Well.. I traveled a lot further than planned today, and am now within "striking distance" of the Alaska Highway. I am running about two days ahead of schedule, but am ready to slow down (maybe). I have covered 1573 miles as of today. A bit less than half the distance to Fairbanks... but the easiest part by far.
I was awake early in the morning again, so was on the road leaving Regina by 6:30. It was a gorgeous sunny day again, and the drive north to Saskatoon was relaxing and beautiful. The country was wide and rolling, and reminded me of someplace like Montana. A meadowy gorge followed along the highway for a number of miles with a small stream snaking it's way through, and then there was the big blue sky. A stiff tail wind helped me along, and my gas mileage was running 22 mpg for much of that leg of the trip, helping my overall increase to about 15.7 mpg. The temperature was steadily rising and the Saskatoon radio announcer said that it was going to be a record today... 29 degrees C. This trip changed my whole attitude about Saskatchewan.
After Saskatoon, I joined the Yellowhead Highway Route 16 going northwest to the Battlefords and Lloydminster. The scenery just kept getting better and the temperature eventually rose to the low 80's. Trying to capture this with my camera was kind of like trying to take a picture of all of Montana.. so I gave up after a feeble attempt and just enjoyed the ride. I found only one FM station that turned out to be in French and playing good French vocals throughout the trip which just added to the pleasant atmosphere... Gosh what a great day and drive.
I had decided that with my early start, I would attempt getting into Edmonton, Alberta, to spend the night. Several "Good Sam" RV Club certified campgrounds are located there. But because of the good roads, I was able to get there about 3:00 PM and the campgrounds were about 5 miles out of my way and right in the city. After seeing the traffic, and route 16 going right through the city, I decided to just drive on through today, and according to my campground guide found that Whitecourt also had a "Good Sam" campground and was only two hours further. So I pushed on hoping they would have room. At this point I was seeing lots of RVs going both directions. Edmonton is the collection point on the path to Alaska, as it feeds traffic from the states that come the popular Calgary route.
The route to Whitecourt was not so great.. bumpy and into a westerly wind that must have been gusting about 30 mph, so I had to take it out of overdrive for much of the trip. Also, it began raining and turned into a full blown thunder storm that lasted all the way into Whitecourt.. This was going to test the theory that you could drive through a thunder storm with the Aliner and set it up in the rain and it would still be dry inside. I pulled into the Sagitawah campsite about 5:30 in the rain, got my assignment and did just that. It opened quickly and was dry as a bone inside. I sat inside until the rain let up before letting down the stabilizers. I hooked up the 30 amp connector right away so I could run my clock radio and the electric heater that I brought.. but decided to not hookup water in this mess, and just use from my storage tank. Two of my neighbors came over to eyeball the funny looking trailer, and turned out that they were both from Minneapolis on their way to Alaska. They had big rigs and had been on the road for two weeks. I just saw one of them with his laptop headed for the office where they allow a modem connection.
Some things I have learned.... the small electric heater I brought works great in here, saves on gas, and is much quieter. I have not had to use my furnace since I left, so suspect my LP is just fine.. Only boil water with it. Also, I brought powdered Carnation milk with me to avoid refrigeration issues, and found it works just great with my cereal in the morning. One of the vents on top vibrated open with the rough road, so I need to tape the edges before I leave.. rougher roads are ahead. I also found I had to tape the lid on my sink as I have been finding it in various other places in the trailer when I open up. Yesterday's camp advertised "modem friendly" and it was a special payphone on a desk with a data connection. It took me several attempts to figure it out, but finally got a 44K connection. But makes you put in your Visa card, and I have no idea what it charged me. The call from Regina was local into the IBM network. I did not know that (or look it up) and attempted to use the Canadian 800 number again, but it was not accepted and a voice came on and told me that there was a local number I should use. Neat! The manager of this camp said he would just let me hookup in his office.
I am impressed with this camp and the "Good Sam" ratings. Also got a 10% discount as a member, so only $15. Good security... even the wash rooms and showers are coded entry.. nice flat lots, all drive through with full connections... and Whitecourt is the Snowmobile center of Alberta... great north woods surrounding us and near where the McLeod and Athabasca Rivers meet... About a half mile to the river, fishing, and boat launching.
The trailer, Jeep, and I seem to be holding up. Today was about as rough as I have seen it on the last leg of this drive, with the pounding rain. I will need to slow down from here on in. I noticed my stove was loosened and had to tighten it up. Most of what I have stored seems to be staying where I put it.
Well, tomorrow I head for Dawson Creek, BC. And the entrance to the Alcan highway..... Sky is clearing here, and tomorrow is supposed to be nice.
