ZR-1 Alaskan Adventure Travel Log

[QB93Z]

Originally Posted by ZR1North

Welcome to Canada, Lyndi and Jim. We're following your trip with interest. Well done on keeping the Zee so clean through all those miles and wet weather!

The Z is actually pretty much a mess. The front bumper is ugly with smashed bugs. Yellow cars hide dirt well and look good in a photo.

Jim

[QB93Z]

Sourthern Saskatchewan has a large surface coal mining operation. The piles of dirt removed to get to the coal has produced a weird hilly landscape. Here is one of the old scoop shovels:


After driving for about 180 miles of flat land and farms, we stopped for a break in Moose Jaw, a pretty town with a vibrant downtown area:


One of Moose Jaws' claims to fame is that Al Capone used to visit. There are tunnels under some buildings near this motel. According to legend, Al Capone used the tunnels to hide from the authorities:


When we arrived in Saskatoon, we were welcomed by Kevin and his son Andrew. His 1991 Dark Red ZR-1 looked great. There are only two known ZR-1's in central Saskatchewan, so we had a nice visit.

[Moonlk]

It was great meeting you and Lyndi. Someday I hope to travel to some of the Z events and meet more friendly Z owners.

[DaveK]

Great reading about you adventures Jim. Keep enjoying yourselves!

Several years before I emigrated to Canada I came over to meet some people I'd met on the internet. We had a great time camping, drinking beer and so on. I remember one night mentioning that I'd like to drive out and meet a couple of Uncles I had who moved here in the 50s.

The people I was visiting asked where my uncles were and I said Saskatchewan. They then told me, very politely, that Saskatchewan was several DAYS drive away. Something that my British/European brain had a really hard time comprehending.

Have fun!

Dave

[QB93Z]

On Friday, we left Saskatoon and crossed into central Alberta. We saw farms and more farms. The landscape is slightly hillier as we go north and west. We learned that the beautiful green crop we have seen is canola. The plant produces pods that are pressed to produce canola oil used for cooking:


Along the way, we found some more stunning (?) photo ops. Here we have a Red Bull and a bigger-than-life Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. We just had to get the shots:




In Vegreville, Alberta, we stopped at the giant Pysanka, a Ukranian decorated egg:


Then we stopped in Mundare, AB, another village with a strong Ukranian ethnic mix to photograph the giant sausage:


Jim

[QB93Z]

OK, after all of that highly cultural sightseeing, we visited Edmonton, AB.

Edmonton is a large, modern city. We were very impressed with the cleanliness of the city and the friendliness of the people.

After all the days of covering lots of miles, we took a few hours to visit some sights. Here we are at the Royal Albert Museum:


We found the art gallery district and visited several galleries. We found the work of some Canadian artists to be very stunning.

We visited the Muttart Conservatory. It is a medium sized, arboritium with a unique design featuring four glass pyramids that provide light to the plant exhibits.


OK, enough culture. Next we visited West Edmonton Mall. The Mall is GIGANTIC!!! There are around 800 stores, an amusement park, a large water park, an ice rink, and a large lagoon for water activities including a sea lion show.






Jim

[QB93Z]

On Saturday, after a brief stop in Beaver Lodge, Alberta to pose in front of the world's largest beaver, we entered British Columbia:




The road conditions were excellent and the traffic was light so we made good time. The road heads northwest and there were miles and miles of arrow straight road as you can see in the back gorund of this picture:


We finally reached Dawson Creek, BC, which is the start of the Alaska Highway:


We have traveled 2800 miles in 5 days, the Z is running flawlessly, and tomorrow we enter the wilderness and head for Alaska!

Jim

[efnfast]

Congrats Jim and Lindi. Thanks so much for bringing us along. Best of luck. -Steve

[tomtom72]

Great photos! Thanks for sharing! It looks like you and Lindi are having a blast!

Drive on guys!


Tom

[-=Jeff=-]

Awesome Log Jim,

Keep up with the photos, it looks like a fun trip