Road Trip to High Level, Alberta

On a whim, and knowing we had four days of "home time" ahead of us because of Canada Day weekend, we decided to drive to High Level, Alberta. It's approximately 800 kms south of Yellowknife, so about a six hour drive. It was a lot of fun, but six hours of adult driving equals about eight or nine hours of driving with a child. We had multiple stops for pee and poo breaks. Also smoke breaks, stretch breaks and snack breaks. Shane drove the entire trip, and I was happy to be a passenger. Unfortunately, the shotgun position meant that I was also the gopher, the flight attendant, the nurse, the chef and the waitress. My neck and left arm are actually still sore from all the reaching behind me I had to do on our long trip. My thoughts about the next trip is that I will a) sit in the back with Rachel or b) move her carseat so it is behind Shane and not me. I can't tell you how many "Mommy, look at me!" I had to investigate before my back and neck started screaming at me. But. It was a fun trip, nice to get out of Yellowknife for a couple of days.

Fresh and ready for the trip!

Our first stop to the Twin Falls. It rained most of the day, but we played in the park and had a quick lunch. It was a good break from all the driving.

View of the falls.

A nice couple took our family shot.

I said to Shane when I saw this photo, "Why wouldn't you ask me to take a step to my left? Then the sign wouldn't be obstructed by my big head!"

Smartest idea ever: Get a hotel with a pool, and better yet, a waterslide! Even Shane and I went down it. I should have taken a photo, it was 20 feet high, and dark, fast and scary. Rachel loved it.

Our water baby.

A better, unobstructed view of this sign, and bonus, a rare family shot too.

Alexandria Falls, pretty impressive, and scary to be right at the edge.

The gorge below the falls.

Did I mention the bison? Tons of bison on the way down and back. It was exciting to watch for them at first, but after about 50, even Rachel wouldn't look up when we passed them.

Baby bison! Cutest things ever.

Our stereo stopped working a few days before the trip and the spare part didn't come in on time. Hence, no music for the 16 hours we spent in the car. Yeah, that pretty much sucked.

Hard to tell in this photo, but there is a swarm of blackflies outside the window. It always took a few minutes for them to find us, so if we had to stop for a pee break, we tried to jump out as fast as we could. Unfortunately, on the trip home, we had about 5 pee breaks. I would unhook Rachel from the carseat, blast out of my seat, pull her out and slam the doors fast so no bugs would get in, and try to run to the outhouse as fast as possible. I think we saw every outhouse from Yellowknife to High Level. Not sure if Rachel really had to go or if she just wanted a break from sitting in her seat. 

In terms of wildlife we saw a swan, a fox, loads of bison, cranes, a huge owl that glided in front of the car, then alongside us (amazing bird), a hawk. We went to a pet store in High Level and ALMOST brought home a kitten. I kinda wish we had now, since they are hard to come by here in town.

A long, fun trip that was surprisingly relaxing. I think it did us good to get out of Yellowknife for a bit, as it can get a bit claustrophobic when there is no where really to drive to. Lots of people drive to Edmonton and I always thought we could do it quite easily, but I can see it taking about three days. The drive is beautiful but there are miles and miles of nothing but a two-lane highway (no shoulders even to stop, so emergency bathroom breaks were not always possible). Lots of stubby trees that gradually grew taller and taller, and more deciduous as we drove south.