The most painful part of Day 1 was getting through the border and into British Columbia. A website that tracks border crossing times said it should be about 10 minutes to cross. The signs about 10 miles from the border told us to plan on about 20 minutes. Well, either their calculations are way off or we just had bad luck and got behind some vehicles that took way longer than normal. After an hour of baking in the sun while we were in line, we finally made it through. We got grief both on the way in and out of Canada about having Colorado plates though we live in Washington. We explained that military members can keep their license plates where the military lists their residence for tax purposes, but the looks we received in return for that explanation were skeptical, but we must have been somewhat convincing since they let us through.
On Day 2, after playing Holiday Road to get us in the spirit of our Griswold-esque trip, we got the pleasure of getting stuck in a traffic jam. Google Maps showed that the delay was due to an accident, but by the time we finally got through, there wasn't much evidence of that. But, the slowdown helped us out by allowing me to use our intermittent cell phone signal to find a place for lunch. I happened upon a grilled cheese food truck, and we were so glad we did. While the chef was making our order, he directed us to public restrooms next to the town mural that were clean and so unlike anything you would find in the US. Then he pointed us to a park with lots of picnic tables and a spectacular view while we ate our delicious sandwiches. RJ said it is my mission to figure out how the Killa Bs Grilled Cheese sandwiches are made.
That evening, we arrived in Banff (Alberta). One of the primary reasons we chose to stay in Banff was to be in a town that had a Chili's. So, Jip went for a bike ride (and saw a bear) while the kids and I took care of getting Chili's delivered.
The next day, we set out for our longest day. We drove north through Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. We didn't get to see too much wildlife, but there was beautiful scenery and waterfalls everywhere you looked. And yes--that is the real color of the water--the silt left behind by the glaciers makes it that gorgeous blue.
After a stop at a gift shop in Jasper National Park to get matching sweatshirts and then another stop in the town of Jasper for lunch at a waffles place (yum!), we then finished out our day with normal highway speeds as we traveled to Edmonton. In Edmonton, we stayed at the Fantasyland Hotel, which is attached to the West Edmonton Mall. We stayed in a truck-themed room. Jip slept in the bed of the truck, which we guessed was '72 Ford F-100, RJ and I took the bunk beds, and Ryleigh slept in the cab of the truck because she thought the old bench seat was comfortable.
Aside from staying at the crazy hotel, our other objective for going to Edmonton was to do the water park that is also at the mall. It is home to the biggest wave pool in Canada. We rented a cabana, so we wouldn't have to fight for seating, and we are so glad we did--there were lots and lots of school groups there (school was just ending in Alberta), so it was a little nutty.
After leaving Edmonton, we had a leisurely drive through lots and lots of farmland as we headed to Drumheller. When entering the badlands area around Drumheller, you suddenly drop from the flat farms into a valley of crazy cliffs and rocks. In those crazy cliffs and rocks is one of the largest repositories of dinosaur fossils in the world. And, that was why we were there--we wanted to experience the Royal Tyrrell Museum. We wandered through the museum for a few hours, joined a class to make casts of fossils, and joined a class to actually unearth fossils from large blocks of rock that they had brought into the museum.
After we wrapped up at the museum, we went for a drive. We traversed a river on a little 4-car ferry that is operated by the city using weights and pulleys. We enjoyed the largest dinosaur sculpture in the world (supposedly) and some crazy hoodoos.
We elected to skip the lunch that was provided, but supplemented the fast food we did get with a stop at a roadside fruit stand. The area around Kelowna has lots and lots of apples, peaches, cherries, and grapes--The kids got ice cream and Jip and I enjoyed some very fresh cherries.
And, finally after our week in Canada, we headed home. We returned to the US through a different (and much quieter) border crossing and then drove some Washington roads we've never done before. We did just over 2500 miles on our trip. We lucked out with mostly beautiful weather, good health, and wonderful memories.
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