Well, after 3 days in Perth on the coast, we drove inland 600 km on Saturday to Kalgoorlie, an active gold mining town and biggest city in the entire outback (about 30,000 people). In terms of the economy, this is like visiting a northern city in Canada like Sudbury or Timmins or Fort McMurray. There are lots of industrial vehicles and buildings around, and the general prosperity that comes with well-paid resource industry jobs. Lots of RV's and off road vehicles too. This might sound like an odd comment, but I always enjoy visiting places where there are almost no tourists.
Our cabin in a little a-frame place. We feel like we're sleeping in a bunkie outside someone's cottage in Haliburton. Most of the people staying here seem to be contractors working in the mining industry. The four wheel drive trucks outnumber cars - also kind of like Haliburton!
Today we drive halfway back to Perth, to an even smaller place, Bruce Rock, in the wheatbelt. It's supposed to rain this afternoon, so we're having a leisurely morning here before getting on the road after lunch. Molly seems to have a bit of a summer cold, so she's in low gear today. The rest of us are also glad to take it easy. I had a nice run this morning. It's flat here, and there are trails all through the city for walking, biking or running. It's obvious that land is cheap here, as everything is very spread out and every house has about a quarter acre lot.
The largest local gold mine is scheduled to close in 2021, so the community is already in the process of figuring out how they'll survive if that happens. It appears they've spent quite a bit of money fixing up the downtown Victorian shopping district. It's quite lovely - and make one imagine what downtown Lindsay could look like if a big coordinated investment was made. Maybe the new MP could look after that...
When we arrived, Molly and I both commented that we thought it would be drier and more desolate here. Truth is, there are millions of big gumtrees in this area, and we've seen some rain every day. There goes another stereotype.
Last night, while Ursula and George were watching some superhero movie on TV, Molly and I watched "Crocodile Dundee" on iTunes. I haven't seen it in years, but enjoyed watching it while we are in the Outback ourselves. Both of us thought they ruined a good action story with too much of the mushy stuff...
Our cabin in a little a-frame place. We feel like we're sleeping in a bunkie outside someone's cottage in Haliburton. Most of the people staying here seem to be contractors working in the mining industry. The four wheel drive trucks outnumber cars - also kind of like Haliburton!
Today we drive halfway back to Perth, to an even smaller place, Bruce Rock, in the wheatbelt. It's supposed to rain this afternoon, so we're having a leisurely morning here before getting on the road after lunch. Molly seems to have a bit of a summer cold, so she's in low gear today. The rest of us are also glad to take it easy. I had a nice run this morning. It's flat here, and there are trails all through the city for walking, biking or running. It's obvious that land is cheap here, as everything is very spread out and every house has about a quarter acre lot.
The largest local gold mine is scheduled to close in 2021, so the community is already in the process of figuring out how they'll survive if that happens. It appears they've spent quite a bit of money fixing up the downtown Victorian shopping district. It's quite lovely - and make one imagine what downtown Lindsay could look like if a big coordinated investment was made. Maybe the new MP could look after that...
When we arrived, Molly and I both commented that we thought it would be drier and more desolate here. Truth is, there are millions of big gumtrees in this area, and we've seen some rain every day. There goes another stereotype.
Last night, while Ursula and George were watching some superhero movie on TV, Molly and I watched "Crocodile Dundee" on iTunes. I haven't seen it in years, but enjoyed watching it while we are in the Outback ourselves. Both of us thought they ruined a good action story with too much of the mushy stuff...
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