Medicine Hat Inn

... our very warm bed with sore heads, but feeling only positive about our new found traveling experience. We stayed for 1 more night, where we had our first ever taco salad and enjoyed the company of this amazingly friendly family until we could keep our eyes open no more and had to retire to bed.

Thank you Piet & Inna, and all of your family for making our first couch-surfing experience such a brilliant one!

Wir haben Calgary verlassen und sind unterwegs Richtung Medicine Hat. Unterwegs gab es nicht viel anzuschauen. Alles war flach, was ja für uns Schweizer ein wenig ungewöhnlich ist. Soweit das Auge reicht, nur Felder, Felder, Felder.

Beim Dinosaurier Provincial Park haben wir einen Stop eingelegt. Ursprünglich ...

... to finally feel better Jon caught my nasty virus. He seems to be showing symptoms much quicker than I did so I hope that it runs through him much quicker than it has through me. The good thing though is that I'm feeling better and can drive now that he's sick so he can rest. We drove the whole day through torrential downpour and thunderstorms. Jon got us over the Canadian Rockies while I took ...

So we continued on to Medicine Hat, where Roxanne's mother lived. For whatever reason, one I obviously can't remember, I have always called her Mrs. Kay. We spent a lot of time there, visiting water slides and other things. And then we took off once more.

... 52 kms. You stand in awe of the engineering feat that created this 6 km wide scenic valley that is now full of orchards, farmland and a wildlife management area. Twin Lakes Community - Two bedroom log cabins sell for $500K Boswell - Unique glass house built of 500,000 discarded embalming fluid bottles. Amazing construction effort!! The estate even has its own breakwater dyke and boat launch overlooking Kootenay Lake. Kootenay Bay - very scenic ...

... 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.

... have been swallowed up for restoration projects. Chrissy stomped on Phil's idea of doing the same as the Narrowboat and Car Restoration do not mix. As you know - we have yet to see a Moose, but today we did see a herd (well three) Antelope - which prompted us to spend the next hour singing 'Home Home on the Range, where the Deer and the Antelope play ......' Again, the Prairie was a source of inerest, peppered with ...

... seeing/driving into dust storms. Sure made it easy to visual what the 1930s must have been like! Between Moose Jaw and Swift Current the salt (actually sodium sulfate) flats have really dried out since I last saw them about 5 years ago. And the strong winds had whipped up clouds of salt. We finally crossed over into Alberta about 7:30 pm (Alberta time) and reached Medicine Hat shortly after 8. Checked into ...

... with the windows open! On Wednesday morning we left and set out for Calgary with a stop at the "Dinosaur Provincial Park" enroute. This park was worth every bit of the 30 miles out of our way that we had to go. They actually are still digging up dinosaur bones here....lots of fossils..... It looks like you are on another planet when you are here ...

A relatively uneventful day today, as I was not feeling the greatest. Mario stopped on the side of the highway to pick me some field sunflowers. We visited Moose Jaw on our way out of Saskatchewan, stopped at a liquor store, a craft mall and a shop claiming to have the world's best coffee. Not so. Leaving, I ran over the curb. Ouch. We meander our way along the ...