March 9, 2007 – Edmonton to Dawson Creek

Distance travelled 360 miles, average driving speed: 57.1/mph; trip time: 7hrs

High 51F, Low 32F. Bright and sunny. Then snow. Then sun again…

After a late arrival in Edmonton, we had an early morning to liberate the trucks from the trailer at Golden Arrow/MacKinnon transport. Fortunately, we arrive just before another transport container tied up the loading dock. Bruce expertly maneuvers the trailer in place, snaps the security bolt and there they are – Jim’s Defender and Mike’s 101, safe and sound - A great relief (right Kim?). Even for a tractor-trailer, the trucks are in there tight - so tight that Mike almost can’t get in his truck. But both vehicles start up fine (amazing in itself) and off we go.

Meanwhile, Eric and Neal are racing to catch up after a required oil change after over 2500miles from Virginia. We meet up along the highway and just in time – another repair in store for the Disco. Not a catastrophic failure, but an annoying one when the wiper fluid hose lost its plug. An old begotten firework served finely.

At this point in the trip, the only wildlife seen was a herd of bison – secured behind a fence, and the deer that wasn’t dead.

Our route today took us through Grande Prairie through to Dawson Creek. Despite a tough headwind, we arrive in Dawson Creek by sunset; time for dinner, drinks and getting acquainted.