Day 5 - Alberta

July 10 - Day 5

Got on the road at about 7:30 after good night's sleep at campground. We went into Saskatoon to find breakfast and gas. Discovered that it was really an hour earlier than we thought. Apparently Saskatchewan doesn't participate in daylight savings time???

Went to the Western Development Museum in N. Battleford. Donny had visited before and wanted to see the Phenix log hauler they have restored. The museum was great. Lots of historical artifacts and old steam traction engines. Gorgeous quilts!

Today we saw prairie dogs, a coyote, about 15 deer and a herd of free-ranging bison at Elk Island National Park. Two sand hill cranes beside the road near Lesser Slave Lake in Alberta. Also found some interesting new wildflowers: cut leaf painted cup, salsify and purple vetch.

We passed from Saskatchewan to Alberta at about 4:30 and decided to go as far as Lesser Slave Lake to spend the night. This is the beginning of the Mountain Standard Time Zone, also.

We got a little lost leaving Edmonton, but got straightened out after a bit. The route to Lesser Slave Lake was gorgeous - huge farms and fields full of grain and the same bright yellow canola plants we have seen since Ontario. We reached Slave Lake, but a carnival was in town, so we kept going, figuring that all the campgrounds would be full.

Saw a strange phenomenon after leaving Slave Lake. All around us, gigantic swarms of insects were rising from the spruce forest. Thousands and thousands of them would form long, twisted swirls that looked like smoke in the evening sky. When we drove through the swarms, we could hear them hitting the camper -- sounded like light sleet or rain. We are going to have to scrape them off the wind shield tomorrow.

The days are getting rapidly longer. The sunset shot above was taken at 10:30 p.m.!

We will try to check in tomorrow from British Columbia. Donny is anxious to drive the Alaska Highway. He has always wanted to see it.

Later!