Trip to Edmonton (Chris)

There are so many different aspects of taking a new job & moving, let alone doing it to a different country. I’ll focus this on my transition and drive up to Edmonton.

At some point through the planning process, it was apparent we were going to need to get one vehicle to Canada on our own. We also found a house that was ok with us bringing our dog Chloe along, so the thought of driving 1,500 miles (2,400 Km - used a conversion app for that one) was much more palatable because it served a purpose in being a way to get her there. It was never really an option for us to fly her – she’s only been in a “kennel” once along with an overnight stay at the vet when she was spayed. Both occasions ended with bloody paws from her trying to get out and her being skittish for a long times afterwards. So driving her was a much better option.

I had planned to drive myself, and now Chloe. I thought with Sirius XM and my quiet companion it wouldn’t be that bad. Moving closer to the actual date of the trip, that scenario started to sound not as good as I was trying to convince myself of. Luckily, my parents both were quick to offer to join me and they jostled back and forth a bit for who would be the lucky one to ride with us for a day and a half. My dad made a personal visit to the government office to pick up his expedited passport 3 days before we left so he won out.

I left Dubuque on a Friday a bit before lunch and after a crazy morning of dentist appointments for the entire family, picking up a UHaul for our washer/dryer that we were bringing north to the cabin, and packing up the UHaul and car after that. It was a weird feeling pulling away on my own and Beth still being there with the kids. After all the back and forth travels and being away from them, I was sick and tired of saying good-bye and leaving them but at least this was the last time for that in this transition.

Made it to my parents house in Maple Grove around 6 – just about 5 hours of driving. Unloaded the washer/dryer, drove to the UHaul location to drop off the trailer and then headed south again! Had planned to meet up with my friends for the evening and started that off by stopping by Grandpa Bills for some coffee and conversation. Always great to see him and I secretly love those times when it’s a bit quieter and we can just talk. After that, I headed to John and Ben and his wife and new baby! Awesome evening of picking up on conversations that started months/years ago but never truly end.

Saturday I headed up to the cabin for a rainy day and evening – 1.5 hours drive. Found a patch in the sky to mow the grass, let Chloe swim in the lake, get a burger at Bayview and have a fire in our new fireplace! Sunday morning my parents met me there after their trip to Duluth and my dad and I headed up after a delicious breakfast just south of Garrison.

The drive started from the cabin a bit before 11am on Sunday. We drove to Minot, ND Sunday which took about 7 hours. Stayed at a nice hotel that allowed pets and got to watch the NHL playoffs on tv. Woke up Monday morning and got on the road around 8. Drove across the border, through Saskatchewan and into Alberta. Made it to Edmonton a bit past 7pm after 11 hours of driving.

Some thoughts about the drive:

The distance. From Dubuque, I drove 24 hours to Edmonton in total. The last leg from the cabin to Edmonton wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but that’s likely because my dad and I talked a lot and the time passed by quickly from that.

Crossing the border. Not nearly as complicated as I thought it might be. They never even recognized Chloe, even though we were prepared with all her medical documents. They were more concerned about the Acadia and proof of title and insurance for that than anything else. Never looked in the car once. I’m not complaining, but had I known that I might have tried to stick some bottles of wine in the back since liquor is one thing that is significantly more pricey in Canada.

The drive. North Dakota was a decent drive! Started to see oil the further north we got but we never passed by any of these major oil shale expansions. Saskatchewan – sorry to say it for anyone with a connection – but there wasn’t much there to write home about. One word to describe it – flat. More flat than Nebraska. There was a lot of land development on the south side with huge mining shovels working in some pits and really big coal plants we could see off in the distance. Lots of oil rigs pumping away. Then, there really wasn’t much besides fields and standing water. Once we got to Alberta – started seeing more activity, more oil.

Technology. I googled a lot of things on the drive. “I wonder how those oil rigs work? Where does the oil go?” Googled it. “There are Bison Transport double long trucks everywhere – do they actually transport Bison? (note – Alberta is known as the stocking location for the worlds Bison populations so that question isn’t as outlandish as you might have thought).” Googled it. “That’s a huge building – never heard of the Company – wonder what they do?” Googled it. Instant education and gratification. My cell service from Bell was unbelievably good the entire time in Canada.

Interesting notes. One fox running along the railway in Alberta was about the only wildlife we saw the entire way. We went through a town called “Max” – thought that was pretty cool and had to take some pictures. Lots of grain silos littered alongside the highway the entire way – two Companies dominated the signage – Cargill and Viterra. My dad set off the lane departure warning beep way more frequently than I did. Since crossing the border multiple times in the last year via air and now land, we are hooked to a Canadian TV show called "Border Patrol" (picture Cops but with officers dressed in formal wear riding horses... just kidding... the officers on the show actually scare us - they mean business). Once we made it to Edmonton, I put my dad to work! Lucky to have such great support which made for a great trip and not such a lonely arrival to our new home.