"North to Alaska"...Day 19...Saturday, June 22, 2013

For the first time in days, it's not raining when I climb out of my camper at around 7:00AM. Bill's made a small pot of coffee, so I have a cup of that while I brew my own in the French Press.
Even though it didn't rain overnight, it's still wet in the campground because the ground is saturated. You can see some of the water in the photos with this post. I wander over to the men's room...it may be closed by the Health Department, but I'm sneaking in anyway. But they are clever, these campground owners...unlike last night, this morning they have the doors locked. So...that all means a rather hasty exit this morning.
Our drive to Edmonton is pretty uneventful...sunny and clear skies.
I don't have an exact address for our campground, but we sorta "stumble upon it". It's only $30.00 because it's a municipal campground run by the city. They only have one site available with electricity, so I let cousin Bill take that one. My site is nice and shady...although, with the temperatures in the low 60's, I'd have preferred a little sun.
Cousin Bill needs cash, caulk, beer and ice...so he heads off in search of that. While he's gone, I take advantage of the Wi-Fi to do bills (very important), post on Facebook, check emails, etc.
An hour or so later, I get a call from cousin Bill...he's upset because an ATM "ate" his debit card. He has to wait an hour for someone to come to the bank, open the ATM, and retrieve his card. He picks up beer and ice for me...$33.00 for a 12-pack of beer and $4.00 for a four pound bag of ice. Man...I would have trouble living up here...both prices and taxes are very high...beer, $5.25 or so a gallon for gas, $13.00 for a cheeseburger...Yikes!
The weather here in Edmonton is nice and sunny with temperatures in the mid-60's. I check weather for the next week or so, and it's all good...sunny, highs in the mid-70's, lows in the high 50's. So...we should have good weather as we start our trek up the Alaska Highway.
It's late afternoon now. Bill is busy "caulking" the roof of his camper. I'm enjoying a Manhattan and some of those excellent spiced pecans while I write this blog post. We're having pasta for dinner...penne with a jar of Mario Batali sauce and some chopped side pork...should be good with a nice bottle of Chianti.
Tomorrow, we've got a two hundred and eighty or do mile drive from Grande Prairie. Then, it's only eighty miles or so to Dawson Creek...Mile "0" on the Alaska Highway. It should be a great adventure!