By midnight we had covered over 1,900 km that day with 5 hours to go before reaching Edmonton. I took the midnight shift, taking us into Alberta, enjoying the Northern Lights that were a dancing cosmic curtain in the ebony sky. Half an hour from the City of Champions, we pulled over for a short nap.
In Edmonton, we had time to visit a YMCA for a workout and shower before beginning the day’s adventure. We had two deliveries – one at a pharmaceutical company and the other at a warehouse distribution centre.The day was a little overcast with light rain failing as we headed west on the Yellowed Highway.
The next leg of our trip is one of incredible, unmatched beauty through Jasper National Park on the Alberta/BC border. This park is world famous for its magnificent mountain ranges, glaciers, glacial rivers and lakes, and abundant wildlife. Elk, big horn sheep, mountain goats moose, wolves, coyotes, black and grizzly bears are commonly seen while driving through Jasper.
We stopped for dinner at a picnic area on the Alberta/BC border which is also the Great Divide, 1,131 metres above sea level. This provided a picturesque location to stop and stretch our legs.
Later that night we reached the town of McBride, about 200 km east of Prince George where we had a few deliveries in the morning. By now it was dark and the rain was falling steady. We were well ahead of schedule so pulled over for a long 7 hour nap surrounded by tall evergreen and rain washed forest.
Day nine of our trip. We had five deliveries and one pick up in Prince George before heading up to Vanderhoof, BC, 130 km west. We had 5 large electric panels to deliver to a saw mill undergoing massive renovations, soon to be the world’s largest producing sawmill.
Heading back through Prince George, we took the Cariboo Hwy, #97 south, also known as the Gold Rush Trail down to Cache Creek. We passed by tranquil ranch lands, grazing cattle and horses, old log cabins, winding our way through the awesome panoramic Cariboo Mountains.
At Cache Creek we joined up with the TransCanada. The next 190 km would take us through the spectacular and breathtaking Thompson River Valley and into the Fraser Canyon. Between Lynton and Hope are steep rugged mountain, tunnels, steep grades and hair-pin turns, and the infamous Snake Pit, aptly named. Some sections of the highway through that location are so narrow, that if two on-coming semis are approaching at the same time, one must give way to the other. At Hope, we are once again on the 4-lane divided highway. Soon we enter the Lower Mainland covering the last 150km to our terminal in Delta on the south side of Vancouver.
