will always love Toronto and it'll be weird not to be able to go downtown on a whim like I've gotten so used to. Even while in London I'd go to Toronto once a month, just for the hell of it.

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Originally Posted by ue View Post
I agree completely. This is exactly why I have stated in other parts of the forum that despite vast geographic distances, Ontario and Alberta still feel very similar, culturally. Yes, there are quirky regional variances, but the base culture is still very familiar. It makes it kinda funny to then see the two provinces bicker at each other over petty differences.

Quebec (and Newfoundland to a lesser degree) are oddballs within the Canadian context, therefore I'm not surprised you identify more with Detroit than Quebec City. But I find that farther flung places like Ontario feel more familiar than Montana, directly across the border, or other states not too much further, like Idaho and the Dakotas.
Exploring those states you mentioned are another piece of the prairies I like forward to. It'd be interesting to see how the culture in those states compare to Detroit for example.

A notable difference is that you guys pronounce your Ts a lot more. And the second half of sentences seem to be a higher pitch than the first half. Or maybe it's just a few of the people I talked to. And it was far more multicultural than I expected. A gander at wikipedia confirmed that Edmonton is almost 30% visible minorities.
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  #23  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2014, 11:30 PM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Unless something goes horribly wrong, I'll be back in a month-ish, this time permanently. Any tips about apartments and whatnot would be greatly appreciated! If I can manage to find a month-to-month place when I first get there that'd be ideal and would give me an opportunity to get to know neighbourhoods so that I can make a more informed decision when signing a lease.
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  #24  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2014, 11:33 PM
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Most Boardwalk places offer 3 month leases www.bwalk.com

padmapper is your friend as well.

Also - you may get way better tips if you visit a forum dedicated to edmonton www.connect2edmonton.ca/forum

also, reddit.com/r/edmonton is a good resource at times too
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  #25  
Old Posted Mar 7, 2014, 11:39 PM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Awesome thanks feepa!
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  #26  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2014, 8:00 PM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Curious if any of you have ever done the drive from Toronto to Edmonton, or vice versa? My plan is to depart April 17th and get into town on the 21st. I'm aiming for 800km per day so that I still have enough time left each day to do a bit of exploring.

Night 1: Sault Ste Marie. Just stopping for leg stretches, nothing new this stretch for me as I've been here many times.
Night 2: Thunder Bay. No major stops, just any time there's something interesting.
Night 3: Morden, Manitoba. Bit of a detour from the TCH, but I have a buddy there. I'll explore Winnipeg a bit while I'm there since it's only an hour away.
Night 4: Swift Current, SK. With a stop in Regina.
Night 5: EDMONTON! With stops in Medicine Hat, Calgary, Red Deer.
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  #27  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2014, 8:19 PM
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Yup, 2010... well Port Elgin to Edmonton.

Day 1 - port to SSM via the Chichiman man
Day 2 - SSM - TB
Day 3 - TB - Winnipeg
Day 4 - Winn to Edmonton via Sask

Long LONG drive, but incredibly beautiful in Ontario and the bluffs of west Sask.

3256km was out ticker.

Be very careful not to drive very late between SSM/TB, moose are out there.

Links to what you are in for:

Day 1
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ght=port+elgin

Day 2
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ght=port+elgin

Day 3
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ght=port+elgin

Day 4
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ght=port+elgin
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  #28  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2014, 8:54 PM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Awesome coldsrx! I've never done the ferry before, and I don't think I will this year either. How else am I supposed to enjoy the thriving metropolis of Sudbury?

Are you a Springbok fan? I used to live in a little town called Secunda in South Africa. It was basically like Springfield in the Simpsons, except instead of all the men working at the nuclear plant they all.worked at the Sasol plant. The similarities are plentiful, we even had our own smokestack in the horizon!

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  #29  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2014, 9:15 PM
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Have driven back and forth about 8 times. Your plan is pretty good. Short hops every day. I have done a couple straight through and others running about 100k a day. Hard parts are the North shore from The Sue to Thunder Bay. Watch for moose and suicidal wolves. Once you get past Kenora its pretty quick.
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  #30  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2014, 10:48 PM
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^^a gift from my father, but I guess it is my team.
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  #31  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2014, 3:00 AM
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Kokkei Mizu Kokkei Mizu is offline
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I've driven from St. Thomas, Ontario to Edmonton and back 4 times now. I usually stop in Sault Ste. Marie, The Trading Post Motel in Ignace, ON, Yorkton, SK, and then I'll be in Edmonton on Day 4.

Or, if I'm travelling without my 1-year-old and wife, I'll go through the States and I can do it in 2.5 days. I cross the border near Estevan, SK. On the way to Ontario I stopped at Minot, ND, and Gary, IN. On the way back I stopped just west of Chicago, and then again in Minot, ND.

Minot, ND and Yorkton, SK are both places I like to stop because they're mid-sized towns. Large enough to have good quality brand hotels, but not big enough to have expensive rates.

Last time, we stayed in Saskatoon on our way back.... Big mistake. That town is expensive!! Good luck with the drive. I don't think it'll ever get old for me. Beautiful continent we live on
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  #32  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2014, 6:33 AM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Thanks for the info fellas. Wow, 2.5 days by yourself? I don't know if I would feel comfortable driving 1000+ km per day without someone else in the car to help me maintain concentration.

At first my thought was to cut through the States and check out Chicago and Minneapolis en route, as I haven't been to either of them before, but I decided that for my first cross-continent drive it needs to be the all-Canada route. Best to explore my own backyard first and all that, haha.
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  #33  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2014, 1:12 PM
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Hallsy's Toupee Hallsy's Toupee is offline
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You can always take a VIA Rail, it should take about as long.
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  #34  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2014, 1:22 PM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Not an option, I'm moving so I have to get my car there somehow. It's either pay $300ish in gas, or a hell of a lot more to ship it, in addition to my own transportation ticket. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to the drive. I've never done it before and have nothing but time at the moment, so I don't mind spending 5 days seeing a part of Canada I've never seen before.
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  #35  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2014, 3:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kokkei Mizu View Post
I've driven from St. Thomas, Ontario to Edmonton and back 4 times now. I usually stop in Sault Ste. Marie, The Trading Post Motel in Ignace, ON, Yorkton, SK, and then I'll be in Edmonton on Day 4.

Or, if I'm travelling without my 1-year-old and wife, I'll go through the States and I can do it in 2.5 days. I cross the border near Estevan, SK. On the way to Ontario I stopped at Minot, ND, and Gary, IN. On the way back I stopped just west of Chicago, and then again in Minot, ND.

Minot, ND and Yorkton, SK are both places I like to stop because they're mid-sized towns. Large enough to have good quality brand hotels, but not big enough to have expensive rates.

Last time, we stayed in Saskatoon on our way back.... Big mistake. That town is expensive!! Good luck with the drive. I don't think it'll ever get old for me. Beautiful continent we live on
Saskatoon is so expensive for hotels because they hardly have any.
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  #36  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2014, 4:02 PM
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My previous post should have read 1000 km, not 100. 1000 kms are quite doable as I regularly do straight through to Vancouver runs (when my wife lets me).

I make bimonthly day trips to Jasper for a project. Total drive is about 700km.

Take the time to stop and see the sites though. The country has a lot to offer.

Longest stupidest trip I did was a straight shot from Edmonton to Quebec(Mont St Anne) Besides stopping for Gas I may have stopped only for about 6 hours total for sleep. (Don't recommend that).

Also there is a gas station at about every 4-4.5 hours(Usually a Husky Station).
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  #37  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2014, 7:10 PM
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^ I once drove straight from Ensenada, Mexico to Hope, BC with only stops for fuel, coffee and the bathroom. 2500km's in one shot.. took me about 37 hours total. The only reason I stopped in Hope was that it was 3am and I was losing the ability to see straight. Otherwise I would have pushed on to Vernon.

That was a long time ago now.. I doubt I could pull it off again, even if I wanted to
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  #38  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2014, 1:12 AM
middeljohn middeljohn is offline
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Crikey mates that's intense! I wouldn't dare do that. The longest I've ever driven in one day was 12 hours from Ottawa to Montreal to London. It should've been 9 hours, but with pee breaks and Toronto it took 3 hours longer. That was also on little sleep. That was a tad over 900 km if my math is correct, a little bit too far for me for one day, which is why I'm sticking to 700km days this trip, and make sure I get enough sleep!
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  #39  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2014, 2:07 AM
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The longest drive I've done - and one I do often - is the 13 hour haul from Edmonton to Jasper to Vancouver. Pretty much an entire day behind the wheel that includes meal and gas stops.
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  #40  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2014, 9:26 PM
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Do not speed in northern ontario. The cops will get you every time!!! Ffs.
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