Calgary

After a "Super Eight" breakfast of cereal, coffee and a microwaved omelette, we arrived in Calgary some 688 Kms west, eight and a half hours after leaving Moose Jaw. Actual driving time works out to about seven hours and twenty minutes. Pulling 2,000 lbs. behind the car limits one's speed, especially on the hills, and blows your gas mileage out the window.  Gas prices are about fifteen to twenty cents per litre cheaper out here. Oh well! part of our tax-deductible moving costs I guess.


In this part of the world when the weather is clear and bright as it was, you understand the real meaning of the song title "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever." Just outside of Moose Jaw the continued "flatness" that we were anticipating following yesterday's journey, changed into the gently rolling prairie that I remember as a child when my family lived in Regina. The numerous sloughs and pot hole depressions were filled with water and ducks. At one point we had a blue wing teal (kind of duck) flying along beside the car just off our starboard bow. My immediate thought was that if this guy turns left it's duck for dinner. Clearly the duck knew what was up and winged it into overdrive and blew by us. Teal are one of natures's smallest and fastest ducks that have been clocked at speeds in excess of 150k/hr.

For most of the trip to the Alberta Border we could see the world famous Cypress Hills to the south, a meeting and conflict area for various American Indian and First Nations peoples including the Cree, Assiniboine, Atsina, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Sioux, Crow, and others.This is one of my bucket list destinations.

Red Tail Hawks and foxes abound because of the ground squirrel (prairie dog or gopher) population. We saw both during the trip. At one point as we rounded a bend at the top of a long hill, I saw a gopher at the side of the road to my left looking to cross the road at just that moment a Red Tail swooped in from the south (out of the sun) and picked the little guy right off the road and took him to lunch.  

Unfortunately brother-in-law Tom is allergic to cats so we had to have a discussion with Lucy about spending a few days at a Kitty spa run by one of my sister's friends.




Laundry , shopping for new tires, warm clothes and a visit to my sister's cottage in BC are on the agenda before we head to Edmonton next Monday.