Week Two

Well, Chuck got to do a little reminiscing at Minot -- lots of changes since he left in 1967!!! We left there on Sunday (6/3/12) and headed to Canada! I was a little nervous about the border - not knowing if we'd have any trouble with the boyz, but it was all for nothing --- they didn't even ask for rabies certificates! I hope we get back in the states just as easily! LOL We stopped the first night in Regina, SK and then on to Saskatoon the next day. We went to a really nice pub downtown -- Canadian Tap House - we really like Canadian beer!!! We left Saskatoon and drove to Edmonton where we visited the largest mall in North America - that was crazy!!! It has: 800 stores, 100 restaurants, an ice rink, a water park, mini golf course, sea life shows (seals, sharks, penguins), an amusement park, casino, etc! It was pretty awesome - we got our exercise that day. We were also able to find a dog park about 10 miles away to take the boyz and let them expend some energy. They are enjoying the trip as well --- lots of walks and lots of p-mail to read! From Saskatoon we headed to Dawson Creek BC which is where I am writing this from. We went to an exhibit about the Alaskan Highway today and watched a short video which was amazing! You should Google it and check it out. They built a 1500 mile road with no maps or anything in 8 months in horrible conditions -- absolutely amazing. Dawson Creek is mile 0 and tomorrow we begin the real adventure!! Things I've noticed about Canada: In general it's not much different from the U.S. --- lots of the same stores and restaurants that we have --- except no Sonic!! I don't guess a drive-in would go over too well most of the year here! Canada is VERY clean - I've seen practically no litter! They are very good at recycling --- even McDonald's has a place for recycling. I haven't seen a Styrofoam cup since I've been here -- I do miss those. They don't really use much ice --- even if you ask for extra you get very little --- you have to tell them to fill it up with ice --- then you'll get about 3/4 cup! There are small things, like the buggy return slots (like at Wal-Mart, United, etc) are covered and the water places (like Windmill)are inside. You just don't think about things like that!!! We saw a funny road sign the other day -- instead of saying Merge it said "Squeeze Left"! And one that said "loose stones" instead of gravel --- things like that. The McDonald's in Dawson Creek is the nicest one I've ever seen - it rivals a Starbucks!!! It has sliding doors, a fireplace and really cool furniture!!! Well, I guess that's about it for now --- until next week .......