we went by the bad lands to the tyrell dinosaur museum...someone called "aja" it was a family from metchosin .... small world... or maybe everyone just eventually ends up in a dinosaur museum.... i have loved dinosaurs since i was a little boy.... and found that i still carry a great affinity and interest in them.. Aja loves dinosaurs too so to see the fossils and the life size reproductions and real fossils was amazing... humbling in so many ways so imagine man’s small time on the planet ...

Corner Gas

Although papa complained... we had to divert a ways off our path to visit Corner Gas.... we ate ice cream and milkshakes at what used to be the police station.... the girl that served us served ice cream served ice cream in one of the documentaries on the making of the show.... that made her a pretty big star so we had our pictures taken with her.... no trip would be complete without a visit to dog river...

Across the Praries

Crossing the praries

traveling with my daughter i have already learned that where i see the travelling as the journey and a goal unto itself... she like most kids is looking for a destination and so does not yet know how to enjoy the ever changing topography... well i think i will have to wait till we are out of the praries to start teaching her that..... as we joke about being able to see the cn tower from where we are in Alberta... ... although i have no real direct experience of the beauty of living in a flat land where i keep looking over my shoulder expecting to see something different... like something is missing....but nothing ever changes my dad talked about the rich beauty and spirit of the Praries from his childhood in Saskatchewa... a fondness for the land that he carried all his life even into the Yukon..... i hope i can sense it deeper but may be it will take standing on the rich earth instead of cruising at 11o kms across its surface... actually i just realized that it is not the land that is magical... it is the sky and the land.... the sky goes on and on like the land and they seem to become one.... yes i get it now.... my dad only talked of the land but it is also the sky....... the big feeling i get is that of being very very small.... a tiny speck ..... yes this land makes me feel insignificant.... little but in some way part of something very large.... nice...

Day one complete drove to golden.... but stopped in merrit to have lunch (picture).. crossed the rogers pass... did lots of sitting.... and talking... because we were talking nana and papa did not turn on the the two types of music they listen to... country and western... so looks like we will have to talk more tomorrow.... all is well... papa could not sleep and back seat drive at the same time... maybe tomorrow he can close his eyes and sleep... or may be he will learn how to sleep with one eye closed.... which i think he would have mastered having three daughters... all is well... tomorrow the rocky mountains....

On our last day at home in Victoria we found a quote by Lao Tzu that describes us and that we hope is true.

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”

and we wonder if we are going to be travelers, wanderers, pilgrims or just tourists.

Aja sees what it is like to get out of her shell with two weeks in hawaii With cousin Brittany, Dave and Orianna.... for those of you watching there is just 19 days till we are setting off to see the world...