Ted E. Bear's
2002 Trans-Canada TourTed E. Bear's
2002 Trans-Canada Tour|
[Victoria BC] [Regina
SK] [Meadow Lake SK] [Winnipeg MA] [Keswick ON] [Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC] 30 September 2002 
5th & 6th Cedar Hills Cub Pack First Stop, Victoria, British Columbia! I arrived 18 Sept. 2002.
7 October 2002 8th Victoria Cub Pack On Monday night we learned how to cook on Coleman stoves; I was introduced to 18 Cubs. On Friday night we went up to Goldstream Park for the weekend. It started raining and I worried that I would get wet. The leaders put up large green tents, that could sleep 8-10 cubs, and we stayed warm and dry. The cubs were so excited they kept me awake until 1 AM. Then they woke up at 5:30 AM. We had to make our own breakfast Saturday morning, I had oatmeal and a hardboiled egg. Throughout the day we learned about gravity, centrifugal force, thrust and how pressure gives thrust. We tried to see how high balloons would go; mine went 2 feet. We then looked at the Pop Bottle Launching system. Akela showed us how it worked with a 1 Liter bottle 1/2 full of water and pumped up with air. It went 50 feet. We built our own rockets and tried them out. For lunch, we cooked soup and ravioli. Afterwards, we made large 2-Liter rockets which we used to carry eggs. Ours made 3 trips and our egg cracked once, Akela's rocket didn't even crack the egg. For dinner we cooked baked potatoes, Hotdogs and baked apples with brown sugar in them (Yummy). We had a great campfire, with songs, skits, cheers, jokes and a little magic. They dressed up in green spacesuits, and tried a moon walk. For the finale the leaders brought out a real working model rocket that was launched twice, it went very high (600 feet) and we recovered it fine each time. After that the parents arrived, and we all went home.TOP 1 November 2002
19 November 2002 I arrived Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, right on time in early November. The first order of business was On 18 November, the cubs met at their regular location, Gateway Elementary School and they opened the meeting with the grand howl and singing 'Oh Canada', Canada's National Anthem. I had to put my paws over my ears; 19 cubs and 11 adult can sure sing! Then came the real surprise. For the rest of the meeting we were going on a ramble (or visit) to the local Royal Canadien Mounted Police (RCMP) depot The Cubs are working on the Law Awareness Award. TOP
20 December 2002 67th Winnipeg Scouts, 31 Pathfinders, and the 99th Guides and Brownies Merry Christmas Everyone! I'm in Winnipeg, MA. I am visiting with the 67th Winnipeg Scouts, the 31st Pathfinders, the 99th Guides and Brownies. The Pathfinders gave me a pin to honor Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. She was here in October and the Pathfinders helped by passing out flags and pins to mark the occassion. I have been learning a lot about the Girl Guide Program in Canada. The Guides are similar to the Girl Scouts in the United States. THe 99th Guides and Brownies had a really 'bear-rific' Christmas party. One thing is universal about all scouts, they like to eat and play games. I am going to a Manitoba Moose Hockey Game. For the folks here, Hockey is like Baseball in the United States. Everybody plays it. I went to a Peewee Hockey Game earlier. It was fun to watch the kids "mix it up". TOP 16 January 2003 Northridge Scout Group
Jan 15th I visited again for a little snow fun!!! We went outside and played a few games. I didn't play long because I wasn't really prepared for the cold weather, and boy was it COLD. I am really thankful to the scouts who gave me my blanket. After the games we went in, dusted the snow off and enjoy some hot cocoa and cookies. Drink (Dave) was back and talked to us more. Drink has helped the scouts with many requirements; they only have 1 or 2 more to complete to get the 'Religion In Life' badge. Drink handed out some YUMMY BIBLE BARS. I got one to take with me to share at my next stop in Quebec. My host gave me another woggle, it's a blue wolf head made from craft sponge, more pins (a Canada one and a Ontario flag) and 2 badges for my campfire blanket. TOP 15 February 2003 Fairview Centennial Cub Pack I went with Raksha to meet the pack. They are 18 Cubs in 3 Sixes. It’s a bilingual pack, everything is done in French and English. The leaders are 'Akela' Mark, 'Raksha' Dominique, 'Baloo' David and 'Bagheera' Elisa. We made terrariums using 2 Liters pop bottles to grow beans. We planted radish seeds in a jar on a blotter. Boy do radishes grow fast! In 3 days they were already sprouting! This was all part of the Gardner Badge. I shared the Bible bar given to me by the Northridge scouts. The second week we worked on a Recycle badge and I made a card with recycled paper. Akela explained to us the importance of recycling and the 3 'R's (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle). We played a great game. I got four badges for all my work with these Cubs. Gardener, Recycling, Canadian Heritage and World Cubbing. They made me an honorary member of their pack by presenting me a Fairview Centennial scarf and a special Wolf-head woggle made of Pony beads Raksha called the Akela from Baie D’Urfé and discusses how I will get there… What? I got to stay longer for Winter Camp; I stayed over the weekend to join 2 other Cub packs for a winter camp with some Scouts. Camp Saint-Jacques. This camp is on the north side of the West Island, near Kirkland. It is on the water and it could not be more beautiful! I was greeted by many Cubs and Scouts. I helped Scouts from Fairview, Ste-Genevieve and Sunnybrooke prepare their tents as they planned to spend the night out! It was – 26C (-20F)!” - "Ted, Scouter Les is a pro. Not to worry, you will be very warm in the tent." Raksha was right, I slept very well. We talked and giggled till the wee hours of the morning, telling stories and jokes. Then came morning… It was a whole different story! Crawling out of the sleeping bag into the cold weather… Can a bear have frostbites on its paws? The cubs worked on 3 badges that week-end: Photographer, First Aid, Winter Cubbing and building a weather station. The weather station concept was from Baie-D’Urfé. We cooked our hot-dogs and hamburgers over the campfire. We played games in the snow and had fun throwing water in the air to see it freeze instantly! We joined Sunnybrooke Cubs for a night of skits and songs accompanied by Akela’s guitar. I slept inside with the Cubs. For breakfast, we had French raisin toast with caramel apple sauce, sausages, fresh orange juice and left over croissants with jam.
It is now time for Cub’s Own and Scout’s Own. Together we are thankful for the great time we had, the laughter we shared and friends we made. It is closing ceremony and the Akelas hand out the badges; I get four more, First Aider, Entertainment, Winter Cubbing, and Photographer. TOP 10 March 2003 Baie d’Urfé Mohawk Wolf Cub Pack I arrived, by car for a change, in Baie d’Urfé (a suburb at the west end of Montreal, Québec) on Monday, February 17th, just in time for the annual Kub Kar Rally. The Cubs were very excited to race cars that they had been busy carving, sanding and painting for the last few weeks. Which one would emerge the winner after all the races? Which one would be chosen as the best designed? the best finished? Well, they didn’t have to wait very long. After all the cars were weighed in and registered, the races began. The Cubs were all so busy that most of them didn’t even see me watching!
During the next week, I was able to get some well-deserved R&R -- when I wasn’t working with one of the senior Cubs on my presentation for the next Monday evening meeting. The Pack was working on the Canadian Heritage Badge and part of the Purple Star, and I was going to tell them about my journey across their country. They learned all about the places that I had visited, and put together some really neat map of Canada puzzles.
The pack has both French- and English-speaking Cubs, and most of them can speak both languages fluently. They had already completed several sections of the badges since every week they do the Opening Grand Howl in English, and the closing Grand Howl in French. And, they sing O Canada in both languages too! I even learned a little French: J’aime les louveteaux de Baie d’Urfé! Je m’amuse bien avec ces filles et ces garçons. (I like the Baie d’Urfé Cubs! I have a lot of fun with these girls and boys.) During the first week of March, all of the schools in Québec are closed for a Winter Break! What a happy time for all the Cubs. I got to go with one of them to her cottage in the Laurentians, about one-and-a-half hours north of Montreal. Although everyone told me that they didn't have had much snow this year, I have never seen it so deep. And boy, was it ever cold! With bright sunshine, and clear blue skies, the temperature some days never reached 0°F, and the wind was blowing at more than 30mph. Some nights the temperature dropped to about 35 below zero! With such cold temperatures you could see so many stars. Of course my favourites make up Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (also known as the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper). I learned how to find the North Star using the stars of Ursa Major to point the way. I had hoped that since we went away from the city, and were surrounded by mountains, forests and lakes that I might get to meet some of my bear cousins, but it seems that they were all asleep. I guess that they found it cold out too! Even with the cold temperatures, the ski hills were packed! Skiing is very popular and there are lots of hills to choose from. We went to three different ski hills that week. Other times we went cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, toboganning and skating. Whew! I was tired. I really enjoyed the long nap I got when I traveled to my next destination -- Newfoundland. TOP Fogo Island, Newfoundland
As a Beaver Akela's name is Rusty. My adventure with the Beavers included a trip to a farm with lambs, sheep, cows, & horses. The smell was awful but we all had great fun. The Beavers got to hold and pet the lambs. At another meeting we went to a Bank. We were in the Vault and everything. After the tour they gave the Beavers Easter treats. This was the same day as my trip to Brimstone Head so the treats were really appreciated by this bear. Beside working with scouts I was able to help with a Red Cross Collection in Tilting, helped host a big birthday party for Akela's(Rusty's) mother-in-law, (don't tell anyone; she turned 80) and played cards with 22 seniors. Seniors are almost as fun as Cubs, but they spend a lot of time talking about the 'old days' and saying things like "when they were young". TOP 17 April 2003 St. John's, Newfoundland In St. John's, the Cubs I visited took me to a movie. You may have heard of it, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. We had popcorn and everything. I don't know which were scarier the spiders or the Snake (Basilisk). They were on Easter Break when I arrived but when they came back we took a trip to The Newfoundland Museum. Did you know that Newfoundland is officially called Newfoundland and Labrador? The big island in the Atlantica Ocean is Newfoundland and the mainland part is called Labrador. One of the things I learned about was how to make an INUKSHUK. They are what the Indians used to tell others of dangers or safe trails. I have one on my neckerchief now. For going to the Museum with the scouts I was give the Aboriginal Awareness Badge and the Canadian Heritage Badge.
There was a special meeting on Thursday. We were joined by whitetail beavers (older beaver scouts who were getting ready to join Cub Scouts) The beavers will be 'Swimming Up' into cubs in two weeks and Chil wanted them to come to a meeting to see what Cubs do. They will become 'Tenderpads' I got more pins from the RCMP and then off to 'new scotland'TOP 23 May 2003 New Minas, Nova Scotia Hello to everyone from Nova Scotia. This is the last Providence on my West to East Trek across Canada. I finally got here for the second time last Friday. I was here previously but the Courier wouldn't drop me off so I ended up going back to Newfoundland. After two Weeks things got sorted out and I am now where I belong. The Cubs here in New Minas are really nice. They sat and enjoyed my stories of my travels across Canada. They talked about taking me bowling and camping. Bowling was really fun, the balls are as big as I am the lightest ones weighs 4 times more than me (even with all my pins) The Bowling Party was a celebration for a year of hard work.
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Links to Scout Organizations in Canada
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I visited with the 5th & 6th Cedar Hill Cubs and their Akela. The two groups meet together because they are small groups. Some cubs didn't have badges or blue neckers yet. They are Tenderpads (new cub). The Pack worked on teaching them the law, promise and motto, so that they can be invested into the group the next week, I wasn't there as I was on my way to Regina, Saskatchewan to meet my next host group. We played lots of games and learned about Baden Powell. I’ve been going to another cub pack here in Victoria, the 8th Fort Victoria Cubs, since one of the leaders of the Cedar Hills pack is also a leader in the other group.
We finally got to bed at 10 PM and I slept till 8 AM. After, Cub's Dream (Cereal with lot's of toppings) for breakfast, we tried the 2-Liter bottle again with some modifications. We got them to go over 150 feet.
I arrived Regina Saskatchewan, early October and was put to work right away. The 87th was preparing for a food drive. In the United States the cubs usually place bags for food one week and then the older scouts pick them up the next week. Here Cubs, Scouts, and Pathfinders worked together to place the bags and pick them up. They manage to collect about 10 tons of canned goods each year. My stay wasn't all work. We celebrated around an indoor famly campfire where I learned yet another cool scout song. Later I went to a really terror-ific Halloween party I didn't have a costume so a scouter helped me out. What do you think? I prefer sucking jelly from doughnuts.
Rememberance Day, 11 November. This is very similar to Veteran's Day in the US. A day to remember those who have fought, died or are missing so that we can enjoy our freedoms. In my trip around Europe I spent alot of time with the Military and their families. It was nice to see how they are appreciated 'back home'. Each group had three people involved in the service. Two of the Cubs were in the colour party.They got to carry the flags! One Cub was selected to place a wreath at the front during the service. Everyone wore a symbolic Poppy Flower these are the flowers mentioned in 'Flander's Field' a poem about a field and those who died there during World War I.
On Wednesday 8 Jan 03 I climbed in a van. We put our seats belt on and went to meet all the Cubs & Scouts of the Northridge group. They start each week by sharing. We gathered together around a totem pole for a group picture and talked about "FAV things over the holidays". When it was my turn, I showed my campfire blanket with all the cool badges. The scouts wanted to add some; they added their Northridge badge and a BRING A FRIEND badge. They give this to anyone who brings a friend to join in the fun. I made a lot of friends!!! We then went to work on the 'Religion In Life' Badge. The youth pastor "Drink" a.k.a. Dave shared some good stories from the Bible. I wanted to join in the verse Drink taught us JOHN 3:16, so I jumped onto the table. We played one of Akela's funny crazy games until time was up. Time really flies while ya have fun!!! During the closing, Sara, one of the Scouts, had a surprise. She played a really pretty song she had composed on her clarinet. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi held me on Sara's shoulder so I could watch her play, while Chil held the music. Sara got a big cheer for her efforts. I think it is really neat how people can turn the flags and dots into music.
We packed. I was packed several times. Patricia tried to pack me in her bag. She did not want me to leave. Then Matt tried to hide me in his backpack and Jordan pulled me out just to put me in his!!! Not only did I visit Canada but I got the chance to visit backpacks! Do I get a badge for that?
While Staying on Fogo Island (a small island with 10 communities, off the Northeast Coast of Newfoundland, population approx.3000) I stayed at Akela's home. I shared my adventures with the cubs and they told me about their small island. We planned a hike to the top of Brimstone Head which according to the Flat Earth Society is one of the four corners of the world. The hike was cancelled unfortunately because of the Weather. The Cubs took it in stride because that is part of living in Canada. Instead they dicussed badge work and played games. I had lots of fun hanging out with Erin, Brandon, Olivia, Trevor, and Bradley. Between you and me Bagheera looks more like a Baloo especially if you have seen my cousins
Akela and I went to Brimstone Head instead on a later date. We had our picture taken there together at the "corner of the world". As I looked at it from a distance it sure didn't look like a corner to me. We hiked the hill and I stood on the top of it. We spent an hour sitting there just taking in the fresh salt air, icebergs in the distance and lots of snow and ice around. The sight here was really impressive for a bear like me that was born in England and lived in Georgia. Snow is fleeting for us and the only place we ever see this much ice is in the freezer. Of course I have seen more snow and learn more about winter this year then I ever imagined.
Friday came and I was put to work loading a van with camping gear. We were headed for the last campout of the year. After dinner (around 7:00) I went with my new friends from New Minas on a Scavanger Hunt. It was a Jamboree of over 225 kids and 125 adults, And I met each and everyone of them when they passed me around the council campfire. I had a blast showing off my Camp blanket and trading hugs. After the Campfire it was "Mugs Up" with Hot Chocolate and homemade cookies and Muffins. Then off to bed only to be awakened very shortly there after for breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast. The theme of the weekend was 'Cubs on T.V.' So everywhere you looked you were reminded of some TV show. From SpongeBob to the Flintstone's. Our Group did the Flintstone's and had a replica of the stone-age Car.