Monday August 8 at 8:50, we left Prince George, BC, the last stop for the caravan. Acey had 91,816.8 miles and Thor 105,014. Lee and Kimberly are going to travel with us as we head east thru 2 more provinces in Canada. They have both been fighting a respiratory virus for a week or two; we hope they get over it soon! As we drove on Yellowhead Route, it was really nice to be on a decent road and it was a beautiful clear day.
Another cyclist.
More farming!
At 12,972 feet, Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, towers over the surrounding peaks — a gorgeous sight!
At 2:30 we crossed into Alberta and into the mountain time zone.
As we drove thru Jasper, we don’t remember seeing the mountains when we were here in June! It was very cloudy and overcast – today was a beautiful clear day!
In June, the mountains behind the train station were hid in the clouds!
Compare today – August 8
Near the same spot on June 24
… for purple mountain majesties – oh wait this is Canada!
Just before we got to Jasper Gates RV Park, we saw these goats on the roadside!
We checked in about 3:30, got set up and drove to Hinton for some groceries. (Hinton was actually closer to the park than Jasper) After dinner, we walked over to Folding Mountain Brewery next door for a brew or 2.
Tuesday was a rather dreary day. We had thought about going to Jasper, but it was kind of nice to stay put and not be going anywhere! The caravan was go-go-go with not a lot of “down” time! We did some laundry and cleaning; there is dirt and dust everywhere, inside and out from all the driving on the caravan. Linda needed to edit photos and get the blog caught up. Kimberly and Lee also “took the day off”.
Linda was working on the blog and checked Facebook just before going to bed and saw that our friends Jon & Becky had arrived in Jasper earlier today. Linda texted and sent a message on Facebook Messenger to Jon & Becky, wondering where they were and to let them know we were leaving jasper in the morning; seems like we just missed each other! We have been friends for over 30 years – our kids grew up together and we had a church small group that met in their home for many years. They have been full-timers for 6 years and we have only met up a couple of times in Nashville before we hit the road. We have been in many of the same places, but not at the same time!
Wednesday Aug 10 – Just as Jim was getting the cereal out for breakfast; we got a message from Jon that they are staying in the same park! (Oddly, both of us had noticed a large Tiffin pull into our RV park yesterday and Jim noticed the driver had a ponytail – neither of us had thought that it might be the Jon and Becky) They invited us to come over to HOW for a Canadian Breakfast; bacon, eggs and beans! It was delicious and it was so good to meet up with them on the road!
It was wonderful to see them again!
We had a later than usual start, (but for good reason!) leaving Jasper Gates at 11:25 with 92,090.1 miles on Acey and 105,038 miles on Thor.
The drive to Edmonton was much like driving across the US Midwest. We were QUITE happy to see a FOUR LANE divided highway after all the terrible roads we had been on during the caravan!
And, imagine that – road construction…
We arrived at the St. Albert Kinsman RV Park in Albert, AB just before 3 and got set up. The park is just outside of Edmonton, so we drove downtown right past the Rogers Place Arena where the Edmonton Oilers play!
We had dinner at Craft Beer Market with Kim & Lee.
Downstairs, there were several colorful kegs on display.
On Thursday we went for a bike ride after breakfast; there was a trail right by the RV park. It was a nice clear day and 66° – perfect for riding on this winding trail with no street crossings! We rode 10 miles on the Sturgeon River Path.
After we rode, Jim worked on the bikes – his bike wasn’t shifting right, and both our bikes have brake issues. We showered and had lunch and joined Lee and Kim to see 2 gardens. Our first stop was St Albert Botanic Park – not far from our campground. When we arrived, we found that both a wedding and a celebration of life was happening in the rose gardens, but the park covered several acres, and we saw quite a variety of flowers!
Crabapple Lane had a variety of crabapple trees.
After that, we drove off to see Muttart Conservatory which has four large glass pyramids in the corners of the building, one of which you can see part of in this photo, and the next one too.
The tropical pyramid was like being in Hawaii or Florida – we recognized many of the plants there; palms and banana trees. Many more plants from tropical climates!
The next pyramid had a “seasonal” display called “Junkyard” and it was quite whimsical. Here is a flower bed – with a nightstand even!
A fun and colorful way to use old tires.
Flowers made with old china and crystal decorate this garden.
There was a pretty koi pond reflecting the glass roof of the pyramid.
How about some horns in your garden?
And a piano to accompany them!
The temperate pyramid was not quite as much fun after that!
There was another koi pond.
The arid pyramid had lots of cactus and succulent plants.
Lantana – like a bouquet in each flower!
The wooly torch cactus was quite woolly indeed – very unusual.
Living stones! These succulents really do look like stones!
The elephant foot tree certainly has an appropriate name!
Another unusual plant – burros tail.
There were more gardens to see outside!
You can read about the Muttart Conservatory here!
It was a sunny warm day, time for some refreshment; so we stopped at Omen Brewing and had a flight of some tasty craft brews.
Our next stop was Underground Tap & Grill.
We enjoyed talking with the server, the beer was great, and we were planning to eat there, but the menu was not to our liking, so we went on to another venue! This old building was nearby.
Our last stop was at Beer Revolution where we enjoyed a tasty dinner on the patio with Lee and Kimberly – a pleasant end to a fun day!
As we were leaving the parking lot, a big Jack Rabbit hopped out in front of the car and stopped to pose for a photo. Wildlife in the city!
On Friday we went for a bike ride after breakfast on the same trail we rode yesterday. We crossed over this bridge named for Joe Benoit, a 1946 Stanley Cup winner who was born in St. Albert on February 27, 1916.
Here’s a look at the Sturgeon River from the bridge.
After riding 11½ miles, we got cleaned up and Linda worked on the blog, getting the “our caravan comes to an end” posted while Jim ran out to the grocery store. Kimberly and Lee came over for chicken salad and brought a smoothie to share. We are glad they are both feeling better.
Jim emptied the grey and black tanks and made a few preparations for our move in the morning while Linda began working on THIS blog. And nearly a week later, its done 😊
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Wow, the gardens were beautiful!
They really were gorgeous – such variety of colors and textures – glory to God!
Beautiful flowers. Had to laugh; gratitude for a four lane divided highway! So much we take for granted. Thanks for posting.
Yeah – as soon as we saw a four lane highway I HAD to take a photo – not sure when we last saw a road resembling an interstate! Some of the roads we drove were unbelievably rough – but there are only 2 ways to dive to Alaska! No way we would even THINK about riding a bicycle on most of those roads; God Bless those that do – what a challenge!
Beautiful shots! What a trip you’ve had! Being in your house will feel like a castle after all this time.
You certainly take advantage of all the places you travel, a great way to go. However, I think it would be more fun to have a little less hectic pace for me…!
We don’t have a house at present – other than our home on wheels! The caravan had to have a pretty face-paced schedule to get to all the places we went to; we are glad to have a bit slower pace now and not feel the need to do something every day. Yet we do want to see what there is to see when we stop somewhere. Definitely not everyone’s “cup of tea”.
Beautiful. I enjoy your travels so much.
Lord have mercy–such beautiful places and pictures you have been and posted. What a treat to see Jon and Becky. Have not seen them since Christ Prez !! Becky was bridesmaid in my niece Rebecca first wedding. (She is on her third) Have saved a bunch of your pictures for my slideshows on the computer. Had a hard time deciding which ones to keep. Might pick something to paint out of the bunch. Hope that would be ok with you. You guys be safe out there. Hope you will not run into any more road work !!! Blessings
Feel free to use my photos – glad you are enjoying the posts. Road work seems inevitable – but when we were on the caravan, it was getting almost comical how many places they were working on the roads. I guess the permafrost plays havoc on the roads and it is a constant project to keep the roads passable.