Traverse City, Michigan to Edmonton, Alberta – Nine Days[/caption]
As the old saying goes “Getting there is half the fun”. The miles are clicking off, the “on the road” routine is falling into place and Traverse City is becoming a distant memory. After leaving Michigan we have crossed Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and half of Alberta. We have logged about 2,000 miles in nine days and seen some great scenery (photos to follow). Successful traveling in a RV is about logistics and tactical planning which seems to consume much of the off the road time. However, the character of the trip is about to change from being a road trip to a sightseeing adventure experience. Our route was around the top of the Lake Superior connecting with the Yellowhead Highway in Winnipeg, Manitoba then ending in Edmonton, Alberta. The Trans-Canadian Highway also follows the Yellowhead section that we took. The Yellowhead trail is named after Métis guide Pierre Bostaonais known as “Tete Jaune” which translates to Yellowhead. It is dubbed the “Park to Park” highway which crosses 4 Canadian provinces, five national parks and 90 provincial parks. It was easy to find lots of literature that promotes the route to help find the worthwhile points of interest along the way.
Heading West from Wawa
The road around Lake Superior
Rain, Rain and More Rain along Lake Superior
As you can see from the pictures we experienced more than our share of rain around Lake Superior. This is a great drive if you can see the water. We stopped in Wawa to take pictures beside the Canada Goose.
The weather cleared up as we came into Thunder Bay with a stop at the Terry Fox Memorial. (Terry Fox was a cancer victim who ran across Canada and raised millions for Cancer research). This is the third time we had been there…uplifting experience.
Campground in Richer, Manitoba
It has been easy to find campgrounds. Of course some are better than others…the smiley face was taken at a park that might have been mistaken for Sanford and Son’s backyard. Private parks have been the order of the day so far. It is our hope to find more provincial/territory parks as we head north.
The Canadian experience is interesting and fun. Great place to visit if it was not so expensive. The provincial parks in Ontario are almost twice the cost of private parks. We will not talk about fuel prices. The landscape is breath taking and the cities are interesting. On this route we hit Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK; and Edmonton, AB. We did not get to spend any time in Winnipeg which looks like an interesting city.
Saskatchewan River with Saskatoon in the background
Saskatchewan River with the University of Saskatchewan in the Background
Today’s agenda includes exploring Edmonton. The two days spent in Saskatoon was a nice relief from being behind the wheel all day. We were able to take advantage of the river walk along the Saskatchewan River. This was a nice half day adventure (with lunch along the trail). We were able to take in the University of Saskatchewan Campus and explored part of the city. You can see the University in the background from pictures taken from the railroad bridge over the river. You can see the city across the river from where we had lunch on the trail.
Canadian Prairies seem to go forever along the Trans-Canada Hwy
Trans-Canada Hwy nearing Edmonton, Alberta
Nice spot near Edmonton just outside Spruce Cove, Alberta
Now the Prairie will give way to more mountainous terrain as we leave the more developed Trans-Canadian Highway. The theme for the Edmonton stop is to prep for a drive through the wilderness in the Northwest Territory. The next leg of the trip about 1,200 miles over 10 days will take us from Edmonton to The Alaska Highway at Fort Nelson in British Columbia. The experience will include a trip to Yellowknife (Capital of NWT), 250 miles of gravel road, lot of lakes-waterfalls-rivers all with long distances between refueling opportunities.
Getting ready to move on…
Larry and Jan
PS: This did not get posted yesterday due to a dysfunctional internet connect. Today did not go as planned due to an adventure with the truck and an auto repair service. We also found out there was a major washout on the loop road in the Northwest Territory and the strong recommendation is not to try it towing an RV. The road is expected to be in full service by August…so tonight is regrouping to see if a fall back plan can be created.
