Devon, AB to Whitecourt, AB -- 131 Miles
We were glad to get away from last night's campground. There were too many mosquitos (can it be worse as we head north?), and the restrooms and showers were really dirty and run down. The showers had the temperature fixed, and they were definitely on the cool side of lukewarm. Even though the campground had a splashy ad and good rating in the Good Sam/Trailer Life Campground Guide, I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone planning to stop here. The Devon by-pass, however, is well worth remembering for anyone traveling north toward the Alaska Highway. It bypasses Edmonton and all the traffic completely.
We did drive into West Edmonton this morning since we were planning to meet my friend Darren for lunch. Darren is a fellow Stellarvue telescope owner whom I've known for more than ten years on the internet. We finally met in person at the Thunder Ridge Star Party last summer. He and his dad drove down from Edmonton to see if the clear skies at 10,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies were all we had been bragging about. It was good to catch up with him again and update each other with what's been happening in the year since we saw him last.
On the way in to meet Darren, we stopped at the West Edmonton Mall, which is supposedly the largest, or maybe now the second largest, shopping mall in the world. The mall takes up the equivalent of 14 city blocks, and includes an indoor water park, miniature golf course, amusement park, casino, what seems like hundreds of restaurants, and oh yes, stores galore. There is even a golf driving range on the roof. We had originally intended to drive down in the city center after lunch to visit an art museum and conservatory, but decided instead to get back on the road. We drove as far as Whitecourt, Alberta, about 100 miles northwest of Edmonton and stopped early enough to get some laundry done -- we had a week's worth of dirty clothes overflowing our small hamper.
Tomorrow we plan to make it Dawson Creek, BC, the official start of the Alaska Highway. We'll finally reach the mountains there after driving 1450 miles through rolling plains and prairie.
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