June 7

Edmonton. Makes me feel dirty. Maybe it's because I haven't been showering regularly since we've been on the road or maybe it's the weird smell in the air here, the smell of money and germs. You know, like when you've been holding a handful of coins and your palm gets all sweaty and the coins become warm. Edmonton smells like that.

On the other hand, it's crazy to think that Matt, Tom and I have made it this far. Edmonton may suck but at least we're here.

Our last two days on the road were pretty intensive. After we left Kakabeka Falls in Ontario we devoted ourselves to the road and made it to Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. It took us about ten hours but the drive was worth it. Riding Mountain is a beautiful park and if we might of had more time I would have loved to have stayed longer. The park is huge and offers a huge selection of different outdoor activities for every skill level and an authentic sense of being a part of the wilderness. I mean, we were in the camper area of the park and we had a white tail deer run right down the road by our campsite. So just imagine what it would be like to do some backcounty hiking or biking there. If I ever make it back I'll be bringing a sturdy set of leg muscles and some bear spray.

So we spent our night there and were off on the roads by around 9 am. We had decided the night before that it might not be that difficult for us to drive to Edmonton, where Matt's cousin lives. It's about 900 km and most of it is in a straight line so we decided to give it a go and arrived here around 1030 pm.

kakabeka falls

It was great to crawl into bed after being on the road for so long. Matt and I must have been exhausted because neither of us noticed that the air mattress we were sleeping on had deflated. We woke the next morning with nothing left of the air mattress except a giant piece of plastic. Tonight we'll remember to put the cap to the air valve on.

As for today. Well, we did what any Edmontonian would do on a Saturday, we went to West Edmonton Mall and had lunch at Hooters. I love that place. The wings, the sleazy guys and the giant, white slouch socks. It's all just so good. My favorite is when parents bring their children there to eat. There were a tonne of families with kids there today. Seriously, do you really consider Hooters family dining?

Anyway, Edmonton is creepy and West Edmonton Mall doesn't help. It was probably my second time there since I was about nine. I remember it then as being this awesome mecca of fun with a rink that the Oilers would occasionally practice on and a pirate ship and wave pool that I was never allowed to go in, but now it just reminded me of how awful I am and what a naive and oblivious society we live in. There were so many people there, all mindlessly spending their hard earned money on things that will only give them a temporary sense of euphoria. I don't know, I just wish people had different priorities. I wish I had different priorities.

To say the least I really didn't like being there. Being at that mall felt like when your watching a show on TV, and when the commercials come on they are ten times louder then the program you were watching. Only, at West Edmonton Mall you can't turn the volume down.

But enough shitting on Edmonton. It's not all bad. It has Ian, Matt's cousin, who has been an awesome host. And has been kind enough to let the Skingert family infiltrate his house for a couple of days.

Right. Well this has far reached it's quantity quota so I'll go. Be warned, Matt and I are on the road again tomorrow and I won't have access to internet until we get to Penticton in a couple of days. So hang in there. We'll be talking soon.

xoxox

NEW! Official Wildlife Count

Trucker bombs - lost count (sometimes it's had to tell if it's ice tea or urine)
Moose - 3
Dear - 7
Bear - 3
Wild Turkey - 1
Turtle - 1
Falcon - 2
Llamas - a lot
Wolf - 1