The Canadian Adventure Begins

I am back! So I guess you could say that my extended vacation this summer included blogging. I have a LOT to write about since James and I had quite the adventure over the past few months. It will probably take me a couple of weeks to update everything and then I'll let you know what we're up to now.

It all started at the end of April when we left the warm and sunny land of Utah to go to Canada to sell security systems for Pinnacle Security. We had a beautiful drive up with just a little bit of rain. I had never driven through most of Idaho or Montana, and I couldn't believe how absolutely breathtaking it was. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures, so I guess we'll just have to do that drive again!

We arrived at the Canadian border at about 10:30pm. Now to back track a little bit, James' manager told us we should take the non-direct route through Glacier National Park and Cardston, Alberta because of the long lines and the friendliness of the border patrol. Let me just say right now, that was our first mistake.

When we pulled up to talk to the man on duty there, he first chewed us out for not doing our research because immigration left at 6:00pm. Then he told us it was pointless for us to even try because we couldn't be traveling together due to the type of work visa we had. Needless to say, I was slightly distraught. He softened a bit by the end of our conversation though and let us through the border just for the night so we could get gas and find a motel. Apparently there was a storm coming in.

We were lucky enough to see the temple all lit up when we arrived in Cardston. It brought me so much peace and made me feel at home. We were not so lucky in our choice of motel rooms however. Since everything was closed except for the gas station, we had to take what we could get. Let's just say that I slept in my clothes with my hood over my head and socks on because the room was SO bad...

The pictures really don't do it justice!

We awoke the next morning to at least 2 feet of snow and no power. We were worried that if we didn't get back to the border patrol we would have problems with our visas, so we set out in the storm to drive the 15 km back.

Within just a few miles we were in a white out that was so bad we couldn't see 5 feet in front of our car. We tried to take it slow, but with so little visibility we missed a turn in the road and ended up in a snow drift on the side of the road. I was positive no one would ever find us and we would die out in the cold in Canada!

Then this big guy came to our rescue!
I was so grateful to see him! Unfortunately, in the process of pulling us out, he went off the road and got stuck in the snow. I didn't think that was possible! Since our visibility was still so low, we didn't dare to try to drive back on our own. Luckily, a good Samaritan who knew the road really well came by and led us back to town safely.

I was never so happy to see a seedy hotel room in my life! With no power, we loaded up on junk food from the gas station, since everything else was closed, and settled in for a long stay. We played games, read books, talked and slept. It was actually really nice to not have all of the distractions for a while. At about 11:00 that evening the power came back on.

This is a picture of the same road the next morning. Unfortunately, when we got back to the border, their computers were still down, so they told us we would have to go to the border east of where we were (the one we should have gone to in the first place). The told us the best way to get there, so we set off.

After about an hour on the road, we found that the road was blocked because a semi got stuck. I had never seen snow cause such destruction. Most of the wooden poles on the side of the road were shredded and fences were destroyed.

Finally after an extra 2 1/2 hours we arrived at the other border, where they promptly gave us our clearance to go through to Edmonton!

Our 14 hour drive turned into 24 hours on the road. When we arrived in Edmonton, I was ecstatic to see our apartment. Wasn't it beautiful?
The "test kitchen" where I cooked A LOT in the 6 weeks we were there...
Living room with a sweet flat screen TV and balcony (with a grill!)
The bathroom... ah the soaker tub!

We loved our apartment, and Edmonton turned out to be a really cool city. I'll write more on that later. We were so blessed to get to Edmonton safely. I know the Lord was watching over us as we traveled. The experience really strengthened my faith and reminded me that we are all in God's care.