Outdoors in the Prairies... what's the best?

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

Hi all, just found this site. Love seeing the construction pictures.

For my first post I am going to come to the defence of Manitoba and Sask. I live in Duncan BC (because of my job) but my heart is in Manitoba. I have driven the Coqahalla (sp), the Fraser Canyon, the #5 up the Thompson River valley, the Yellowhead from Kamloops to Portage, the #1 through the mountains and across the Prairies, The Red Coat Trail, The Boundry Commission Trail, the Highway from Yorkton to Kindersley, the road from Alsask to Calgary (via Dorthy Alberta), the highway from Kindersley to Drumheller (via Hanna), and to tell you the truth the only part of the mountains that I liked is the Fraser Canyon. As for the rest of the mountains I breath a huge sigh of relief when get to the foothills heading east. I can finally see something besides rock, pines and the ass end of a semi truck and trailer. On the prairies there is the changing colour of the seasons, from freshly tilled fields when the crop is being put in to the vibrant blues (flax) and yellows (canola) in the early summer. Seeing young calves or pronhorn antelope running through the fields. The improvements to farm yards or the deterioration of the years of work that a family has put into the land. There is sooo much more to see on the Prairies if you would just look.

I couldn't disagree more, the praries are boring as hell to drive through, the mountains have twists and turns, the road goes up and down, you have valleys and waterfalls, you see mountain goats, bears, deer... Sometimes in the winter when you are driving in a higher part of the mountains the trees are completely caked in snow, you have beautiful mountain lakes... when you drive from the foothills to northern Ontario it is flat and boring as far as the eye can see.

[SHOFEAR]

Well since this has become a how fast can your car go thread I might as well toot my own horn.

My 90 SHO tops out at 144 MPH ~~235Km/h

There is no way an 87 accord will to 145Mph, maybe 145 Km/h when it was new....

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

I think you're still off by about 20 mph

My del Sol VTEC - which had 160hp (actually, plus several upgrades, it was closer to 170hp), and was lighter than the late-eighties Accord, would top out at about 130mph...and it really took a long time getting there.

Arriviste - I agree about the STi, however part of it's problem is it's aerodynamics (or lack thereof), and gearing. My WRX topped out just over 140mph, and reached that relatively quickly (it only had the 5-speed though). The brick-like front though, will mean that every mile an hour will take an exponential amount of power just to overcome the force.

The MAZDASPEED3 was recently tested on the Autobahn by Automobile magazine at 164mph (they claim a limiter of 155mph though...hmmm)...it only has 263hp, and weighs more than a WRX, but cuts through the wind better.

Anyway, those canola fields look great at 120mph...

3geez.com check it out........ del sole thats a ricer POS!

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by SHOtime

Well since this has become a how fast can your car go thread I might as well toot my own horn.

My 90 SHO tops out at 144 MPH ~~235Km/h

There is no way an 87 accord will to 145Mph, maybe 145 Km/h when it was new....

145kmph you insult the power of the A20 motor!

3geez.com

[ILYR]

Maybe Manitoba should be a maritime province . It does have a coastline (over 700 km of it), which Alberta and Saskatchewan do not.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by ILYR

Maybe Manitoba should be a maritime province . It does have a coastline (over 700 km of it), which Alberta and Saskcatchewan do not.

then onterio should be also....... and quebec...........

[ILYR]

Some images of Manitoba lakes within 2 hours max driving from downtown Winnipeg.

[IntotheWest]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

3geez.com check it out........ del sole thats a ricer POS!

You obviously don't know a lot about cars...

Out of the cars I've driven, that had one of the best 4-banger engines - ever. The B16A. The only thing better is the B18C5. At the time (early to mid 90s), it had the highest specific output for a normally aspirated engine, and the highest redline on any car under $100k...it was a screamer, and pushed 100 hp/liter - still a feat that many cars don't achieve.


As for the SHO - 140+ mph is absolutely believable...the Yamaha powerplants in those were always underrated, and quickly forgotten. 220hp was a lot back then. Even better (IMO) was the 3rd gen SHO with the tiny V8 - again, from Yamaha...too bad it didn't have the manual though. It would be nice to see Ford beef up another sedan with something like those Yamahas...just not a big fan of the five hundreds.

[IntotheWest]

Originally Posted by ILYR

Some images of Manitoba lakes within 2 hours max driving from downtown Winnipeg.

Beautiful shots!! I love the lakes...however, I'm not recognizing the last few, where are those taken?

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

You obviously don't know a lot about cars...

Out of the cars I've driven, that had one of the best 4-banger engines - ever. The B16A. The only thing better is the B18C5. At the time (early to mid 90s), it had the highest specific output for a normally aspirated engine, and the highest redline on any car under $100k...it was a screamer, and pushed 100 hp/liter - still a feat that many cars don't achieve.


As for the SHO - 140+ mph is absolutely believable...the Yamaha powerplants in those were always underrated, and quickly forgotten. 220hp was a lot back then. Even better (IMO) was the 3rd gen SHO with the tiny V8 - again, from Yamaha...too bad it didn't have the manual though. It would be nice to see Ford beef up another sedan with something like those Yamahas...just not a big fan of the five hundreds.

theres nothing rong with the b16a motor........... the car its self is a rice magnet..... with that motor it makes it a rice rocket.........

[Greco Roman]

Originally Posted by IntotheWest

Beautiful shots!! I love the lakes...however, I'm not recognizing the last few, where are those taken?

My guess would be that they came from the North-west shores of Lake Winnipeg or from Lake Manitoba. Both of these regions have these typical rocky cliff shorelines. Plus, I had a calendar that depicted these type of cliffs on those lakes . Am I right on my guess?

Man I miss my big lakes; nothing even comes close to home out here. Manitoba really is a kick-ass province. You sure don't need to have mountains to have fun!

[ExcaliburKid]

Originally Posted by bendecido

I can't believe that you would catagorize Lake Louise, Banff and Kananaskis as things that Edmonton has in their back yard. Even Jasper for that matter.

Oh, sorry, guy from Cayman Islands, I didnt know Edmonton wasnt allowed to be mentioned in the same sentence as 'mountains'. You better phone the policia and let them know that we Edmontonians like to get away to the mountains once and awhile. Just because we cant see them from our front doors doesnt mean they arent our playground too.

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by Albertaboy

My guess would be that they came from the North-west shores of Lake Winnipeg or from Lake Manitoba. Both of these regions have these typical rocky cliff shorelines. Plus, I had a calendar that depicted these type of cliffs on those lakes . Am I right on my guess?

Man I miss my big lakes; nothing even comes close to home out here. Manitoba really is a kick-ass province. You sure don't need to have mountains to have fun!

I'm sure the big lakes in Manitoba are awesome, but i would take lake Okanagan and Shuswap over either of those in a second.

[Greco Roman]

Originally Posted by johnnyc

I'm sure the big lakes in Manitoba are awesome, but i would take lake Okanagan and Shuswap over either of those in a second.

I'm a fan of large scale lakes. The lakes in BC's interior are beautiful, don't get me wrong, but what I crave are the ones that make you feel like you are on the ocean. Those are the ones that I would kill to have a cottage around. The sunsets are absolutely gorgeous!

To each his own, but I say Canada has it made when it comes to outdoor water recreation.

[ILYR]

The above lake images with the cliffs are from Steep Rock along the south east shore of lake Manitoba.

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by Albertaboy

Man I miss my big lakes; nothing even comes close to home out here. Manitoba really is a kick-ass province. You sure don't need to have mountains to have fun!

True, Alberta doesn't have the type of lakes like they do in Manitoba, but the lakes in BC are easily the nicest in Canada.

Also true, that you don't need to have the mountains to have fun, but the nice thing about the mountains is that they are a year round recreational area rather than 3 months out of the year.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by SteveP

True, Alberta doesn't have the type of lakes like they do in Manitoba, but the lakes in BC are easily the nicest in Canada.

Also true, that you don't need to have the mountains to have fun, but the nice thing about the mountains is that they are a year round recreational area rather than 3 or 4 months out of the year.

aww what about ice fishing.........

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

aww what about ice fishing.........

I forgot about ice fishing, Ice fishing is a good time Alberta has plenty of ice fishing spots though. Alberta lakes aren't as good for summertime action.

[Greco Roman]

Originally Posted by SteveP

True, Alberta doesn't have the type of lakes like they do in Manitoba, but the lakes in BC are easily the nicest in Canada.

Also true, that you don't need to have the mountains to have fun, but the nice thing about the mountains is that they are a year round recreational area rather than 3 months out of the year.

You can go almost anywhere in Canada year round and have outdoor recreational activities. Manitoba isn't restricted to 3 to four months of the year to have fun outdoors; that is just a misconception that other Canadians have and that is unfortunate. Yes it gets cold there, but not 365 days of the year! Just plan accordingly, do some ice fishing, snowmobiling, snowshoing, downhill and crosscountry skiing, skating, winter camping and much much more. If it's -30 outside, then don't go or dress accordingly. But there are way more days than not where it is more than duable to have fun outdoors in -20 or warmer days. BC may have warmer weather in the winter, but IMO that doesn't make it better for outdoor activities I enjoy. But as I said before, to each his own. I just happen to like the area of Manitoba and Ontario better than the mountains for outdoor activities that I partake in.

[spiritedenergy]

Originally Posted by ILYR

Maybe Manitoba should be a maritime province . It does have a coastline (over 700 km of it), which Alberta and Saskatchewan do not.

finally someone agrees with me We can say Manitoba is a "water" province: ocean, huge lakes, rivers and ponds where mosquitos strive.

I've been to Lake Winnipeg in summer, it's pretty much like the Mediterranean see, the only difference is that the water is waaaaay colder. Never been to Lake Manitoba though, I've heard its waters are more pristine. A third very big lake not far from Winnipeg is Lake of the Woods.