I've just set up this weB Log for myself and thought i'd start it off with an email that i sent out last October at the tail end of the western leg of my most recent musical tour across canada. I went on to the east in november/december and will post that soon as well.

Oct 17 .2005
hello hello hello
Well, here I am on the north shore of Lake Superior near Rossport On. near the end of the western leg of my tour. It’s raining and I’m hanging out in my car doing some computer work and I thought I’d take this chance to let everyone know how my adventures have been going so far.

Today went for a lovely walk in the rain to some falls and then to a lookout with a great view over Superior. I’m pretty used to cold weather, wet weather these days more or less. Cold wet fall weather. brrr. Rained everyday in BC in September and my car was covered with mud which I tried hard to keep out of the car which I generally refer to as my bedroom when not in motion. In BC, I hung out around a few different primitive (read free) hot springs between gigs which was wonderful since, as you may have already realised, the theme for much of this trip is cold and rainy.

near Rossport ON
Had great weather in Banff and through the prairies. Dry and warm.

Got pretty damp on my walk today so it didn’t really matter much when I happened to pee on my pant leg, mid squat, at the end of my stroll. Wasn't sure of what to do with my rain and piss damp pants so I decided that the best solution was just to toss them on the top of the car and let mother nature take care of the washing this afternoon while I hide out in the car listening to cbc. Was weird to do the cross Canada driving thing without that companion. (on strike) Speaking of cbc, just heard my gig tomorrow eve mentioned on things to do in the Thunder Bay area. Said my name and everything. Finally, I’ve reached my ultimate fame goal.

And speaking of fame, my gigs have been … goooood…. On the whole. Though there were a few disconcerting moments. Like when the girls at the café in Canmore decided that, mid performance, the floors were in need of a good sweep and mop throwing all the chairs on the table with as much gusto and volume as possible. The same pair, early on in the gig had no compunction about expressing a private joke between each other in such wild howls that people across the street were looking up in the air happy to hear that there was a pack of wolves finally back in their part of the Bow valley.

One of the best gigs I had was in Silverton BC. Super attentive audience, warm positive. The folks running the place were just fantastic! They put me up for the night, fed and PAID me too. All great all in all. It was the first NHL game of the season that evening which was presented as a grand backdrop for my sets on a screen about 3 times the size of me. In Cranbrook, getting the feeling that I might be performing to my toes for the night, I decided to go to the downstairs part of the pub and see if I could rustle up a few audience members. My love affair with Alberta and central BC ranch country is as strong as ever so I try to make use of terms like ‘rustle up’ as often as I can. I’ve decided that another word that I’m quite fond of lately is plight and another favourite for quite a while is chuffed. I suppose plight has a western sound though chuffed is most definitely British Isles. In the end, I did manage to get a table of ‘folks’ to come upstairs. They were attentive and appreciative and bought a few cds too. I didn’t even have to go into the, ‘please buy a cd, I live in my car’ routine.

Much of the tour has been significant for me in the between gig times. Spent a few nights in the Grasslands National Park … o my god I just heard my name AGAIN on cbc! She pronounced my name Cath’reeen’, but that’s ok, famous people like me have to take such things in stride and with grace … the Grasslands were incredible and I want to spend the rest of my life there with my trusty mount (a horse ... you nasty, nasty people) with the wind in my face. The wind at the top of one the buttes was so strong that I could lean into it at quite an angle and still stay upright. I also had fun jumping up into the air letting the wind move me a foot or so downwind. Isn't life grand. I had to turnaround on the slope of one of the buttes that I was climbing, the wind was so strong.

The Grasslands

It seems to have stopped raining and I have a great urge to go out and pee again. One nice thing about living a little rough at this time of year is that there are lots of leaves on the ground to make use of. They’re especially good as they are often damp and present a good cleansing opportunity, though a little odd since it’s hard to feel completely at ease with the wetness left.

I spent some time at the Banff centre as many of you would know. This was great as usual though very short and the Banff public library asked me if I wanted to do a cd launch there which I did and it was well attended and a good show. The Banff centre got into the act as well helping with some promotion. It was great to have a gig that I didn’t have to convince/beg/plead/pester them to put on, which is what I’m finding to be the normal modus operandi in general for gig getting. It’s looking as though I will be back in mid-february to the Banff centre.

So far I’ve driven 8500 km since Sept 12 and will most likely top off at close to 10,000 by the time I get to Toronto. The gas is killing me … and I’m not just talking too much tofu.

Though I do quite enjoy the sympathetic looks that I get when I tell people that I'm living out of my car, it has on the whole been great. I tend to set up in more or less wild areas – parks, off logging roads etc and the closeness to a more natural world is very satisfying and makes me happy. Ontario tends be be stingy with the parks. locking them up off season so you can't get in. At the moment, I'm at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park and am parking at near the entrance gates. B.C. and Alberta seemed more open though it's hard to say for sure. One spot I stayed in in the Slocan Valley was way high up above the lake. A turnoff from the highway really. I got there in the dark and woke up to a view on the edge of a cliff hundreds of feet above the lake. There are lots of places that say NO CAMPING/NO OVERNIGHT PARKING and I have pretty much ignored such directive to no ill affect. Maybe it would be a bit more tricky during the busy summer season. On my way west I stayed near the bison paddock in waterton lakes nat. park and was completely blown away sitting on the tail gate of my car watching the moon rise above the mountains and prairie while having a little scotch and dark chocolate. I was there last spring with Susanna and wanted to make sure I got back there on this trip. Quite incredible the way the plains meet the mountains there.

Winding this diatribe down . Next for me is NYC to teach moccasin making in mid November and then to the Maritimes to continue on my cross Canada tour. So far I have one gig in New Brunswick. Still have a lot of convincing/begging/pleading/pestering to do.

I hope that this finds you all well and happy …and dry.