Grande Prairie trip part 2 - We're Coming Home ...

 (in case you didn't get Part 1 - it's here.)

Instead of grabbing a few hours of sleep at Grande Prairie, we just fueled up and headed south to Jasper for a different route home. The trick was to find a pull-out on Highway 40 before Neil's drive time ran out - which we did. This happened to be in the middle of nowhere - well, actually, not the middle of nowhere, but a few hours south of Grand Prairie, beside one of many clear cut expanses. There were no road side toilets here, and not even any bushes to squat behind (not that I would - I think there are bears and moose up this way.)

We drove by signs for Kelly's Bathtub - I thought that was an interesting name, and pondered its meaning for quite a while. When I got home and googled it, turns out it's a lake in a park - no doubt a beautiful lake in a beautiful park, but quite a disappointment. I had imagine Mr Kelly transporting (maybe by some of the camels that disappeared from the Gold Rush Trail) a fabulous claw foot tub to a hot spring in the wilds, just so he could soak and pumice his feet in comfort after a hard day at the mines. 

(I find place names really interesting. On the way to Prince George, we pass a sign for Likely - I think a couple of gold seekers were seeking somewhere to spend the night, and the older one decided a spot by a big old cave would be good. But when the younger one saw a bear nearby, he said, 'Not likely.' So they kept on slogging, until they found a pretty lake with lots of blueberry bushes nearby. And the younger one said, 'Likely.' And the name stuck.However, this is all a figment of my imagination.)

Our next pit stop was Hinton, where there was a Husky - my favourite place to pee, so all I had to do was not think about waterfalls, thundershowers, or the bottle of water sloshing in the door compartment by my side. Then it was on to Jasper, another park in the foothills of Alberta.

I guess it's always windy in the foothills - at least when I travel across them. This morning was no exception - and like Neil said, he was towing a big sail behind us. However, like I tell people, he is an Experienced Driver, and I have all my faith in him.

I didn't see any wildlife driving along, although we saw some wild driving, like the little old man who decided a solid yellow line was the perfect place to pass us, even though a Wide Truck warning truck and the Wide Truck it was warning us about were coming towards us all. A few miles later, we saw his little truck pulled over, and he and little old wife were changing places. I think she probably had taken the time to change her underwear, too - I probably would have.

Neil, however, saw a herd of caribou, but by the time he said 'Look over there' and I thought he meant 'Look up there', and I looked up in the sky for maybe a bald eagle, we were long gone by.

The scenery was awesome, though, as we all expect, even though the skies were grey.

This was such a beautiful lake - the colour was amazing!

And we did lose the rain and the grey skies ...

If a picture's worth a thousand words, here's a few thousand words -

I do love bridges .. this one was over a train track, if I remember correctly.

As we neared Valemont (back in BC) we passed a billboard -

RIVER SAFARI

ONE AMAZING HOUR

and pasted across the bottom - only 35 minutes. Okay. Maybe the hour is so amazing, it only seems like 35 minutes, but if a person can get easily confused, this would be very confusing. However, I figured out that the actual tourist attraction was 35 minutes away. (I guess that would depend on how fast one was driving, though ...)

I really would love to go on this adventure though - yup, I could certainly see me here ...

However, for now I'll settle for the long lonesome highway ...

We stopped for a break at a pullout near Mount Robson, where there is a memorial to Terry Fox and the starting point of the Terry Fox Trail. I'd love to explore this area more - maybe another bucket list item? Who knows.

And we just kept on Yellowheading IT -

In all the miles I've travelled with Neil, this is the only moose I saw. I was pleased that it stayed still long enough for me to snap it.

It was either in or near Clearwater. It's been a while. I really should take notes when we travel ...

More rain ..

Of course we can't forget the town of Waverby, which isn't even google-able, unless of course I spelled it wrong. (And of course I spelled it wrong - it's actually Vanenby) What makes it noteworthy is the Shook's Ranch Trail Rides. Now that's what I call truth in advertising, because believe me, when I went trail riding at Back in the Saddle Again, I certainly shook a lot. A whole lot.

And for everyone who isn't happy with their job - believe me, it could be worse .... you could be the poor fellow way up in this Tonka-On-Steroids. I know you can't see him, but believe me, I could.

Once again, a change of scenery as we drive westward ...

A bit foggy ...

Yup, definitely a bit foggy .... we seemed to catch all kinds of weather this trip, except snow.

And here we are at the nicest brake stop of all - Zopkios. A very nice toilet, clean and wonderfully flushable - but only Arctic cold water in the taps. And don't think you can warm your hands with their electric hand blower dryers, because it's only Arctic air in those. Brrrrr. My fingers didn't think it was possible to get any colder without cracking off.

 

So, thank you, Neil, for another great trip - and I still got home in time for Howard's Salt Fish Cakes! Life is good indeed.