Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Medicine Hat Transcanada Hwy

... here, beer + pizza + sport on TV = my kind of night!

Whilst in Lethbridge we decided to change our plans again, as Adam & Laura were heading to Nick’s Dad’s condo in the ski resort of Fernie on the Monday, and they invited us along. How could we say no? So Monday morning we headed for British Columbia for the first time, looking forward to spending some time amongst the mountains with Adam & Laura.

By pure luck Adam & Laura, who we met back in Quebec City & Montreal, saw that we were staying in Medicine Hat on my Facebook profile and invited us to come stay with them in nearby Lethbridge. Unfortunately we were booked into hostels in Banff for 5 nights so could only stop over on our way there. The 1 night we were there was Thanksgiving in Canada, and we were once again taken in so warmly by an entire family.

Adam ...

... were celebrating the birthday of their daughter Suzanne, and we were able to meet nearly the entire family! They were so good at putting us at ease and making us feel like part of the family. We ate great food, drank a lot of booze (beer, wine, jagermeister & rum), played music, danced and exchanged tales and opinions until the sun came up (well almost).

So the second day in Medicine Hat we rose ...

A hot summer day to go for a drive in the convertible. We plan on dining at a place called Evelyn's Memories Inn but find it is closed. A former CP Rail dining car looks inviting. We enjoy a great lunch then off to Vulcan. Yes the Starship Enterprise is parked here

... of Bragg Creek overnight, had a visit and then headed for BC along the Cowboy Trail (Hwy 22 - very scenic). The drive through the Crowsnest Pass is always incredible and gives you the first TRUE experience of driving in the mountains. You have to be alert of steep downgrades, sharp corners, hidden approaches, very narrow bridges, extremely rough railway crossings, wildlife, tourist drivers and fallen rocks on the road. Made reservations for 1 week ...

... so we pressed on to Banff and stayed in the National Park Campsite called Tunnel Mountain. It turned out to be a much better choice, although we were somewhat alarmed by the repeated warnings about Grizzly Bears. After supper we walked into the town centre and were surprised by the number of visitors - it is a real tourist trap. However, the setting is outstanding and it was well worth the trip.

... As you approach park the prairie grasslands suddenly dropped off, leaving us in a whole other world of hoodoos, pinnacles, coulees and buttes. We could only imagine how the pioneers who visited these badlands for the first time must have thought. No wonder they described this place as "badlands." If you will click on the video ...

... they sure are hard to find! - my mom likes getting them when her family is out travelling. Finally found some in Chapters. After that we drove (all this in a rented Hyundai Elantra) over to check out the University of Regina. Looks nice. About the same size as Lakehead University. We also had a a quick lunch at Earl's before heading back to the Mitsibushi dealership. Once we had our own car back we made a ...

... quality of work. Anyways, that's when he was working for Avonlea. They do build quality homes actually. Well he had others doing the basements and finishing, but it was cool to see what you can do if you put your mind to it. Anyways, I ended up marrying his sister, and I live in Lethbridge now.

... borrowed a tent and we spent HOURS poring over the instructions trying to figure out why it didn't look right...until we realized they were the WRONG instructions! haha Mike tried to play monkey and climbed up a tree that had a broken branch overhanging our tent, trying to get the branch down. He ended up with serious bark burn when he slid back down the tree. Oops. The beach was great and it was hot and ...