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Sunday September 4, 2016

   We spent Friday night in Grand Forks, ND and had dinner at a Culver's Restaurant. There seems to be Culver's all over the upper Midwest and they're a nice place to stop and eat if you're on the run.... fast food with table service, immaculately clean and a huge menu.

   We left on Saturday morning headed east on Rt 2 and crossed a small bridge over The Red River of the North into Minnesota. Lunch in Duluth was our next stop. With the Labor Day traffic Rt 2 moved really slow through the small towns and we decided to give up on our idea of crossing the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Bridge. 

   We had lunch at another Culver's in Duluth then turned south on Rt 53 in Minnesota towards Eau Claire Wisconsin. From there we hopped Rt 94 to Madison.

   We had a little trouble finding a room in Madison, I never gave a thought that it could be the season opening home game for the Wisconsin Badgers football team. We got lucky with a Clarion Hotel close to the main highway after an unplanned tour of the downtown Capitol area.

   After breakfast we drove southeast around busy Chicago and into turnpike land. We crossed Indiana & Ohio and stopped for some dinner and gas in Youngstown. It was about 6 pm, too early to quit for the day so we continued on into Pennsylvania; roads moved well on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. We decided not to stop and were home by midnight.

   After a warm Toby greeting I was ready for sleep, with one last day of the holiday weekend to wake up and enjoy at home.

   I'll have one more post to wrap up for this trip. Jim & I were both very happy with our driving adventure and spending time with our Scot relatives made the Canadian Rockies so much more fun.

   

Back in the USA

Friday September 2, 2016

   The Holiday Inn Express in Regina was a good place for a nights rest. It's right where our trip out and back crossed over and it was our second stay there. 

   We took off due east on the TCH, a different way back than the route north we took from Fargo on the trip out. I wanted to avoid the traffic in Chicago so we drove east to Winnepeg then south on Rt 75 to the border. From there it's I-29 to Grand Forks, North Dakota for the night.

   On Saturday's leg home we'll go east on Rt 2 to Duluth on the western tip of Lake Superior and across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. From there it's across the Mackinac Bridge and on towards Detroit.

   I almost lost a handy companion notebook I've been using for a couple of years. I've been tracking mileage and expenses for this trip but I also have notes and drawings of house projects and other stuff in there as well. I put it on my car roof when I was gassing up in Banff and drove away on our way to Athabasca Glacier with it still up there.

   Inside the book at the time was a pre-paid ticket for the glacier tour; it flew away as well as the notebook. After about a half mile I realized what happened I did a U-turn retracing my streets until we spotted the ticket and then the notebook in the street. They both had tire marks from being run over but I had them back. I'll retire the notebook when I get home and let it rest on the shelf above my desk.

Driving east through the Prairies

Thursday September 1, 2016

   Mary Ellen and the Scots were on their flights home and it was time for Jim and I to head east after an overnight near the airport. Mary landed at home just as we left.

   We got on Rt 1, the Trans Canada Highway and will take it close to 1,000 miles before we turn south passed Winnepeg in Manitoba.

   We were back in the rolling hills and open ground after leaving the mountains and there wasn't much to take pictures of. One magpie did pose for us at a gas station, where he was looking for a handout.

   We passed through the famous towns of Medicine Hat and Swift Current. In Moose Jaw we stopped at a Tim Hortons for a donut and coffee, I figured that was about as Canadian as we could ever get.

   At 5:00 we stopped for the night in Regina, we'd have liked to go father but it was two extra hours to the next town plus a time change where we'd lose an hour.

   I finally found a car wash in Regina. There was so much dirt on my car I was afraid if have to go through an agricultural inspection at the border. 

   One more day in Canada before we drop south back into the US.

Leaving Banff

Wednesday August 31, 2016

   We had a final family lunch after checking out. We all leave together in a convoy to Calgary where the Scots take off about an hour before Mary's red eye flight home.

   Jim and I will find a room for the night near the airport and shove off in the morning for the trip home. We'll take the Trans Canada Highway east and we'll probably turn south not far passed Winnepeg, Manitoba.

   The trip home should take about 4 days which will have us home on Labor Day weekend. We've logged about 3,800 miles so far as we start heading back east.

Glacier joy riding

Tuesday August 30, 2016

   This morning Mary, Jim and I drove back north on the Icefields Parkway to see the Athabasca Glacier. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive to the visitors center. 

   I had a bit of a scare when I stopped for gas. I put my logbook and prepaid ticket on the roof of the car when I was filling up and I drove away with them still up there.

   I realized after a few minutes what happened and doubled back to find the book and ticket laying in the street with tire tracks on them from being run over. It was a lucky morning for sure.

   At the visitors center we had nice lunch then boarded a bus for the glacier. We transferred to a large Snow Cat that drove up right onto the ice for a walk about.

   We made it back to the hotel just in time for the family farewell dinner. A terrific day for us.

Around town in Banff

Monday August 29, 2016

   We checked in the night before at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel, today I was ready for a driving break. After a late breakfast Mary went on a tour of the hotel with her cousins and I took a walk around the grounds.

   I saw a beautiful golf course nearby (Bow Falls) and the 15th tee box was just down the hill behind the hotel. The par 5 hole turned to the left and not far off the fairway was the Bow River falls.

   I went back to my car and drove to the golf shop checking if there were open tee times, but it was getting late. 

   There were groups of horses and riders on trails around the course and the mountains all around were another terrific distraction.

   In the evening we headed downtown with all the Scots for dinner. Mine was fish and chips at the St James Gate Irish Pub.

   

High Tea and the Icefields Parkway

Sunday August 28, 2016

   The cars assembled early for the trip from Jasper. It was only 277 miles south to Banff but the road is slower and totally in the mountains, with high peaks to see outside both side windows.

   We stopped for High Tea at the Fairmont Hotel in Lake Louise. It was a wonderful meal in a dining room overlooking the blue lake and mountain peaks at the back of the hotel. Many thanks to Glynis and Peter McBride for hosting all 11 of us; it was an experience to remember.

   Along the parkway we passed the Athabaska River falls and the Columbia Glacier. The road peaked at just under 7,000 feet and the thermometer dropped into the high 30's. 

   We checked into our hotel at Banff and met soon after for a 2 mile walk to town. Mary and I were both tired, so after a bite and pint at an Irish pub we were ready to turn in. Our legs gave out after the hike into town and we hopped a taxi back. I think we were both asleep before we even made it to our hotel room.