Date: 30 May 2001 (Wednesday)

Start: Lewis & Clark RV Park, Shelby, MT

End: KOA Calgary AB (248 miles)

It was a little windy and was 51f when we got up.

Breakfast in the trailer, hooked up, drove into town to mail postcards, then back onto I-15 going north.

The wind picked up quickly and soon was out of the west at 30mph. It tried to blow us around a bit, but the 5er (5^th wheel trailer) followed the truck as nicely as it’s supposed to do.

At Sweetwater, MT, we passed through Canadian immigration/customs without problem.

Then we ran into what will be our biggest problem in Canada – the metric system. Converting kilometers per liter into miles per gallon is easy enough in the spreadsheet, but this old head isn’t accustomed to converting quickly while driving. I’ll get used to it.

The land in southern Alberta wasn’t much different from northern Montana (amazing, right). Other than the gullies and streambeds, the place is flatter than a flounder. Not much in the line of trees, either.

At one point, we ran about five miles in a mild dust storm; it was very apparent when we entered and left the blowing dust.

There were a large number of those ground squirrels running around (or flat on the pavement).

Then we reached Calgary. We’ve been used to very little traffic congestion. We found it again here. Calgary’s a city of 730,000 and they all seem to be on the road at the same time. It’s obvious from the housing construction that the city is expanding. The roads are being upgraded, but they appear to be behind the needs.

It was such a circus getting around the city center, entering on the south side and getting to the northwest side to the campground that we decided not to go out sight-seeing after our arrival. We just went out to the local Safeway for groceries and a newspaper.

We hadn’t seen a newspaper or TV for a week, including the time in Yellowstone and the wilds of northern Montana. Looking at the newspaper today reminds me that we didn’t miss it. Hmmm…..

Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, and merlot made up the early dinner.

After typing this, I’ll attack the local phone system to attempt an internet connection and do the e-mail.