Edmonton, Alberta and a bit of Snow

May 13, 2009 Wednesday

“Taking care of business” has been the theme for the past couple of days. Boring stuff for you guys and actually, me too.

I came out of the Rockies, (sounds like I was Jeremiah Johnson or someone) a day early as the forecast was for an Arctic front moving through and it would snow… a lot. So I thought I would find a camp site half way to Edmonton. Wrong… they were either closed or stuck behind a gas station (although a valuable and frequently used resource..not my idea of the western experience for nocturnal accommodation). So..true to what seems to be my “credo”..”when in doubt just drive 100 miles more”.
I ended up in Edmonton, Alberta. The camp site..not very esthetic, but functional and a great big field full of gophers and a couple of ptarmigan, just to entertain Mick and Gretta.

So, I’ve gotten the truck serviced(3400 miles since I left Maine), put two new tires on the trailer(that was fun..jacking up the thing, crawling about in the dirt, then getting the new ones back on). Needed to grocery shop for Marcia’s arrival. Fruit, vegitables, you know..low carb , healthy stuff. I finally got the non-spousal food cleared out (oh sigh)..doritos, hot dogs, occasional cooky. If I couldn’t cook a meal in just one pan..well, it didn’t get cooked! Tomorrow the joy of doing the laundry( yea ,right ,in the stream with a rock).

Hey when I was coming down from the mountains I saw a wolf who just walked out of the woods as I passed. He ( of course it was a ‘he’) was as surprised as me(or is it I?), then turned and ran back in. He was big! Made our Maine coyotes look like “little yappy dogs”. (No offense to those of you who may own such mammals). Also, mountain goats and a few deer, who were contemplating jumping in front of the truck. I’m glad they reconsidered.

This morning I woke up to the dogs bugging me at 5AM. They were cold..the trailer heat had gone off and it was about 42F in the trailer..I had run out of propane. So I went out side to switch the tanks…snow! It was 27F out there….whew. I’m glad I wasn’t up in the mountains!

So..Marcia arrives tomorrow night. It’ll be good to have her here. You all should be proud..I even got wine and flowers! Friday is her birthday. What a way to celebrate…sitting in a truck, heading for Alaska!

The picture is shot out the window on the Ice Field Road in between Banff and Jasper. Now you know why I didn't want to stay with the forcast of "more snow".

Hang in there, stay warm