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      So here we are back in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, at the beginning of the Alaska Highway. It sure seems way longer than a mere 30 days since we left here. We literally raced around the Yukon and Alaska so our friends, who were acting as our guides, could get home to Temecula in time to attend a wedding. What should have been a leisurely 2-3 month trip was done in a month. We had a wonderful time, saw a lot, but it was also good to be back on our own again.

      Since we were tired, dirty, and worn out from a month in the wilderness, we moved over to Grande Prairie, Alberta for three days just to catch our breath and clean up the RV. The difference in the "look and feel" between Dawson Creek, which is clearly located in the Canadian wilderness, and Grande Prairie, which is clearly not in the wilderness, was VERY obvious. And they are only 85 miles apart east to west. We were astounded at the difference.

      A bit of magic happened to me in Grand Prairie. I was walking through Costco minding my own business when this really nice Callaway driver jumped right off the shelf and landed in my cart. So what’s a body to do? I gave it a good home.

      After resting up in Grande Prairie, we spent the next few days slowly working our way south on Highway 93 from the northern end of the Rocky Mountains. This area of the Rockies is called Jasper National Park and the scenery along the way is spectacular. People come from all over Europe to enjoy this area. The weather was threatening to rain as we drove south along the Rockies so the sky was constantly highlighting the mountains with light and shadows as we went along. I spent the whole time taking pictures.

      By the way, was I remiss in not mentioning that Cindi is the one who drives the RV? I haven’t driven it a single mile. My job is to sit in the passenger seat and take in all the scenery as it rises up to greet us. The big picture windows on the front of the RV really provide great visibility. When we started the trip, I assumed that I would get a lot of reading done, but it hasn't worked out that way at all. I'm so afraid that I might miss something that I never read while we are moving. In fact, I sit there with a camera on my lap and take pictures all day long. Except when I’m rummaging around in the refrigerator that is. (And Cindi might add… the bathroom.)

      We spent a couple of days in a little town called Hinton where I had a chance to get in some mountain golf and see what the new driver would do. One of the guys I played golf with is a Mountie. He told me that after leaving Calgary we would be going right by the RCMP Academy in Regina and suggested that we stop and see it. Which we will do. We get a lot of excellent tips of places to see from casual conservations with locals.

      We were a little ahead of schedule for the Calgary Stampede so we stopped for a couple of days near the bottom of Jasper National Park at a very cool little town called Banff, where Highway 93 meets the Trans-Canada highway. Banff looks exactly like a southern German or Swiss town. Set in the Rockies, with tons of shopping and sights to see, Banff was one of those delightful surprises that happen as we go down the road.

      The second week this month was spent in Calgary, Alberta. Calgary became one of our favorite cities. (Seems like I say that a lot about the places we have been.) We arrived a couple of days before the Stampede started so we had some time to sightsee before attending the Stampede. One of the things we do in all cities is take a guided city tour. That way we get the most bang for our time with a minimum of wandering around aimlessly. On this tour we learned that Alberta Province is where the Canadian west begins. The Province is noted for oil, oilmen, cattle ranches and cowboys. It’s their version of Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Montana all rolled into one. Edmonton (pop 620,000) to the north is like Dallas, and Calgary (pop 770,000) to the south is like Houston.

      We also heard that they were having the North American Horse Jumping Championship on the other side of town. So after the city tour we drove over to see it. Unfortunately, we got there late in the afternoon of their last day so we only got to see the last hour, but it was still very interesting and we got to see the "high end" of the horse-people food chain. Very posh. Wish we had heard about it a day earlier, but now we know to keep an eye out for it down the road.

      We also learned that Canada, like the U.S., was settled from east to west. The middle of both countries were left pretty much empty as people pushed on to the west coast. Before Canada was united, there were a significant number of people living in British Columbia on the Pacific Coast. Interestingly enough, BC considered being an independent country or becoming a U.S. state before ultimately deciding to become a Canadian Province in 1871. Apparently it was touch and go for a while. They agreed to join Canada only after the Canadian government promised to build a trans-continental railroad. It was at about this same time that the British government bought, from the Hudson Bay Company, a huge land mass in the middle of the country which eventually became the Alberta and Saskatchewan Provinces. (Sounds very similar to our Louisiana Purchase.)

      The railroad was the key to settling the middle part of the country, which up to that time had been populated exclusively by French fur trappers. Even today, the population of the two central Provinces combined is only 3.5 million people. The most notable difference between Canadian and American westward expansion is how the governments dealt with the people who already lived there. For example, the U.S. used the Army to keep the peace in the new territories whereas Canada used Mounties, a police force, not a military force.

      The Calgary Stampede was a real hoot! The whole city gets into the mood and a good time is had by all. The stampede grounds consist of a horse racetrack, rodeo grounds, stadium, miscellaneous buildings, and a promenade area. Very similar to the Del Mar racetrack complex if they added a rodeo area. We had a great time even though we are not "cowboy people" and had never been to a rodeo. We spent the first day looking around the "carnival" part of the grounds and listening to the various bands. The next day we went to the actual rodeo. They do the traditional rodeo stuff in the afternoons (ridin' and ropin') and in the evenings they have the chuck wagon races. The "Chucks" as they are called, are something else. Each team consists of a chuck wagon and four outriders. They line up the wagons side by side, four at a time, pointing the wrong way on the racetrack. When the horn sounds, the outriders gather up supplies and utensils that are lying on the ground and throw them into the back of their wagon. At which time the wagons take off by doing a u-turn on the track, and the race is on. The horses reminded us of the Huskies that pull the sleds in Alaska. They are bred to race and they love doing it. The driver’s job is to control the horses, not to get them to run. They do that at full speed with no encouragement. The Chucks are a big deal and the best teams have no shortage of commercial endorsements. At the completion of each evening, they have a singing and dancing show in front of the grandstand that is nothing short of spectacular. Best live show we have ever seen anywhere!

      The closest RV Park we could find was about 15 miles out of town, so rather than drive downtown to the stampede grounds every day and hunt for a parking spot, we stopped at one of the outlying subway stations and took the subway downtown. That worked out really well for us because the subway took us exactly where we wanted to go. The subway system costs $2.00 ($1.52 US) to ride anywhere on the system. Like the subway system in Vienna, Austria, there are no ticket takers or turnstiles. People are on the honor system to buy tickets from machines in the stations. Same as Vienna, we never saw anyone checking passengers.

      Before we knew it, it was time to head for Wisconsin. The plan was to head east on the Trans-Canada highway until we got to Winnipeg, and then turn south to Minnesota. Since we didn't have much time to get to Oshkosh, WI, we did something new to us. We drove straight through without staying in any RV parks. We stayed in Wal-Mart, Costco, and Casino parking lots each night. RVer's call that boondocking, and although we don't like doing it, it is a common practice in the RV community when people are covering a lot of distance in a short amount of time.

      The first night we spent in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The second day we arrived in Regina early enough to go see the RCMP Academy and museum. As luck would have it, we were there on the one day a week that they perform an evening sunset flag lowering parade. It was fun to watch the parade and talk to the Mounties that were there watching

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