The Travelling Ookpik - Day Fifteen!

Day fifteen- after 7200 kilometres, the travelling ookpik has finally returned home!

The final leg of Chimo's adventures took him from Richland, Washington all the way back to his snug little home in Vancouver, British Columbia.


The day dawned with a view of the Columbia River and plenty of rain- it should be noted that nothing makes Chimo feel more at home than an everlasting overcast rainfall. It's good to be back, West Coast!


Back on the road, Chimo stopped at a rest-stop for free coffee and took advantage of a chance to be photographed with a 1000+ year old tree stump!


In Bellingham, Chimo stopped for delicious pizza at his favourite Washington-based pizza place (and got carded one last time in order to enjoy a local Bellingham beer)!


Walking back to the car after lunch, Chimo decided to hitch a ride on a goatcart. (HA HA, GET IT?)


Back on the road one last time. Home was nearly at hand when "Vancouver" started appearing on road signs!


Welcome back to Canada, Chimo! Immediately after crossing the border Chimo paused to pose beside the welcome sign to his fair province.


However, no return to Canada would be complete without a Tim's run.


Welcome back to the True North Strong and Free, Chimo!

And thus concludes the (first) adventure of the Travelling Ookpik!
Chimo hopes you have enjoyed following along his epic road trip that took him over 7200 kilometres and through seven states! Chimo also thanks you for your comments and compliments (especially the email from Don Cherry- wink wink).

However, this is not the last you will hear from this little ookpik! Surely there are more adventures in Chimo's future! Chimo will keep you posted, and hopes you will be there to follow along the next time he sets out on the open road!

As we say in Canada- thanks a lot, and chimo*!

* author's note: okay, I know saying "chimo" is a thing of the past, but if ookpiks can make a return, so can outdated Canadian expressions from the 60s! C'mon Canada, we can do it!

The Travelling Ookpik - Day Fourteen!

We are on day fourteen of the Travelling Ookpik- which means today was the second-to-last day of Chimo's journey! The day's drive was an adventure that took him from Twin Falls, Idaho, through a portion of the state of Oregon and all the way to Richland, Washington.


Before setting out on the open road, Chimo went to find the Shoshone falls (which the city of Twin Falls is named after). Chimo had to be held tightly for his photoshoot, because balancing on the icy railings above the falls ran too great a risk of him tumbling down into the water, and it's safe to say we'd never see our little ookpik again if that were to happen.


Getting back on the road, Chimo posed next to the 6000th kilometre of his road trip adventure!


Stopping for gas and fresh coffee, Chimo finally decided to sample some American candy bars.


Further down the road Chimo paused to contemplate the Big Blowout Sale on rifles and shotgun shells.


Also: a field of used military vehicles (and tanks!) for sale.


Later, on a slight detour (aka: he got a bit lost), Chimo drifted through Imbler- the grass seed capital of the world.


Instead of stopping for lunch, Chimo merely ate his way through entirely too much angel food cake and delicious California strawberries.


Somewhere in the indistinct (but very picturesque) area that might have been Oregon and might have been Washington, there were a lot of aged grain elevators that made Chimo feel like he was in an episode of Corner Gas.

Tomorrow Chimo will return to the great white north from whence he came (hopefully in time to watch the Canadian men's ice hockey semi-finals) and that will mark the end of the Travelling Ookpik's (first) adventure! Exciting times!

The Travelling Ookpik- Day Thirteen!

Day thirteen of the Travelling Ookpik!

Today was a ridiculously long driving day for Chimo- all the way from Monument Valley, Utah to Twin Falls, Idaho.


The day started at 6am with the sunrise over Monument Valley. It photographed poorly (Chimo is incredibly blurry before dawn), but it was very beautiful.


Returning to the road- The drive through the southern part of Utah wound through some of the most beautiful scenery Chimo had ever seen. Our little ookpik was impressed.


Passing through the tiny town of Mexican Hat, Chimo stopped to pose with the rock formation shaped like... a Mexican hat.


Further on down the road, Chimo stopped in front of the Twin Rocks.


And even further: Wilson Arch! It should be noted that southern Utah is jam-packed with notable rock formations just ripe for potential ookpik photoshoots.


Many hours (and kilometres) later, Chimo pulled off the highway in Green River. He was hoping to reenact some of the key scenes from 'Fievel Goes West,' only to discover that there is not much going on in Green River, Utah, these days. (It was kind of disappointing.)


Unfortunately, after lunch all the beautiful scenery of Southern Utah turned into dismal mountains and overcast grey and eventually rainy-snow that lasted for most of the rest of the day. On either side of the car it was impossible to tell where the snowy ground ended and the snowy sky began. Chimo blended in perfectly.

Eventually the mountains petered out and the roads straightened, and many kilometres later Chimo crossed the state line into Idaho! By then it was dark, so as of this moment Chimo has very little good or bad to say about Idaho, but after just over 1000 kilometres and nearly 10 hours of driving our little ookpik was just glad to get off the road!

Tomorrow: a much shorter drive- from Idaho back into Washington State! The travelling ookpik is almost home!

The Travelling Ookpik - Day Twelve!

Day twelve of the Travelling Ookpik's adventures! Today Chimo drove all the way from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Monument Valley, Utah.


After the evening's snowstorm, Chimo woke up to (and began driving in) a New Mexico winter wonderland.


However, immediately outside of Santa Fe the snow disappeared (as did any and all curves in the road) and the rest of the day was nothing but mile after mile (or rather: kilometre after kilometre) of painfully beautiful scenery.


The day's highlight was supposed to be a mid-afternoon visit to the famed Four Corners, where the states of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado meet- however, after driving a decent way down a rinky-dink road into the absolute middle of nowhere, Chimo arrived at Four Corners to learn that it was closed for construction. Disappointment reigned supreme.


There was very little consolation to be had in crossing the state line into Utah.


However, to its credit: Utah did make an effort to be absolu-friggin'-lutely gorgeous, which almost made up for the crushing disappointment that was the Four Corners debacle.


And with plenty of daylight hours to spare, Chimo arrived at his destination of Monument Valley!


Perched between the two "mittens," Chimo paused for his final photo of the day.

Now Chimo is preparing to partake in some serious star-gazing before he tucks in for the night in order to wake up bright and early and head for Twin Falls, Idaho tomorrow!

The Travelling Ookpik - day eleven

Day eleven of the Travelling Ookpik, and his third day in New Mexico, today Chimo finally ventured into the heart of Santa Fe to see what all the fuss was about.


Though he is a true-blue Canadian through and through, the morning dawned and Chimo got to witness his very first snowfall! Snow and cacti make for a disconcerting combination, but there it was!


However, undaunted by the snow, Chimo ventured down into the old town of Santa Fe, where a king's ransom in turquoise rings were perused (sadly, the perfect ring has yet to be found) and pretty much all the museums and churches were closed for no real reason other than "it is Monday."


Crossing the old town square, Chimo paused to admire the ridiculously pretty benches.


For lunch Chimo enjoyed a Roswell Alien amber ale and his very first chicken fried steak, which was entirely too delicious for words. (Not to mention the banana cream pie that was had for dessert.)

Shortly after lunch Chimo decided he'd had just about enough window-shopping and slogging through snow, so he returned to the hotel to watch Canada's victory over Finland in women's hockey just as the real snow began to fall. Hopefully the snow won't prevent little Chimo from getting back on the road. Tomorrow: Monument Valley!


In closing: Chimo Maurice Adanac - the patron ookpik of Tabasco sauce.

The Travelling Ookpik - Day Ten

Day ten of the travelling ookpik!

It is his second day in New Mexico (and a cold, snowy one at that), but heedless of the weather little Chimo made an adventure out to Bandelier National Monument today!


The day's day trip began with Chimo's 4000th kilometre!


Arriving at Bandelier (in the snow) Chimo was warned about the potentially icy conditions that may or may not have existed.


Bandelier is where the Ancestral Pueblo of North America lived. Chimo thought it was a rather remarkable place.


In the cold and the snow, Chimo embarked on a hike up the cliff.


From a perch mid-way up the cliffs Chimo could look down on the remains of the Pueblo dwellings below.


There were several caves in the cliffs that could be explored, which Chimo happily did, despite the prevalence of treacherous little ladders.


After a few hours scrambling about in the cold admiring petroglyphs and Pueblo caves, Chimo went for a good ol' New Mexican (plus one bratwurst) lunch.


Ending his educational day at Bandelier National Monument, Chimo returned to the hotel in time to watch Team Canada versus Team USA in Olympic men's hockey- while drinking rum and coke in classic Trailer Park Boys fashion. (Canada's loss was disappointing, but Chimo has faith in his home and native land.)

Tomorrow: Chimo is off to the old town square in Santa Fe to (hopefully) buy the biggest knuckle-buster turquoise ring in the entire state! Good luck, little ookpik!

The Travelling Ookpik - Day Nine!

Chimo is in New Mexico!

Today Chimo went from Holbrook, Arizona all the way to Santa Fe, New Mexico.


The morning's adventures began with a short stop at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, where an entire forest of petrified trees was spread out for the world (and Chimo) to enjoy.


An interesting sign was posted on the door of the visitor/information centre... It's a good thing Chimo wasn't packing heat. (A word to the wise: don't start a ruckus in Arizona.)


Crossing the state line into New Mexico Chimo admired the abundance of NATURAL BEAUTY that was on display.


Later on Chimo posed on the Continental Divide.


Surprising everyone, British Columbia ambrosia apples (aka: the greatest/most delicious apples known to mankind) were for sale at a local grocery store. A taste of home!


After passing through Albuquerque, Chimo rolled into Madrid- a tiny town on the Turquoise Trail that ended up being of little interest to all parties involved- despite the promise of local melodrama.


It was more than a little chilly in Madrid, so Chimo took shelter from the cold by snuggling up in a pair of Vancouver Olympic mitts.


Approaching Santa Fe, Chimo could not help but pause for a moment on the side of the highway in order to study the interesting road signs outside of the local correction centre.


Later, Chimo concluded his evening with the most delicious meal in New Mexico, which came complete with a side of three chili sauces (because a certain ookpik could not decide which kind of chili to have, and had to try them all).

Tomorrow: further ookpik adventures in New Mexico!