I woke up at 7am and got up at 8am, but didn't actually get going until 10:30am, because I had to finish packing, rearrange the car a bit, start a new yogurt batch, get gas, and wash the car. Well, I figured since it was very hot in the car, it would be like making yogurt in the oven. I bought a quart of milk last night and poured it into two Nalgene bottles. Then I added a bit of my yogurt starter, which was kinda messy because I wasn't using a spoon. It still tasted sweet even though it's been moved around from freezer to hot car for a week now. Well, we'll see how this batch turns out. It was nice and breezy and cool and overcast, so I was a bit worried it might not be hot enough for it, but it got hot and sunny after a couple of hours on the road.
Anyway, I was just thinking last night that this trip has been too social for me. I usually get some peace and quiet on these long trips, but this trip had felt like same-old-same-old. No sense of adventure. No getting in touch with my higher soul. No vision quest. No communion with God. No samadhi. Well, as they say, be careful what you ask for.
There were still some cars on the road, but it was so nice and quiet out there today. Saskatchewan is an endless prairie. All green fields, hardly any trees. At one point, the smell of the grass reminded me of Newfoundland. There was a little rain somewhere around noon, but it was nice rain. Not drizzly but not pouring either. Strong enough to clean the new bug splats on my windshield. The fresh scent of that prairie rain also had a pleasant memory associated with it; it was the rain of my childhood.
I had chicken potpie (also from last night's grocery run) for breakfast so I skipped lunch. I had dried fruit and nuts and chocolate macaroons that I snacked on instead. It was a little after 2pm when I got gas at Walsh, which is the first little town after crossing into Alberta. Looking at the map, Mountain Time starts at the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. I thought it started at the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border because I noticed that my cellphone clock moved back an hour in Regina. I read somewhere that one of the provinces doesn't do daylight savings time, so it must have been Saskatchewan. I parked my car off to the side of the gas station to take a nap, but I couldn't sleep. The air was too hot and the wind wasn't blowing strong enough to cool down the inside of the car even with all the windows down. So, I got back on the road.
I got to Strathmore (the town before Calgary) at around 5:30pm and decided to go for an early dinner at KFC. It was still hot and sunny. But, as I approached Calgary, I saw storm clouds over it and I could see the curtain of rain falling into the city. The cars on TCH 1 were slowing down while I was overtaking them. I wanted to get rained on; there were more bug splats on my windshield since I cleaned it in Walsh. Well, pour it did! But it wasn't just rain. It was hail! At first they were large ones but were soft enough like crushed ice. Still, they banged on the car. Then it got stronger with pea-sized hail that were hard. I could hardly see at that point. I was just following the tail lights ahead of me. And when people started pulling over to the side of the road, I did too. I turned off my engine and put my blinkers on. There were still a few brave souls who kept passing us. I waited for what felt like 10 minutes or so. When the hail lightened up a bit, people started getting back on the road. I waited a while for my windshield to defrost. But there was a chunk of ice where the driver-side wiper rests. It took a long while for that to melt away. The road was hot though, so the ice melted quickly. There was so much water, so I stayed in the middle lane to avoid the puddles on the sides.
For some reason, TCH 1 cuts across Calgary. And I don't mean an overpass either. You actually go through city streets, which meant traffic lights at almost every intersection. Well, it wasn't like we were going fast anyway, what with all the water and the traffic. And because of the storm clouds, it was a strange gray light. It was too dark to see the lanes, but it was still too bright for headlights to be of any use. So, I just followed the car ahead of me. But when a stop light held me back, I realized that the road had grooves that car tires sculpted out and they were now little rivers that gave me a hint where the lanes were. Of course, I had to drive a little off to the side so my tires weren't actually in those grooves. Well, I sure am glad I have a 4-wheel drive.
I was a bit worried that I would have to search for the hotel in the dim light and in the rain/hail. I was too scared to be out in the boonies alone in that weather. The hotel wasn't on the map. The town was not even on the map. Not on MapQuest.com. Not on the MapSend software that the GPS unit reads off of. And the hotel's webpage on Expedia simply said to take TCH 1, go south on Hwy 40, and follow the signs to the hotel.
But when we got out of the city proper, the traffic started flowing, the sky lightened up (the storm clouds stayed above the city), and the road was dry. Call me superstitious, but this is the first time I've gotten strong signs to stay away from a city. First, there were the very expensive hotels at $250/night. And now, the hail from the time I enter the city to the time I leave. Before Calgary proper and after Calgary proper, it was a sunny day. Actually, it was even better after Calgary because the air had cooled down significantly. The terrain is also different -- more hills, pine trees, periwinkle mountains in the distance (which I mistook for clouds).
When I took Hwy 40 south, it got even more beautiful and secluded. I headed towards the rocky mountains with pine trees and grass on both sides of the road. Once in a while, I'd see a lake, a creek, or a river off to the side. It is absolutely stunning! I found the signs to Kananaskis Village, then to the Executive Resort (Expedia calls it "Executive Suites of Kananaskis"). It looked like a timeshare resort. This is no ordinary hotel!
While I was checking in, I asked the desk clerks where the closest gas station was (I only had a quarter tank left and the last gas station I saw was in Calgary proper). They directed me further south on Hwy 40 to a place called Fortress Junction, which was "twenty minutes away." When I asked how many miles that would be, the young man said, "Depends how fast you're going." :-) But he assured me I would get there on my quarter tank of gas. He added that even if I ran out of gas, it was mostly downhill, so I can just coast until I got there. :-)
I thought Fortress Junction would be a small town. It turned out to be even smaller. It was just the gas station with the store, and the owners' house in the back. It was 14 miles from the resort and it was 14 miles of paradise. The road wound between the mountains, and the setting sun cast light on the trees. It was incredibly beautiful. It was so peaceful and quiet, but a couple of cars caught up to my daydreaming so I had to speed up to the maximum 90 km/hr.
But that's not all. when I got back, I took my bags and went up to my room. And again, that's an understatement. It's a suite! Vaulted ceilings, bathroom to the left side as you enter the room. The sink and a spacious countertop outside. A big cherry wood armoire containing the TV, the small fridge, and three deep drawers. One side table with one deep drawer. A two-seater couch and a soft chair. A desk (also cherry) and a chair. A gas fireplace! And then, there's the stairs to side that leads up to... a loft! Very, very cool!I only have two minor complaints -- no air-conditioning (there's a ceiling fan in the loft and two floor fans in the closet), but the tap water is freezing cold. I hope there's hot water for the shower.
I wanna live here....
More pics here.
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