(July 17)
We did get through today’s very long day. It was very interesting. There were fields of rich croplands–lots of canola. In dryer areas, there is ranching: cattle and horses. We climbed into the foothills of the Rockies. There are wonderful conifers and logging. Many of the deciduous trees are dead, though.
We are at the Encore Suites in Grande Prairie. We stayed here last time. This time, our room had a wonderful opening for the shower, but no seat. So for tonight, we are sharing with another room
Tomorrow we lick our wounds and get organized.
(July 18)
Dear Folks,
In hiking parlance, this is what’s called a “Zero Day.”
It’s a chance to get organized for the next leg of the journey.
On our way up to Grande Prairie yesterday, we went through Calgary. It never rained harder. We kept getting alerts from Google saying that “poor visibility reported ahead “. We were in it. It certainly did make Miracle’s windshield clean. When the rain stopped, so did the clean windshield. Driving through fields and forests–lots of insects gave up their lives on our windshield.
Grande Prairie is quite urban. And it isn’t designed with walking in mind. It’s hard to find sidewalks. This morning on our walk, a hotel guest had his dog chained on a stake by his truck. The dog was barking and lunging at us. They were gone by the time we got back.
We organized Miracle a little so that we have a good sense of where our camping materials are.
We got gas so that we could try to scrape some bugs off the windshield.
And we did some laundry and learned about Canadian coins. The $1 coins are called “loonies,” because a loon is depicted on them. The $2 coins are nicknamed “toonies,” combining “two” with “loonie.” That’s Mari in the laundry room
Then we went to the market for a few items. That’s a photo of the Girls in front of a natural foods case.
A recurring theme in our travels is how kind many people are. The market was no exception. A man who worked there asked if we were finding everything all right. By that point, we were still looking for non-dairy yogurt and cheese. Although that is not his department, the man took us over to dairy. We did not find anything, so he asked. We were told that those items were in aisle 12–organics. The man pulled out things and made sure that we got the best dates–even though the market would like you to take the older things first.
We also got some Triscuits. In the US, the packaging says “Proudly grown and baked in the USA.” We wondered how that would play in Canada. The packaging is different here. It is in both English and French. It does not say where it is grown or baked, it does say that it is imported by a company in Toronto.
Many businesses in Canada say: “Proudly Canadian owned and operated.”
Tomorrow is a shorter leg over to Ft. Nelson, BC. Then a long haul to Whitehorse.
Hugs and wags.
The Lowman Family
