On the Road with Fred and Barb - Newsletter #4
May 26-30,2003 Edmonton, Alberta to Dawson Creek, British Columbia
We
arrived today at Dawson Creek, Mile Marker 0 of the Alcan Highway. About
6 miles outside of town, our Check Engine light came on but nothing
appeared to be wrong. All gauges read normal. So we proceeded into the
campground and the light finally went out. Wonder what adventure lies
ahead?
We spent the rest of our time in Edmonton visiting some
additional "tourist" spots. Since it was raining when we got
up Monday morning, decided to catch up on chores, then head back to
the mall for more miniature golf. This time we played the "Glow
in the Dark" course. It was all painted in bright colors that glowed
under black light. Fun atmosphere. This time Fred was the champ. After
golf, we hit the IMAX theater for Ghosts of the Titanic. This is a collaboration
between Disney and James Cameron. We donned 3-D glasses and watched
actual footage from the undersea exploration of the Titanic overlayed
with visual effects of life aboard the ship. Very effective.
The
next day dawned nice and sunny so headed a few miles south to the Devonian
Botanical Gardens. The gardens contain a Japanese garden, floral gardens
and several wetlands. Unfortunately we were too early to see any flowers
as most of the beds were just being tilled and planted. We forget that
this part of the country saw snow just a week ago! But we had a nice
walk among the trees and ponds.
Just
down the road from the Gardens is the Canadian Petroleum Interpretive
Center. This is the site of the discovery of oil at Leduc #1 in 1947
and is a National Historic Site. The discovery of oil here forever changed
the economy and destiny of Alberta. Before its discovery, Canada imported
90% of its oil from the US. Afterwards it became self sufficient. Alberta's
petroleum industry is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in
Canada and they even export it to the US. The Interpretive Center showed
an interesting film called Miles under the Wheat. It was filmed in 1949
and showed how the wheat farmers were persuaded to allow oil companies
to drill on their land (they were compensated) with minimal loss of
plantable fields. You see acres of fields with oil pumpers dotting the
landscape. The most interesting part of the center was the ability to
climb on the Leduc #1 oil rig and talk to one of the old-timers who
had worked it.
Our
last day in Edmonton we drove about 20 miles east of the city to the
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. Evidently during the late 1800's
there was a large influx of immigrants from the Ukraine who were fleeing
the oppression and poverty of their homeland. They settled in East Central
Alberta and built largely farming communities. The Heritage Village
contains actual buildings - homes, churches, barns, stores - from that
period. Like other living history sites, costumed staff recreate life
during that time. Although it was interesting to learn about the Ukrainian
role in Alberta, this wasn't as well done as other living history parks
that we've seen.
Some other observations about Edmonton:
*There are quite a few casinos scattered throughout the city. Not as
glitzy as Vegas but some were quite large.
*There's a ski area just east of the city with a chair
lift. The top of the chair is even with the highway and the hill for
skiing looked more like a small toboggan hill. Think we'll stick to
Colorado!
*Our satellite system stopped receiving once we hit Edmonton.
Too far north for Direct TV reception. Good thing we all the final episodes
of our favorite shows aired before we got here.
*It doesn't get dark until 10:00 at night. That should
help the newly planted fields and flowers.
LESSONS LEARNED: Some places only accept Visa. Some only
accept Master Card. Hardly anyone, except COSTCO, accepts American Express.
Unfortunately we only brought Visa and AE. Cash still works everywhere!
BTW, the exchange rate isn't as good as last year. We got $1.34 Canadian
for our American dollar at the bank.
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