Up early in the rain, I slept great after a long soak and was getting excited about meeting Ash at my parents Cabin. Ed was planning on heading down to the US so we were parting ways and both had a lot of miles ahead of us.
When riding so many hours you think about all sorts of things. This afternoon I started noticing the style of each caravan/RV that would drive by. Most are generic white with one or two stripes down the side. However, Puma 5th wheels have stepped up their game. Depending on the model you get an airbrushed picture of a Puma on the front. The deluxe model, have a bad ass looking Puma ripping up the brand logo. I’m not sure who they are marketing to, but I suppose someone in product development has a love of airbrushed predators on the front of trucks. It may not be ok to airbrush a wolf on the side of your mobile home, but if you get a Puma 5th wheel you can show everyone you pass how bad ass your Puma RV is. Before my next trip I’m going to get a spider monkey airbrushed on the front of my helmet.
Aside from airbushed Pumas, there were a lot of other animals throughout the day including Reindeer, Bears and Mountain Goats.
Muncho Lake is blue like Lake Louise
I stopped for coffee and to wait for Ed to catch up, I never saw him pass, I stayed and ate a big lunch and had another coffee, still I did not see him come by. We had planned on going separate ways today, so I thought he may have blasted by me. I didnt want to backtrack as I didnt know if he was behind or in front of me at this point so after another coffee I decided to continue forward, hopefully meeting him in Dawson Creek before he heads east and I head west.
Getting this far south I knew I was bound to hit darkness for the first time in week. I crossed into the Alberta border past Dawson Creek the sky was Alberta blue. I never bumped into Ed again and was hoping everything was fine with him.
Back home
I love small towns that try to play off their name (like Vulcan) or have the ‘biggest something’. Beaver Lodge is no different, they have, well, a giant Beaver:
I would have made it more cartoon than realistic rodent looking
Sun Setting
Sunset
As darkness settles in I found myself in unfamiliar territory. It was the long weekend and most rivers and campsites were full of people out having a good time. I was tempted to stop and pitch my tent, but I wasnt tired and wanted to make some miles. Unlike the north you cant keep taking photos at 1am:
Beautiful alpine valley
Cadomin Mine
Getting into Grande Cache I pulled into a camp ground. It was dark, cold and quiet. I was just too tired and didnt feel like setting up my wet camping gear so I decided to splurge and find a motel in town. Most places were closed, and I didnt want to lug my stuff up to a hotel room, so I settled on the luxurious cinderblock suites of Grande Cache.
