Northern Alberta; Celebrating a Birthday

NOTE: This blog was written last night, May 12, but not posted due to Blogger being down.

First, let me clarify something from my blog yesterday. I said the other two women in our group don’t drive their motorhomes. That’s only party true. Marilyn chooses not to drive an RV. (Although she agreed to give it a try if we find an empty parking lot somewhere along our travels!)

However, Carol is a capable, in fact, very experienced RV driver. After all, she’s part owner, along with hubby Dennis Hill, of the RV Driving School! During the years I’ve known Carol, probably about 7 or 8, I’ve known her to drive her mother-in-law’s Class A motorhome from Texas to Florida, and another time from Texas to California. She continues to do most of the parking of the 43-ft. diesel pusher she and hubby Dennis own. The reason that she usually doesn’t drive going down the road is because Dennis loves to drive. He has spent many of his adult years driving big rigs and still feels most comfortable behind the wheel. Thanks to my blog followers and good friends Jerry and Suzy LeRoy for asking about this.

Second, if you didn’t read the comments on Tuesday’s blog, a loonie (one dollar Canadian coin) may be required to unlock the grocery carts in the supermarket. I tried a Canadian quarter, but it didn’t work, so next time I’ll try a loonie. In any case, you get your money back when you return the cart to lock it back into the collection of carts. This is a way to keep the parking lot clear of shopping carts, and eliminate paying employees to go retrieve carts. Maybe this is a good idea for the U.S. markets to adopt. Thanks to Bob, IdahoRV, and Rick and Paulette for commenting on this.

Today was another travel day, going from Alberta Beach to Hythe, Alberta, about 275 miles. One of the first things we noticed was a campground we wished we had stayed in, as we’re all good friends with Walt and Kellie Gunn.

The Gunn Campground is behind the Gunn General Store in Gunn, Alberta.

We’ve been keeping our eyes pealed for moose, deer and other wildlife. Dennis had assured us that we’d see animals today. We did. We saw cows, horses, a dog, and then there was the big moose.

Hurrah! We saw one!

The world’s second longest wooden railway trestle crosses highway 43. The C.N.R. Rochfort Bridge Trestle is 2,414 feet long and was built in 1914.

We decided not to stay in a campground in Beaverlodge after I drove through it and found the host site #19 empty and no one in sight. About 10 miles down the road, the campground in Hythe was also empty, but a worker said it was open and directed us to a deposit box where we could pay our $10 per night. Hythe is an agricultural community, and a processing center for fruit and berry crops. It’s also known as the Volunteer Capital of Alberta. We are the only RVs in the campground.

Today was Dennis Hill’s birthday. We went to dinner at the restaurant Dennis chose (out of 2 in town), The Real Deal.

We look like one happy family, don’t we?

Dennis looks a little like the kid on his card, don’t you think?

The food was pretty good, and the waitress brought a piece of fudge pie for Dennis to share, complete with a candle to blow out while making a wish.

Dennis, you’re supposed to be sharing!

Okay, maybe one bite…

And maybe another one.

And just one more…

May you have many more Happy Birthdays, my Friend, and our Fearless Leader of the Last Frontier Gang!