Just a quick update. I announced this on facebook yesterday and wanted to let all you folks know. I have accepted a new position and will be moving to Grande Prairie at the end of August. I start the new job July 30th. More details this weekend.

Ok, where were we...right. The  vacation.

Stopped at the Laird hot springs--this is a wonderful place to stop. There is camping with nicely treed sites and some very friendly squirrels.  The hot springs themselves are amazing and very hot. I don't have a lot of experience with hot springs but these must be near the top of anyones list. The bottom of the pool is natural--tiny pebbles. The grass and trees grow right up to the edges and the whole place is barely alterd by man. There are change rooms off to the side and a wooden platform with stairs leading into the hot springs but in a very minimal way. This was our first chance to wash--as well as one can in a pool that smells or rotten eggs without using soap.

It poured rain as we got back from our soak but snug and snoring in my tent it didn't bother me.

Enjoying a fire while waiting for the dishes to be done.

The tarp came in very handy for providing some coverage from the rain.

Our friendly squirrel checking out my towel.

Our great camp site.

Before the hot springs we had supper at our camp site and had a furry little visitor. A squirrel. He (or she) was friendly and anxious to share our dinner. He was into everything including the totes that we had out and about. After supper he finally got the better of us and he climbed into the pot that our curry had cooked in. All that was poking out was his furry little tail. We had tried to not feed him but gave up when it was obvious that he had gotten the better of us.

The second night of the trip we put water on to boil to wash the dishes with and while it was heating up for the cutlery in the pot--this will make it faster and easier. And it was. We tried this again in Laird and it wasn't easier. The fire must have been a lot hotter because it melted the ends of the utensils that were out of the water and set the chop stick on fire. Oh well. It was funny and sad at the same time.

Nice bison on the side of the road.

A very small part of the herd that we saw.

Another great view.

Nice bear eating his breakfast on the side of the road.

The next morning on the road to Watson Lake we see bison. A lot of bison. We almost didn't stop the second time, 'oh, just another bison' but luckily we did stop--it was a herd of bison with some baby bison.
Next stop...Yukon.

I've added the start of the trip before this entry...so start at the entry before this and work your way back up.

Monday and we are up early and after an awesome breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon we headed out to find a waterfall the guide book had mentioned but that we had failed to find the day before. I had consulted our guidebooks and determined we were within 10km. We never did find it.

What we did find was an owl on the side of the road. He sat there and didn't move as we circled back to take his picture. It was only when I accidentally revved the engine that he flew away. Here is the pic I got. Below is a picture of an owl that we captured on the way back--same owl we think, at least they look alike to me.

Back on the highway after our first animal siting we head into Fort Nelson--truly a Northern town--they have a Northern store and I make Kim take a picture for me. I am sure she is still questioning my want of it...but I was traveling down nostalgia lane.

We had lunch at Summit Lake. Noted as a potential awesome camping site.

Nice bear.

This little guy likes dandelions.

The best cinnamon buns of the whole trip.

Gorgeous view of fog through trees and hills. The rainy skies did bring in some nice views.

Summit Lake camping...right on the lake.

View of Summit Lake.

The next part of my book is where I wrote all the animals we saw here is the list. foxes
owl
hen & chicks
moose
bison
black bears
brown bears
grizzly bears
rabbits
swans
sheep or goats
ground squirrels
porcupines
llamas
horses
bald eagles
chipmunks
curry eating squirrel

I have the opportunity to head to the beach for the rest of the day...so instead of sitting here updating the blog--I'm off. It will reach 33 celcius today and that is HOT for me. More updates later.

I took notes again during my trip--I'm old and forgetful.

Drive to Edmonton from Fort McMurray was uneventful and aside from a short nap and one stop for gas--quick. (Sad to think I have issues making the 5 hour trip without a nap). The cats began giving me the evil eye Thursday night when the orange suitcase came out. The looks Friday afternoon when I stopped by to pick up the last of my stuff was heart breaking. But as sad as the looks were nothing was stopping me from leaving on my trip.

I spent Friday night in Edmonton at a hotel. I was going to camp but decided earlier that one last good nights sleep in a bed before two weeks of sleeping on the ground was a good idea. And it was. I stayed at the Radisson with the sleep number beds. WOW. It was a truly amazing bed. I slept from just after 10pm until 8am when I awoke and told myself a few more minutes would be ok, then slept until 11am--check out time. I was behind in getting stuff in Edmonton done--but I was certainly refreshed.

Met up with my traveling partner--Kim at the local mall where we tried (and succeeded) in packing up WAY too much gear into the back of the truck. A long trip and a stop to get the oil changed and we were finally on our way.

Stopped for the night at a provincial park about an hour outside of Grande Prarie. After a short fire we each tucked away in our tents. I listened to 2 young boys toss a football, music from a site farther away and a number of birds who were no doubt singing their offspring to sleep. It was soon quiet except for my snoring. And according to Kim, snore I did. The thin tent walls do nothing to help dampen the sound.

Up early the next morning anxious to get a start on the trip. First stop, Grande Prarie. I wanted to 'check it out' so we drove around for a bit. Seems like a nice town. Got everything one would need and a whole lot more. We stopped at the GP Tourism centre to pick up some brochures/maps and to get an update on the highway--there had been some washed out sections of the Alaska Highway in the weeks just before the trip. Vanessa was super helpful and we walked out with a couple of trees worth of information.

Next stop--Beaverlodge where we had to do a photo op in front of the rather large beaver.

Our big goal for the day--Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.

After the photo shoot we were off on the adventure. For some reason the adventure started and stopped at Mile 0 even though we did not plan to do the whole highway. We stopped for lunch at a park beside the Kiskatinaw River bridge. The only surviving wooden bridge from when the highway was built.

The road is in good shape thus far and we are making good time. Tonight we are at Buckingham Provincial park. Only $16. And that almost seems expensive. No water, pit toilets and no garbage containers BUT we have a fantastic view of the river from our campsite. It gurgles and talks to us. So peaceful. The first order of business was to put up the tarp. We've had rain off and on since we started. The first night we had to call it a night early because of rain. Tucked away under the tarp we are listening to the river gurgle, the snap of the fire and the occasional patter of rain.

I'm back from vacation. It was fantastic. I really enjoyed the trip. I was so relaxed and out of touch with the outside world that I had no idea most days what day it was. That is truly a wonderful way to spend a vacation. I arrived back in Fort McMurray on Friday evening and spent the majority of Saturday and Sunday trying to get my energy back. Over 5000 km in 14 days makes for a tired driver. But a happy one.

I spent part of Sunday and today (Monday) downloading photos from the memory cards and creating the back up folders. I should have a nice post for you later in the week with lots of amazing photos.

Am already glad that it is a short week at work because 2 weeks away is going to take some catching up from. Thanks for checking in...see you in a few days.