Slowing Down

We have been putting in a number of fairly big days, until now.  Last night was early-to-bed, and today was slow to get started.  Our "tourist time" was wandering around the West Edmonton Mall, which is probably bigger than the Mall of America in Minnesota.  Anybody interested in a roller coaster?

Or indoor Ice Skating?

Back at the RV Park, we spent time with other neighbors who are also traveling to Alaska, some from NC, some from Ind, and some from Quebec.  Alaska might be crowded this summer.  Since we are now getting closer, we've planned to switch to earlier stops and add a few more multiple night stays where there are lots of things to see and do.

To Edmonton

Today was a little longer than usual, just to make it to the big city of Edmonton. We plan to take tomorrow off and need a few distractions to keep us busy. We've already noticed the days are getting longer.  I was awakened by a bright dawn about 5:00AM and sun doesn't set until after 10:00PM.  They will just keep getting longer for awhile.  We also learned a new weather-term; some places in Ontario had "Hail the size of TimBits" (that's donut holes to those from the States).  After the early start, we traded places. Just to show this is an equal opportunity motorhome:

By mid-day we entered Lloydminster which is right on the border between Saskatchewan and Alberta. The border is noted on the sign which is posted on a normal looking, busy street.

Here is our setup for the next 2 days:

We have already met many others on their way to Alaska too.  First was a couple from Illinois who we met in the NW Angle.  They had a little delay and will be coming later.  A couple from southern Indiana was next to us last night and are now about 150 ft west, in the same campground.  Two gentlemen from Quebec are next door to us tonight.  A number of people whose blogs we read regularly are already there.  It seems like this is a boom year for traveling to Alaska.

Even More Prairie

Today was an easy day, from Yorkton to Saskatoon, through central Saskatchewan.  No dramatic scenery, like floods, fires, or mountains, just a pleasant drive with a relatively early stop.  We plan to push harder tomorrow for Edmonton and then take a 2-night spot (just because we can).  We have a couple of photos of our campsites; here is last night in Yorkton where I am cleaning bugs off:

and here is tonight's in Saskatoon, with very little in the way of scenery:

The park we are thinking of for tomorrow is supposed to have strong WiFi (we will have to see).  That should make e-mailing easier.  Tonight we can't reach it where we are paked, so we are posting from the campground's laundry room.  What we do to keep in touch!!

The Wet Prairies

Wednesday got off to a slow start.  With all the flooding that has happened here, plus the overnight rain, plus being camped at Creekside RV, Paige worried about us becoming flooded in or flooded away (as happened to friends a few years ago).  The result was a later start, then stopping on the way out to catch the office's WiFi to post yesterday's blog.  We also stopped again within 10 miles to learn how to use a truck wash.  The motorhome hadn't been cleaned in over a month and we towed the Vue over 20 miles of gravel into NW Angle (dry and dusty) then out again (wet and muddy).  Both vehicles were filthy.  While not terrific now, at least they are much better.  At the other side of town was a fuel station where we took on 205 liters of diesel (figure that out yourself, if you'd like to know gallons).  We also found another Tim Hortons so we had put on less than 20 miles before 11:00 AM.

The afternoon was much better: scattered clouds and a tailwind.  Before noon we turned off of the Trans-Canada Highway onto the YellowHead Highway (#16).  Since Lake of the Woods we have seen lots of flooding throughout Manitoba and by mid-afternoon, Saskatchawon too.  At a Visitors Center near the Provincial border, we learned of flooding here in the East while they are having forest fires in the West.  Any happy medium?  Here is a typical view of the flooded prairie near the SK/Manitoba border:

We have also just crossed into the MDT time zone and are spending the night in Yorkton.  The city campground does not have WiFi so we are trying something new.  This blog is being posted from their library, which is located in a shopping mall, complete with grocery store.

Without our cell phones, the best way to reach us is by e-mail.  We will connect (one way or another) nearly every day.

Hello Tim Horton’s!

Today (June 7, Tuesday) was mostly a grey and rainy day. We left the Northwest Angle around 10:30 this morning and drove around Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie where we found a campground. We crossed many rivers which were overflowing and heard on the news tonight that there has been lots of flooding in this area of Canada.


Our bright stop for the day was around noon when we saw our first Tim Horton’s of this trip in Steinbach!! Yippee! When we motorcycled in Canada with the Almekinders, we discovered the Tim Horton’s coffee and donut shops. We saw many of these prior to finally stopping in to see what they were. We were hooked and stopped as often as we could to have their coffee, donuts, and sandwiches. So we were very happy to have the opportunity again to enjoy.

We’re hoping to run across another Tim Horton’s tomorrow – I’d hate to miss the opportunity!

Rambling Once Again

Last night we closed up the cabin by moving the groceries into the motorhome, so that packing up this morning was quick and easy. We were on the road before 9:00 traveling North on US53 through Minnesota’s Iron Range, almost to the border. MN Highway 11 parallels the Rainy River (which is the Border in this area) and gave us a pleasant afternoon’s drive. At our lunch stop, we met a volunteer taking some baby raccoons to an animal refuge over 200 miles away.

We went through Warroad, home to Marvin Windows, and stopped at Canadian Customs by about 3:00. About an hour later, we crossed back into the USA without going South. Who can guess how we did that? Leave a comment below if you think you know.
Here is what our site looks like:

And the view nearby:

Tomorrow we will go back into Canada once again and continue to Winnipeg to get our Tim-Bits, and then to the northern prairies.  (What is a Tim-Bit?)

How Time Does Fly!

This time it's been over 2 weeks since our last posting due to mainly 2 things: lack of the Internet availability at the cabin, and long working days.

We had planned a full week for the cabin work and it was all of that and more.  Bob and Brett put in a number of 10 - 12 hour days, and David came to help over the long weekend.  Most (not all) of the outdoor work is done.  We will save the interior changes for next year.

We have taken a break from the windows/siding/painting to come back to the Twin Cities for another granddaugter fix.  Valentina's school held a number of performances of a musical play.  We took her three cousins to last night's showing. It was a great rendition of "Toad and Frog" done by the Anwatin Middle School students.

Today (Saturday) we will spend some time with friends and relatives and return to the motorhome in the north woods later tomorrow.  Then, on Monday, the big trip further north begins.  We have been told that our SmartPhone won't work in Canada, but we are not yet sure about our ATT non-smart alternative.  We will try to stay in campgrounds with WIFI whenever we can, so our blogging rate should get back to normal.