Just One More to Canmore

October 8
Moose Jaw to Canmore

So we begin Day 3 of boringness……..sorry to anyone who lives, or has lived on the prairies, but driving across them is like watching paint dry, like watching grass grow, dry as a dead dingo’s donga, as dull as dishwater, as dry as shite in the desert, extremely boring, I’d rather have a root canal, please give me the injection now!!……..you get the picture.  Miles of straight and flat roads, but necessary if you want to drive across……..the only thing that made it interesting (shit your pants scary) was the huge crosswind that seemed to come out of nowhere and would stick around for 50-100km then vanish, and this happened 4-5 times today.  Damn good thing I have six days of trailering under my belt.  

I just can’t believe the vastness of it all.  Huge farms that go on forever and ever……..they are even farming between the lanes on the highway. I always remembered that western Saskatchewan was pretty cool, and it was…….lovely rolling hills, and gorgeous cattle out grazing.  So far we are sticking with the plan, and haven’t missed a target yet…….fingers crossed.

It wasn’t long and we were at the Alberta border with the finish line in sight………I settled in behind a transport that was making good time, and rode his tail all the way to Calgary.   I lived in this city for a few years back in the 70’s, and to see what it has become was mind blowing.  The residential suburbs to the north are massive.  I did enjoy the ring road, rather than plodding through on 16th Ave., and was amazed to see the work going on to complete the ring south of Trans Canada Hwy going all the way behind Broadcast Hill.  

Some of the geeks out there have been asking some questions, so I will do my best to answer them for you:
Like, how much does your trailer weigh?………………………..A lot

Like, how much can your truck pull?……………………………..A lot.

Like, how many km are you doing a day?…………………….…below.

Like what kinda gas mileage are you getting…..Huh?…………below.

Day 1 – 627.6km   20.3l /100km

Day 2 – 635.2km   21.4l /100km

Day 3 – 509.8km   20.5l /100km

Day 4 – 778.2km   25.3l /100km

Day 5 – 760.4km   25.2l /100km
Watter, can you convert that to MPG for me so that all us old farts can understand it?

There was a guy who pulled along side of me on the highway west of Calgary and was trying to tell me something……..couldn’t really make it out, and I figured he was just another Airstream lover, so we gave each other the thumbs up and continued on our way.  After arriving in Canmore, I realized he was actually trying to tell me that we were leaking water. We have a 39 gallon fresh water tank on board, and we keep it full most of the time.  When stopping for gas, rather than go into the store, Jutta likes to jump in the back and use our facilities, which involves turning on the pump so the toilet will flush, and I occasionally will do the same, unless there is a nice looking tree or bush close by.  We are not sure how it happened, but the pump was left on, and a bump or two on the highway caused the kitchen faucet to start running.  The sink is covered by a snazzy round cutting board which of course didn’t allow the water, now running from the faucet, to go down the drain.  Needless to say, we believe the tank emptied all over the place. Mopping up was pretty easy, and no damage was done, but now we think our pump might have burned out……….not working for sure, but after talking to a great guy, Drew, from Mid-Town RV in Penticton, we are going to try a few things tomorrow to see if there is an easy fix.  If not, I will have to get on my plumber jeans, get under the counter, put on a show, and fix this puppy…….wish Cosgrove was here……this is right up his alley!

Quick change and out the door, heading to town to meet up with Steph, who we haven’t seen since she left for Revelstoke in the winter, and her new buddy…….Collingwood connection……Leslie Firstbrook.  Great to see them both, and after a beer at the brewery, and a nice dinner afterwards, we called it a night, planning to meet up with Steph tomorrow for a hike at Lake Louise.  

Our camp site is beautiful…….right on the Bow River……..wish we could stay, but will be moving to Lake Louise Campground tomorrow……….preparing to bust into BC the day after.