day 1 – we made it!

wow, we sure had some ups and downs today; but all in all, we made it to Dawson Creek, BC.

The day joyously started with a heavy, wet blizzard in Calgary. Jamie and I loaded up the minivan, and managed to get out of the house on time. we were so proud of ourselves for being so gosh darn organized, and were about to give ourselves a pat on the back, when we realized we had forgotten something. jamie forgot a baseball cap. this is ridiculous because, for him, it is as daily an item to wear as socks. we picked up my parents, loaded their stuff in the van, went back to our place, and were back on the road only about 1 hr late.

QE2 highway sucks. even in the best weather, it is windy and always full of traffic, let alone today with the stupid heavy wet snow blizzard. the snow didn’t clear until we reached devon, which is just outside edmonton. we were in a steady downpour until fox creek (between Whitecourt and Valleyview). we stopped in whitecourt for lunch at the local casino, and met some friends for lunch. NOTE: casinos have cheap, quick food, and clean/safe bathrooms – this is a luxury on a road trip.

we hit the road again, and didn’t stop until we reached Beaver Lodge, AB. For those who have never had the fantastic fortune of going to beaver lodge, it has something very cool to offer: a giant beaver. this is me and a giant beaver.

back to the dusty trail, and within about 90min we reached dawson creek. we checked until our hotel at 7pm PT. in our room, we were greeted by this super cute little guy!