This was my first chilly night. I need to remove my winter sleeping bag from the platform but that's not easy when there are two uncooperative dogs wanting to sleep on that platform. I put on socks to keep my feet warm. I managed, but when that 5:20am alarm went off, I did not want to get started. It was more like 8am before I let the dogs out and went to gas up, all while the rain fell. It rained all night long. It's a steady rain, nothing blinding, but at 51F it's a cold rain.
I drove off at 10am, stopping briefly at the historic trading post by the same name. The rain kept all the live exhibits indoors, but I got to talk to one man from Red Deer who talked about the weaponry used by the fur trappers of this area. Rocky Mountain House was the last trading post run by the Hudson Bay Company, on the North Saskatchewan River. The natives preferred trading with the Americans further south and the outpost was shuddered in 1869. The constant drizzle kept me from walking around the compound, where all that's left of the original buildings are two chimneys.The original forts all burned down. What's standing now is a replica.
The rain was constant and steady as I continued north on Alberta 22. The dogs were amazingly quiet; perhaps they knew it was raining and didn't want to get their paws wet. Both slept quietly the entire drive. I stopped briefly at a small river park along the Pembina river, but dogs were not allowed on the river front.
The terrain was flattening out, the hills were long and gentle, much like Iowa. The dense forest along the highway hid oil drills and storage tanks and logging areas. The road itself has long sections of frostheave damage that help collect the rain, so I was careful of going below the speed limit. Just outside Whitecourt I lost the main windshield wiper, but luckily there was a Castor Oil place that helped me. The entire crew was incredibly helpful and courteous, chatting with me in their Canadian upspeak, "So you're from Arizona, eh?" It's not like it's that rare to see Americans travel through on their way to Alaska. I'm just surprised that I see so many small towns with Subways, KFCs, McD, Tim Horton's and Pizza Hut. I can get wifi in any town although I have no phone service.
One of the young men working on my van accidentally broke my oil stick when he checked the oil at my request. The OIL CHANGE light kept coming on. The store manage assumes the computer wasn't reset when I had the oil changed just before this trip. At one point I had five workers looking over my van's oil stick tube, as if they were conducting major surgery on the engine and were contemplating the next move. The manager seemed a bit miffed at Garrett who had broken the stick and I hope he's not in trouble although it's me who will have to get the oil stick replaced at a Dodge dealer. The manager assured me nothing else is wrong with the oil. To make up for the hassle I was given a "free" windshield wiper and continued on. I still had 208km to go before getting to Grand Prairie.
Alberta22 turns into CND43 westward toward Grand Prairie, a major industrial town of 68,556 people. It doesn't give a first good impression. Oil tanks are visible as one approaches town, but there are also logging mills around town, hidden by the dense forest. The rain stopped at around 6pm so I was anxious to get some miles in with the dogs. I had researched Muskoseepi park in town yesterday, a multiuse paved trail along Bear Creek. I found one access point off 68th Street, the southern terminus, and just walked as briskly as I could while trying to warm up. It was in the 40s when I started and the sky still looked like it was contemplating another downburst.
The entire path I walked is paved, with footbridges and markings showing steep grades or turns. It goes past several neighborhoods, a logging mill and a disc golf course. Wild roses (the official provincial flower) dot the path. Cattail and other marsh flora also can be found here. Signs warning of bear and moose habitat are in yellow, although the only animals we saw were birds and chipmunks and beaver damage. People were jogging and biking and dog walking in all directions. The trail isn't lighted for nighttime walking (which concerns me, as Grand Prairie is listed as Canada's most crime-riddled town, according to maclean.ca.)
It felt good to get some exercise after this "exciting" drive. Weather is supposed to warm up for the weekend. Tomorrow morning I'll be on the AlCan highway as Dawson Creek is only 131km away. I still have 1800 miles to go, but at least I can say that I'm more than halfway "there."
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