Day 27 Mayerthroupe, AB

Greetings everyone. God is good. Today was a wonderful day for a ride. After yesterday's chaos, today was a better day all the way around. We woke this morning to sun and clear skies. It was a real shock considering the past several weeks. We watched the weather channel and saw we had clear sailing to our next destination. They were calling for rain in the evening in Red Deer, AB but we figured we would beat it. We had our coffee, then rode through Dawson Creek to route 43, and headed out of town. It was nice riding with just one pair of socks and our leathers. No face masks and no rain gear. Just out of Dawson Creek we were waved to the side of the road by the Mounties. They were spot checking motorcyclists for a valid license. The Mountie was very nice and we chatted for a minute then headed out. The road to Edmonton was well paved and wide. The scenery was wide open farm land, full of horses, beef cattle and occasionally an elk farm. The road was straight with very few turns. This was a big change of pace considering what we had been through the past week. The speed limit was 65 and it was easy to maintain it. We got caught in a small rain shower but we rode right through it and were dry in minutes. We really didn't want to put our gear on today. We crossed the border into Alberta and stopped for fuel shortly afterward. We met a biker from Detroit who was heading to Alaska for the second time. He was alone and excited about the trip. We shared with him for fifteen minutes, gave him our blog, then headed out. We were making good time and really enjoying the ride. We could see the clouds forming in the west and it was pouring. Once again, when it looked like we were going to ride onto the rain the road would turn us toward the clear skies. This continued for most of the day. The threat of rain, then we would skirt around it or through it. God was answering our prayers for a good day. The country side of Alberta is like most rural communities. Occasionally we would see oil rigs in the fields. Tracy explained that the flaming towers were to prevent the rigs from building up pressure and exploding underground. The towns are set off the highway and are not to large. Everything seemed to be packed into a small area but they had everything you needed, gas, food, lodging and mechanics. We continued along without many delays. We arrived in Whitecourt, AB and decided to get something to eat and fuel up. The rain was on the horizon like they predicted so we decided to call it the night at the next town up the road. Lightning was in the clouds and Tracy is not fond of it. We put on our rain gear after dinner and rode into the possible storm. Once again, God is good, we missed the rain with the exception of a few drops here and there. We arrived in Mayerthorpe around 7:00p.m. We had lost an hour of ride time due to the time change. We are only at a two hour difference now. We checked into the only hotel in town and settled in before the rain hit. It's suppose to clear out tonight and tomorrow they are calling for clear skies all day. We asked the clerk the best way to get to the border and he was very helpful. The route we had planned was the same route he gave us. We know we are on the right track and plan on making the border tomorrow. We need to call it an early night and make it an early morning. We figure it will take about twelve hours to reach the border. That's taking into consideration our fueling time, lunch and pit stops. Our trip today was a short 296 miles bringing our total to 9,156 miles. Thanks for the prayers, God is working in our lives everyday and it has been an exciting journey so far. God Bless everyone and good night.