AN AWFUL, TERRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY!

Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada: It all started that day with DH's early morning walk when he decided to go to the nearby shooping center to use the bank's ATM to get some cash. He followed the prompts, got his money, closed the transaction and found the ATM had eaten his debit card. He could see it in the slot, but the machine wouldn't spit it out. He tried his knife and the card slipped further into the mouth of the monster. The bank wasn't open yet so he came back to the campground and had breakfast and then we all went to the shopping center to get groceries and his card. The bank was the first stop and the teller bravely entered the bowels of the ATM and retrieved his card. No damage done.

Now to the grocery store. With help from the two grandsons I should be able to get in and out in short order. DH took off one direction and the boys grabbed a cart and insisted on pushing it. I picked up some asparagus and fresh green beans and turned to deposit them in the cart, but no cart. The boys had disappeared and left me stranded. I found them picking out the most expensive bottle of ranch dressing......over five dollars! I found the same kind, different brand for three dollars. And so it went. Cereal, five dollars. A variety box of pop tarts, eight dollars. This was a very expensive store! But the friendly clerk offered me a free savings card so on my next trip there I could save lots of money. I don't think so!

Now a quick stop at Wal-Mart for ice cube trays and we could be on our way. Up one aisle and down another....no ice cube trays. I finally asked a clerk and she informed me that everyone uses these plastic sticks that you freeze and drop into your can of soda to cool it. Oh, I can see four little pencil sized frozen sticks keeping a cooler of a twelve pack of pop and a twelve pack of water really nice and cold!

Finally we were on the road, speeding towards the west, when we see a sign informiing us of a low underpass ahead. Low Clearence - 12'4". We are over 13 feet! Okay, we saw it in time, so we'll just back up and take the gravel road around the little town and catch the highway a mile up. Good plan, except the gravel road had a railroad track crossing it and the arms were down, the lights flashing, and the alarms clanging. And no train in sight. Just a repair car sitting up the way, apparently on coffee break because it never moved. So, route number three was to take the narrow road across the other side of the highway and get around that way. So, again, no damage was done and we were finally on our way.

But the whole day continued on that way. We had crazy drivers cutting in front of us, a couple of teen aged boys weaving in and out of traffic and tailgating the cars in front of them, and a case of road rage beginning to develop on the driver's side of our truck. At every stop we made we seemed to encounter rude and unfriendly people. Thank goodness that hasn't continued on to the next couple of days, and we are enjoying making our way to Dawson Creek and the beginning of the Alaska Highway.