I did a real happy dance when I got the word that I could take my great granddaughter, Layla, to a family reunion near Edmonton. As we stowed her bags in my motorhome she let me know her favorite food was McDonalds and that she had never crossed the BC/Alberta border.
We spent the first night at a campsite and we could see that a forest fire had come far too close to the highway and the village of McBride.
In the morning Layla’s excitement was high and her focus never wavered. She was crossing a border and I was in awe of her joy! She didn’t want any stops even as we drove by beautiful and touristy Mt. Robson.
The Welcome to Alberta sign finally came into our sight and she didn’t need to get out and stand beside it. This excited seven-year-old snapped a great photo as we drove by and on into our neighbouring province.
We couldn’t only eat McDonalds. I had waited to shop until I could find out what she would like to eat. At Hinton the food prices were good and gas was low at 145.9. In Edmonton, I saw gas prices as low as 138.9 per litre.
Leaving a five-day family reunion full of cousins and aunts and uncles brought on real tears but West Edmonton Mall soothed her as she had heard all about it. It didn’t disappoint with something for everyone. Layla chose a sea lion performance and bumper cars with her papa.
Choosing just two attractions left us more time and we were off to Drumheller which proved true that a seven-year-old would love dinosaurs.
As close to opening as possible is the time to take in this exhibit. Some days there can be 6,000 people who go through, but they were coming in as we were going out.)
Google Maps is a great help and in the hands of the enthusiast beside me, I had the best navigator possible. Kids can tech! She cheered me on, “GG you levelled out, 17 km to go in 17 min.”
I wish I had brought a fold-up map. She was fresh out of Grade two and loved to read.
From Drumheller we went to Canmore. The next day we drove on up through Banff, Lake Louise and the Columbia Ice Fields.
We drove through the mountains early while it was cool as my motorhome has a small radiator. It was a little daunting with very little traffic and a very large highway sign that said ‘no cell service for 238 km.’ With relief, I remembered my Zoleo which picks up satellites and I can text with it as my hub.
We saw a grizzly, a black bear and a squirrel. By mid-day, the highway was pretty busy.
Layla observed, ‘why does it say welcome to BC, we live here?’ Onward, right into the town of Jasper for ice cream.
This round trip from Jasper can be done in a week and is fairly easy on the budget. We drove through the badlands of Alberta and its oil fields and saw six crossings for wildlife over Hwy 93 – which we thought was a very kind thing to have for both humans and wild animals.
There were a few sad tears from Layla , on that last day as we woke up in Canmore and drove back to Prince George. And a few sad tears from me as she said, “GG I wish this was the first day.”
If you have items for this community column please call Sonja Lester 250-847-4414 or email sonja.lester.b.c@gmail.com.
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