Last night the Edmonton weather was forecasting 80% chance of rain, this morning they are forecasting only 50% for today so things don't look too bad. Pack up the gear and go out to load the bike. Darn, we are starting to get sprinkled on. I had on riding pants that were kind of water proof, not as good as the rain pants but enough for 50% rain. Pulled out the rain jacket and finished loading the bike. We still have plenty of fuel so we head off to breakfast. On the road again, in the rain again. We had a pretty good rain but were out of the worst stuff in 30 miles and just a few sprinkles for the next 100 miles and the clouds were beginning to have some breaks in them. John had talked to a construction worker at the hotel and we had a way to bypass the main city of Edmonton, didn't want to spend an hour in stop and go traffic like we did yesterday going through Calgary. Our first fuel stop is Leduc, just a little south of Edmonton and when people see our license plates or ask where we are going the big Arizona fire always gets talked about. It had been the same way at breakfast from the other old guys having their morning coffee at Tim Hortons. The by pass around Edmonton works well and we are all smiles. Next stop will be Whitecourt for fuel. The country is rolling hills with the tops covered with trees, a mix of Ever Greens of some type and ones that look like Aspen. Th flatter areas are a natural grass or cultivated fields with some hay stored in them. They are using the big round bales and they are wrapped in plastic. Lot of the hay is now being sent to China, that might be the reason for the wraps. Yesterday from the border north to Calgary there were a lot of cattle, even where we were running in the rain and couldn't see them we could smell them. Today there is very little live stock. we see a few fields with cattle after getting north of Edmonton but almost as many horses It is very pretty and every thing is green. The road is wonderful for a slab. Four lane divided, different from what we are used to as the median is several hundred feet wide and grass, the trees are cleared back from the road about 50 feet and every thing is wet and green. Another nice feature is that every 20 miles or so they have pull outs, not rest areas but just an wide spot to pull off the road and every one has trash cans, great idea. Another thing I have noticed now as were are getting farther north is a lack of road gators, I only saw two small pieces today and a lot of the trucks are 30 wheelers, 10 on the tractor and then 3 axles on the first trailer for 12 more, and that trailer has a fifth wheel set up just like the truck and another trailer with with 2 axles and eight more tires. I suspect it is the cooler weather and better clean up of the roads. I don't know if they are allowed to run recapped tires, not that they are the only ones to shed their tread but are the worst offenders. We refuel in Whitecourt and grab lunch and are headed north. Well at least a block and John pulls over, his shifter is coming loose. He looks at it and the bolt is gone, won't fall off but make shifting interesting. We are almost in front of the Ford dealer so we pull in and they have the bolt we need, I have the wrench and we are on the road again. We have the same great 4 lane except for about 20 miles and that is under construction so will be all 4 lane to our next stop Grand Prarie, it is a much bigger town that I had expected, actually a small city. We are still 60 miles from our planed destination of Dawson Creek but decide to stay here. It makes the next three days travel break into 3 more equal pieces and my compadre is a little tired. Riding is a bit like flying in that you need to be pretty alert, not good to ride when you are tired, need to be physically and mentally awake as quick reaction and good situational awareness of the stuff around you makes for a scab less ride. Tomorrow we are aiming for Fort Nelson. We expect to be in Tok Alaska on Saturday. The weather forecast for the next 3 day is cloudy and cool subject to change without notice. I can tell we are getting closer to Alaska as there are more mosquitoes and the bug splats on my windshield are some times red from the blood sucking mosquitoes.
Traveler and the white donkey
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