Phase 1- Complete

Well, it's March 18th, and I am now officially on the road and homeless. For the time being, anyway. We left Chilliwack on Monday around 6pm after a long day of packing, loading the truck, fighting with in-laws, lawyers, and each other. There were lots of tears and swearing, as was expected, but as the sun went down on the Fraser Valley, we headed east (well, Northeast, but east is our ultimate destination).

We fueled up the truck in Hope, BC, for those of you following along on a map, picked up some snacks for the road and checked the highway conditions. It was getting dark, and snowy, so we knew were in for a rough ride.

The Coquihalla highway is one of the most dangerous highways in Canada, but surprisingly, other than a few slippery patches, it wasn't bad. I put on my iPod, had a cat on each leg, and went to sleep. We stopped briefly again in Kamloops for gas and coffee, and I flirted with a cute-ish guy in line at the washrooms, and then we got underway again.

We pulled into the tiny village of Blue River, B.C at about 2am. I woke up not really sure where I was, and am still kinda fuzzy on that part. There was a trucker there who warned us that there was a terrible accident about 30 kms ahead and that the highway would likely be closed. There weren't any other routes to take, so we decided to head up there and just pull over and sleep if we had to wait.

The accident was probably the worst I've seen. It seems that a semi-truck had spun out on the snow and ice and gone into the ditch. Then another semi-truck came along and side-swiped him, causing his truck to flip around and over, ripping his entire trailer and back half of his cab right off. Both trucks were total write-offs. We didn't hear if anyone was hurt, but I would be surprised if they weren't. They only had one side of the two-lane highway closed, so we slowly made it through.

We finally made it to the Alberta border at about 4am local time. This picture was taken about 2 minutes after I woke up and I'm trying to pretend that I'm not freezing to death, so please be kind. And be kind to my Mom too, cuz she didn't even sleep at all.

Anyway, I was sad that we had to go through Mount Robson and Jasper Park in the middle of the night, because it really is the most beautiful place on earth. Look it up on wikipedia or do an image search if you don't believe me. We've come through here a few times in the daylight, and the scenery is breathtaking. It's one of my favourite places in the world. I'm definitely going to miss it.

What I won't miss is the fact that there is absolutely no place in Jasper to find food after 6pm and before 7am. I was starving and everything was closed. Finally, at about 6am, we found a Tim Horton's in Hinton, AB, and grabbed some breakfast and coffee. The coffee really hit the spot, because did I mention that it's freezing in Northern Alberta?!

Anyway, after another stop for fuel and bathroom breaks, we finally made it to my brother's house in Onoway, AB, at about 9am. I don't know who was happier to get out of the car, us, or the cats. I think it's a toss-up. I was quite impressed with how quiet and well behaved they were on the drive though. Even when Ira was starting to fall asleep and swerving all over the road, they managed to stay sleeping. It's more than I can say for myself.

Okay, what can I say about Onoway, Alberta? Not much, really. It's pretty much the definition of small town Alberta. The tallest building in town is the grain tower, and there isn't a franchise to be found. No McDonald's, no Tim Horton's, no Safeway, nothing. It's all locally owned businesses. Also, it's COLD. I went for a walk today and bundled up, so it wasn't that bad, but I definitely would not want to live here. And not that I don't mind small towns, but just walking down the street, I felt like everyone knew I was a foreigner because they were all staring. Could be because I was carrying my camera, but who knows?
The town itself isn't horrible. Decent, mid-income housing, friendly townsfolk, and it is only a short drive to the city of Edmonton, so I guess living here wouldn't be so bad, if you can stand the weather. I've lived in a similar town nearby during the summer, and it was pretty nice. I'm just glad we weren't here in January.

Anyway, we're staying here probably another day or two, so I'm basically just sleeping, surfing the web and waiting until I have to get back in the car and head towards our final destination. It will be nice when I can finally have something else to focus on other than the hurt and all things I left behind. The homesickness and husband-missing has definitely hit me a few times, and I could really use a distraction. It'll be nice to be able to focus on finding an apartment and a job and all that goes with starting a new life. But for now, I'll just keep listening to my iPod, writing in my blog, chatting with a very special person online (thank you for helping me through this, Billy Buddy. I know you're reading this.) and taking things one day at a time. All the legal stuff is behind me, so I'm hoping it's all uphill from here. And you know, you guys could leave comments here and give me something to read when I find internet access again! (hint hint, nudge nudge)

So, we should be leaving Alberta by Friday, next stop Saskatchewan and beyond! The plan is to be in Moncton by next Wednesday, so I will keep you updated. Hopefully I haven't bored you all to death by then.

-Kristi
Location: Onoway, Alberta, Canada.