November 17, 2019

It was a different travel day.  The rain last night seemed harmless enough as it never froze overnight.  That was a bit of a surprise this AM when we went out as the roads were like a skating rink, it did freeze once on the ground I guess.  We had quite a bit of last minute stuff to do, so it was about 9:30 when we went out the door.  When we got on the city streets it was mainly good where they had sanded and salted, but other places were 4x4 territory.  Our first stop was over to our grandsons to say goodbye, I thought we had last night, LOL. It was a great opportunity to see Paityn and she was all smiles and happy to see us.  We sure will miss her for the next 5 months.  Then it was up to the P2K yard where they were loading equipment on semi's.  The yard would have been a good place for a hockey game.  A final farewell to Bill & Patti and we headed out at 10:20 this morning.
  Fortunately the highways were well salted and sanded, so just wet and traffic was light.  We were even able to use the cruise for most of the way, although we encountered some ice on bridge decks and in the shady areas.  We stopped in Whitecourt for a bite of lunch where we met Morris & Michelle Greschner on their way home.  Back on the road and by the time we got to the Sangudo area they were dry and bare.  Traffic was heavier on the Yellowhead highway and we took the bypass going thru Devon to Highway #2. 
  Stopped at Red Deer for fuel and a chance to wash the windows.  The road spray from the first part of the journey was creating problems on the side windows, rear camera, lights and we knew it would be dark before stopping and didn't need that complication.  It was a pretty good cross wind all the way from Red Deer.  Traffic on the QEW or #2 was heavy all the way to Calgary.
  We took the Stoney Trail bypass in Calgary where the traffic was much lighter.  By then the sun had set, we are heading up to the shortest day of the year.  We made it as far as High River, just south of Calgary, so 815 km's today, where we checked in to a Ramada hotel.  The room is fine, but nothing great.  For supper tonight we went to Boston Pizza and it was good as well.
  We are well positioned to cross the border tomorrow and make it through the area where we encounter the most challenging weather.