Grande Prairie

October 17, 2005

Few words can describe Grand Prairie better than ‘eeeeewwwwww!’.  Because of the oil boom in this Province the city is booming like there’s no tomorrow.  It’s amazing.  I arrived in town late this evening after driving for 11 hours to get here.  Looking at the hotels on the strip I was dismayed to see No Vacancy on every single one as far as the eye could see.  So I just walked into one and asked the lady at the desk to find me a hotel.  She probably called 7 before she got one that had 1 room left.  I high-tailed it over to the place to get the room before someone else did.  Just because I’m grateful that I have a room I’m not going to pass judgement on this place at all… aside from saying that I’ve stayed in cleaner accommodations at logging camps 12 hour drives into the bush!

The drive today was long but I’m driving one of the new trucks which is quite, comfortable and has a CD player.  Thank God for small mercies.  It also has a V10 engine which made the hills almost effortless.  While most of the drive was pretty the 4 dead moose that I saw laying on the side of the road quickly sobered my driving.  Not a pretty sight.

Tomorrow I’m heading up to Slave Lake where I will spend the rest of the week and… possibly the weekend.  My Mom has cousins there, where doesn’t she, but I’m not sure if I really want to get in touch with them.  The last time I was in Slave I did and it was a slightly disturbing experience.  I guess I probably will call them because I do have to spend the weekend there but I’m quite terrified that they’ll insist I go to church with them.  They’re extreme Pentecostal and I don’t think they’ll look lightly on my personal rule while travelling.  Never attend a church with Calvary, Living, or Freedom in the name.  I’ve had a few to many strange experiences with those types of churches.

Finally a story that I forgot to mention the other night.  While The Baron was making supper for Sister and I, I happily pointed out the fact that a deer was eating a part of one of his trees in the front yard.  I was happy to point this out because I know how irritated The Baron gets about this.  In a sudden flurry The Baron was out of the kitchen, still holding the really large knife he was cutting veggies with, and racing after the deer pelting it with small stones and yelling!  Truly one of the most magnificent displays I’ve ever seen from him.  Sister and I were laughing heartily when he came back in the house still brandishing his knife menacingly and muttering about pesky deer eating everything.