Thursday-June 02, 2011
We arrived at the Canadian border about 8:45 this morning and Nancy and I passed through Customs with only a documents check and cursory questions about guns, tobacco, alcohol, destination, length of stay, etc. However, Ben and Bonnie weren’t as lucky as their coach was selected for a random search and they we directed into an inspection lane. They had to wait outside their coach while the customs officer spent about 20 minutes inside alone. Of course no prohibited items we found and they were cleared through customs and we proceeded north. The country north of the border is very flat and mostly farm land with crops of wheat and alfalfa. It was obvious that the area had received an abundance of precipitation as everything was very green with areas of standing water. We traveled through Calgary, Alberta and I was surprised at just how large the city is; there were six lanes of traffic on Route 2, and we were all glad it wasn’t rush-hour. We traveled over 500 kilometers today, or 340 miles per our odometer. It’s a little disconcerting to have the speed limits posted in kilometers/hour and most of the day the speed limit was 110 (about 68 mph); I guess the up-side is that for the first time in my life I could drive 110 legally. We’re spending the night in a municipal park in Lacombe, AB and it very quiet and relaxing.
Friday-June 03, 2011
When we left the Park this morning at 7:50 a.m. it was 54 and overcast. Before getting onto Route 2 North we fueled and diesel was $1.129 Canadian/liter. It started to rain soon after we got on the road and when we stopped for lunch at noon the temperature had dropped to 45. By 1 p.m. the temperature had dropped to 38 with misty rain. At 1:15 p.m. the temperature was 36 and the rain started to include snow and it wasn’t long until snow was sticking to roof tops and our windshield. As we traveled north conditions continued to deteriorate and it became apparent it was too risky to continue to Dawson Creek as planned. We stopped at a “Chain-up Area” along the side of Route 43 and after discussion decided we’d try to stay at the “Country Roads RV Park in Grande Prairie, AB. We didn’t have a cell signal until we got close to Grande Prairie and then Nancy was able to confirm that the campground could accommodate us. What we didn’t expect was that Route 43 before the campground was unimproved and was a sea of mud. By the time we got parked the motorhomes and jeeps were covered with mud top-to-bottom.
In spite of the miserable weather we traveled 360 miles today and we’re now 3,239 miles from home. We hope to spend the weekend at Dawson Creek and head north on the Alcan Highway Monday morning.
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| SNOW ON JUNE 3RD |
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| SNOWING IN THE CAMPGROUND AFTER PAVEMENT ENDED & ROAD BECAME MUD |
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