Early in the morning I went to the acreage to care for the horses and cats. I let the cats out of the trailer. The weather was amazing and would only get warmer, so the cats can stay outside with no problem. I gave the horses their crunchies and minerals and filled up their water bowl with one more bottle. They all should be fine until I come back. My dear friend Carol offered to go and check up on the animals and feed the cats on Wednesday. I was happy to hear everything was fine when she got there. Thank you Carol!
We left Canora around 10.30 am. It was another gorgeous day. It would get really warm. We took highway 5 going west and it was SO quiet. Very Saskatchewan. Hahaha! You can easy drive for an hour without seeing anybody else on the road. We passed a lot of little towns before we arrived after 4 hours in Saskatoon. After a break we continued on the Trans Canada Highway (Yellowhead Highway 16) to North Battleford and from there to Lloydminster where the border is between the two provinces. The funny thing of Lloydminster is that half of the city is in Saskatchewan and the other half is in Alberta. The border is marked with high red poles. The Trans Canada Highway is one of the worlds longest national highways, spanning 8,030 km and goes from east to west. It’s also a little busier then the calm highway 5 we were on before. A lot of big semi trucks. All main traffic uses this highway. From Lloydminster we continued our route and just before the sunset we arrived in Edmonton.
I had made a reservation in Travelodge, a pet friendly hotel. It was SO nice to get into the room and relax. Scruffy laid down and was soon asleep. She was amazing during the trip. A wonderful dog for traveling. She just sits in the back seat, looking out of the window, or she curls up and sleeps. The only time she will bark is when she sees flocks of geese flying in the sky. LOL Paul had a shower and went to visit his friend Kevin from Canora, who goes to the university in Edmonton. I ordered a pizza and after Paul left, soon the pizza was delivered and I ate. I watched some tv but couldn’t keep my eyes open. Time to sleep. I slept really well and so did Paul. He had a great visit with his friend and came back to the hotel around 12.30 am.
The next morning we got up early and got ready to check out. I walked Scruffy in the back of the hotel, where there was a huge stretch of grass and bush. We signed out and went to a mall to get some pass photo's made. After that we went to the Dutch consulate. Because we had the dog, one of us always had to stay with her in the car. It was very hot outside, and we needed to keep the air conditioner going for her. But it wasn’t a problem. I went in a half hour before my appointment, and they could help me right away. After I was done I waited in the car while Paul went in the office. All together we were done within an hour.
Once this was done, we took some time to go to North East of Edmonton, to see our old house where we used to live the first 3 years we were in Canada. It was strange to see the house and street. The pine tree was still in front of the house, as was the tree with the orange berries. The tree Paul fell out once, which he never forgot. LOL The house still had the light blue color that I choose. Before we painted it, the house had a brown color. A lady went into the house. It was weird to see a ‘stranger’ go into ‘our’ house. A lot of memories came back. Ron and I got married in this house in 2002. It was quiet emotional for me. We drove around in the neighbourhood and went to see Paul’s old school. His first Canadian school. For Paul lots of good memories popped up seeing the school and our old neighbourhood. He had so many friends here. He said: “ It’s like I’m 8 years old again. “ Seeing the old playground and the huge field where he used to play with his friends, did a lot to him. We also went to have a nice walk in the Kennedale Ravine, which was a 10 minute walk from the house. We drove halfway, then walked the rest. It was beautiful weather, around 21c but for me it felt like 29c. LOL Especially once we went into the ravine it seemed so much hotter. But wow, it was SO beautiful to walk there again. Paul and I walked with Scruffy here a lot during his homeschooling period. The school had sent him away in his second year, because we didn’t had the ‘proper’ papers. Luckily that was solved after 5 weeks , by a simple phone call from a friends friend of the ministry of education.
But Paul had wonderful memories of being home schooled and loved our ‘field trips’ to the ravine with Scruffy. It was amazing that after nine years we were walking here again, the three of us. Things were changed. They were building paths and bridges during our home schooling days. Now all bridges and the path was all done. Some trees were fallen down, and probably those were still standing, nine years ago. After an hour walk we returned to the car. I gave Scruffy lots of water before we continued our trip. She was exhausted and very thirsty. Once in the car we put the AC on so she could cool down. Then we drove around for some more in the area before we left Edmonton. It was really great that we did this. It was like a closure for me too. To see the city where Ron and I first met, got married, and had so many great memories build, before we moved away. Our drive back went well. At sunset we reached North Battleford. And as soon it was really dark, the Northern Lights appeared! It was amazing. We could see them the rest of the trip.
We came home around 12.30 am that night . Wow, did I ever sleep well. Always nice to sleep in your own bed, right? Especially after traveling 1800 km within 2 days. Paul is an amazing good driver. He drove to Edmonton a couple of times, to Calgary and Canmore, and several times to Winnipeg. He sure got a lot of km done this past year and with that has build up a lot of driving experience. It really showed. He’s a very confident and relaxed driver. It was lots of fun too, to spend these days with my son. We talked a lot, shared memories and laughed so much.
This morning I went to the acreage and all animals were doing just fine. I fed the cats and let the horses graze in the little arena for a bit. I did some things in the cabin, put up two osb sheets. Then it got just too warm to do anything. When I left later, it was 30 c! No wonder I was getting so hot. Hahaha!
We sure have a wonderful September!