It is Alberta on Wednesday

Wednesday Night in Canada: The day started off with beautiful, bright sunshine in Great Falls, Montana. As is usually the case, we did not get started quite as early as we would have liked, partly due (of course) to the fact that we are not on a wake up schedule which means we did not start the coffee until a bit after 9am and then proceeded to have a conversation with the guy who was getting ready to leave from the spot next to us. It turns out he was heading to take up a seasonal position (Security) at Glacier National Park & he and his wife have been doing such seasonal work at various parks and other locations since he retired 10 years ago. He got his 5th wheeler in tow and off they went - very interesting. Also met a guy last nite who had worked in Allentown in the past and worked for many years at the Mack plant in Hagerstown, MD. It is a small world indeed. Back to the travels...off to Canada we went through some beautiful farmland and range that gave us a new appreciation for the days of the Old West and such things as 'roundups' and 'driving cattle' and the like. Oh, speaking of the Old West, we've come upon several 'Ghost Towns' along the day (in locations that were so remote that it was not a surprise that a town could not survive). At the border, the questions went "Where are you from...Allentown, PA...What is your plate number...Alaska XXX-XXX...hmmm, why Alaska...(we explained)....hmmm, Allentown - Billy Joel (a sad story really)...yes...and blah, blah, blah (nice conversation) - Ok, I'm going to let you go then." Never so much as a name, a passport or other documentation - and we were off! Oh, and you have to understand, this time it was NOT Deb doing the talking! We proceeded (speed limit 110) through the first part of the Canadian countryside with almost no difference in appearance to what we had just left in MT (except the road signs), but when Deb decided she would take over the driving, within a few short minutes it started raining - no, pouring. Hey what else is new...she just seems to attract bad weather and construction. We stopped for gas (don't ask the price) and I took over the driving since Deb really didn't need two bad days in a row. Naturally, the bad weather subsided but we had already lost a good part of our expected progress for the day. On to Calgary, huge and sprawling...it reminded us much of driving the approach through Henderson, NV and Las Vegas and out again with expansive suburbs, traffic jams and the like. In a while we were back in farm country and were determined to do a better job of finding a resting place before too late in the day; however, there seemed to be very few options between Calgary and Edmonton, AB and all the resources we've gathered along the way were of very little help. Suddenly it appeared that fortune was with us this day as Deb spotted one of the standard camping symbols on the roadside and we proceeded into the "Town of Carstairs" where we discovered a small, unpresuming camp ground that appears to have been created by the town itself. The charge was only $18 (Canadian) compared to the up to $60 US we've spent on other sites. It provides only electricity (no water, sewer, cable or WiFi) but is very cozy with perhaps 20 slots and only two others are occupied (compared to a 150 slot site we spotted just outside of Calgary that looked filled to capacity). Deb cooked ham and eggs (in a nest) as I proceeded to check the local TV availability and much to our great surprise there was a watchable channel where we were able to view the season finalle of LOST! Now you probably will not believe this, but as we enjoyed one our favorite TV shows...it began to SNOW! Yup, we have the pictures to prove it and they are NOT leftovers from yesterday. You must visit the Kodak site, just as soon as we have some WiFi again and can get them uploaded. I think it is time to fire our meteorologist! On thru more of AB tommorw and on to BC!  MUST SEE photos - click here.