Oh, Canada!

We awoke early and headed out of our campsite, saying goodbye to Luther's new friend and the United States.  We only had 20 miles to get to the border crossing and enter into Alberta, Canada.  Our main goal for the day was to get to Edmonton, the capital of Alberta.  The first step of reaching that goal was to get some gas.

As some of you may know, I am a big fan of Indian Gas.  As a tribal member, I do not pay for some taxes normally charged for petro.  The costs of a fill up are generally much higher in Canada, roughly $80, so I like to get as much discount as possible.  The port of entry that we went through, our first of many, went through the Blood Indian Reserve.

Prior to our departure, I had written to the Alberta Government to get an ID card which I would need to receive the tax deferral.  The last time I was in Alberta, I did not have the card and the Mohawks would not give me the discount without it, even with my Indian Card.  I received it in the mail a week before we left and I was ready to test it out.

A few miles up the road was the Belly River Gas & Convenience Store.  The attendant pumped my petro and I went inside to pay.  I showed them my card, calculations were done, discount!

It was going to be a 6 hour drive to Edmonton, first going through Calgary and then through Red Deer, a town which I heard some nice things about for a respite on the days journey.  Tom had also read about a church was designed by the First Nation architect, Douglas Cardinal which we wanted to see.

The day was beautiful.  The flatlands of Alberta where filled with golden flowers.  It was perfect.  So perfect that we did not mind the roadwork that was being done along the way.  We would have to get used to this "Loose Gravel" as the summer roads in Canada and Alaska were known to get as much work done as they can while the daylight and good weather lasted.

The day became less perfect when that loose gravel caused a pop on the windshield.  It was a small crack, but I drew a line around it, so I could see if it was growing or not.

The First Ding

We talked about getting it fixed, although Tom felt that we should wait as there was going to a lot of loose gravel coming our way.  And then, a very loud pop!

The Second Ding

This one was a doozy.  I had never seen a window shatter this way and it sort of freaked us out.  It was right by our rear view mirror, so there would be no distraction while driving, but we decided to keep it slow on these "loose gravel" roads.

We arrived in Red Deer in the early afternoon and stopped at the Visitor Center, easily locating it by the large question mark on it's side.  It was located on the same grounds as a park, which also led to the church we wanted to visit.  We stopped at a picnic table and shared some lunch.  Classic PB&J.  The dogs got a chance to stretch there legs and even got a taste of some peanut butter.

St. Mary's Catholic Church was located a few miles away, through a residential area.  The most interesting aspect of the church was that there were no right angles on the building.  Everything was curved as you can see from the pictures.

We walked around the building and I found the entrance to the Parish office.  The door was open and I entered the building.  I was curious how the seating and curved lines affected the look.  The inside did not disappoint.  The altar was bathed in natural light from an opening above.  The Stations of the Cross ran along the wall following the curve of the building.  The carving of Jesus on the cross was a bit odd, though.  His face didn't seem so much in pain as it had a smirking mouth.  Just odd.  You can read lots more on this church by clicking here.

We headed out of Red Deer and towards Edmonton, just another 100 miles due North.  I had planned on renewing my Indian Card in the city and also find some information on camping in the area.  As we approached the city, the skies were turning dark and we could tell there was going to be some heavy rain coming.

We followed the ? signs, but ended up getting lost with a few loop-di-loos back and forth.  We eventually found the information area, although the attendants were far from helpful.  We passed a Motel 6 into the city, but when I asked them about it, they said there were none in the area.  I begged to differ and they did a quick search and then it was "Oh, I guess there is."  I asked for information about the Indian Affairs building and one of them pulled out a tiny post it note and wrote down a number.  This was the information I got.  A street address without a street name.  The least helpful spot I have ever been to.

They did have wifi, so I logged on the iphone and got the information I needed.  I left the building, headed to the car to Tom and the dogs and headed a few blocks West to the government building.  We had still not gotten any money yet, so we had no money to pay for parking, so Tom waited in the car while I ran in.

The building held every department that Canada has.  Maple Leaf here, Maple leaf there.  I found the office which I needed and there was a room full of First Nation peoples.  A woman at the front desk told me that there was such a long wait, I would need to come back tomorrow.  Grumble Grumble!  Would I have better luck in Whitehorse, Yukon, I asked.  Much better she told me.  Edmonton was not working out for us at all.

I left the building and the rains were coming down sporadically.  This was our only day scheduled to be in Edmonton, so we headed over to the Parliamentary Building.  Fortunately, there was visitor parking at the building.  We parked and got the dogs out.  They had been in for most of the day, so they were pleased.

I still am amazed that one can do anything at the capitals.  They are so wide open to the public, as they should be.  We walked past a security man who said nothing about the dogs so we just kept walking.  The Legislature Assembly Building was celebrating their 100th birthday, as shown by the banners hung above the grand staircase.  A long reflecting pool was North of the entrance followed by a large fountain.  It was splendid to see and also splendid that the rain was holding off for a bit.

Figures of the Dome on every post

Reflecting Pool & Legislative Building

Fountain on the plaza

Happy Birthday!

Tom watched the dogs as I went inside the building.  The rotunda and the hallways were a creamy white which accented well with the golds and marble.

View from the steps

We still had to hit the bank and find a place to camp.  The skies were getting darker and it was not due to the time of day, not that it would be getting dark anytime soon, as we were getting up north quite a bit.

We left the Legislature and found a bank.  We both didn't care too much for the city, so we headed Northeast towards Grand Prairie.  Our hopes were that the skies would clear up and we would find a place to set up for the night.  Instead we got downpours.  The clouds were coming from the same direction we were headed.  The rain was coming down hard, the kind of rain that blinds you while driving.

I guess this is the time that I tell you that we had about 85,000 miles on the car and the tires should have been changed before this trip.  I decided, cheaply, that I would try to get one more road trip from them. These are the same tires from the last trip, with the two flat tires.  The treads were wearing down on the front tires, so I just rotated them to the back.  Everything will be fine, I convinced myself.

Back to the rain.  Heavy rain.  Poor treads.  I felt the tires hydroplaning in the front and the rear.  I was white knuckling it, trying not to alarm Tom.  It was not a good time.  We stopped for gas and a chance to stop and breath for a bit.  No discount this time.  $80 on gas.  Grrr.  There goes my budget for the day.

The rain eventually cleared up enough to loosen my grip on the wheel.  We just kept on driving, watching the darkest of clouds continue behind us.  A few hours later and we were in Grand Prairie.  We figured the grounds would be wet, so we decided to stay in our second and last hotel for the trip.  Another $100 gone and a reworking of the budget.

It was nice to just unload the car partially and to have a great shower.  The hotel gave me the opportunity to log on more than I have had a chance to in quite awhile.  Tomorrow we would reach Dawson Creek and the start of the Alaskan Highway.