June 27 Vancouver to Edmonton

Did I say Great Adventure?  Really?  Well, it has been, so far!  Very nice drive from Vancouver to Jasper to start off, and then .....

First, my Bell turbo stick which functioned just fine at home has failed to connect since then.  Of course to talk to tech support you need phone access, and it's costing me $$$$ on my cell phones as someone in India works out the problems. 

Then, our fabulous canoe lifter came to bits in a most spectacular manner in the campground in Jasper.  As we were lifting the canoe back up, suddenly the mechanism exploded, sending bits of wire flying, the aluminum arms careening around, and needless to say, the canoe crashing down against the side of the camper!  Wow!  Even the Dutch campers next door were impressed!  It was a challenge explaining to them that this wasn't supposed to happen.

Luckily (well, not so much, but I'm trying to practice gratitude) no one was decapitated, there is only one small hole in the camper (duct tape to the rescue) and the canoe is intact.  It took a while, and a lot of sweat equity, but we got the broken bits strapped down to the roof, the canoe safely back on top, and the camper off the middle of the road.  (Did I mention that?)

So, in order to take our minds off the awful truth, we decided to go off on a bike trek around the townsite.  Buddy in the trolly, lunch in the cooler, off we pedal.  Jasper is fabulous for cycling - bike paths for miles, along the Athabasca River, beside turquoise glacial lakes, through boreal forest, and all off the highway.  We had a lovely day out - elk, deer, hawks - and were just about back to the campsite, when we came upon a female elk.  Stopped to photograph her, and realized she was looking pretty aggressive - head down and tossing, foot stamping, snorting.  Decided to hightail it back down the path, but of course, a bike pulling a trolley doesn't turn around easily on a narrow trail!  The elk gave chase, I zoomed off down the trail we'd come on, and Norbert headed across the bush towards open country.  The elk cornered him, and he decided to abandon the bike and run for it.  Buddy, unfortunately, chose to follow me, and ran right under the elk's nose.  She tore off in hot pursuit, and all I saw was Buddy racing towards me with the elk prodding his behind! 

Laughing now, yes, but I sure wasn't then!  I've never pedalled so fast in my life!  And poor Buddy, he was like a greyhound in heat!  She didn't continue to chase us very far (she must have been protecting a calf in the long grass nearby).  We skirted around her, as fast as we could skirt, and for all our trouble were stopped just beyond her by the Park Ranger who wanted to know why our dog was off leash!  'We're escaping from an elk' somehow didn't seem to amuse him.  Some days you just can't please anyone.

So, adventure it is, and we've realized that we'll need to develop resilience (and stronger legs).  But there is good news on the horizon.  Internet now seems to work, canoe lifter can be repaired on Friday, and no elk in sight.  We are barbequing bison steaks tonight at Doug's house at Labyrinth Lake, and plan to spend 2 days at Elk Island National Park before returning to Edmonton for repairs.  We have time and friends and good luck on our side.

Thanks for all your good wishes, and yes, please, come along over the horizon to see what tomorrow brings.