day 11

today we woke up just outside whitecourt (which is on the north side of edmonton)

we slept the night in a pullout in the back of our truck. 

it rained and the wind blew all night long. 

it was pretty cold outside, however inside the truck we stayed nice and toasty. 

we made it to dawson creek today, the official beginning of the alaska highway. 

the dawson creek residents were having an anti gmo protest, how appropriate for a time i should drive through.

we met up with a friend from alaska in the middle of no where. hope enjoyed her time outside the car. 

(a little too much... see below). a bath was very necessary. 

we made it up to fort nelson, the bermuda triangle of the alaska highway. if you can pass through fort nelson successfully, you are good the rest of your journey.

we ate at boston's (they have gluten free pizza and pasta) yeah!

we loitered at the local coffee shop after hours for some internet and went to bed in our truck in some random parking lot in fort nelson very late that night. 

day ten

we woke up today in lamden, we quickly departed our campsite to put some tracks behind us.

we found ourselves at edmonton by 3pm just before rush hour, but the traffic was still frightening.

driving around a large city that i don't know very well is my own personal nightmare.

add to that rain and i'm a mess. 

but, we were able to get to edmonton mall without too much trouble.

edmonton mall is the largest mall in the world, equipped with an indoor water park and other amusement rides.

we did not purchase anything but dinner, but it was just so nice to get out of the car and walk. 

it was especially nice since it was raining  like crazy outside. 

one thing i observed at the mall was the quality of youth services.

the students seemed much more attentive, helpful and willing to serve than american youth. 

overall i observed a much different level of patience in people in canada. service was overall slower, people were generally in less of hurry, and were less stressed than americans. 

i generally feel like a fairly patient person, but i have nothing on the canadians.

interlude

my dear blog followers. 

i currently am having trouble finding a company to provide internet to my new house.

consequetly, my blogging has been delayed. 

i hope to be caught up soon. 

i will be posting all the days of the trip eventually.

i cannot wait to share my alaskan adventures with you!

love. r

day nine {part ii}

today we traveled from ellendale north dakota into canada.

our destination in canada is regina. 

along our way i got a flat tire. i have a tire pressure sensor so we knew immediately. we stopped and plugged the hole created from a very large screw. it put us behind, but not too far.

we made it as far as lumsden, sk. upon arriving, ben found a trailer tire had a screw in it. the tire had not lost too much air and ben was able to plug it and fill it without any problems. i love having a handy man husband.

we found the cuttest local resturant to eat at, brickhouse bistro.

the food was amazing! we had eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce and asparagus 

and a strawberry almond salad. so delicious.

i wish i had taken some pictures of downtown lumsden. it was so perfect, with little boutiques everywhere. 

we decided to stay at the local camp ground where we found ourselves spending $30 canadian! 

but alas, it was late and we were tired, so we paid the $30 and went to bed.