Day 3 - Our final day!

Day three started a bit rocky. We all slept in the largest tipi but the little door flap doesn't actually close so the mosquitos joined us. We had all sprayed down before we went to bed but by 5 a.m. the mosquitos were winning. We were all tossing and turning but it was Paul who suffered the worst of it. He started calling out in his sleep and then he would hit himself in the head and turn over only to start hollering again. By 5:30, Sonia got up and sprayed him in the face with bug spray because the kid was just clobbering himself in his sleep. By 5:45, Karl and Daniel gave up trying to sleep because Paul was being so loud. They actually sat up in their sleeping bags and started chatting. Because we are in Canada in July, by 5:30 it was light enough for them to see each other and for me to see them talking. I made them lay back down but we listened to Paul have conversations with himself until 6:30 when he finally quieted down. Needless to say, we all slept in. Poor Paul woke up with at least 25 mosquito bites on his forehead and the rest of us were not moving too quickly.
We ate breakfast, packed up the car, drove to Lacombe, filled the car with gas, bought bottles of water and then handed out the first clue. Clues that were supposed to be passed out at 9:00 weren't in the kids' hands until 9:40.

Clue #1 - "Take a Hike. Drive to the village of Donalda. Find the world's largest lamp. Starting at the old train station on the left, follow the gravel trail to the white No Trespassing sign. Once both team members have touched the sign and returned to the train station you will receive your next clue." Turns out Donalda is closer to Blackfalds then we had really thought it would be. Both teams found it easily on the map, gave identical directions and arrived within seconds of each other at the lamp. We pulled up first but Cameron and Daniel waited for the other guys to join up so they could walk together. None of the boys read the clue very carefully so it took them a minute or two to figure out exactly where the trail was but eventually they worked it out and they started walking. The path is groomed and has a thick layer of gravel. It has been cleared for a local group who plans to start offering wagon rides on it but it isn't being used yet so it was just us out there. The boys walked together to begin with but after about 15 minutes Cameron started falling just a smidge behind. They walked for about twenty minutes when Daniel veered off the path. Karl, who was leading the group with Paul, noticed him go and asked where Daniel was going. "To touch the sign," Daniel replied. Paul and Karl had to turn around and head back to the sign they had cruised past. By the time the boys turned to walk back Cameron had had enough. He was hot, the rocks were bothering his feet and the bugs kept buzzing around him. He actually broke down shortly after turning around saying, "I hate this task. I've been bitten by wasps like six times by now." The problem was any time an insect flew by him, he'd throw his hands in the air and wave them around. Often this would mean his hand would connect with the poor thing and Cameron interpreted the bump as a bite. He was in tears of frustration. Daniel tried his best to encourage his brother all the while watching the other team get further and further ahead.

Clue #2 - "Yer' Ugly Mug. Find the Viking Troll Park in the town of Viking. In the park, you must find the specific troll pictured below. " Paul and Karl had a five minute headstart but my guys were just happy to be back in the car and leaving the hiking place. Eventually, we saw Sonia's car pull off the highway ahead of us and stop at a gas station. We pulled ahead but when we got to Viking we needed a gas station stop as well so any lead we may have gained was lost. We left the gas station and drove through the town of Viking hunting for this park. Fortunately, the town is tiny as we had no idea where we were going and we drove through a lot of the place. Eventually, we saw a visitor's centre and decided to stop to see if we could get help. We drove past Sonia's parked car, parked and Cameron and Daniel looked around the buildings for a while looking for information as to where this park could possible be. Suddenly, Paul and Karl were there asking them if they had finished the task yet. Cameron and Daniel announced that they still hadn't found the park and the other boy's were nice enough to point it out on the other side of the parking lot! The hunt for the exact troll was on and the boys found it very quickly. The managed to complete the task only four minutes after Karl and Paul. Apparently, Paul and Karl had found the park almost immediately after arriving in town but they took longer finding the right troll.


At this point Sonia and I knew the tasks for the day were moving along much too quickly. It was just after one o'clock and we'd already completed two of our tasks. The next task took us back into Edmonton which was less then an hour away. We had told everyone to meet us at the finish line at 5:00. We needed to stall. We called a time out in the race and made the kids go to a sit-down restaurant with us. They resisted at first but when we made it clear the break wouldn't effect the outcome of the race, the plan was accepted. We were served by the rudest waitress on the planet. She took forever to come serve us. She got our drink order, left three menus for the six of us and disappeared for at least fifteen minutes. She eventually came back with our drinks and then told us, "Hurry up and order. I was supposed to be off 20 minutes ago!" We did get our meals and we enjoyed eating lunch together. After using almost an hour and a half of time, we had to get back to the race.


Clue #3 - "Go Jump in a Lake or Up a Creek ... Find the paddle boats in Rundle Park back in Edmonton. Rent a paddle boat and paddle once around the island in the lake." It was an easy drive up a major highway to get back into Edmonton from Viking. The kids had to go back to their Edmonton maps and try to figure out how to get to Rundle Park. As we approached the city, we asked for directions and were floored to get the craziest directions we'd ever heard. The directions given in both cars would eventually get us where we wanted to go but they didn't even resemble a good way to get there. Eventually, in our separate cars, both Sonia and I insisted on looking at the map. After a quick glance, we discovered that the most direct route wasn't even on the map. We both offered some guidance to fill in where the map had failed us. Paul and Karl had maintained their lead and got to Rundle Park first. When Cameron and Daniel got to the boats, Paul and Karl were about a quarter of the way around the island. The boys quickly paid for the ride, got on their lifejackets and were launched in the water. Paul and Karl saw the boys getting in the boat and started paddling like crazy. The made excellent time and received their next clue just as the other team had made it half-way around the island. Soon Cameron and Daniel made it back to shore and they too got their final clue.


Clue #4 - "Pit Stop. For your final pit stop, you must travel by foot to the Buffalo Wallows playground in Gold Bar Park (see maps provided)." The kids had to find a long footbridge that crosses the river and goes from Rundle to Gold Bar. The maps were from the city but they were still not the clearest of all maps. Paul saw where they were heading and immediately knew where to go. Cameron and Daniel, on the other hand, were confused. We had a hard time finding the bridge so the gap between the two teams widened. Paul and Karl made it to Gold Bar park but instead of the large finish line we had planned only John was there to greet them. Our host, Colby and my mum were lost and we had arrived before they did. Soon Cameron and Daniel arrived, coming in second, but there was still no sign of our host. Karl's mom and aunt made it to the finish line and then we watied. We got to share some stories and the boys debated the merits of different superheros and John got on the cell phone and talked Mum into the park.



When Mum and Colby arrived, they set up the real finish line and had the kids come in order so they could stand on the mat and really signal the end of our adventure. Our host did a fabulous job as he put leis on each boy as they stepped on the mat. He told Karl and Paul that they were the first team to arrive and gave them little gold trophies with their names in stickers on them as well as their gift certificates of $50 each to EB Games. He then told Cameron and Daniel they were the second team to arrive. He gave them their silver trophies and $20 gift certificates to EB Games. The boys were surprised and thrilled to receive this certificates as no one had ever mentioned a second prize.



After our awards ceremony we went to a picnic site and Mum fed us sandwiches, pop and fruit. Everyone talked about all the favourite tasks and some of the funny things that happened along the way. It was truly an amazing race and we had a fabulous time. We were exhausted and getting a touch cranky but we built some fantastice memories.