VALEMOUNT, BC.  We are parked in a campground by the Canoe River.  It has been beautiful weather ever since we got here yesterday afternoon.  Must be a tourist town since it is so neat and clean.  Reminds us of Kerrville, TX.  We ate supper last night in a very nice restaurant, the Caribou Grill, having Alberta beef again.  We thought when we had it in Smithers at the tour farewell dinner that it was simply beef grown in Alberta, a nearby province.  Turns out that it is a class of beef considered the very best, and the two times that we have eaten it proves that to be correct.  Best beef we have ever eaten.

Pretty Campsite by Canoe River

View of Canoe River from Our Site

Today was spent on necessities rather than pleasure.  The Jeep battery finally completely died yesterday.  We had been jump-starting it for days, thinking the problem was related to towing it behind the motorhome, but the battery was over 5 years old, original equipment on the 2015 Jeep.  We went to the local auto-truck-whatever repair shop down the road named Travis Auto, and in under an hour had a new battery installed.  As with anything else you need done in Canada, it cost more than it would in America.  Over $400 CAD, which will be reduced somewhat by the credit card company due to the favorable exchange rate.  Should be around $320 or less USD, still more than it would cost at home.  While we were there, they were fixing a Chevy Blazer that needed hard-to-find parts.  They brought in from a junk yard a whole auto body like the one being repaired from which they pulled the needed parts.  Looked like a strange scene as we entered the repair facility.

Turnoff of Highway Leading to Travis Auto

Sight We Saw Entering Travis Auto

Confusing  and Conflicting Signs in Travis Window

 We then went to the local pharmacy to have them call Walgreens in America to refill an Rx about out.  We could not find a Walgreens in Alaska in our final days there, since we were in small towns where a pharmacy is hard to find.  Haines, a lovely little town, has no pharmacy of any kind.  We asked the people in Haines what they did for a pharmacy, and they said that they drive a long way (or sail or fly by bush plane).  Such is life in Alaska.  There are zero Walgreens or CVS stores in Canada.  I paid $84 CAD for 30 days emergency supply that at home would be a few dollars.  We then proceeded across the street to the small IGA grocery store.  We were able to get a few things, including Canadian grown cherries and blueberries.  American berries are likely out of season in the lower 48.  The cherries are pretty much like American-grown, but the blueberries are much smaller, more like the ones grown in Maine.

After lunch we plan to drive out for some photos.  Nice to have connectivity, a new car battery, and good weather.  The locals say the weather was bad just a few day ago here and in Alberta, where we go next.  Looks like timing is right for a change,  Hope this positive trend holds up.