Alberta,
Canada
The Canadian Rockies
(July 5 to July 28, 2008)
You can click on "photos"
to get
directly to the first photo page, which has a connector to the second
page (if there is one).
Our summer travels started in Calgary where we attended the Calgary
Stampede. Then we went up through the Canadian Rockies and toured three
Canadian national parks: Banff NP, Jasper NP, and Yoho NP. Finally, we
headed up to Grand Prairie where we took a couple of days to do pretty
much nothing before heading up to Dawson Creek where we would start our
travels in British Columbia.
July 10 to July 15:
Cochrane (202 miles)
Route: US
89; AB 2; TransCanada 1; AB 22
Campground: Bow
RiversEdge Campground This was a very nice campground with
pullthru gravel sites with 30-amp full hookups. It was also a Good Sam
Park. We stayed here for five nights as part of the SKP Calgary
Stampede HOP (Head Out Program) and then paid for an extra night before
heading up to Lake Louise. The managers of the park were Mike and
Christina Eklof and you couldn't ask for nicer people to deal with. We
didn't see much of Mike, but Christina ran the office and was always
around. She was one of the most delightful, friendly, nice, and helpful
business people we have met in a long time. She did everything she
could to make sure that our Escapees group had what we needed for our
stay in the park. Given that the "building" in which we held our
meetings and had our meals was just a shell with a roof and plastic
covering the openings, I would suggest that some portable heaters would
have been nice on those days when it is cold. Our arrival day was wet
and cold and it wasn't much fun trying to eat dinner wrapped up in
winter type clothing. It was COLD and most of us retirees who follow
the sun either do not like or, in my case, despise the cold. On fair
weather days, the building would be perfect.
The park offers FREE WiFI, but we were parked way out from the office
and the signal was iffy at best. Sometimes up, sometimes down.
Sometimes fast, sometimes VERY slow. The Paynes were parked across the
road from us and Norm rarely got a signal. When he did get a signal it
was from just one spot in the bedroom of the motorhome. If I'm paying
for WiFi I feel I have a right to complain about the service, but when
it is free all I can do is mention to the owners/managers that the
signal
is weak. However, the good news was that Christina told me that the
park plans to improve on the WiFi network by adding more capacity and
repeaters to make sure the signal reaches the furthest sections of the
campground. So although we would definitely stay at this campground
again if we were back in the area, I would suggest if Internet
access is very important for you to have at your RV site then you
should call
to see if they have improved their WiFi network or request a site close
to the office. Other than the frustration of trying to connect to the
internet, we had a great time at Bow RiversEdge.
Fuel: $1.336
per liter, which came to $5.057 per gallon ($5.119 with exchange rate)
at Flying J in Calgary, Alberta.
We
crossed the border in Montana north of St. Mary and I guess it was our
turn to be inspected because we were flagged and told to move to the
side while the Paynes waited up the road a bit in a parking area. An
officer came and told us to wait outside while he went in to look
around. It's always annoying to have someone poking around in your
home and you aren't allowed to watch. But he was a nice young guy and
we could hear him opening and closing doors inside the rig. When he
came out he asked who was the "Lord of the Rings" fan and we told him
we both were fans. He saw the set of DVDs inside and was also a big
fan. So we talked for a few minutes about the trilogy and he let us get
on our way.
Cochrane was our base for attending the Stampede and touring the
Calgary area. Calgary is the largest community in Alberta and is
located just west of the Foothills, which were quite visible from our
base in Cochrane. The 1988 Olympic Winter Games were held in Calgary
and we were able to tour the grounds on our last day in the area. There
is usually something that makes the Olympic Games memorable. For
the 1988 Winter Games, it may have been Eddie the Eagle (the British
ski jumper) and the Jamaican bobsled team. Think about it. A ski jumper
from England? A bobsled team from Jamaica? The bobsled feat was
documented in
the movie "Cool Runnings".
It was raining and cold when we arrived at Bow RiversEdge. We
registered and got our assigned sites and got the rigs set up before
going down to the first social gathering of everyone who was attending
this HOP. As is usual for these type of gatherings we heard some
announcements from the HOP hosts and then everyone introduced
themselves. This was followed by a catered dinner. The food and
camaraderie was great. However, as I mentioned earlier, since the
openings in the building only had
plastic over them it was cold inside so dinner wasn't as enjoyable as
it would have been had the weather cooperated or the building had some
heat. We were all glad to finish dinner and get back to our warm
motorhomes.
The HOP included tickets for two days of the Stampede and a half day
tour of Calgary on our last day. Diane and I had long wanted to attend
the Calgary Stampede and we weren't disappointed. The Stampede is
Calgary's signature attraction and ran from
July 4 to July 13. We were there over the last few days and had tickets
for the final day. It was not only a rodeo, but also included many
carnival type rides and entertainment making it more like a huge fair
with a huge rodeo. The rodeo consisted of the main events normally seen
at a rodeo: bareback riding, saddle broncs, bull riding, calf roping,
steer wrestling, barrel racing, and chuck wagon races for the evening
entertainment along with a huge show on an outdoor stage that was
wheeled in after the races concluded. Every day someone won money for
finishing first in their event and trying to qualify for the finals on
the final day. The winner of each event in the finals
received $100,000. Not bad for a week's work.
The entertainment ranged from music and dancing on several stages
around the grounds plus big name entertainment in the Saddledome Arena.
This year the big name entertainment included The Judds, Sugarland, Kid
Rock, and James Taylor. We like Sugarland and would have thought about
getting tickets. The shuttle bus that was provided to us as part of the
HOP did not leave late enough, so we would have had to drive ourselves
to Calgary (we were 26 miles out of town) and park or take a taxi home,
both of which would have been expensive. So we passed on the concert.
However, I saw a group advertised in the Stampede guide that was
described
as a group of "dancing fiddlers" who played several times each day on
one
of the outdoor stages. They were "Barrage" (http://www.barrage.org) and
we loved them. We saw them perform twice and each time the show was
different. They have links to some YouTube videos on their website if
anyone is interested in checking them out.
All in all, we had a great time at the Stampede and thought the $1,035
that we paid for the HOP was worth it. I doubt we could have done it
for much less if we did it ourselves and paid for admissions,
campground, meals, parking, etc. We were in a nice campground
with adequate transportation to and from Calgary, decent seats for the
rodeo, good food, nice folks. The same seats were horrible for the
evening show and we suggested that if the Escapees RV Club does another
Stampede HOP that they try to get better seats for the evening show.
This was the first time Escapees has done this HOP, so it was a
learning experience.
Monday was our last day in Calgary and we took the afternoon version of
the Calgary tour. The first stop was Ft. Calgary, which was the
birthplace of the city. The city can thank Colonel James Farquharson
MacCleod for its origin. He served with the North West Mounted Police
and it was he who sent a troop to build a fort at the confluence of the
Bow and Elbow Rivers to suppress whiskey traffic along the Bow River.
He named the fort Calgary and was the basis for the city that grew up
around the fort.
The final stop was the site of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games.
The city has done a great job with the site rather than letting all the
money go to waste that was spend setting it up. The ski jumps are still
there and we did get to go to the top of the 90 meter jump. Of course,
with our luck the elevator broke sometime between the morning tour and
when we got there, so we had to climb the stairs to the top if we
wanted to
see the view. We all did that, but it was a lot of stairs. The ski jump
is now closed because equipment has gotten such that jumpers would now
land past the safety area and risk possible injury. So what did they do
with the jump? They installed a zip line. Someday Diane and I will do a
zip line, but we didn't have time to do it on this trip. It seems like
it would be exciting and a real rush.
One of the most important parts of a luge or bobsled race is the start.
An ice house was built where Olympic athletes could come and train and
practice their starts. Inside the house was a bobsled track and two
luge
tracks just long enough to practice the starts. It has timing and video
equipment for the athletes and coaches to review as they perfect their
starts. It was very interesting.
Yet another thing done with the area was to install mountain bike
trails on the big hill. The lift had a mechanism interspersed with the
lift seats on which bikes could be secured and lifted to the top. We
got to ride the lift down and it was cool to see kids, and some adults,
coming up with their bikes and then they would ride them down. The
trails were graded according to difficulty and skill level for the
riders.
July 16 to July 21:
Lake Louise (102 miles)
Route:
TransCanada Highway 1
Campground: Lake
Louise Campground
We chose to stay at
the Lake
Louise Campground and use it as a base to tour the Lake Louise area,
Banff to the south, and the Yoho NP to the west. The Banff and Jasper
national parks owe much of their success to the explorations of two
people: James Hector and Mary Schaffer Warren.
James Hector was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1834 and was only 22
years old when he was appointed to an expedition in 1857 led by Captain
John Palliser with a mission to explore the territory between Lake
Superior and the Rocky Mountains. They were to map the region and
appraise its capabilities for settlement and to see if there was the
possibility of a transport route across the mountains. When they
reached the mountains, Hector was given the responsibility to explore
the upper part of the Bow Valley. Hector, along with his trusted guide,
Nimrod, and four other men started out in 1858 and explored the region
for two years. They endured severe hardships where they had to make
their own trails, suffer through bitterly cold winters, and overcome
starvation. The work of these men ended up pioneering what would become
major routes of transportation in the twentieth century.
One story has it that he was kicked by a horse and his team thought he
was dead. As they were preparing to bury him, Hector woke up, looked
skyward and winked. They named the river the Kicking Horse River. Later
they made it through the surrounding pass and gave it the same name.
Mary Shaffer was a newlywed in Philadelphia when she saw an image of
Lake Louise and wanted to experience it for herself. By then the
Canadian Pacific Railway had been completed so Mary and her husband,
Charles, traveled across the continent to see Lake Louise. She and
Charles explored close to the tracks and collected wildflowers. When
they tried to venture further into the wilderness, Mary realized that
such camping wasn't for her after freezing in a tent.
She vowed to never again camp in the Canadian Rockies and she kept that
vow for 10 years. She wintered in Philadelphia and summered in the
Canadian Rockies. However, in 1903 she suffered the deaths of her
husband and both parents. She was now 42 years old and decided to work
through her grief by completing the guide to the flora of the Canadian
Rockies that she and Charles had wanted to complete. She had to
overcome her fears of horses and wilderness camping. An outfitter
teamed her up with a young guide named Billy Warren who helped her with
her exploration. By 1906 she had collected all the specimens needed to
illustrate Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rockies. But now she was hooked
and wanted to venture further into the Rockies.
She became friends with Mollie Adams, a New York geography teacher who
also had a desire for exploration. They explored the remote valleys and
lakes north of Lake Louise and ended up on the shores of today's
Maligne Lake. Mary said that "Lake Louise is a pearl; Lake Maligne is a
whole string of pearls." By 1911, Mary was in love with the Rockies and
found herself wanting to stay in the area year round rather than return
to Philadelphia in the winter. So she bought a piece of propety in
Banff and had a house
built. The Rockies weren't the only thing she fell in love with. After
years together, she and Billy Warren were married in 1915. Mary Shaffer
Warren was one of the first non-aboriginal women to explore much of
today's Banff and Jasper national parks.
Banff was born when three railway workers stumbled across natural hot
pools and springs in 1883. Two years later the Canadian government set
aside Banff Hot Springs Reserve as Canada's first national park. The
Canadian Pacific Railroad was largely responsible for bringing people
to the area. They built hotels in the area and offered good rates so
people would use the railroad to visit the mountains. In 1888, the
railroad opened its flagship hotel, the 250-room Banff Springs. At the
time, it was the largest hotel in the world. Hot water was piped in
from the Upper Hot Springs and visitors paid $3.50 per night. Today,
the rates can be upwards of $600 per night, and more.
We drove down
to Banff twice. We walked around the town, found a free WiFi hot spot
(Norm and I put our laptops in the car), and visited the beautiful
hotel. Diane and I also wanted to catch up on two movies that opened
while we were there, so one of the days we went to see the new Batman
movie, the "Dark Knight" and "Mamma Mia". Norm and Linda joined us for
"Mamma Mia".
Lake Louise is a glacial lake and was
named for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria.
The lake is 5,680 feet above sea level and is home to the world famous
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. The hotel sits across the lake from Mt.
Victoria and the Victoria glacier. The views were stunning, as were
just about all the views we experienced in the Canadian Rockies. The
melting glacier silt creates the turquoise color of the lake and keeps
it frigid year round.
We also went to see Moraine Lake and lodge. It was another beautiful
lake. On the way down we encountered a "bear jam" as a young black bear
was walking along the shoulder of the road turning rocks over looking
for something to eat. We moved on after getting as close as we dare to
get some photos.
Another day took us out to see Takakkaw Falls, Emerald Lake, the
natural bridge, and the spiral tunnels.
The word "takakkaw" means "it is magnificent" in the Cree language. The
waterfall is one of the highest in Canada and is fed by the Daly
glacier. It was in this area that James Hector was kicked by the horse.
We walked along the Kicking Horse River to get to the waterfall and sat
for a while to take in the power of the waterfall and beauty of the
area.
As the railroad was built in the Kicking Horse Valley, it was built on
a grade that was twice as steep as the 2.2% allowed by the railroad's
charter. It was supposed to be a temporary solution, but it lasted for
25 years. During that time there were many crashes as trains struggled
with the grade. Then the spiral tunnels were built that consisted of
two loops that doubled the length of the track but cut the grade in
half. The tunnels were started in 1907 and took 20 months to complete
with a thousand men in crews working from each end into the middle.
Considering they didn't have the equipment available today, it was
amazing that they came within five centimeters when they connected.
The tunnels were a figure 8 and you can see the engines and the end of
the train on the mountainside. Or so we heard as we were not lucky
enough to see a train go through when we were there. On the Big Hill,
four engines were needed to pull 14 cars. With the completion of the
spiral tunnels, two engines could pull 18 cars at five times the speed.
We didn't have a chance to get to Johnston Canyon, so we decided to
spend another day in Lake Louise so we could walk the canyon to view
the two waterfalls. The falls are only about 20 feet across at some
points making the water surge with lots of power as it flowed over the
rocks. The walk into the canyon to see the falls was 2.3 miles. The
Lower Falls were .7 miles out and accessed by walking along a trail and
on catwalks hung out from the rocks over the water. There were several
smaller falls along the way. After stopping for some photos we started
the 1.6 mile walk to the Upper Falls.
The word "upper" DID mean UP as we climbed and climbed along a trail
that took us through lodgepole pine, spruce fir, and douglas fir until
we reached the falls. It was worth the walk as we gazed on the power of
the 100 foot high Upper Falls. The walk down was much easier and
quicker, but still took a while to get down. We stopped along the way
to chat with a family from Switzerland after recognizing their accents.
They were from the Zurich area and were surprised when we mentioned the
small town of Wollerau where our friends Peter and Yoko live.
Towards the end of our stay in Lake Louise, a couple arrived in their
Alfa motorhome and we got to chatting one day. That's how we met Bob
and Julie Revell from Thunder Bay, Ontario and their dog, Tripper. He
was a beautiful dog and a breed with which I was not familiar, a Nova
Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. We invited them over for a
BYOF gathering followed by some blueberry pie that Julie made. Our plan
is still to travel up around Lake Superior to Thunder Bay and down to
Sault Ste. Marie as we head back east. We all traded contact
information and plan to look up Bob and Julie when we get to Thunder
Bay.
On a final note about Lake Louise I have to mention a meal that we
found at the Mountain Restaurant. The name of the meal was "bul go gi"
and we found out it was Korean. It consisted of thinly sliced beef with
various veggies on a hot plate, sort of like a fajita plate. It was the
seasoning that made it so delicious. Diane and
I, and Norm and Linda, each ordered the meal to share and it was enough
food and was so delicious that we made it a point to go back a second
time for the same meal.
July 22:
Columbia Icefield (80 miles)
Route:
CA 1; AB 93 (Icefields
Parkway)
Campground:
Columbia
Icefield parking lot ($10.80 CAD)
The day
started out clear and pleasant as we left Lake Louise and headed up the
Icefields Parkway. As we got closer to the icefield the weather started
to change and we ended up arriving in light rain. We parked the rigs in
the large parking lot intended for RVs and walked up to the Columbia
Icefield Centre to buy tickets for a ride out onto the glacier. It was
around 2 p.m. so we bought tickets for the 4 p.m. ride and walked back
to the motorhomes. Over the next hour and a half the weather
deteriorated and we all decided we really didn't want to go out onto
the ice in rain and fog. We went back up to the building and Norm went
to ask for a refund for the tickets he purchased with his credit card
(I had forgotten my wallet on the first walk to the building so Norm
bought all the tickets). Surprisingly, there was no fuss or bother and
they credited his card for the cost of the tickets. We awoke the next
day to a bright and sunny day and got tickets for a late morning ride.
The Columbia Icefield is the largest icefield in North America south of
the Arctic Circle. It is composed of eight glaciers that flow into the
surrounding valleys and covers 130 square miles. The deepest glacier is
estimated to be about 1,200 feet thick. The Athabasca Glacier comes
down almost to the parkway. At one time, it reached across the parkway
and the terminal moraine was visible that indicated how far the glacier
reached before receding. Today it is 3.75 miles long, covers 2.5 square
miles, and ranges from 270 to 1,000 feet in depth.
There have been four major Ice Ages in Canada that had glacier ice
reaching north to Jasper, east to the prairies, and south past Calgary.
The most recent Ice Age ended about 10,000 years ago. Icefields are
formed when more snow falls in winter than melts in summer. Today,
most glaciers in North America are still in retreat as the summer's
melt is greater than the winter's snow accumulation. When the depth of
the snow reaches 100 feet, the bottom layers become pressurized into
ice. The water flowing on the glacier is from snow that fell up to 150
years ago and is pure. Diane and Linda collected some water in their
water bottles and it was very cold and very pure.
The vehicles on which we boarded for the ride onto the glacier are
known as Ice Explorer Snocoaches and were designed specifically to ride
on ice. They are owned and operated by Brewster, a large
transportation business in the Canadian Rockies. It was Brewster that
provided the bus that shuttled us back and forth from the campground to
the Calgary Stampede grounds. We saw those buses all over the Canadian
Rockies. Our driver was a Frenchman named Simon who was very funny as
he drove us out onto the ice. He was also very knowledgeable as he
explained all about the icefields. One of the very interesting things
we learned is that we were in the area of a triple continental divide.
That meant that water from the glaciers flowed to THREE oceans: west to
the Pacific, east to the Atlantic, and north to the Arctic. It is the
only triple continental divide in the world. It was thought that there
was one in Russia, but it was then determined that one of the flows
went to the Caspian Sea, which is not an ocean.
We were very glad the weather changed overnight so we could ride out
onto the ice. Simon told us that we were very lucky because the day was
one of the best of the season to date.
July 23 to July 25:
Jasper (142 miles)
Route:
AB 93 (Icefields Parkway)
Campground:
Whistler
Campground
Our final stop in the Canadian Rockies was Jasper, a lovely small town
at the northern part of Jasper National Park. I would like to say it
was an uneventful drive, but that wasn't the case. When we left the
Lake Louise Campground we had to deposit our camping receipt in a slot
that was on a small building on the left side of the motorhome. Diane
got out to do that and then I started to move forward while making sure
the motorhome would clear the rooftop of the small building. I did see
that there was a movable stop sign that was cemented into a bucket that
was on the passenger side. Why they had to put that sign so close to
the building to narrow the passage through that area is beyond me, but
that's what they did. As I moved forward the mirror on the right side
hit the sign. I was only moving about a mile an hour so I stopped
immediately and backed up a few inches to cut around the sign. It was
when we got to the icefields that I noticed the underside of the mirror
was scratched. Grrrr.
Then on the drive up to Jasper I had to make a quick stop. Not a panic
stop, but a hard stop. Unfortunately, Diane was up checking on
something and came tumbling down. I was always concerned that something
like
that would eventually happen and it took over eight years for it to
happen. Luckily, Diane wasn't hurt other than a bruise as she went
down. However, as she was trying to grab something to break her fall
she grabbed the splash guard on the counter top and it broke off. She
was very lucky because when the motorhome is in travel mode and the
slide is in, it is tight inside and there are several corners on which
she could have hit her
head. For the most part, no one is up and moving when the motorhome is
moving, but there are times when Diane will go get a drink or a snack
or go to use the bathroom. It's always a risk, but not uncommon for
RVers to be up and around in a moving RV.
The Whistlers Campground wasn't laid out the same as Lake Louise with
wide roads and sites. Some of the roads were very narrow as were some
of the sites. Linda called ahead and requested two sites designed for
big rigs and was assured we would have them. As it turned out, the one
we got was fine and we got in easily. Norm had to make several moves to
get
into his site that was deep enough to handle his motorhome, but had
trees that made the site narrow. A little tree trimming that should be
done by the park staff fixed the problem. I'm sure a ranger would have
read Norm the riot act for trimming trees. However, he would not have
had to do that if the park management would make sure trees are trimmed
back to allow RVs to back into the site without them scratching the
motorhome. I have been known to do the same.
After setting up the rigs, we drove into Jasper and found the Whistle
Stop Pub that offered free WiFi. So we had something to eat, along with
a well deserved beer, and got caught up on email while the ladies went
off to scout the town's shopping opportunities.
The
following day we went up on the Jasper Tramway to the top of The
Whistler's Mountain for some great views of the town and surrounding
area. It was a clear, sunny day, but it was cold and windy up on the
mountain at about 7,500 feet.
As we drove around the area, we saw several animals. One day there was
a herd of elk right near the campground. On another day we drove out to
Maligne Lake, the largest natural lake in the Canadian Rockies. On the
way out there we saw a black bear with two cubs. On the way back, we
saw another black bear with two cubs. But the coolest thing we saw was
a wolf. It was walking down the side of the road and coming towards us.
Norm was driving and stopped the car as the wolf darted into the brush
on the passenger side of the car. It was stalking its prey, a small
rodent. It totally ignored us as we watched it stalk and then pounce
and then eat it's prey. After devouring what must have been its hors
d'oeuvre, it went deeper into the trees to find its main course. Linda
got some great photos which I have included on the photo pages.
We stopped at Medicine Lake before heading back into Jasper. It is one
of the largest "sinking" lakes in the Western Hemisphere and is a
United Nations World Heritage Site. The local Native Americans believed
that spirits inhabited Medicine Lake because the water level fluctuated
wildly. Sometimes it would disappear entirely during the fall and
winter due to a combination of an underground drainage system and the
spring run-off.
While we were there taking photos, we met two couples. The first was a
couple from Northern Ireland who were on a great vacation trip through
Canada. They flew into Toronto and then took a train to Jasper. That's
one of Diane's dreams, but she wants to do it in winter when there is
snow on the ground. Brrrr. They would then travel by bus through the
Rockies to Vancouver for a flight back to Ireland. We chatted about our
visit to Dublin back in 1999 when I was still working and shared some
photos we had taken of the wolf and photos the guy had taken of the
bear and cubs. I asked if he would send me the photos of the bears
since he got some great ones. He said he would and asked if I would
send him the photos of the wolf. I said I would and gave him one of our
cards with our email address. As this travelog is ready to go up on our
website I haven't yet heard from him. If I do receive the photos of the
bears, I'll update the photo pages.
The second couple we met were young folks from Quebec who were driving
a rented Smart Car. Diane and I have seen them many times in Europe and
they are so cool. I think that if we were living in a house we would
own a Smart Car as a second vehicle. I usually would tell folks from
Quebec that my father grew up in Cabano in Quebec. Some people know
where that is, others don't. It turned out this time that the lady was
actually from Cabano, and that's the first time I have met someone who
came from my father's hometown. We had a nice chat with the couple who
were heading out to Maligne Lake in search of wildlife. We told them
about the wolf so they could watch to see if they might spot it.
We very much enjoyed Jasper. I liked it better than Banff. With our
tour of the Canadian Rockies coming to an end, we were ready to move on
to the next phase of our Alberta and British Columbia tour. We figured
we would stop in Hinton for an overnight to shop and then up to Grand
Prairie to catch a couple of movies. Then we would head up to Dawson
Creek and start our tour of the Great Northern Circle Route.
July 26:
Hinton (54 miles)
Route:
PH 16 (Yellowhead Highway)
Campground:
Safeway
parking lot (also a Walmart)
Just
an overnight stop.
There was a Safeway and Walmart separated by a small almost deserted
mall which allowed us to shop in both stores for what we needed to add
to our supplies.
On a walk back from the Walmart I noticed oil on the back of the
motorhome. I opened the engine cover and saw immediately that I had
forgotten to put the oil cap back on after adding a quart at our last
stop. I have a habit of putting it on top of the engine which meant
black on black, plus I remember allowing myself to get distracted
before completing that task. Luckily, there was also a Canadian Tire
store nearby, so I walked over there and they had the cap I needed. It
was a $13 mistake.
July 27 to
July 28:
Grande Prairie (204 miles)
Route:
AB 40
Campground:
Walmart
parking lot
Fuel: $1.369
per liter, which came to $5.182 per gallon ($5.173 with exchange rate)
at a Gateway Mohawk in Grande Prairie
This was a very productive two day stop to just sit for a couple of
days. Diane and Linda did some shopping. Diane and I went to see a
couple of movies at the movie theater within walking distance of the
Walmart. We saw the new "X-Files" movie (it was okay) and "Journey to
the Center of the Earth" in 3-D (it was very good). Norm and Linda
joined us for the second movie.
We found a Denny's in town which made Diane happy so we ate there and
Diane got her Grand Slam that she loves at Denny's.
Surprisingly, I was able to get a satellite signal so we were able to
catch up on some of the summer shows we are missing. Actually, we got
to see seven of them over the Sunday and Monday we were in Grande
Prairie. From here on we won't have access to the satellite until maybe
when we get to Vancouver.
Another big plus is that we found the Esquire Coffee Shop that offered
free WiFi, so Norm and I were able to catch up on email and upload
stuff to our websites.
Like I said, a very productive and enjoyable two days.
It was now on to British Columbia and a drive part way up the Alaska
Highway to Watson Lake before heading south on the Cassiar Highway and
on down to Vancouver. Not only are we finding fuel to be expensive, but
just about everything else, too, such as food and dining. Canadians
must have a higher pay scale than in the U.S. One thing for sure, the
advantage for travel has switched to the Canadians going to the U.S.
after all the year of it being the other way around.
Until next time, safe
travels.....
Copyright © 2008,
Roaming America with Rich &
Diane Emond -
All Rights Reserved