Then, we headed to the nearby Williamson Provincial Park to go for a walk.
Finally, the wind had calmed down and it was a good day for driving...
Not the most thrilling scenery. Lots of trees!
Sherman, at the Valleyview, Alberta visitors center.
Yes, there is a view over the valley.
Us, enjoying the view.
Next stop was Williamson Provincial Park. It wasn't far off the main highway, and we just wanted to go for a walk. There's not much there though... a boat ramp and big parking lot, a small day use area, and a 65 site campground that was empty!
Why was it empty?
Well this would be my guess.
Way overpriced.
A swampy area beside the campground.
I didn't take any pictures of the sites, but they sure weren't very well maintained. Kind of embarrassing for a Provincial Park. Not impressed at all.
Lots of bird life though!
Canada Geese at the day use area.
Canada Geese, with a mallard duck in the background.
From there, we carried on to the little village of Bezanson where we stopped and had some lunch.
Scenery along the away.
Back at the end of December, we had a message from a couple who had come across this blog just a few weeks earlier while investing some things in Mexico. They live in Grande Prairie, and I had mentioned that we were going to be heading through Grande Prairie on our way up to Yukon. So we stayed in touch, and as we got closer, Doug invited us to stop by and say hi.
So we arrived in Grande Prairie mid afternoon, and before you know it we were sitting on their back porch having a glass of wine! Lots of great travel conversation because Doug and Arlene have done a few trips as well. Next thing you we're all having supper, and the rest of the day flew by. They also like to hike, so we went out for a walk on some of the local trails near their home.
Ruth, Doug, and Arlene.
Sherman, doing some urban overnighting.
After our walk, they took us for a tour of Grande Prairie. It's a small city of about 65,000 people, but boy do they ever have some nice facilities here. Lots of hiking and biking paths.
The local college was designed by the same guy who designed the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
Funny dinosaur.
Really nice recreation center.
Time flew right by with these guys, and it was almost 9:30pm by the time we got back to Sherman. Still light as can be outside, so it kind of plays tricks on the mind.
Thanks for the visit and the tour, Doug and Arlene!
They're coming over for pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast this morning, then we've got to make a stop at Canadian Tire for a few items, then get Sherman's propane tank filled.
Yesterday's drive, 187 kms (116 miles).
Since we left Saskatoon Airport on the 24th.
We've done 983 kms (610 miles) in the last six days.
Today, we will cross the border into British Columbia, and Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway!
Once again, a reminder about our comments section. We like it when you comment, but I see that Blogger (our hosting platform for this blog) has made it so that the only way you can leave a comment on this blog is by having a google (gmail) account. So, if you'd like to, you can either sign in below using your google account, or you can comment on our facebook page, or send us an email at [email protected]
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Record low price on this Philips Norelco Rechargeable Shaver...
And in Canada...
A nice welcome and overnight stay.
ReplyDeleteProvincial parks in Ontario are about $45.00 a night with electric, a bit less for dry camping too expensive for us as well, yet they are always full in the summer.
And if the market can support that kind of pricing, then all the power to them. But this park was empty.
DeleteYummy - pancakes and maple syrup! It’s so nice meeting up with others along your road trip.
ReplyDeleteWe love treating people to pancakes and maple syrup, and they were yummy!
DeleteIt is always nice to meet our blog readers, there is always something that we have in common and there never seems to be a lack of something to talk about, as you and Barry know. ;-)
I admire your ability to putter along at 100 miles a day. I'm still working on that skill.
ReplyDeleteWe love it because at that rate we never feel rushed and if we want to take time out and explore a pretty town or even stop and go for a good hike then we can. Because we don't have a "toad" to explore these place once we arrive somewhere, we are able to just fit them into stops along the way.
DeleteThe camping prices in Alberta are shameful. When we started camping years ago, it was relatively inexpensive but unfortunately the camping bug caught on and now more people do it, hence the higher prices. It really is bad. We don't camp typically in Canada at all (we are so close to the US border) and our go-to state is Oregon as they seem to have the best maintained campgrounds I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that the prices have gone up so much but again like Kevin says if they are busy and can fill their parks at the high price then good for them. It's not good if the prices are high and the parks are empty though. We look at it as being a waste, it would be better to fill the park at a lower rate especially in the shoulder or off season then have it sit empty at a high rate. At that point we will just stick to boondocking!
DeleteNice to meet up with folks along the way. I use comment moderation (as you know), with email notifications, but Blogger is messing something up because I get no emails about comments. Always something with these guys!
ReplyDeleteBlogger no longer hosts Open ID for commenting so you won't get the notifications anymore and only people with a google account can comment. So you need to go to Blogger itself and then look under the Comments and then click it to bring up your comments and go through them that way. I have started putting the little check in the "notify me" that is in the comment block on each post now so that it will come up in my emails. I think that it has something to do with the new privacy laws in the EU that just got approved.
DeleteLove the drive and tour.
ReplyDeleteWow! My son lives right across from the Rec Centre when he wirks up there. Small world.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great facility.
Enjoy.
The world is definitely becoming a very small place! I hope that he uses the recreation centre, it is a beautiful one.
DeleteHe loves the rec centre, after work.
DeleteThat's good to hear! :-)
DeleteWe're enjoying your trip so far - so much of Alberta reminds us of the northern lower 48.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that it does and we didn't even see the most beautiful parts of Alberta!
DeleteGlad you guys finally made it to Grand Prairie. Nice to have people you can visit with and show you the sites along the way. Looking forward to your BC and Yukon adventures. Drive safe.
ReplyDeleteWe are slow but we finally made it here and yes, as you know it is nice to meet up with blog readers and have them show us around. We are getting very spoiled on this trip north.
DeleteThe really beautiful scenery will soon be starting and we are getting pretty excited about it.
It's hard to justify the camping fees, particularly when booking a non-serviced site (and especially at campgrounds that are not overly in demand). We've tent-camped many times in Ontario provincial parks, which we generally like for family-friendly programming, but the ridiculous cost to pitch a tent is a significant drawback.
ReplyDeleteWe totally agree with you, prices seem to have gotten out of hand but if people are willing to pay them and the parks are full then all the power to them,. It is frustrating though when the parks aren't busy and sit empty or almost empty, that they don't offer a lower price to fill them in the shoulder or off season or at parks that aren't popular. To us, we think it is better for the park to pull in some money rather than no money, and then they wonder why people go and park at Walmarts overnight!
Deletewe have a house guest coming from the east and he is bringing some real maple syrup which I am sure you brought from the Ottawa Valley,,,,,,,,,,,,,,mmmmmmmm so good from that area !Great picture of you on that surf board at the rec center Kevin :)
ReplyDeleteNow those are the kind of house guests that you just have to love! We won't eat pancakes if we don't have REAL maple syrup.
DeleteNo, that wasn't Kevin, if it was he would have been lying at the bottom of the surf with water running all over him! ;-)
I have followed your hop-scotching around the world since Namibia, and you are tiring me out! My virtual passport is running out of pages, but I am loving that I can now trail along with my AAA atlas every evening.
ReplyDeleteLol, love that you are enjoying our travels virtually! We hope that you will enjoy this adventure. :-)
DeleteAs I've said before, Canada is a beautiful country but very expensive to visit especially by rv with fuel, food and rv parking if you're not a boondocker.
ReplyDeleteIt sure is a beautiful country and so much varied scenery across the whole country.
DeleteYes, it is expensive but if you can plan well then you can do it. No meals out or very little, lots of boondocking, traveling at a slow pace over a large amount of time spreads the gas bills out a little more and finding deals on food and not drinking alcohol. It's the price we pay when we travel somewhere that is pretty pricey but we aren't going to let that deter us from exploring an area just because it is expensive.
Yah we found the provincial parks quite high on the budget for us when we were there for a few weeks last fall. We boondocked a few nights, but the weather turned unusally warm and humid that we had to stay with hookups for a lot of the nights... my lungs and the dogs both need that AC. sigh. But we do like the lighter budget of the national forest campgrounds in Wis and Mich compared to the state parks.
ReplyDeleteYep, they are expensive which is too bad because we do enjoy the provincial parks, however we can always find somewhere nice for free. Sometimes if the park has a lot to offer, such as great hiking trails then we might splurge but it is very seldom that happens. Luckily, not having AC doesn't bother us.
DeleteWe like the National Forests in the States as well, and some offer even free boondocking.