Wednesday, July 23
It was cool in the morning
when we woke up and by the time we were ready to load, it was pouring which
made the task more difficult for David. I really wanted to help out, but I had
to stay inside with Magnum, our miniature dachshund who is afraid of storms.
Someone had to protect the little guy.
After a few wrong turns (blame
the navigator), we headed out of Lethbridge. We stopped at a bank in Airdrie to
exchange our money. While there, David asked if they had a restroom. The teller
had to ask the lady at the next wicket what we were referring to and that’s
when we learned that if we wanted to find a restroom, we needed to ask for the
washroom instead.
As we drove, we noticed a
variety of crops. One bright yellow field intrigued us, and reminded us of
alfalfa. We later discovered that the fields were rapeseed, belonging to the
mustard family, which is used to make canola.
We were blessed with an
uneventful drive until we encountered frost heaves about 30 miles outside of
Grande Prairie. We were jostled around like a sack of potatoes and were
relieved when we rolled into town.
I had noticed that we were
seeing fewer SUVs on the road and a lot more pickup trucks. When we pulled into
town, I began to suspect that there must be a lot of oil and gas companies
working in the area. There were signs inside of the motel, requesting guests to
put their oily boots in the pillowcases provided at the door, and there were
also signs in the laundry area asking that oily clothes not be placed in the
machines. These guys must be a bit rough around the edges because we had to pay
a $200 deposit for the room.
We decided that even though
it was late, it would be good to do some laundry while we had the chance, so
while I was waiting, I wrote this little song.
(Editor’s note: Unless you
were into pop music in the late 70s, you might not know the tune. You can
listen to it online or just read it like a poem. Or, travel on up to Alaska and
be serenaded by the author.
On and On
Sung to the tune of well, “On and On, by Stephen
Bishop
Up in Alberta, they got lots
of bumpy roads
Shake your eyeballs then you
crack your head
Weary Shawna, she’s
traveling far with ol’ Dave
Dreams of finally sleeping
in her bed.
On and on
They just keep on driving
And she smiles
When she feels like crying
On and on, on and on, on and
on
Poor ol’ David sits behind
the steering wheel
He saw his woman bounce and
hit her head.
So he slows the rig down,
tries to smooth out the ride
It’s still bumpy so they
just sigh
On and on
They just keep on driving
And he smiles
When he feels like crying
On and on, on and on, on and
on
When the road is, so
dreadful
It can make you feel so bad
But keep driving, striving
Hold on tight, it’ll be all
right
Bouncing around, holding
onto the door
But we’re together, couldn’t
ask for more
So we don’t care, going to
take to the road
Take it easy to protect the
load
On and on
They just keep on driving
And they smile
When they feel like crying
On and on, on and on, on and
on.
Thursday, July 24
We left Grande Prairie
excited because we knew that we would be traveling on the Alaska Highway later
in the day. We stopped in Dawson Creek and visited a museum to watch a video
explaining how the Alaska Highway was built. The first man who explored a route
for the highway did so with his team of sled dogs. Later, two surveyed another
route on motorcycles. I gotta tell ya, the footage was hilarious. They did more
bouncing along with their feet touching the ground than actual smooth riding
and they would ferry the bikes on homemade rafts across the rivers and creeks.
All I could think of while I watched it was sore their backsides had to be
after such a trip. I decided that no matter what we encountered on our trip, it
had to be better than the trails via motorcycle.
We saw a black bear today. It was on David’s side of the truck, so
I wasn’t able to get a picture of it, but it was exciting nonetheless. We are
hopeful to see more wildlife as we go.
We pulled into Ft. Nelson in
the early evening and stopped at the Triple G Hideaway on the edge of town to
inquire about a campsite. Since we were camping in the truck tent and didn’t
require using any hook-ups, they gave us a spot for free. What a great deal! I
love how God continues to look after us on our journey.
Friday, July 25
Good Gravy Granny, what a long
day! Due to road construction, steep grades, and the curvy highway, it took us
14 hours to get to Teslin, Yukon which was 110 miles short of our goal. On the
brighter side, we saw bear, bison, caribou, stone sheep and a dead porcupine.
Today we hit the 3000 mile
mark on our journey. We are only 800 miles away. Piece of cake.
Saturday, July 26
After 16+ hours of traveling
we arrived in Kenny Lake. David thought it would be great to stop by our house
before heading to our niece and nephew’s house. He thought it would be
romantic. He thought wrong.
Our rental house is a fixer
upper and even though it has amazing potential and is a huge blessing, all I
saw was a house that needed a lot of work. I was overwhelmed.
Sunday, July 27
After a goodnight’s rest,
hot shower and a cup of tea, I was ready to head to the house. In the light of
day and with an attitude of gratitude, I began a making a list of renovations
that I thought we could make. We unloaded our trailer and headed back to Kean
and Rylee’s for some food and R & R. We will be staying here until our
house is livable. We are grateful for their hospitality, love and support and
know they will do all they can to help us navigate our way in our Alaska life.
