For this week’s virtual travel, I get to show you a bit of my own country, Canada! I recently read Tay John by Howard O’Hagan, which is the legend of a man born in the late 1800’s and of his cursory attempts to meld into society, as the Western parts of Canada were being developed and the trains were being extended to our West Coast.

I’ve personally never visited these areas before, but as you can see from the pics, there’s still a lot of wilderness here; so much that remains untouched by man. What I have for you today are images of Yellowhead Lake, which according to O’Hagan’s novel was named after Tay John’s people (Tay John was a mispronunciation of “Tete Jaune”, as he was a yellow haired native.) I’ve also included the Athabaska river, which features prominently in the story, as well as some older pictures showing a cabin and the train tracks being built. There’s also a sign post dedicated to a Tete Jaune, but whether this was the inspiration behind the book, I can’t say (though probably a good bet.)

Between the majestic mountains of the Canadian Rockies and the raging rivers, etc., this shows that there are still some areas of our world left undeveloped and I’m happy to say this includes my own home land!

This is not the Canada I know but I think one that would be well worth exploring….let me know what you think!

About Jackie

Jackie is a quirky mom, living in Ontario, Canada. She's a bookkeeper by day and a book lover by night. She also blogs at The Novel Nation and writes occasionally for Heroes and Heartbreakers.

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