(2018 Alaska Ep 22)
On June 6, after nearly 7000 miles and more than seven weeks, we crossed into Canada near Sweetgrass Montana.
We were a little stressed – we had to have passports, auto and camper registration papers, and proof of insurance. We needed details about prescription medications. We had to ensure we didn’t have any food items that weren’t allowed. And we needed proof that our bear spray was for bears only, not people! Still we wondered if there was something we forgot or if we would have to endure an extensive search of our truck and camper.
We weren’t alone in our concerns about the border. There are numerous YouTube videos with border crossing horror stories.
We reached the Canadian Customs checkpoint and gave the agent our paperwork. He asked us a few questions and we were on our way in just over five minutes. We were wonderfully relieved!
After our first night in Taber, Alberta (RabbiTRAILS Alaska Map, pt #25), we continued to Drumheller (map pt #26), a small town well known for several significant dinosaur discoveries. At the Royal Tyrell Museum you can walk through exhibits of the various eras of the dinosaurs and other prehistoric life. There are lots and lots of full-sized dinosaur fossils to gawk at.
And to think it all happened in six days!
Later we witnessed the world’s largest dinosaur in the center of town – an 86-foot T-rex. We even saw him breathe a little smoke – this was a sight to behold!
Thinking back to the first few days of our trip, we wondered how Superman would fare with an 86-foot tall T-rex. Apparently others have wondered about this as well as chronicled in Action Comics!
We camped at Pope Lease Pines, about 10 miles outside Drumheller, surrounded by gently rolling wheat fields that extended as far as the eye could see. The campground was in the midst of tall trees that provided protection from the wind. We enjoyed the evening breezes and sounds of the prairie.
Next to the entry road was a Sawyer-Massey Peerless Separator, Model 1315 thresher. This was used in the early 1900s to harvest wheat. It must have taken weeks and weeks to harvest the wheat. How things have changed!
On to the Alcan and Alaska
This morning (June 12), we headed northwest to Alaska after several days in Edmonton (map pt #27).
We expect to reach Mile 0 of the Alaska-Canada (Alcan) Highway tomorrow (map pt #29) and take up to two weeks to cross back into the US near Tok, Alaska. This will be the most remote part of our trip and we will do our best to provide blog updates every few days!
Take the LONG Road... 