Lethbridge, AB to Carstairs, AB: 207 miles We had a loud thunderstorm last night, actually when I was writing last night's blog entry. It rained lightly all night and was still dripping a little as we packed up to leave this morning. However, by the time we actually left the RV park the rain had stopped, although the sky remained cloudy and the temperature cool all day. We finally got on the road about 10:00 am and west on Highway 3 toward Fort Macleod, just 35 miles to the west. This would be a good time to mention that the Canadian highways so far have been excellent -- typically four-lane divided roads, but not always limited access like American Interstates. The speed limit outside urban areas is 110 km/hr, or approximately 68 mph. Traffic has been very light, at least until we reached the outskirts of Calgary.
After stopping for gas at Fort Macleod (approximately $4.60/gal after coverting from liters and into US dollars), we turned north on Highway 2 and stopped at Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, just a a couple of miles north of Fort Macleod and ten miles west of the main highway. This is an important archeological site where native Americans hereded buffalo over a cliff, beginning roughly 6000 years ago. There is an excellent visitor interpretive center there, and we spent a couple of hours going through the exhibits. It was well worth our time, though, and we'd recommend a stop there for anyone traveling up this way.
Leaving the buffalo jump, it was back on Hwy 2 and north another 135 miles to Calgary. We hadn't planned to stop at Calgary because the Calgary Stampede is going on right now and we figured the city would be overrun with tourists, but we needed to stop and pick up some groceries. We conferred with our GPS to find a Walmart, and the the #%@!# thing took on a god-forsaken route right through the heart of rush hour traffic, then dumped us back out on the same highway we had been on and told us to take the very next exit. Why it didn't tell us to just stay on the highway I'll never know, but Garmin Gertie sure caused us some lost time and elevated blood pressure. To top it off, the Walmart she directed us to didn't sell groceries! However, there was a Safeway right across the street, so all was not lost. We did have a surprise when we entered the Safeway, though. The grocery carts were all latched together and to release one you had to put a quarter in a slot. Talk about greed -- I hope the US Safeways don't start this insidious money grab. Luckily, we only needed a few things, so we got by with a hand basket, which was free (at least for now).
From Safeway it was a short hop back to the highway and another 35 miles north to our stopping place for the night, the small farming community of Carstairs. The guidebook said there was a municipal campground with a reasonable $18 fee, which turned out to be $25, but still reasonable enough. Unfortunately there is no wi-fi at the campground, so I'll have to post this entry tomorrow. We're shooting for Devon, a suburb of Edmonton, where we'll probably spend a couple of nights before heading northwest into British Columbia and the start of the Alaska Highway.
re the 25 cent cart fee: It's really a deposit, since you get your quarter back when you return the cart at the end. It's just a way to encourage people to return the cart instead of leaving it in the parking lot.
ReplyDeleteWe're enjoying your writeup!
Regards, Gord & Cathie, Ontario Canada