Trip Update!

My, how the time flies... We're almost halfway there! We were planning on an adventure, and it has surely been nothing short of adventurous up to this point. I wasn't anticipating having no cell phone service or internet, so that required some adjusting. Note to would-be Alaska travelers: there are many places along the Trans-Canada Highway that are called “wifi hotspots” but would better be described as lukewarm-spots at best. Not that I'm complaining though. It's actually a bit liberating to be unreachable. Certainly feels more like an adventure. Although we probably should have brought a map.

Here's a rundown of how the last few days have gone:

3/17, Tuesday:

This St Patrick's day sure was lucky, as we crossed the border in Sault-Ste-Marie without a hitch! The kicker though was when the nice officer told us we should never have been stopped in the first place. UMWHUT? That's at least a week or two wasted thanks to the mistake of one border patrol officer. But, we were way too thrilled that we finally made it across to be too upset about that. 

Where we goin,  Rich?

We found a place to pull off the road in Nowheresville, Ontario for the night. A question I soon found myself pondering was, “Why did we not test the generator before we left??” Me, I would've said screw it and found a hotel at that point. But Mr. Fixit over here has never heard of such a thing. So I was impressed yet again, after a few frigid minutes, when he got the thing fired up. It would only run the heater on low though, and it was pretty darn cold. We gave it a go but after a while gave up and slept in the truck with the engine running.

3/18, Wednesday:

After our short nap, we were groggily back on the road. Before long we reached the charming town of Wawa, Ontario. I was walking the dogs while we were stopped for gas when a kind man alerted me that Rich was on the ground in front of the pump. I walked around the back of the truck, and sure enough there he was lying in the ice with another kind gentleman hovering over him. I didn't see anything happen but apparently he slipped and took a really hard fall. The next kind Wawa residents we met were the 2 paramedics who transported him by ambulance to the local hospital. The ER doctor was way cool and it turns out that other than some hefty bumps and bruises he was OK. So that was how we spent about half of that day. THANK YOU to the Lady Dunn Medical Center in Wawa for being so nice to us foreigners. Interesting side note: I don't think that place employs any males... every person we saw there- receptionist, nurses, doctors, orderlies, and both paramedics- were all female.

Next, in the wisest move of the trip so far, was our purchase of a brand new generator. That heater was cranked up that night! We spent a few hours in the parking lot of a supermarket in Marathon putting it together and getting it running. And because he's OCD like that, Rich reorganized the trailer. Back on the road, we headed for Thunder Bay. Night #2 in the trailer was spent in another pull-off from the highway. We were toasty warm and comfy with the new generator.

3/19, Thursday:

We hit Thunder Bay after about an hour of driving. It seemed like a cool city but we didn't stay there long. Good thing, because a brief visit to a truck stop that afternoon turned into a several-hour ordeal when Rich refused to give up until he got the trailer brakes working again. Also at the truck stop, we ate at the restaurant and TOOK SHOWERS which was amazing. Like amazing times a zillion. With the brakes finally working and both of us freshly bathed (and feeling AMAZING), we hit the road for another few hours, finally hit Manitoba, and stopped for the night next to a campground near Winnipeg that was closed for the season. It didn't get as cold that night which we appreciated.

3/20, Friday:

Finally, a relatively uneventful day. We finished up with Manitoba and crossed over into Saskatchewan. I always wanted to visit Saskatchewan as a kid because of the cool name. Now that I have been there, what I will remember most about it are wide open expanses of prairie stretching as far as the eye can see in all directions, and really crappy roads. 

The poor truck felt like it was going to rattle apart. We stopped for a break on a road next to a field just off the highway. Rich did more reorganizing and I took the dogs for some much needed exercise. Dinner was at a chain restaurant in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, called Smitty's where I was able to get my club sandwich on flaxseed bread... nice! 

The night was spent near another campground just past Moose Jaw. And some road delirium is apparently setting in as we laughed ourselves uncontrollably to tears and back by imitating the British accent of the GPS voice on his Tomtom.

"Hold me, Rich"

3/21, Saturday:

Today! So far another good day for driving. We crossed into Alberta and made it to Medicine Hat after handling some issues with bad gasoline that made the truck not run so well. Medicine Hat was a sizeable enough city to have a Walmart, where we did some stocking up and also figured out that we are now in the Mountain time zone. The weather is so nice! 50s and sunny. We're starting to notice a slight change in the terrain as we approach the Rocky Mountains.  

Now we're between Medicine Hat and Calgary, which is our last stop before Wild Rose Icelandics and Gaefa!!! We're going to see her tomorrow!! I'm so excited I can't stand myself.