Back in the United States! It’s a good feeling and a sad feeling because I (Barbara) have a soft spot in my heart for Canada—its beauty, its people, and its hockey! But I’ll always be an American. We ate lunch today in Lethbridge, Alberta to use up the last of our Canadian money and a nice couple came over to talk to us. They knew we were Americans by our accents. We never think of us having accents but several Canadians have told us we have them. Of course, we think they have accents.
We got through Customs with no problem. We were going to stop in Shelby, but decided to drive a little further and stopped at the small town of Conrad, MT. This very nice little lady running the campground brought us a welcome bag compliments of the Chamber of Commerce. How sweet of them!
Pictures: Click here
Friday, September 14, 2007
Day 100, Tue, Sep 11, 2007, Red Deer to Calgary, AB
A day all Americans and most people worldwide should never forget. Today is a beautiful day, just as is was 6 years ago, weather-wise anyway. We’re having blue skies and the temperature as I write this (1:00 p.m.) is 75 degrees. We are spending the night with our friend Morna, who is Karen Ramstead’s Mom.
We had a delightful visit with Morna. She stuffed us with delicious stew and hot rolls, and we laughed over videos of interviews of Karen. Karen, how do you stay so composed? One was done in the kennel with a team hitched to the four-wheeler. The announcer was trying to interview Karen as she sat on the four-wheeler, but every now and then the dogs decided they’d rather run and off they’d go. It was like they were quietly saying to each other, “okay, guys, on three, we’re off!” Morna, thank you for the kindness and hospitality and Karen, thank you for inadvertently providing some much-needed laughs. We so admire you and are so proud of you. The only thing missing was you, Mark and a few puppies!! But your Mom passed on the big hug!
Being a “dog person” Morna invited Blackie and Little Bear into her home and they were so excited to be in a space larger than our little motorhome! Little Bear wasted no time touring the entire house (nosy thing that she is) then whined until Morna and I put her on a bed upstairs for a nap. At 17, she’s unable to jump on a bed but likes to sleep on one. Blackie was thrilled to have a backyard to run in and gave Morna so much attention when we came in—he even “helped” her put the VCR tape in the TV and gave her lots of kisses as a thank you. There are no spoiled animals in the Lake household!! I think both of the pets are as anxious to get home as we are.
Pictures: Click here
We had a delightful visit with Morna. She stuffed us with delicious stew and hot rolls, and we laughed over videos of interviews of Karen. Karen, how do you stay so composed? One was done in the kennel with a team hitched to the four-wheeler. The announcer was trying to interview Karen as she sat on the four-wheeler, but every now and then the dogs decided they’d rather run and off they’d go. It was like they were quietly saying to each other, “okay, guys, on three, we’re off!” Morna, thank you for the kindness and hospitality and Karen, thank you for inadvertently providing some much-needed laughs. We so admire you and are so proud of you. The only thing missing was you, Mark and a few puppies!! But your Mom passed on the big hug!
Being a “dog person” Morna invited Blackie and Little Bear into her home and they were so excited to be in a space larger than our little motorhome! Little Bear wasted no time touring the entire house (nosy thing that she is) then whined until Morna and I put her on a bed upstairs for a nap. At 17, she’s unable to jump on a bed but likes to sleep on one. Blackie was thrilled to have a backyard to run in and gave Morna so much attention when we came in—he even “helped” her put the VCR tape in the TV and gave her lots of kisses as a thank you. There are no spoiled animals in the Lake household!! I think both of the pets are as anxious to get home as we are.
Pictures: Click here
Day 99 Mon, Sep 10, 2007 Valleyview, Alberta to Red Deer, AB
A cloudy day in the low 60’s and mostly flat with a few rolling hills. I miss the mountains terribly. Actually, this area reminds me of Missouri, with lots of farms. We planned to stop in Edmonton, but got there earlier than planned, so went on to Red Deer, Alberta. We stayed in a beautiful campground sponsored by the Lions club, one of several in the area. The Lions Clubs’ have every right to be proud of their campgrounds. They had paved roads, lots of grass and trees, nice bathhouses. Blackie loved having some grass to roll in.
Day 98 Sun, Sep 9, 2007 Fort St. John B.C. to Valleyview, Alberta
We finally made it to Alberta—another Province down. Except for one deer in the road the only animals we saw today were on people’s farms—sheep and horses. The campground, named Sherk’s, was one of the nicest we’ve stayed in just because it had grass between the spaces. And the spaces were large. But no WiFi or TV. Jerry’s leg was really hurting so after getting set up and helping me carry the sheets to the laundry room, he called it quits for the day. We got him down with his leg elevated and as soon as I got his bed remade he crawled in without even eating anything. His leg is peeling like from a sunburn and I’d love to get my hands on it—I peeled my own dead skin when I was stupid and got sunburned as a kid. But this is worse that a sunburn and the most he’ll let me do is gently put lotion on it. We think his leg is getting worse again and as much as we love Canada, we desperately want to get to the States so Jerry can see a doctor and our insurance will pay up front.
The weather was partly cloudy and temps around 71. Low in mid 50’s.
Pictures: Click here
The weather was partly cloudy and temps around 71. Low in mid 50’s.
Pictures: Click here
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Days 96,& 97 Fri & Sat, Sep 7 & 8, 2007 Toad River, B.C., to Fort St. John B.C.
Mostly sunny and 60 degrees already (noon) and it didn’t take long to be exciting. We saw a small herd of deer, and immediately after that a caribou. All of these were on the oncoming side of the road so my pictures had to be taken through the windshield. All I got of the caribou was the steering wheel! The woods are cut back from the highway giving the animals plenty of room to walk off the road, but obviously they like the road the best.
We learned a lesson about stopping early; or not stopping early. Until last night campgrounds (including our home in Whitehorse) have been mostly empty. We had a site in Pink Mountain, but someone was in it. We should have asked them if they had a receipt for that site, but we didn’t know it was the last site in the campground. We decided to get our money back and drive on to the next campground—wrong decision. We ended up in a motel in Fort St. John a couple of hours later and Jerry had a very, very sore leg. So sore, that we’re spending two nights here so he can recover. From now on we’re sticking to our 5 hours of driving a day, and stopping early.
Pictures: Click here
We learned a lesson about stopping early; or not stopping early. Until last night campgrounds (including our home in Whitehorse) have been mostly empty. We had a site in Pink Mountain, but someone was in it. We should have asked them if they had a receipt for that site, but we didn’t know it was the last site in the campground. We decided to get our money back and drive on to the next campground—wrong decision. We ended up in a motel in Fort St. John a couple of hours later and Jerry had a very, very sore leg. So sore, that we’re spending two nights here so he can recover. From now on we’re sticking to our 5 hours of driving a day, and stopping early.
Pictures: Click here
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Day 95, Thu, Sep 6, 2007, Watson Lake to Toad River, British Columbia
Today was an exciting day. We saw a small herd of buffalo on the road, but we had just crossed a bridge that they were doing construction work on and it was down to one lane, so we were going very slowly. We were also the first car in line which made it handy for taking pictures. A little later there was a caribou eating road kill in the road so Jerry slammed on his breaks and moved to the left; the caribou stood up and moved to his right—or the same direction as us. The entire time I had the camera in my hand but my fingers were frozen and I never took one picture. I think it took 30 minutes for our heart rate to return to normal.
We stopped at Liard Hot Springs—something I’d really been looking forward to. They had benches in the springs to sit on, and it was divided into areas of super hot, hot, and warm. They also had a waterfall with a bench to sit on, which felt great on my back.
We stayed at Toad River Lodge (and campground) also a Good Sam campground and it had the worst looking bathhouse I’ve ever seen. I’d really been looking forward to a hot shower because one of the nurses at the hospital in Whitehorse asked us if Jerry had been in Liard Hot Springs. She said they get a lot of cellulitis patients from there.
The scenery is beautiful, of course. Autumn is here in British Columbia. Not much red, but lots and lots of gold mixed in with the evergreen trees.
Temps range from low 40s to mid about 60.
Pictures: Click here
We stopped at Liard Hot Springs—something I’d really been looking forward to. They had benches in the springs to sit on, and it was divided into areas of super hot, hot, and warm. They also had a waterfall with a bench to sit on, which felt great on my back.
We stayed at Toad River Lodge (and campground) also a Good Sam campground and it had the worst looking bathhouse I’ve ever seen. I’d really been looking forward to a hot shower because one of the nurses at the hospital in Whitehorse asked us if Jerry had been in Liard Hot Springs. She said they get a lot of cellulitis patients from there.
The scenery is beautiful, of course. Autumn is here in British Columbia. Not much red, but lots and lots of gold mixed in with the evergreen trees.
Temps range from low 40s to mid about 60.
Pictures: Click here
Day 94, Wed, Sep 5, 2007, Whitehorse, YT, Canada to Watson Lake, YT
We finally left Whitehorse! We intended to yesterday, but we were waiting for mail—very important mail at that. The stickers on our license tags had expired the end of August and our daughter, Susan, had mailed them by express mail. We thought for certain we’d get them on Tuesday, but didn’t. Maybe it was a sign that Jerry needed another day of rest.
At any rate, today, we’re on our way home, with mostly blue skies, and a few short rainshowers thrown in for good measure. It seems to rain here everyday, but not for very long. Then there is a beautiful rainbow, and yes, we saw one today. We’ve been at a higher altitude most of the day—about 3,000 feet—and have been enjoying the fall colors the Yukon has to offer.
Jerry’s leg still hurts, but not so much that he can’t drive and both our spirits have been lifted considerably.
We’re staying at Downtown RV Park in Watson Lake. A nice Good Sam Park, but lacking in grass for Blackie. Bathhouse and laundry room were nice and clean, though.
The high was about 52, low of upper 30’s.
Pictures: Click here
At any rate, today, we’re on our way home, with mostly blue skies, and a few short rainshowers thrown in for good measure. It seems to rain here everyday, but not for very long. Then there is a beautiful rainbow, and yes, we saw one today. We’ve been at a higher altitude most of the day—about 3,000 feet—and have been enjoying the fall colors the Yukon has to offer.
Jerry’s leg still hurts, but not so much that he can’t drive and both our spirits have been lifted considerably.
We’re staying at Downtown RV Park in Watson Lake. A nice Good Sam Park, but lacking in grass for Blackie. Bathhouse and laundry room were nice and clean, though.
The high was about 52, low of upper 30’s.
Pictures: Click here
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