Tuesday, June 16

You are all lucky you're getting this - we had a heck of a time finding a wireless service. I spoke with several people and they said that they're not fond of giving things away in Canada - they rather make money and charge (for example, McDonalds and Starbucks in the US have free wireless internet - not so much here). So, we finally found a spot - a coffee shop in downtown Dawson Creek that a gal at the supermarket told me about. Thanks goodness for her (and the people being so friendly and helpful).

We stayed last night at Motel 6 in Edmonton. I was a little worried about Motel 6, but was pleasantly surprised. A new motel and very nice and very clean. Room was maybe a little small, but who cares. I was glad we didn't have to pay full price for the Motel 6 room, though (Duane got a discount through work). If you'd have to pay full price, the room would have been $185. Yup, $185 for a Motel 6 - I told many of you that the motels in Canada are expensive. I wasn't kidding. Not much of a fan of Edmonton, though. We had to drive through the whole town to get to our motel - the interstates in Canada go right through the middle of the big cities, complete with stop lights and all. I just don't like being in that much heavy traffic on a motorcycle - thank goodness Duane is so good at his FOTB ("front of the bike").

What a great, beautiful day for a ride!. I would not have done that part of the trip in any other way! No wind (I love trees). The temperature ranged from 46 degrees to 66 degrees, most of which was right around 50. Good thing we have the right gear for driving in cool weather. We also finally got to enjoy a little more scenery. Right outside of Edmonton, we immediately went into more rolling hills and trees and then added a little water here and there - it eventually reminded us of Northern Minnesota. Beautiful! We got outside of Grand Prairie and looked to our left, and there were the mountains way in the distance all iced with snow. So pretty! Right before Dawson Creek (where we're staying for the night), it changed into foothills. I think we'll be seeing the mountains up close and personal soon. Yeah!

We saw a lot of deer today - many of them right next to the forrest, which is right next to the road. Good thing they have very wide ditches next to the road. We also saw antelope, buffalo and elk (the buffalo and elk were cheating, though - they were being raised by ranchers). No moose, although we saw tons of signs warning us to be aware of moose crossing. Didn't see a one, which is fine with me if he's going to be on the road in front of us. A lot of ranching going on during this stretch - they just let the cattle run among the trees and grass. Also saw some llamas again. Duane got a little frustrated with the whole moose warning thing and then seeing none - so we had to take a picture of him standing next to a moose sign and, just as I snapped the picture, he pointed at his butt (meaning - moose my a__). Naughty!

We left Edmonton at 7 a.m. (I know, that's quite early) and arrived in Dawson Creek at 1:30 p.m. (time here). We were actually on the road 6-1/2 hours. It was an easy, lovely day. We went through the 0 Mile Marker of the Alaska Highway museum (the Alaska highway started in Dawson Creek), spoke with a lot of nice people traveling from all over and then chased around trying to find a place where I could blog. We did manage to grab a bite to eat at a pub here in Dawson Creek - they served gravy with their french fries (no kidding - just real beef gravy, and thick, to dip your fries in). We weren't so crazy about that. Also, for breakfast, Duane had biscuits and gravy - they serve you biscuits with hashbrowns and pork sausage (their sausage was great) and a side of heavy, thick pork gravy. Different. They had on the menu "poutin." We asked what it was - it's french fries covered with gravy and cheese and then baked. I'm sure there are no calories in that at all. We did not try it. I just haveto tell you, I did have a cup of tea here in the coffee shop called a "London Fog." Fabulous! Earl grey tea with vanilla with steamed milk. Awesome. However, no one in Canada knows how to make a marguerite - I'll keep trying.

It was a wonderful day. Cool, but fine weather for a ride. Beautiful scenery and great company. We are thankful for this opportunity. Tonight we stay at Walker Ranch Bed and Breakfast. We'll see how that goes.

Again, thanks for checking in and for your prayers.

Gayle - BOTB