July 9 - To Grande Prairie, AB

I am writing this quickly as I'm not sure how long my Internet connection will last. As seems to be the case in the entire country of Canada so far (with the possible exception of the Yukon), an Internet connection is carried to various sites on buffalo back and is, therefore, somewhat unreliable. We will try to be understanding and convert the natives to our more sophisticated ways...

Anyway - we are here in Grande Prairie, or as Jack likes to call it, "The Big Windy" - north of Jasper by about 4 hours. We plan to be there tomorrow if we can manage to keep the bike from being blown off the road entirely. We will be traveling down "Highway" 40, rumored to be filled with wildlife, and, according to one intoxicated gentleman outside of a local liquor store, wild Indians. We tend to believe the wild animals stories. (See the slide show to the right - July 8 - Ft. St. John.) We will spend one night in Jasper and the next in Banff. If we simply fall in love with it, we may squeak in an extra day in one or the other, but that is our plan so far.

Our adventure since my last blog has taken us to a place called Liard Hot Springs - which was WONDERFUL after a long day on the bike. The pools are hot, hotter, and hottest and very soothing. Crystal clear water with well cared-for boardwalks to guide you. The steam alone is relaxing. The springs are connected to a provincial park of the same name, but Jack and I chose to stay directly across the street so we'd have an electrical connection (which the PP doesn't have) for our heater. After all, the warmth of summer has yet to make it this far north.

After the night at Liard, we drove to Fort St. John, the "city" from which I wrote last night. No one there, apparently, eats after 10:00 at night, but, after driving through most of the town, we managed to find a McDonald's open until 11:00. That McDonald's and a strip club were all that were open. Jack lobbied for the strip joint, but I thought I'd seem a little out of place sitting there with the computer on my lap while everyone else in the place had a dancer on theirs, so McDonald's won out.

This morning, we headed out for Grande Cache, about two hours south of here, but decided to stop early after realizing the time change and a rather shaky promise of a 'Net connection there. Grande Prairie is actually a very nice place. The Alberta Welcome Center treated us to a barbecue tonight (bison sausage, salads, and Oreos) and plenty of information about our trek to Jasper. We met a French couple there who had their BMW bike shipped over from Paris and are making their way to Fairbanks and then down to ARGENTINA. We feel like such wimps. We just can't picture ourselves venturing into foreign lands ALONE, where we don't speak the language very well, and trying to navigate our way around. (I would need to learn to ask for pie in at least four different languages!) At the Hot Springs Monday, we met a gentleman who was originally from England (we think, although he was somewhat vague. I believe he was a spy...) who now lives in Austin, TX. He flew to Washington state in April and has been riding his BICYCLE all over the place ever since. He put more than 130 miles on his bike the day we spoke to him on the same roads we were bitchin' about. THE GUY IS OVER 80!! I have such admiration for these folks!

The best part of our trip has, by FAR, been the characters that we've met. We will bore you with the stories when we get home. The second best part - at least in my opinion - has been our wild animal sightings. Driving, LITERALLY, through a herd of wild bison was a RUSH. They were just standing there, looking at us with total disinterest, and barely moved out of the way as we passed. There was another group of at least 30, laying in a small open patch at the side of the road. None of them even glanced up as we drove slowly by, so Jack stopped the bike to let me take pictures. As I was clicking away, Jack tried to convince me that they were all just laying there, lulling us into believing that they were no big threat, and all of a sudden, one would yell, "GO!" and they'd charge us. I love it when he tries to put me at ease... In the same stretch of road, we encountered black and brown bear, mountain goats, big horned sheep, deer, and a moose. Jack was a little wild himself, but I'm not counting him.

The camper has worked out so well we can't even believe it and the bike, as always, is performing like a champ. We're a little concerned about what appears to be a bend in the hitch (probably from the lovely Cassiar/Stewart Hwy.), but will need to wait until we get home to check it out as long as everything holds up well in the meantime. I will do my best to write tomorrow. We're staying at a KOA, so I'm hoping they've got an I'net connection. Hold a positive thought.

Love to all,

L

OH - BY THE WAY - to those of you who have written responses to the blog - thank you! I try to respond on that same day's posting, so be sure to go back and check it out. As Ken Varee would say, "Peace."