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.