Calgary Camping

Monday | 30 July 2001 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada: This morning, we found we were having a little trouble with our slide-out room. We KNEW it was going too well - everything working on Goldie at the same time. Never mind that the plastic grill on the front of the microwave came flying-off while we were driving down the highway yesterday... that is just a minor event and easily replaced (with a little sticky-tack) by yours truly. The slide-room may or may not be out of order. It may be stubborn. It may have just needed a little lube. (Tonight, when we set-up camp, it needed a little push, also by yours truly.) Anyway, I will keep you posted on the mood of the slide-room.
 
We headed north on Interstate 15 to a foreign country. Well, Canada, anyway. I was very worried about the border crossing because of stories I had heard - especially from my parents. DT and I had all our paperwork - passports, proof of insurance, etc. Horror stories abound. Twice my parents have had their camper completely searched for an hour - while they had to wait outside - they were not allowed inside their camper while customs agents went through EVERYTHING - even looked in their photo albums! 
 
Well, my parents must look like criminals, because the woman at customs could care less about our beer, spirits, wine or our tow-car! She asked where we were from, didn't ask for ID. She asked how many people were in the RV, but didn't look inside. She asked how much booze we had. She asked where we were going. DT told her we were on our way to Edmonton for the World Track & Field Championships. She then asked if we were going to be "participants" or "spectators". DT laughed and she laughed and waved us through. I don't think she even KNEW we had the BC2 (our tow car) until we pulled it past her!
 
So, now we are in Canada. We LOVE Canada. And, we LOVE Canadians (even you, Phil) and are so happy to be back in Alberta. We first stopped just over the border at the Visitor Information Centre and were greeted by this lovely creature:

Canadian Welcome Ambassador

At the Centre, we were able to load-up on all sorts of brochures and maps and get some idea of how we are going to spend the rest of the week. WE HAVE NO PLANS! We have nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Just heavenly, isn't it!?! We took our time up Highways 4, 3 and then 2, stopped in quaint towns, read historical markers and had a leisurely lunch along the roadside.

Guess what? In the afternoon the wind picked up. The Chinook winds are terrible! The winds come from the Pacific, dump most of their moisture over the Rockies and continue to the Great Plains. They are called the Chinooks after the native word for "snow eater" because the winds are so warm they melt snow in the winter. In the summer they drive motor homes off the highways and make their drivers cranky! They make the driver's wives overly cheerful to appease the driver, which makes the driver even crankier. Nothing more annoying than a cheerful person when you are cranky!
 
We pulled-over to a very nice campground on the southern outskirts of Calgary and were able to get hooked-up just as the sky turned black, the lightning started, the thunder roared and it rained so hard for an hour that our campsite became water-front property! We watched the storm develop and blow-over in real-time and on the local news channel. After it all calmed down, DT went for a long run, which cured his crankiness. Again, a steady-stream of motor homes arrived at the campground to get out of the wind and storm.

Later, under clear skies, we hopped in the BC2 - in search of an Italian Restaurant. We found a huge mall. Block after block of shops. At least three supermarkets, a Wal-Mart, every American fast food joint, theatres, two Starbucks - well, everything! Several Italian restaurants to choose from and we did a good job and enjoyed lovely, huge plates of pasta and fresh salads. That's "PAST-ah" to you Americans. Eh?
 
After dinner we went to a package store. In Canada alcohol must be purchased in a package store. Government stores sell spirits and beer and wine – all at room temperature. There are also “Cold Beer & Wine Stores” – this is a new concept in Canada – where you can buy cold beer and wine, but no spirits. Also, in Canada, they put alcohol in the beer! 5% minimum! Drinking age is 18 in Alberta. I hope the driving age is 21. But after walking through the aisles in the package store, I have decided to move to Canada. I found my favorite wine - Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is $12.30 per bottle CANADIAN!!! (Less than $9 U.S.)

RV Park: Pine Creek RV Campground (actually in De Winton, Alberta)