June 6 Heidi:
  Today we were lucky enough to spend a beautiful day in Radium. Radium is a small town, famous for it's hot springs; it definitely has bragging rights to a gorgeous landscape. We began the morning at the Chamber of Commerce for a welcoming by the chamber members. I felt incredibly welcomed and supported from a small town atmosphere where they really take care of us. We were lucky enough to have hotel rooms and meals provided by the hospitality of Radium, not to mention the encouragement of the community. We headed off to a clean-up project at the wetlands. We stopped at a bluff overlooking the landscape, I definitely felt like I was on top of the world. The particular site we were clearing up had been a party site in recent years. The outhouses, benches and picnic tables had been ripped up by the teenagers and burned in big bonfires. They had thrown whatever would roll down the steep hill into the wetlands below. The majority of the team headed down the hill to haul the many tires, six wrecked cars, many many beer bottles and random car parts into one big pile that will be taken out during the winter. I stayed on top of the hill and picked up broken beer bottles and nails. I counted over 1000 nails!!! I was struck by the feeling of pity for the people who had done this. This feeling really surprised me because I had expected a feeling of anger. To look out on the snow-topped mountains and the acres and acres of forest and not feel that this was worth protecting and keeping beautiful is completely alien to me. My hope is that in the future they will be more conscious of the impact they are having on the earth around them. I am not saying that they shouldn't have fun (fun is definitely an integral part of my life) but that each of us has to be aware and conscious that our having fun will not leave nature and the world in a less beautiful state.

June 11 Dylan:.

After fixing the radiator hose on our support vehicle, (nicknamed The Beast) with minimal frustration and swearing (at least compared to last night), we were ready to embark on our next leg from Calgary. Leaving the special people in Calgary who hosted us, Jack and Lou Annes' open and friendly hospitality, I was thankful again for how lucky we have been in connecting with great people. Our destination today - Drumheller (a unique canyonland where at one time the dinosaurs roamed) Bring on the Prairie! In the distance to the west, broken only by the Calgary skyline, lay the white, speckled peaks of the Rocky mountains rising like a mighty palisade above the far reaches of the great plains. My first sense of this place is a feeling for the vastness of the sky. Looking up I might get the feeling that I am but floating on an island of land amidst an ocean of sky. To the north a large cumulo-nimbus cloud formation rises in luminous formation above the horizon. It prophesies the coming storm and sends subtle messages through the damp, cool breezes which touch my face as I ride towards it. Around me must dwell every possible cloud formation, from the wispy feather-like cirrus, stretched at 20-30,000 ft above me to the puffy and inviting cumulus which lay like floating cotton saucers above. It seems I never fail to let myself be enchanted by the landscape and such proves true again on what some may say is just a "big flat place". On the land, vast tracts of farmland in huge fields surround different-sized farms and ranches. Large grain elevators rise above the houses and barns. Each ranch is paralleled or surrounded by a row of trees. What little tree life there is seems mainly restricted to small poplars and shrubs, with large hardwoods rising around houses and barns. It seems a natural irony that as in the arctic and still thousands of kilometers south the forces of wind and storm are an obviously dominating factor in how people build their homes. Roads criss-cross the farmland in all directions in a grid fashion. Everything is linear, whether it is roads, fences, telephone poles and even trees and shrubs are often formulated in straight lines. About half way through our leg, Heidi and I stopped at a place called Horseshoe Canyon. What has occurred here and in much of the area around Drumheller is over millions of years the Red Deer River and its surrounding watersheds have cut through the sandstone and local soils creating a unique canyonlands which reveals many layers, many dating back millions and millions of years. Revealed in these layers is a black band which in early days and apparently still today is mined as coal. As well in these layers has been discovered dinosaur bones and fossils dating back millions of years. It's like entering a fantasy world as you come off of the flat green plain to be invited into steep gullies with richly colored and treed hillsides.

June 12 Martyn:
The Pole To Pole 2000 team is now 72 days into their 275 day journey. They have covered 700km by ski and 5000 km on bicycles. They have spoken to over 3,000 people as they travel about global environmental issues and the importance of taking small steps to affect change. The team has faced the roughest ice seen by experienced polar travelers, 7 polar bears; over 20 black and grizzly bears; temperatures of minus 35 degrees; and other extremes of the planet such as cleaning human garbage and helping with poverty. The team has faced great interpersonal challenges and come through with flying colours (so far): team members still are really enthusiastic; respectful of each other, and cultural differences; and physically in great shape. The blisters, frostnip, saddle sores, and biking injuries are all now gone. I am totally impressed by how the team is handling the constant challenges and changes, how team members support each other, how they are honest so that disputes do not build up into big conflicts. I know it is time for a rest for them, so we are planning a few days of no activity in Thunder Bay for them. They are now in the middle of Saskatchewan Canada, experiencing the huge spaces and brilliant spring flowers of the Prairies. For me to see the dream come true is amazing, and to see this young team hanging together and continuing to bounce back from physical exhaustion, mental stress and emotionally draining situations is wonderful. I have never seen a team with so much energy!!

June 12 Devlin:
The day started out cold and my fingers were numb for ages. We were taking back roads today and it was extremely sandy and slow. Sometimes I slowed to a mere 14 km/hr. I even had to pedal down hills. The rolling green hills were scattered with cows that appeared as if they had never seen a bicycle before. As I passed they would stare, then run off. The road was so slow and lonely that I resorted to talking to the cows to help pass the time. Going crazy? It would help!

June 13 Mercedes:
  Today, we are going to finish in Winnipeg after 3 days on the route with both strong sun and rain. It will be nice to have a shower again!! I have a sunburn on my arms and on one side of my neck. Even when the sky is covered by clouds the sun still hurts, but in spite of that I had a nice day. I rode in beautiful green fields, full of pot-holes and marshes. I saw a coyote, a couple of foxes and many many birds, especially one kept my attention. This black bird with its brilliant red feathers on its wings was not just beautiful but it also had a wonderful and serene singing. And in this great environment, we made a mistake with the distances each of us has to cover and Renaud and Dylan are going to ride longer to catch up. I am worried about Dylan, he has to ride something like 130 or 140 kms and it's raining and getting dark ... ... As I am finishing these words, Dylan is arriving, it's 9:30 and as I would expect he arrived soaked, tired but very very happy! After the daily meeting for checking the next day, everyone split quickly ... the day was long and I am starting to feel tired.

June 14 Heidi:
  Today I left the team for five days to journey back home to see my sister's high school graduation. After hugging each person goodbye, I had a couple of hours to think about my trip home. I realized how varied my emotions are. In some ways I am very very happy, to see my sister at such an important time for her, to see my family, to rest and catch up on my journal, to sleep in my own bed etc. But in other ways I feel sad. In so many ways the team members of Pole to Pole have become a second family to me. I know I will miss each and every one in the next few days, but that will make seeing them again that much sweeter. In many ways I also feel that my trip home is not fair. I know there are important things happening in each team members' family and because my home is close, I have the opportunity to go home while others may not. This makes me value my trip home even more. But first I have to get there!!! I am writing this in the Fargo, North Dakota bus station. It is midnight and I have already been here for three hours with another hour to wait. The whole trip will take approximately 24 hours. Travelling is definitely not always a walk in the park :) but it is well worth it to see my sister in her white graduation robe, celebrating something that she has worked so hard for.

June 18 Renaud:
Thunder Bay, third day at Kakabeka Falls' campground, I really appreciate staying at the same place for a while with nothing but what I want to do when I want to. And today, I met some other great adventurers. Who are they? Shannon and Eric Teering. Shannon has a sclerosis and has been waited 7 years to have a wheel chair. She feels still not correctly helped by the government. So, with her husband and 3 kids they started a huge journey to raise awareness among Canadians on the way disabled people are taken care of. From Prince Edward Island to the Arctic and finally the Pacific Ocean, Eric will cycle pulling Shannon in her chair. She waves everyone with her Canadian flag and would love to see people stopping on the road as I did to learn more about you and to share with you. If you want some more info, go and check their web site: http://www.teering.org/ Erin and Shannon it's people like you, who inspire me to keep on travelling south and share with others that small steps can make a difference, Thanks for reviving the flame again and keep yours going forever; it's a bright and beautiful one. Hope to see you once more, still smiling somewhere around the mountains we all love. We'll go camping in the ice fields.

June 20 Dylan. Rest Day walk near Thunder Bay Ontario:
 The most phenomenal sight of the day and the last few days was the thousands, millions, maybe billions of small caterpillars (the locals called them "army worms") which have recently hatched. They are so proficient that we could not step without stepping on many, in some instances they were falling out of the trees, or piled layers thick on top of one another. Vast stands of poplar and birch trees were left stripped and leafless from their voracious appetites. Apparently it is the top of their cycle. It seems fairly obvious to me the impact a single species can have on the environment until it is culled by natures cycles. I wonder if human beings must not fall far from the caterpillars in their exponential and biological growth. Perhaps with the awareness and power of my mind I can lessen my impact on the world around me, and not leave like the caterpillar what appears to be a devastating impact on the landscape. When walking with your fellow team members be sure to be aware of the wily mudslingers lurking on the trailside. They sure must know how to huck mud in Argentina or perhaps Mercedes is just a natural!

June 20 Devlin:
 The Great Lakes + warm weather = A lot of evaporation. Evaporation + condensation = A lot of rain today. It poured down yesterday. Every kind of rain you can imagine. Soft gentle rain, misty haze, hard with big drops, rain from the side, rain from the front, just rain everywhere. This wouldnt have been so bad was it not for the busting headwind that was blowing and making the going very slow and cold. After thinking that I was over my ailments from the pole, my feet froze very quickly and at one stage I had to get off my bike and walk around to restore circulation. I spent some 3 and a half hours in the saddle to do my alloted 70 kms. I was hoping to get a good view of Lake Superior as I was cycling but the poor visibility meant that the scenery was somewhat obscured. When I did get to catch a glimpse further on down the road, I could see how the wind had whipped up waves on the lake that were actually breaking about a foot high on the shore. You could be forgiven for thinking you were looking out on the ocean.

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