Metric colors

The Canadian fuel nozzle palette: green for gas, yellow for diesel and then sometimes also red for gas.  I didn’t know that there were also metric colors.  One station actually posted a sign that disclaimed responsibility for filling with the wrong fuel.  But the 94 octane that is becoming more widely available as I move northwest, makes up for the confusion.

Leaving 60F temps at a leisurely Sunday time of 9:00 am, Whitecourt AB faded away.  A not-so-cheery overcast sky was tempered with a reduced amount of smoke in the air, signaling control of the fires that lay ahead.

Keeping your game-detectors moving and surveying the roadsides is an important skill to acquire as quickly as possible.  Further motivation is provided by the massive 3-inch tubing game guards sported by most all trucks plying these Moose Row roadways.

Fox Creek hosted the morning break, then on through Little Smoky followed by a sharp left on Hwy 43 toward Grande Prairie AB.

In the rivers department the Ahabasca and (Big) Smoky loom large, but most of the other crossings today could have been waded.  A frustrated fisherman was just leaving the narrows of Sturgeon Lake shortly after I arrived for a break.

 

 

When Grande Prairie came into view it didn’t seem possible, but yes, the prairie lands could become even more vast than those traveled yesterday.  With the high plains accelerating the wind across these wide-open spaces all I needed was Clint Eastwood in a duster and some whistling to complete the picture.

Miss GPS sent me north to highway 59 at Sexsmith and then west through Valhalla Centre.  A gorgeous stretch of earth this two lane country road is and it explained much to me about the Viking pursuit of destiny.

 

 

Shortly thereafter it was time to set my watch back an hour as British Columbia and the pacific time zone were entered.

 

 

Dawson Creek BC will be home for the next several days as it sits near the major impetus for this trip.  More is to come on that soon.  It was a 258 mile cakewalk today but now I’m hungry and tired.  Until then hey, why not go find pizza.  It’s only 9:35 p.m. and the sun still hasn’t set.