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Wow! I've been travelling on the river for seven days already. During that week I have certainly experienced a variety of weather from heat and sun to wind and rain and chilly temperatures. This is Alberta and you have to be prepared for just about everything. At least at this time I seem to have missed the snow experienced on the Icefield Parkway the other day. Today I reached the town of Devon and soon I will be surrounded by the city of Edmonton. I can't help thinking about my previous long river trip which was travelling down the River Thames in the UK. There I had the opportunity to stop at a pub for my lunch and supper refreshment nearly every day and chat to the locals. Travelling down the North Saskatchewan my meals mostly come from freeze dried packages and my chats are to the birds and the wildlife. Apart from available cell service along the river and being able to talk to my wife in the evening for a few minutes. 
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Let's try this again. and see if I can get it right this time. This is Genesee Bridge.  Here is a picture of Genesee Bridge so you can see where I camped. A little better than last night!  Time to continue my blog. This was a very windy day and there were a number of times when I found the canoe corkscrewing and going backwards. I know when you look at the Spot map it will appear that the distance I travelled was small but as I said yesterday, if I could have gone as the crow flies I would have been at the Genesee Bridge much quicker but the river has many curves and bends. I am hoping I might get to Devon tomorrow but we will have to wait and see what the day brings. I did encounter rain today and by the evening it was getting quite chilly. Now to add some photos. Well maybe I'll just use this one today. See how the campsite is not exactly what you would want in a normal site but it was the best I could find. I am hoping to get a better place when I get to Devon and try to use a regular campsite. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. We'll see how it goes.  Moving on down the river, not as fast as I had thought when I was planning the trip but each day I cover a few more kilometers and get a little closer to the first city, Edmonton. Today I plan on adding a couple of pictures to show that my campsites each evening are not always perfect but beggars can't be choosers and as the evening approaches you have to select somewhere even when there is no flat area to place your bed. Another change from my original plans is how quickly I can be on the river in the morning. Packing up with only one person takes two and a half times as long as it with if there were two people. For instance this morning it was eleven before I got underway. I start looking for a campsite around six so my paddling hours are less than I had planned. Oh well, that's life! Today I am near Genesee Bridge but not that close. As the crow flies it is about two miles but the river bends and loops so it is considerably further. .Our travels continue down the river. The weather is pretty varied and a little unpredictable. I guess this is fairly normal for June. When it got pretty hectic I pulled over near the Drayton Valley bridge and once things improved I was able to continue on my way and finally pulled over to set up camp near Berrymore. This is an area I know as at one time there was a small car ferry here to cross the river. When we lived at Seba Beach we used this ferry a few times and it was sad to see it close when they built the bridge across. It was one of the few still around in Alberta in the Eighties along with one near Drumheller. To find where I camped tap the Spot Logo and see where I have gone so far. Travelling down the river is a lot slower than I had hoped. Finding a suitable camping spot is not always easy and it often takes several abortive attempts to find one that works. In addition there was the wind today which made headway more interesting at times. I have realised too that I have to reassess my idea of blogging each day. Tap the spot image to see where I am today. |
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