high beams & highlighters

Even with a morning filled with clouds as low as the road we were driving on, I was amazed and awed by the sheer scale and magnitude of the Canadian Rockies. These peaks were powerful and raw. I felt very small each time I stood outside the car door. The air was fresh and cold, our stop at Lake Louise reminded us that spring starts in may and june. As we drove further east on the “1” the clouds turned to rain, then a dense fog that welcomed us (wether we liked it or not) to the city of Calgary. The Olympic park was in its mid- season "thaw", so ate our lunch in the parking lot, and checked into our hotel room and regrouped. The younger boys finally had their dream of going to bass pro shops come true, and we spent the rest of the evening feeling out of place at the mall.

Once the fog clears I may change my mind, but for now, Calgary has a sense of broadness. The roads seemed to be built in advance of more development, and everything seems as though there is extra room (a huge contrast with some of the other cities we have been through). Perhaps this is a prairie/pasture mindset that caries through to the urban planners, or this is just another way each region defines itself unknowingly. One of the themes I keep feeling is that “i'm not from here”. In many ways I'm missing where we are from. I'm going to encourage the passengers behind me today, to follow with their highlighters our progress all the way home. Together, we'll make it.

-Joseph-  

signs on these roads are for a reason... we did see elk, bighorn sheep, avalanches and stayed in our lane and did not pass- when there was one.

 

we did not stay in "Chatueau, de Prime- Ministiere" but can highly recommend it, i'm sure it would be wonderful :)

Lake Louise, under ice, still beautiful and like many other parts of this trip, we want to return some day.  

we were glad to find a rest stop that was actually open, after seeing picnic tables with two  feet of snow, and parking lots filled with snow our hopes were getting low.

when we saw this massage chair, everyone was convinced that I "the driver" needed this, we never asked the price

we did our best to make wise choices in terms of what we ate.....