Shelby, MT to Dawson Creek, BC

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We were fortunate to have three sunny, beautiful days of travel in Alberta with dry roads. We headed north from Shelby to the Canadian border. We didn't know what to expect with customs. When we pulled up to the window the customs officer asked Dan some general questions about where we are from and where we are going and looked at our passports. Then he told us to pull in to a parking lot and go inside. I was a little concerned but, of course, we followed directions. The lady inside took our passports and told us to wait. When she returned she called Dan to the counter and asked him some more questions. Then she called me up to verify that my passport was correct. We had to sit down again and wait. When she returned she gave us our passports back and told us to have a safe trip. As we were leaving I hoped it was not too obvious that I let out a big sigh of relief. It only took about 15 minutes but the fear of the unknown made it seem like more time had passed.



The terrain through Alberta was very similar to Montana. If we had not gone through customs we would not have seen a difference in the land. It was mostly brown with some snow on the grass. Did I mention that the roads were dry??? Yippee! The mostly flat grassland turned into rolling hills and some pine trees appeared on the sides of the road. I got a chuckle at the horse covered in a blue coat.



We went around Calgary and Edmonton with ease. The roads were well marked and easy to navigate.



Once we were away from the large cities we traveled through small towns. Thanks to the Milepost 2011 book that sits on my lap along with the camera, I can tell Dan the population, elevation, and other interesting facts about the towns. We knew we were getting into northern territory when moose caution signs were added to the deer caution signs.



We haven't seen a moose yet, but we stay on alert. I haven't done much reading during this part of the trip because I don't want to take my eyes off the road for too long.

It's been interesting trying to think in Canadian measurements: liters not gallons, celsius not fahrenheit, kilometers not miles. By the time we get expert at it, we'll be in Alaska!

Today, Saturday, April 23, we are going exploring at Dawson Creek. It's a neat city whose main attraction is that it is Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway.  We have traveled 3779 miles from home, and are looking forward to the adventure on the Alaskan Highway. We have talked to several folks who have traveled the highway and feel pretty confident that we will have no problems. The weather ahead looks clear so we're hoping the roads will remain dry.

I'm not sure when we will get WIFI connection again, and we don't have our cell phones on. Depending on how things go we should be in Alaska around Thursday.

Happy Easter to all.