We Made It!

Hello Everyone! Here we are in the good old Arctic and what an eventful past month we have had!

We finally left Penticton the day after the packers packed up the moving truck. There were still a million little ends left to tie up so we left Penticton after lunchtime, continued to Kelowna and picked up our Canada Goose down parkas, a must-have for every Arctic adventurer! From K Town we continued up to Kamloops then drove to Jasper.

Originally we had planned on spending the night in Jasper, however we did not prebook accommodation and there was zero availability. (Unless we wanted to spend $1000 for the night at the Fairmont!! One day... ) When we hit Jasper, it was dark and Elliott and I were absolutely and totally zonked. Those of you who know me well are aware of my slight fear of the woodland creatures who prance at the edges of roads and highways, awaiting to leap in front of innocent motorists. I therefore refrain from driving in the land of the Canadian west. Our first stop in Jasper was at the Husky station for fuel and maps. After deciding we would continue on we pulled out of the Husky station only to see... Three gigantic elks prancing down the streets of Jasper toward the Husky station parking lot. Now. If you have never saw an elk up close... and I am talking a few feet of distance, they sure can get really, freaking big! I pointed toward them, unable to formulate a coherent word and Elliott did not see them. It was truly unbelievable how the locals were just out strolling around next to them. I took the following photo and we were on our way.

Continuing through the park in the pitch dark at midnight is also a slightly mind numbingly terrifying feat, one that I would recommend NOT doing! However we escaped unscathed and saw one white wolf and a few more elk and deer.

The next day we set sail for Edmonton where Elliott stayed at his brother's home and luckily was able to spend time with his uncle from Ottawa as well as his other family. I stayed with Kimmie and we had the greatest weekend wedding planning, shopping at Ikea and of course, the mighty West Edmonton Mall. H&M was heart stopping, and who knew - Bath & Bodyworks has come to Canada!!

Driving through Northern Alberta was long and straight. Same scenery... kinda boring and sure enough, for the first time of our adventure, I dozed off due to the sheer and utter dullness that surrounded me. That was a mistake. I awoke from my short nap to a scene from a Bruce Willis action movie... in front of my eyes was the side of a semi transfer truck, Elliott was screaming like a woman and Livvie had been flung onto the dash and was skidding back and forth as Elliott expertly manouvered the vehicle (which was driving in excess of 100km/hr) into the ditch. Big sigh. I scream cried, like anyone would after such a fright and the trucker and Elliott lept out of their prospective vehicles to check out the damage. Now, I was still scream crying. The trucker's wife came sauntering over to my window to see how I was... took one look at the dogs and hollered, "Whaaaaaaat the Hellll ahrr those thaangs?" Not, how are you, are you ok. We were fine, dogs were fine (Livvie was of course shaken up) and the vehicle was fine and Elliott drove out of the ditch and we continued on our merry way.

Hay River was our next overnight stop, to "Hay River's Premier Inn and Conference Centre", the Ptarmigan Inn. That may be true to the people of Hay River. The next morning we happily left for Yellowknife.

Driving to Yellowknife on the MacKenzie Hwy is a must for every Canadian, I have now decided. Elliott and I had so much fun stopping in Fort Providence and counting buffalo on the side of the highway. We were so happy to arrive in Yellowknife... it was so very strange to see a big city plunked down in the middle of nowhere, after driving and seeing nothing but bison for hours.

Yellowknife is a surprisingly progressive town, very eclectic, close knit with happy, friendly folks. All is well and we continue to get our new home organized.

Until next time!