I would say this was worth the extra effort...

Once again, we got up at 6:30am Monday morning, fired Sherman up and hit the road right away in the pouring rain. It wasn't a far drive to Muncho Lake and the Northern Rockies Lodge where we stopped to have breakfast. I should clarify... we didn't have breakfast at the lodge. We simply stopped at the lodge to have our breakfast in the motorhome!

And, the lodge has wifi internet... a rare commodity in these parts where there is no cell service.

This is why we came here!

On the road before 7:00am again yesterday morning. We find it's better to get some driving done early. There are a lot fewer vehicles on the road, plus the odds of seeing some more wildlife are higher.

There are a lot of roadside pulloffs on the Alaska Highway. Obviously you can't stop at them all, but there are so many photo opportunities and things that we don't want to miss. We simply can't figure how anybody can drive right through, and yet many people do exactly that.

No overnight camping allowed at the dump station

We woke up at 6:15am Saturday and got Sherman ready to hit the road. We figure that we might as well use the engine heat to warm things up rather than wasting propane by using the furnace.

It doesn't take us very long to get going... we have done this so many times that even when we aren't ready at all, it only takes us 15 minutes to get things packed away and secured for travel. We both know the drill and what has to be done, and before you know it we're on the road.

Scenery along the Alaska Highway

We actually drove 205 kms (127 miles) yesterday! We're trying to average about 200 kms (124 miles) a day, but we haven't been able to that very many times... there is too much to see along the way.

Lots of oil and gas activity up here! In fact, it's amazing how they get so much equipment and manpower, and be able to house and feed all the workers. Especially the 300 kms or so north of Dawson Creek.

May Expenses

Not a bad month considering we flew to Ottawa and back, and we rented a car for a week. But, we also spent two full weeks working at the park, and we hardly left the park during that time so we didn't really have much opportunity to spend any money.

In total, we spent $1,591 CAD ($1,250 USD) for the month. Here's how it all broke down...

A great first day on the Alaska highway!

Okay, bear with us... long blog post today with lots of pictures because we saw lots of neat stuff!

We said goodbye to Wayne and Karen, and thanked them for their hospitality. Great to meet people along the way! Forgot to get a photo of Sherman's overnight spot... we had parked in the storage area of the little community where Wayne and Karen live. Their motorhome was in for service work, so we were able to use their spot.

On the way into the center of Dawson Creek, we saw something interesting!

The World Famous Alaska Highway... Mile 0

Up at our normal time around 6:30am yesterday morning. Had to get things done and give the place a bit of a tidy up, because we were having visitors over for breakfast. Doug and Arlene were coming over for pancake breakfast and to give us a few last minute tips around the city of Grande Prairie.

Then, we followed the signs for Alaska!

Before we knew it we were sitting on their back porch having a glass of wine!

On the road again fairly early yesterday morning after a great sleep despite the highway noise. I had read that the Valleyview, Alberta visitors center had good free wifi, and they weren't lying! Not a bad place to park for an hour and get caught up on things.

Then, we headed to the nearby Williamson Provincial Park to go for a walk.

Too close to the highway, but at least it's a nice setting!

Slept fine at the church, but moved early this morning to have our breakfast at the mall using the unsecured wifi coming from Domino's Pizza. Nobody was in there eating pizza for breakfast so it was pretty fast wifi with us being the only ones using it!

Then, we made our way to the Whitecourt Visitors Center located in the Forest Interpretive Center.

Because if you don't ask, you don't know.

We sure are getting lots of daylight as we get closer to June 21st, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. And of course it's even more noticeable as we drive further north.

On Saturday night, the official sunset was at 9:57pm. And then sunrise is at 5:20am! But the interesting thing is that when then sun sets... it lasts for a long time!

Well, that was a different day!

Up and on the road early yesterday. We were trying to beat the moderate winds that were in the forecast, and we were trying to make it to Edmonton by 11:00am or so.

We were not successful in either endeavor.

Into the province of Alberta!

Woke up with a bit of a breeze in the air, and it continued all day. Fortunately, it wasn't a cross wind, but it wasn't a tailwind either! Yes, we had a fairly strong headwind all day. Not good for Sherman's fuel mileage!

But, we had to carry on towards Edmonton. We crossed into Alberta just before 10:00am. Sherman hasn't been to Alberta since the fall of 2007!

We packed things up and decided to search for something else.

Because of the two hour time change related to our flight from Ontario back to Saskatchewan, we both woke up before 6:00am. Might as well get up and start the day! After a bit of computer time, we decided to head to Walmart and do a grocery shop while the store isn't busy.

After that, we went to a heavy truck and trailer place that advertised welding, but it was crowded for parking and I didn't want to hang around. Actually, truth be told I couldn't wait to get started on our trip to Yukon! Besides, the welding job isn't pressing, but I've been wanting to get it done for so long and keep putting it off. I'll keep my eyes open for a small town guy who hopefully can squeeze me in without waiting.

Back in the motorhome!

Lindsey followed with her car while we headed back to drop off the car rental. As expected, the price for a full week with taxes included was $135 CAD ($107 USD). Not bad at all. The rental agent says "How did you find a deal like that?"

Well, I look for deals... they're out there if you look for them.

Then, she drove us to Ottawa airport.

10 Best Israel Beaches

Make your next trip to Israel a beach-tour and be sure to visit some of these ten stunning beaches while you’re there.

Nahariya – Sokolov Beach
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Haifa – Dado Zamir Beach
For a lovely beach that offers so much, look no further than the Dado Zamir Beach in Haifa. This beach has flower gardens, restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, and plenty of seating areas for relaxing.

Today we return the car rental and head for the airport.

We thought that we were done with work for this year, but apparently not. We spent the morning working on Ruth's father's house. I cut the grass and did the vacuuming while Ruth was cleaning out the fridge and freezer and cupboards of food that either had gone bad, or would go bad over the next few months. We brought a bunch of stuff back to our daughter Lindsey's house for them to be able to use.

Then, it was back to my mother's for lunch and some odd jobs for her.

Another day accomplishing what we came here for.

We had another good day visiting with family yesterday. First on the agenda, we went and picked up Ruth's father in Arnprior and took him out to Wheeler's Pancake House near Lanark, Ontario. It's a bit pricey, but he likes the place and it's good to get him out for a drive in the country. About an hour and ten minutes each way on nice country roads.

Beautiful spring day, with sunshine and a high of about 25C (77F).

Good to get our morning exercise in...

After a rainy Saturday afternoon and evening, the forecast was for clearing skies on Sunday. And, Sunday did end up being a nice day, but the morning was still a bit cloudy and cool.

We had stayed in downtown Ottawa at our son's apartment located close to the Rideau Canal, so we went for a nice walk along the canal in the morning.

Rainy afternoon in downtown Ottawa - Canada's capital city

Ottawa is a nice city to visit, and we like heading to downtown when we're here. Our son has an apartment right in the center, and he was going away for the weekend with his girlfriend to her parents so he let us stay at his place for a night.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the nicest afternoon!

Chester the dog

We stuck around Lindsey and Justin's house for the day, with the exception of taking Chester the dog for a nice long walk. Lindsey went with Sadie on a kindergarten school field trip, and of course Justin was working all day. With the kids in school until 2:30pm or so, we had a nice relaxing day with just us and the big dog.

Not always easy dealing with aging parents.

After we saw the grandkids off to school, we hopped in the rental car and drove up to Ruth's father's place. It's a bit of a difficult situation, and one of the reasons that we chose to come here. He has recently made the decision (somewhat against his will) to move to a retirement home. And his doctor has recently taken away his driver's licence at age 83.

Sorry we lied to you!

But we were planning a surprise, and we couldn't let the cat out of the bag!

Yes, as it says above in the "Where are Kevin and Ruth now?" line... we are in Ottawa right now.

We had bought the tickets about three weeks ago and we figured we would surprise the family. So we didn't tell anyone about it. But of course as the day got closer, we had to sort of fib here on the blog!

First day back on the road

We got up at 6:00am. It's not that we had a really far drive planned... in fact, we didn't really have a plan at all, except to head towards Saskatoon. But I just wanted to get going! We still had some things to do and empty the holding tanks and fill with fresh water... that kind of thing.

And, we managed to get out of the park right at 9:00am.... which is the time I sort of had in the back of my mind.

Getting back on the road!

Ruth woke up this morning and said "I'm glad I don't have to pick up another mop or rake!"

Boy, is that a fact. Our two week work stint here at the park is up, and I although we're tired of cleaning up leaves, we're glad we did it. Steve and Jo still have some work to do, but the worst of it is done.

Recharged our Mexico SIM card for use in Canada!

I recharged our Mexico cellular account yesterday. I had let it expire at the end of April because I knew that we didn't need it while we were here at the park. But we'll be hitting the road tomorrow and so I wanted to make sure I was going to be able to recharge it online from here.

It turns out that it was fairly easy to do, but there are a lot of options and some are fairly expensive if you're not careful!

We are boondocking for the next couple of days!

Can you boondock in a developed campground?

Well here at Cabri Park you can!

We've been parked in a full hookup campsite for the last week and a half. And while it's been nice to have our electric heater on to take the chill off in the mornings, and have our fridge plugged into electric, and be able to use the office wifi... we really wanted to be parked in a nicer place.

12,410 days and counting...

On a Saturday afternoon in May of 1984, Ruth and I strolled down the aisle and said "I do"!

We had only known each other since March of 1983... fourteen months. Many people thought it wouldn't last! But here we are, after 34 years of wedded bliss!