Often messages supporting my ride end with “Be safe”. Yes, I try with lights on bike and helmet flashing and dressed in yellow and white with a red helmet. To comfort the many, I must admit highway shoulders are much wider and smoother in Canada than in the U.S. It is unusual to find a highway shoulder less than two foot wide, and major highways have ten foot wide smooth shoulders many of which have recently been swept clean. (I suppose to brush off the winter treatment of sand.)

In today’s 5:00 a.m. photo I am making French toast as my wife prepares a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my morning snack.

I made it to Grande Prairie in northwest Alberta today. Grande Prairie (pronounced “Grand”) is the last expected stop in Alberta.

As I biked into Grande Prairie County, I was surprised to learn this was the first organized county in Alberta. It was not designated  the first county until 1951.

Alberta did not become part of Canada’s Northwest Territories until 1882 and did not become a Province (along with Saskatchewan) until 1905.

Allberta in land area is huge, has rivers draining into the Hudson Bay and the Artic Ocean, but only borders one U.S. state—Montana.

I look forward to my trip through the far northeast corner of British Columbia in the days ahead and I thank all who have checked these posts as I progress north.