2016 June Canada Cross Country in an RV

JUNE 30. THURSDAY. DENALI TO ANCHORAGE
We got away early (for us) and headed for Anchorage.  The forecasted weather system did  not appear for which I was grateful.  
The drive was quite good and we took our time.  Alaska has a strange law that says it is illegal to be holding up 5 or more vehicles and you must use the turnouts to prevent this.  
Approaching Anchorage showcased another mountain range.  

After we set up, we drove downtown to the Visitor Center.  The Visitor Center sent us across the street to the Federal Building to watch a free movie about the 1964 Alaska quake.

A pleasant walk found us at the James Cook monument.  Returning to the parking area a souvenir shop caught my eye so we browsed around a bit before heading back to the trailer park for dinner.

JUNE 29. WEDNESDAY. FAIRBANKS TO DENALI NATIONAL PARK

The day started out with a beautiful sunny morning and a nice drive from Fairbanks to Denali.  I'm afraid I slept through most of the drive though.  

At Denali we were fortunate to get tickets for the 1 o'clock, 8 hour shuttle bus tour.  This meant we had to do some serious rushing since we only had a little over an hour to get a place to stay and get ready to go on the bus.  The lady at the Visitor center gave us the names and numbers of local RV parks and using the courtesy phone we hit paydirt first call.  Unfortunately they wouldn't take a reservation over the phone so we had to drive the 6 miles there, drop the trailer, make our sandwiches, pack the backpack and get back in time.  Mission accomplished!  

On the bus going into the park, besides magnificent views, we spotted a magpie, a grizzly bear and a caribou from a distance and a caribou on the road.  The Elieston Visitor Center we were unable to see the top of Denali due the surrounding clouds.  On the return trip we counted 3 caribou along the road, 3 snowshoe hares, and some ground squirrels.

 We arrived back at our campsite just after 9 and hooked up the trailer so we can get out of here quickly in the morning.  The weather forecast is calling for two storms to collide over the Alaska mountains and cause 1-3& of rain.  That is a lot of rain anytime but especially in light of the fact that the annual rainfall here is 15&.  

JUNE 28. TUESDAY. FAIRBANKS

Carl spent the morning at Walmart getting our truck tires switched around and ready for the next leg of our journey.  I spent the morning cleaning dust out of every nook and cranny and now the trailer is once again clean inside.  Carl surprised me by bringing home a pizza for lunch from Great Alaska Pizza Co.  They had a special going on today.  

After lunch, we went to JoAnn Fabrics and I looked around there a little bit.  They have free wi-fi and when I went to pay, I was able to access a 60% off coupon from their website. How civilized!

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning the truck bed and all the stuff that was in it.  It was a monstrous dirty job.  

JUNE 27. MONDAY. FAIRBANKS

The sound of rain on the trailer as we woke up proved to be a harbinger for the weather today.  We had a slow start and spent most of the day at the Antique Car Museum.  The museum was very well done and incorporated the automobile early days from Alaska with historical photos and even clothing from the early 1900's.  

There is a pipeline exhibit just outside Fairbanks that proved somewhat interesting for a photo op.

  On the way back into town we spotted a store called Brown Jug.  It is a huge liquor store with quite good prices I was told so, we stocked up on some beer and liquor.

Since we had decided to visit the Ice Museum in the evening, an early dinner was necessary.  We succumbed to the lure of fast food and bought some Kentucky Fried Chicken.  It tasted good going down  but sat in our stomach's for quite a while.  I think we will cook our own dinner tomorrow night.  That fast food experience will do me for a while.  

Tomorrow is another day in Fairbanks and the weather will determine what we will do.  

JUNE 26. SUNDAY. CHICKEN TO FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

We are on Alaska time now.   Leaving Chicken we encountered a few more patches of gravel road that finally gave way to paving.  The pavement was like a roller coaster ride and in the really bad spots, they put up signs that say Dips. These dips could launch a car into the air! 

 Halfway through our mountain road it started to rain and continued until almost noon.  

The Alaska Highway started out as a better drive  with a good speed limit of 65 mph until we hit construction. At this point, like at home, you just sit and wait. Every few miles there is another patch of loose gravel that you have to slow down for.  

Nearing Delta, we stopped and bought some ground buffalo meat and a variety of meat snack sticks.  At the Delta Visitor Center, I was able to call and reserve a campsite in Fairbanks for the night.

We got our campsite under thunder and lightning but we got set up anyway.  I did a deep clean dust removal in one cupboard with lots more cleaning still to do but I will get to it.

$5 Word. Skeuomorphs.(Kastelics, this is for you) It means things that look like they have a function but do not.  Some examples are the rivets on your jeans, and the shutter sound on your cellphone when you take a photo.  

JUNE 25. SATURDAY. DAWSON TO CHICKEN, ALASKA

Our first order of business was to get a tire replaced.  This took until 11 so I did another load of laundry after I got some more loonies from the office.  We hit the Yukon river ferry at 11:30 and waited for one hour to cross. 

 Ten km after that we hit gravel with its' accompanying dust and, the trailer door had to be taped up again.  This road is called The Top of the World Highway and we soon discovered that it is appropriately named.  The road is high up, very high up and basically you are driving on top of the mountains.  The scenery is breathtaking.  

When we hit the U.S. border crossing we had another 20 minute wait.  The nice border patrol officer took our picture.

 From here the road seemed to be beautifully paved and then boom, it deteriorated to something like a dirt cow path (not quite that bad).

There were several mine operations in the valley we were driving through.  Just around a bend, came Chicken, Alaska and yes there are large chicken scultpures and various chicken related signs.  

In the downtown area, dry camping is offered for free so we decided to take advantage of their hospitality.  I looked around in the Mercentile which offered merchandise showing every conceivable punchline for Chicken, Alaska.  I walked by the saloon and checked out the cafe.  They had some pretty amazing looking pies for offer and a very interesting menu.  We decided to make our own dinner since there was a steak in the frig that needed to be eaten.  The pies looked so good we bought two pieces for dessert; the apple was good but the cherry blueberry was better.  Several other people were camped here and we chatted with a couple from Missouri until bedtime.

JUNE 24. FRIDAY. THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY BACK DAY3

Sun, glorious sun! The roads were drying up and we got ready to leave. I wish I was making some of this stuff up that is happening to us. After I packed up the trailer I went outside to get in the truck. Carl then tells me that we have a problem. The truck battery is completely dead. Fortunately, there was enough juice in the trailer battery to start the truck and off we went. The roads were much better.

At the Eagle Plains hotel we stopped, paid $15 for a car/rv wash and then Carl spent the next half hour hosing down the two vehicles. We also filled up the water tank and taped up the door again. The trailer spare tire seemed to be coming loose and Carl had to stop and tighten it up.  

Just after Eagle Plains we spotted two moose with antlers on the road.  They ran away as we approached.  A few hours later a herd of sheep stopped us by blocking the road.  I got a few good pics.  

As we approached the main highway, there was a strange feeling from my side of the truck and then the Tire pressure monitor went on.  Sure enough, we had a flat; our first one and we almost made the full circle.  Carl changed the tire and we made it back to our campsite.  After dinner, we headed to the visitor centre in town to catch up on our wifi.  I also need to do laundry before I have to use american money.  

JUNE 23. THURSDAY. THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY BACK DAY2

The sun was shining when we went to bed last night so I was hopeful that maybe today the weather forecast would be wrong but, no! We woke up to the sound of rain drops on the trailer roof and the rain didn't stop.  We decided to keep going but after several hours of driving on slippery, muddy, hilly roads (and feeling like we were risking our lives) we finally pulled in to the Arctic Circle pullout and stopped.  We were giving up for today.  At this point, it did stop raining.  There were other tourists still driving on the road but they were few and far between and, they were better equipped with four wheel drive.

To pass the time, I decided to try my hand at the colouring page I had found in a traveller magazine. After a couple of hours, my masterpiece was completed.  

Then I curled up on the bed and read some books.  We had some trouble with the propane furnace because it started then turned off and would not restart.  After a bit of trouble shooting, Carl finally got it going again.  I had visions of spending a very cold night here but thankfully I got warm.  

After a lazy afternoon, we enjoyed dinner consisting of a warm soup, and a grilled gouda sandwich. Just before bedtime, another RV pulled in to stay the night. It turned out to be the party bus. There were 12 people piled into the RV; 6 were from Germany and 6 were hitchhikers they had picked up along the way from Facebook connections. Two of the guys were barefoot for various reasons and one woman had a 1 1/2 year old with her.  The woman was apparently addicted to travel.  In total, three RV's spent the night here.

JUNE 22. WEDNESDAY. THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY BACK DAY1

The weather forecast said chance of rain and everything we have heard says the highway will turn to a slippery hazard so we set off after 9 to see how far we could get.  We figured if the roads get bad, we will stop somewhere and wait it out.  An hour out it started to rain lightly but it seemed good because at least there wasn't any dust.  There was however, mud and it started accumulating on the front of the trailer and the back of the truck.  The roads got slipperier and we got slower in response.  It was quite a mess at the two ferry crossings but there wasn't any wait because all the tourists were not as stupid as we were, and stayed put.

The strangest thing happened at Ft. McPherson.  We pulled in at the first entrance and drove around to the Coop to get gas.  Just as we finished, our friends pulled in right behind us.  They were heading north, stopping to fish along the way.  We decided to go to the Northern Store and grab and coffee and a gab.  The news they reported about the road to the south was not good.  Bill indicated it was slippery and muddy.  Being the adventurers we are, we decided to keep going and we drove slowly all the way to Red River campground for the night. Bill was right, there were a few slippery spots but we ploughed through it.   At this point, we got our first good look at the trailer and truck.  Both are literally covered with mud.  There wasn't a clean spot anywhere.  Looks like a car/RV wash is in our future.  Luckily they have them everywhere up here.   

JUNE 21. TUESDAY.  INUVIK, NWT

WE got a late start but I didn't feel hurried because there isn't a lot to see up here.  We began our day at the Visitor Center where we got our NWT tourist passports stamped and completed our contest entry to win a NWT diamond.  

Then we stopped at the Igloo Roman Catholic church.  It was not open we took a photo outside.  

Today happens to be Aboriginal Day with its ensuing celebrations at the park nearby so we went over and watched aboriginal games and dancing until dinner time.  It was an entertaining way to spend an afternoon.  Most stores in town were closed today (including the free wifi Library) for the holiday.

We made a dinner out of the leftovers in the frig and then sat outside until the bugs found us.  

JUNE 20. MONDAY.  THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY, DAY 2
I fed quite a few mosquitos yesterday so am a bit itchy today.  I taped up the cupboards that I cleaned yesterday in the hope that it will keep the dust out.  We are fortunate to have a clear morning.  Rain will be disasterous since it turns the dirt into a slippery mess which leaves you with no choice but to stay put until things dry out.  
We passed the border for North West Territories and stopped for a picture.  It was so windy. 

 At Km 74, we drove up to the Peel River Ferry crossing and went across right away (5 mins ride to other side of the river). 
At Km 78, at Nitainlaill Territory Prov Park, we looked around and got another stamp for our passports. 
In Fort McPherson, at km 86, we did a quick drive by, security seemed high which suggests crime  in the area.  We got another stamp at the gas bar ($1.24.9).

Another river crossing at Km 142 at the McKenzie River but we had to wait about half an hour since there were about 5 vehicles ahead of us.  We missed one ferry and had to wait for the next.  It took 20 mins to go across and back.  We got off the ferry and continued north.

It was 4 o'clock when we pulled into Inuvik, Happy Valley Campground.  The first thing we noticed was the large pipes that run out of the peoples houses and connect up their water and gas.  We set up at our site and then went to find the library so I could do my blog and catch up with my emails. 

JUNE 19. SUNDAY. THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY

We got off for the Dempster highway around 9.  At Km 20, huge mountain ranges came into view on all sides.  This is a gravel road and we were fortunate that no one was ahead of us because the dust cloud being kicked up is ridiculous.  The mountains remained on all sides for most of the day.  Pictures cannot do the scenery justice.  

At Km 72, lies the Tombstone Mountain Interpretive Center.  They served us some spruce tip tea which turned out to be quite good.  The center is completely off the grid, heated by solar energy.

Spectacular scenery continued with mountains, lakes and streams.  Some of the streams were stained red from the high mineral content.  

When we stopped to check the trailer, we went inside and noticed the door area was covered with dust so Carl taped up the door bottom with the hope that that would help keep the dust out.  

We drove up and down a couple of sets of mountains and then settle on Eagle Plains plateau.  At Eagle Plains Hotel & RV Park we stopped for gas ($1.45.0) and Carl noticed that all our water was gone because the fresh water tank handle had broken off.  He was able to stuff something inside and with a little help from duct tape we were on our way.  

North of here, the gravel road got narrower, in some places just enough for a single car.  If another car or truck came in the opposite direction you both had to move over.  

At the Arctic Circle, a middle aged biker group took our picture and Carl took all of theirs in return.  

We pulled into a Territorial Park for the night.  When I looked inside the trailer, I almost had a heart attack.  Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust.  I had to clean and shake out everything.  I wanted to cry.  

Fortunately, I felt a little calmer after Carl fed me a home made hamburger for dinner after which we went for a walk.  

JUNE 18. SATURDAY. DAWSON CITY

There was a 50km marathon happening today ending in Dawson City so we decided to start touring outside the city at Dredge#4.  This massive 8 story dredging machine rests alongside Bonanza Creek where it sifted millions of dollars or gold from 1899-1956. At one time, there were 250 of these machines workng throughout the Yukon.  It is quite amazing to see and read about.  

Further along Bonanza Creek Road is the Discovery Claim#6.  The visitor bureau has set aside a piece of the river for tourist to pan for gold.  While we were there, a man found a tiny fleck of gold about the size of a pen tip.  Unfortunately, they lost the gold when trying to transfer it to a little plastic jar.

The environment is not very pretty out here with gravel piles everywhere and bulldozers still carving out the hillsides.

Trying for better views we drove up to the Midnight Dome, a very high hll just outside town.  It was incredible;  a different amazing view from each side.

Back in town, the marathon runners were trickling in.  We wandered around until our 2 o'clock tour.  This tour recalled stories of the Gold Rush at different heritage sites.  Some cute tales were told.

The Danoja Zho culture centre was next on our list.  There was a historical tour and a film shown here about the Tr'ondek Hwehin First Nations people.

We got back to the Visitor Centre just in time for the 4 o'clock walking tour. After that was done, we did some grocery and alcohol shopping and then drove back to camp.

Our friends had invited us over for a venison steak dinner and they were on the bbq when we got back.  We had a lovely dinner and chat and then, decided to go back into town to catch the 10 o'clock show at Diamond Tooth Gerties.  After that we were all bagged.  

JUNE 17. FRIDAY.  MAYO TO DAWSON CITY,YT

After many hours of driving over the undulating highway we finally arrived at our reserved campsite only to find that the proprietor had given our site away to someone else who was staying an extra day. They did have an emergency site that we later took but only after Carl made it know that he was NOT happy.  On the positive side, we do have all the services and won't be spending much time here anyway so for two nights we will be fine.  

When our friends got to the campsite, they were having a problem with their slide out and thought they would have to take it to an RV dealer.  Fortunately, between the two guys they figured out how to fix the issue.

Mid afternoon we headed into Dawson City stopping first at the Yukon Visitor Centre to get the lay of the land.  We lucked into a &Behind the Scenes& tour from Parks Canada that was just starting so we got into the group. 

Returning to the Visitor Centre for the North West Territories, we made inquiries about the Dempster Highway from Dawson City to Inuvik.  We needed weather information, road conditions, camping locations and general guidelines as to whether we should be doing this with our truck and trailer.  We left armed with pamphlets.  Carl would like to give it a try figuring, we can always turn around and go back if it gets to bad.  

We enjoyed a lovely fish and chips supper with our new friends at Joe's Sourdough Emporium and then waited around to get into Diamond Gertie's.  This establishment offers gambling and a song and dance act from the gold rush era.  We enjoyed it immensely.  There was audience participation that made it more fun.  We couldn't stay awake for the other two later shows so headed back to get some shut eye.

JUNE 16. THURSDAY. THE SILVER TRAIL

In the morning, we carried on the Silver Trail stopping first at Five Mile Lake; a serene lake and territorial campground.  Moving along we encountered the Half Way Lakes created by glacial activity.  On our left side rose a huge mountain called Mount Haldane(1839m) and then a silver mine at Galena creek.  

Finally arriving in Keno City (pop. 20) we toured the Keno City Mining Museum 3 buildings. 

The highlight of the trip was the 10 km drive up a gravel/dirt road up the mountain to where this a signpost photo op and, view of course.  The view is the McQuestern Valley and the Ogilvie and Wernecke mountains.  Dotting the valley below are old prospectors cabins.  The drive back down the mountain was a little more hairy than going up.  

In Mayo (pop 424), we viewed the Binet House Museum. This home is the only 2 story home in Mayo and was built by a rich American to spend the family summers here.  Exhibits were historic photographs and artifacts and a 3D map of the area showing mining activity. Most interesting was the conversation we had with the curator, who is First Nations, about the state of health care in Yukon and some commentary from her time as Chief, about the native people.

Dinner was a steak we had brought from home done on the bbq with some leftovers and a salad.  It is hard working out of such a little frig.  Every time you go to buy something, you have to ask &will we be able to get it in the frig?&    

We have campsites reserved in Dawson City for tomorrow night.  The couple we met from Dryden have Bell service and offered to call and organize that.  We have talked about the possibility of being a caravan with them for the Dempster Highway which goes up past the Arctic Circle to Inuvik but, we have to talk to the Visitor Center in Dawson City to ascertain the highway conditions.  

June 15.  Wednesday.  Whitehorse to Mayo

We left Whitehorse in the rear view mirror just after 9 and after gassing up the truck ($1.29/l).  A short while later we made a stop at Braeburn Lodge.  They are famous for their giant cinnamon buns, about the size of a birthday or coffee cake.  It will probably take us a week to eat.  The baker told us that when it gets stale you can turn it into french toast.  This monstrous thing cost $10.  

After hearing so much in the history museum about the 5 Finger Rapids we actually go to see them live.  Many steamwheelers and gold seekers went down in this area.  It was like seeing a little piece of history come alive.  

Mid afternoon we turned off the main highway to follow the Silver Trail.  We should see &placid lakes, rivers and streams along with relics from the Yukon silver mining heritage&. It was a pretty drive over here.  We got a campsite with electricity for $15.  After we had been here a short while, another RV rolled in and we recognized them from our last stop.  They decided to come up this way as well.  They are a very nice couple from Dryden.

 In town, we bought some fruit.  Everything is very expensive here.  The lady at the liquor store came here from Newmarket and her husband works for Yukon Energy.  They love the small town atmosphere and the comraderie of the people.  The other guy in the store also came from Ontario and won't go back.  He says, &if I see a moose in town, I close up, get my gun and go get it.&  Houses here are under $100,000 and many people get a northern living allowance (or some kind of break on their taxes) to compensate for the high cost of other things.  Many people go to Whitehorse and stock up on stuff there.

Tomorrow we will see their Mayo museum and do the rest of the Silver Trail Loop.  The trailer will stay here because the roads turn to gravel not far from here.  

June 14.  Tuesday.  Whitehorse, YT

Note:  We stayed 2 overnights at the Caribou RV Park.  Thanks to Tony and Christa Harti for the recommendation and help trip planning.

Boy, they sure dole out the WIFI up here.  At the last place we had 30 mins of wifi and here, you get 50 MB per day so you really have to prioritize your usage.  Of course, I do my blog first, then check my emails and lastly other stuff like checking the weather.

It's a cool day in the Yukon today with a high of 13o and rainy.  2

We were able to find an RV place and for the grand price of $180, we came away with a new water pump for the trailer.  

Second stop was the Whitehorse Visitor Center (free wifi here).  We have Yukon Gold Explorer passports.  If you get 10 or more stamps from participating sites like the center, you can enter into a draw to win 1 troy oz of Klondike placer gold.  

We walked from here to the McBride Museum of Yukon History and spent a few hours there. 

Once done, we walked back along the Yukon River to get the truck to see the SS Klondike steamwheeler that ran its route until 1955.  

At this point, we were quickly marking off tourist sites and drove back to the Yukon Legislative Building for a look around.  Then, came the Whitehorse Fishway which houses the longest wooden fish ladder in the world.  We saw some arctic grayling through the viewing windows.  

On the way back to camp, we did a detour to the Miles Canyon.  There is a suspension bridge over the river and the water is an unbelieveable colour of teal.  It was probably the nicest thing I saw today.  

Upon returning to our trailer, Carl spend some time installing the new water pump and then we decided that we didn't want to cook dinner so we went next door to the Wolf Den restaurant again for dinner.   
Below is another odd thing we saw in front of a house in Whitehorse.  

From here on, my postings could get more sporadic as wifi gets harder to get.  Our cell phones no  longer work out here.  

June 13.  Monday. Watson Lake to Whitehorse

Last night after dinner and the final hockey game, we walked over to the Northern Lights Centre. In the 360o dome theatre, 2 films were shown.  The first was about the galaxy and the second explained about the Aurora Borealis.  Some filmmakers took high definition video of the northern lights at several locations north of the Arctic Circle and merged it together to create a time lapse movie.  

At 9:30 after the movies, it was still daylight which meant we could see the Signpost Forest across the street.  There are over 70,000 signs from all over the world at this spot.  It was very cool.

This morning we had some on and off light rain showers but, it is a travel day so we are good.

We did a rest stop at the Continental Divide and read a few plaques explaining this phenomena.

Just outside Teslin lies the Tlingit Heritage Centre.  Bannock and coffee were offered as we watched a short film, looked around their exhibits and then, an elder explained how she tans her moose hides by hand and turns them into slippers. There was also totem poles and a hand carved canoe on exhibit.  It was worth the stop.

Two hours later we pulled into the Caribou RV Park, outside of Whitehorse and settled in for a few days.  It turns out right next door is a restaurant that makes European foods such as schnitzel.  My mouth started watering so, an executive decision was made to have dinner out.  The Wolf Den restaurant proved to be a great choice.  We each had a jaeger schnitzel with mushroom sauce.  I had spaetzli with mine and Carl had a baked potato.  It was fantastic.  Who would have thought you could find a place to camp in the woods, with a restaurant 222 steps away that serves such amazing food!   It was a pleasant end to our day.  

June 12. Sunday. Fort Nelson to Watson Lake, YT

This mornng we were able to get going at 7:30 for a very long day of driving.  We saw 2 black bears lounging in the sun at the road side.  Halfway through the morning we drove through Summit Pass (1267' above sea level) at Mile 393.

The mountain scenery here is breathtaking, kilometre after kilometre.  Moving along, half a dozen stone sheep were on the road seemingly licking salt off the road  They were happy to pose for pictures.  

Two grown moose were also happy to have their pictures taken while they snacked in the brush.

At two different times, we saw small herds of bison sitting in the grass beside the highway

At Liard Springs Provincial Park there is a natural sulfur spring fed pool.  It is gorgeous and so soothing.

We stayed as long as we could but we had to get back to civilization to see the hockey game.  Unfortunately, one bison didn't care about our schedule and he stood in the middle of the road.  He took his time moving on.  

Just before 3 o'clock, we entered the Yukon Territories and arrived at Watson Lake shortly thereafter in lots of time to watch the hockey game.  

June 11. Saturday. Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson
Yesterday at the Alaska House, we heard about a wooden WWII era bridge called Kiskataw Bridge on a piece of the Old Alaska Highway so we drove out to have a look. After taking some pics, we drove across it and continued on our journey.

This morning we were driving in a rainy mist but we still managed to spot a doe at the side of the road.
At Peace River, we crossed a really long metal bridge over the river.  The lumber industry is in evidence everywhere here.
There isn't a lot of traffic on this route; mostly Rv's and truckers.  There was one TNT truck that we saw several times and the last time was in my rear view mirror.  He had driven into the roadside ditch (fell asleep, I guess).  He seemed ok since he was moving around and upright.  It will take some heavy machinery to get that rig and two tanks out.  The tanks were both still upright luckily.
Driving further along, we spotted 2 small bears foraging at the side of the road.

Gas in Ft Nelson cost us $134.9/l for regular at a Petro Canada.  Most Petro Canada gas stations are still closed.
We arrived in Ft. Nelson at 2:30 to a sunny, warm day.
Our water pump does not seem to be working so, Carl is trying to see if he can fix it. Our RV and truck are now covered in dirt so we look like pretty much everyone else up here.
June 10. Friday. Dawson Creek
Today we explored Dawson Creek.  We posed for pics at the Mile 0 sign (start of the Alaska Highway), visited  the visitor centre, did a walking tour of the town and stopped at the Alaska House for a PBS film about the building of the Alaska hwy. This ate up most of the day.

 

We stocked up on beer ($27/12) and a few groceries and headed back to camp for dinner. Carl has to rearrange our truck/trailer stuff to better manage our weight we are carrying.
June 9. Thursday. Edmonton to Dawson Creek, BC
First thing, we headed for the weigh scales and determined that we were running a bit heavy according to the recommended weight ratings so Carl dumped the fresh water tank an we headed off.
Whitecourt, Alta hosted a Forestry Interpretive Center with a small museum, free coffee and donuts (I passed)  and super helpful staff.  I left there with an armful of brochures for BC, Yukon and Alaska.   It was interesting to learn that a 36 m meteorite fell here.  It is a protected area now but pieces of it are in a display case in the Center.
Today the terrain in mostly forested and we have been driving uphill all day. We stopped for gas in Grand Prairie twice; once at Esso and then again when we found the Costco.  It cost $112.9 and then $102.9. The Petro Canada station was closed.   Grand Prairie has over 50,000 inhabitants and is a town you could mistake for Markham.  Many of the restaurants and stores are similar to the chains we would see at home.
A giant beaver appeared before us in a town called Beaver Lodge so of course, we stopped for a picture.

Did I mention that it has been raining non stop since we left this morning so, it might as well be a driving day.
We arrived at our campsite at 5:30 and, what a surprise to find that this park has cable tv so Carl could watch the hockey game.  He was very pleased.   The desk staff mentioned that this has been the busiest year ever for RVs.  They are full all the time and are turning away big rigs nightly.
June 8. Wednesday. Edmonton
Still working on our trailer tire issue, Carl walked up to the RV service centre to get advice and received lots of information.  This resulted in a trip to the weigh scales to see how heavy the truck is and then, we need to weight truck plus trailer.
Back downtown in Old Strathcona, we bought tickets to go on the High Level Bridge Streetcar.  This is a vintage streetcar that takes passengers along the old CPR line across the 49metre bridge built in 1913.  The ride is a narrated 6 km trip with views of the city and river.  This turned out to be quite fun and informative.  While we were waiting for the streetcar, we met another family from Germany and conversed with them a while.

After the train ride we walked the Whyte avenue of Old Strathcona.  Strathcona and Edmonton used to be two separate cities but, with growth they ended up merged together.

Carl bought some wine on the way home and commented that both wine and beer are "stupid expensive" here.
The plan is to move on to Dawson Creek tomorrow but, we might end up here one more night.  Every day is a whole new ball game.
June 7. Tuesday. Edmonton
Today when we finally got moving, we drove downtown to the Alberta Legislature Building.  Here we picked up a 45 minute tour of the building.  Legislature had just passed a climate bill (wonder what that will cost the taxpayers).

The Federal Building across the the way had a "suffrage" exhibit and a short film about Alberta history. I had no idea this province was named after Louise Caroline Alberta, the 4th daughter of Queen Victoria.
When we left here, it was mid afternoon so we decided to go see the West Edmonton Mall.  What a place! It is filled with stores(many similar to Ontario) but it also has a bowling alley, amusement park with roller coasters, a skating rink, a wave pool with water slides and, a water area with a sea lion show.  Several hours and sore feet later we headed back to camp for our dinner.  Touring is done for today but there is more on the agenda for tomorrow.

June 6. Monday. Saskatoon to Edmonton
First thing this morning, we called the alignment shop and they gave us a 10 o'clock appointment so we packed up and drove there.  A-Line kept the trailer and we went off to get gas at Costco, groceries at the Independent, a few trinkets at Dollarama and some oil for the truck.  By 12:30 we were on our way to Edmonton, poorer but wiser.  It turns out that bumpy roads (northern Ontario) are really bad for trailer alignment.
In Lloydminster we stopped to look at the 4 pillars and take a picture.  The 4 pillars (border markers) represent 4 themes; oil and gas, agriculture, the Barr colonists and the native North Americans.

Lloydminster is the province's only city with one foot in Saskatchewan and one in Alberta.  Lloyminster had some closed gas stations.
The landscape started to change now, in elevation and becoming more hilly.  The fields are dotted with silos (oil, I believe).
We got into our campsite at 7:30 and Carl settled in to watch the hockey game.
June 5. Sunday. Saskatoon
Another beautiful sunny day, and windy again.  The wind gusts yesterday were shaking our trailer a bit.  The wind took my book and just blew it off the picnic table.  The bugs don't have a chance.
Our destination today was tthe Wanuskemin Heritage Center.  At the Center we saw a short film, checked out some artwork and tthen headed for the trails.  The trails follow the pattern of the Cree during their spring and fall buffalo harvest.  The main building is where the actual buffalo jump was located.  On the trails you see the river, valley and surrounding area where the Cree sheltered during the winter.  You don't actually see the medicine wheel or archeological digs just signs pointing out where they were.

South of Saskatoon ( way south) lies The Berry Barn where we went to try Saskatoon Berry Pie.  The pie was good, a different taste, kind of like bland tasting blueberries.  The ice cream helped it go down.  The Berry Farm is located on a beautiful piece of riverfront with a nursery, saskatoon berry farm, restaurant and store.  It was a nice short walk in an idyllic environment.
Getting back to the trailer we had some housekeeping items to attend to, like laundry and fixing the bbq.  Tomorrow morning we have to deal with the trailer tire issue. If we are successful, we will move on towards Edmonton.
June 4. Saturday. Saskatoon
This morning did not start out very well.  Carl noticed that the tires on the trailer were wearing unevenly and suggested that could lead to a blowout if we (the royal we) don't deal with it.  We booked another night here and Carl set off to buy new trailer tires.  It was mid afternoon by the time new tires were bought and changed over.  We may also need to do a wheel alignment on the trailer to prevent this from happening again.  If we do this, we have to stay here until Monday.  The weather is perfect today so this won't be a big hardship.

We decided to barbeque our chicken for dinner but Carl was unable to get the bbq started.  He thinks it is a faulty tank.
Oh, and my watch died this morning.  Is there some kind of weird mojo happening out here?  Better luck tomorrow when we turn back into tourists.
June 3. Friday. Saskatoon
Carl made a great breakfast of french toast, bacon and raspberries.  The #1 attraction in Trip Advisor is the Western Development Museum so we headed there.  Ths is an indoor representation of a typical prairie town from 1910 with more than 30 buildings and their artifacts.  We spent the entire day here.  The Boomtown cafe offered a lunch of bison burgers that we thoroughly enjoyed.  The museum is very well done and we found it interesting.
This morning we put gas in the truck for $101.9 and tonight when we left the museum the price had risen to 111.9. We just learned of the gas shortage in the west.

June 2. Thursday. Winnipeg to Saskatoon.
The sun was shining.  What an odd sight! We pulled out of the trailer park just after 9, heading for Saskatoon.  This was supposed to be an 8+ hour drive so, a long day ahead of us.
Portage la Prairie was the first large center we drove through.  Looking around I couldn't imagine portaging from the Red and Assiniboine Rivers to Lake Manitoba.  Those voyageurs had to carry their canoes, supplies and heavy packs of furs a very long way to continue their journey.
Neepawa calls itself the World Lily capital because the area grown more than 2000 varieties of lilies but, I guess it is to early for lilies because I didn't see any.
Minnedosa showcased a Bison Park and that is where we stopped for lunch.  Here we could watch the antics of the bison babies and their parents; rolling in the mud and frolicking in the pasture.  The babies were very cute.

A giant coin monument caught our attention in Churchbridge, Sask. The artist Rita Swanson lives here and submitted the winning design for the 1992 dollar coin.

When I woke up from my nap, I as a little disconcerted to see a sign that said Kandahar.  Carl must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.
In the low lying areas there was so much water in the fields, almost coming up to the highway edge in some places.

Potash production became more prominent as we approached Saskatoon with many large trucks passing us on the highway.
We reached our destination campsite at 7:30, had dinner and geared up for the next day.
June 1. Wednesday. Winnipeg

We met two very nice young men at the laundromat last night.  I recognized their accent and, as I suspected they were from Germany.  They flew into Chilliwack, got work at a window installing company for several months and now they are driving across Canada to Halifax and then back. We had a very interesting chat.
It is raining quite heavily again this morning but we still have some things to see.  The Royal Canadian Mint was our first destination.  We signed up for a tour and while we waited we lifted up a 28 lb block of solid gold.

The coins on display are works of art and have various themes from Disney to Salmon.

The tour showed us how the coins are made; from the steel rolls to the final finished coin production.  It is interesting how many other countries that Canada makes coins for.  Those countries include the Phillipines, New Zealand and Barbados.
The Manitoba Legislative Building was the next indoor attraction.  We walked around the bulding and got a gallery pass.  For part of the afternoon we sat and listened to the back and forth commentaries about the recently released budget.

Still dreary but no longer raining, we set off for Assiniboine Park.  We passed on the Zoo but stopped at the Conservatory to see some tropical plants and learn about the history of tulips.

We needed a few groceries so we stopped at Safeway and then headed back to our campsite where our passports were waiting.  Yay!  Several campsites out here are under water from all the rain.  Tonight we pack up for moving on tomorrow. A long day of driving is ahead.