Road Trip

A short road trip was scheduled at the beginning of the month, only for a two-night stay but far enough away for a change of scenery.

British Columbia, Canada is a huge province, most heavily populated in the south-western corner, just north of the 49th parallel which borders the USA. The central part of the province’s cities and towns are much smaller and farther apart. The closest city that’s larger is 521km (about 324 miles) to the south. Opted instead for an eastern direction, into the province of Alberta: totally different landscape, booming economy with lots of shopping opportunities (not to mention a lower sales tax rate) and a somewhat better weekend weather forecast.


















So, it's off to Grande Prairie….530km (332 miles) one way - 6½ hours of driving, at a speed of 90-100 kilometers for a good part of it.

For comparison, approximately the same travel distance as:
Los Angeles to San Jose, CA
Dortmund to Dresden, Germany
Miami to Jacksonville, FL
Madrid to Barcelona, Spain
from Swansea, Wales to London & back to Cardiff
farther than Paris to Lyon, France
farther than Wellington to Gisborne, NZ

Northern roads take a real beating in the extreme weather conditions. I knew the winters would be cold when I moved here but didn’t know the summers could be scorchingly hot. Repairs to the asphalt make a thwacketta-thwacketta sound as you drive over them. With all the bumping along, it's surprising these pictures aren't all a blur!















Within 100-200 km in any direction from home, BC's scenery and landscape changes dramatically. Rain forest to the west, desert-like areas to the south, mountains and prairie to the east.














The twisty highway through the Pine Pass winds over the Hart Ranges


















…..taking you though valleys past meandering streams


















…..then over the Rockies.


















The highway straightens out over the rolling foothills and the speed limit increases to 100 km/hr.













Those farmers and oilfield workers are really in a rush to get everywhere, judging from the whoosh as so many passed us and disappeared into the horizon.

Maybe they know where the good sales are in Grande Prairie, just over the next hill.






























I usually bring a book to read when traveling but this time I brought a ‘traveling art kit’. Basic supplies to make a few ATCs for recent trades.


















Who cares what the city nightlife has to offer if you can make ATC’s in your hotel room?














A new technique: the original intention was to fasten brads into each corner of the pile of found papers. In my studio I like to be able to see all my supplies at a glance. This was no different – if I secured everything, I wouldn’t be able to see each individual page, so one brad and a giant paperclip was the solution.



















































This post is getting long, so I’ll upload a ‘shopping spree’ set to flickr.com later.

On the way back home, a stop at the museum in a small town called Pouce Coupe (rhymes with ‘loose toupee’), which is about a 13-minute drive from Dawson Creek, BC and ‘Mile 0’ of the Alaska Highway. Besides the wealth of local history, including WWII uniforms of a dozen men and women from the town, a shelf in one of the back rooms had stacks of books, catalogues and magazines from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. The next trip will be an overnighter at the nearby B&B to do a full day of ATC ‘research’!


















After a roadside lunch stop miles from anywhere, I found a shale outcrop and begged some help to scoop up enough pieces to build an inuksuk or, plural, inuksuit if there’s enough stone. A couple of prize rusty car parts came home, too, for an assemblage at a later date. The ordeals the families of artists must suffer through!

Four hours later.... home.


















With the one major purchase.


















As I hurried ahead to open the door and snap this photo, I heard, “It just gets worse, doesn’t it?”
That was a smirk on his face, not a grimace, right?