Spirit River to Grande Prairie

Neil's extended family has been very good to us this trip. We stayed with Ernie and Cora, his great uncle and aunt for our time in Spirit River. It was a really cool experience.

Spirit River has about 1000 people (including the farmsteads), has one real main street, and an extensive museum for such a small town. It's one of the oldest communities in the area, so I guess it's not too surprising.

We spent the first day catching our breath. Since leaving the Charlottes, we hadn't had much of a break, and the slow pace of Spirit River was beckoning. The next day, Ernie drove us around the area. Got some beauty shots of the fields, some oil pumps, fenced-in bison, and a couple of wild deer. We also got to take a drive up to Dunvegan, the site of an old fort, with a couple of original buildings and a gorgeous view of the Peace River.

That evening, we met and interviewed a couple of longtime residents, Gerard and Eugénie, and this morning we got to interview the mayor, Theresa Sandul. It was awesome that we had so much time there – it really gave us a better appreciation for small towns to be able to sit with someone for a few hours and just talk about how they see life. And we had the chance to take a guided tour through the museum. They had several buildings – including a one room schoolhouse, blacksmith’s, cabin, and a homestead house, all done up in original or period accessories.

And now we’re on to Grande Prairie. It’s a quick bus ride, so we’re almost there now.