Two Moro's Travels

DAY 4:

Left Sierra Inn, Minot, ND at 10:00 AM They had the typical continental breakfast; oatmeal and fruit were somewhat healthy choices. Ok, I had the fresh waffles ; the smell wafted through the whole first floor on the way there. I am only human.

Onward North

Right before entering Canada, and that is another paragraph, I got a text from a dear friend, JoAnn, a co-worker of mine. A very thoughtful soul, she asked if there was anything I needed, just to let her know. My response, since I was on this epic vacation was, ”If the school burns down, let me know; other that that, I’m good.” She laughed and told me she meant at my house. To which I said, Oh, that, too.” You know when you get away, things just feel different. Things the seemed important and took up all your energy just lose their intensity. Remember that feeling and access it when the ”stress demons” attack.

Canada, here we come. Approached Canadian
border at 12:35 PM. Left 1:40 PM

I do research. I am a planner. I look up places before I go. If you are going to Canada, don’t forget to download the ArriveCan app on your phone with all your passport and covid shot. If we had, we would have been through the border in less than the hour it took us. Useful advice: If you plan to go to Canada, don’t be us.

Rouleau, Saskatchewan

Rouleau, Saskatchewan

..is a small town of 500+ residents, Rouleau boasts being the setting for the sitcom, Corner Gas, currently on Amazon Prime. I have never watched the show, but my husband has seen it twice, so he had to visit the town. Many of the buildings used were actual town structures and are still there, such as: the liquor and insurance store, the Dog River Post Office, The Dog River Hotel and Bar, the curling rink, the church, the Howler newspaper office, and Oscar and Emma’s home. Places no longer there were: the grain elevator, the police station, and the ”Foo Mar” which did have a plaque showing where the facade or building originally stood. On the outskirts of town, is the spot where the actual gas station and The Ruby (restaurant ) were located. All that remains now is this sign. If you are driving through Saskechewan and are a fan of the show, it is a fun spot.

Upon leaving Roleau, we noticed some 2-digit numbers on hillsides that caught my attention, but I am not sure of their significance. If anyone knows, let me know in the comments. As a teacher, it looks to me like the graduation class made a pile of rocks to represent their graduation year , though I do not know this to be a fact.

NIGHT 3: Spent the night at Swift Current. Thank you Walmart.

DAY 5: Left around 10 AM.

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Drove through the Canadian prairies and experienced very high winds and stopped at Medicine Hat. This large city of “Hatters,” as the local resident are called, is home to the over 63,000 residents. Spent about an hour at the visitor center and walked underneath the world’s tallest teepee – 215 feet equal to a 20-story building. The Saamis Teepee was was built for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics and was later moved here. Its colors are: white for purity; red for the rising and setting sun, and blue for flowing water. The circle of unity embodies multiculturalism. It features a pipe representing the unity of all people and all things. The circle represents no beginning and no end; the buffalo wisdom and generosity; the eagle bravery, love and friendship. The different colored hands depict the different cultures and peoples of the world. Some are solid and some are mixed. This particular circle is dedicated to the ideals of equaity, tolerance, and understanding and to of all the rich, cultural heritage of all North America and it’s aborigInal people. It sends such a powerful message under that blue sky. You can feel the older spirits speaking to you. May all who stand under this teepee hear and feel the words and walk out a different person and remember, ”Wherever you go becomes a part of you.” Anita Desar

NIGHT 5: Spent the night in Calgary at the Trademark by Wyndham. Quite an impressive hotel.

DAY 6:

Left at 9:00 AM, though I woke up at 5 AM; my usual get-up for work time. I love vacations with no time restrictions, but my sleep schedule is set. Took a ”to go” bag instead of a sit-down hotel breakfast because we had over an hour and a half drive to Banff, as advice is to make it into the park before 10 AM. We got there after 10 AM on Canada Day on a Friday and was expecting long, traffic lines and masses of people, but found quite the opposite; not crowded by American standards.

Banff.

One word.

WOW.

I will share the first picture I took of many, but this one took my breathe away. I may have to do a whole blog just for Banff because that is a trip that if you have the opportunity, you should try to put it on your bucket list of places to visit. One of the stops, my husband wanted to try and capture was Morant’s Corner and the epic train photo. We got there and there were other people milling around. The question asked as new folks arrived was, ”Does anyone know what time the train travels past here?” No one knew. I joked that the people who knew were probably not there for the reason that they did know the train time schedule, and it wasn’t now. . But persistence paid off, and after 40 minutes of taking in this beautiful scenery and enjoying new friends, (thanks, Heather and Karen), the long, freight train came chugging along and to the choruses of ”the train is coming,” it gave everyone the opportunity to take some great shots.

Went to Lake Louise after having lunch with Heather and Karen. Take time on vacation to see new things and meet new people. As a teacher, I was so impressed with 14-year old Karen and the well-rounded repertoire of knowledge she had: history, trains, airplanes, to mention a few.They gave us some suggestions of places to see. Thanks, girls, so much for making our trip even more memorable.

Ok, Lake Louise is that one picture you must take in Banff so I did the IG picture, we all post; and the reality pciture of what is going on, Here they are:

Our final highlight of the day was Moraine Lake; what a beauty. We walked part of the 3.2 mile trail around the lake because it was getting late. The views were magnificent with so many shades of greens and blues. You don’t need to go further than nature to select beautiful hues in those tones. The pictures will speak for themselves. This is a must stop if traveling though Banff. A truly once in a lifetime dazzling nature spectacle

NIGHT 6: Slept at Vista Lake.