British Columbia (BC) and Alberta (AB), Canada

On Wednesday, April 13 we packed up, took a deep breath, and drove up the hillside and out of the canyon. We traveled into British Columbia, Canada and beyond to Alberta. We’d drive 230 miles this day, all the way to Fort MacLeod, AB.

Between Moyie Springs, ID and the Canadian border we went thru a town named Good Grief, ID. Of course they had the Good Grief Grill, and that's about all, HAHA.

Next thing we knew we were at international border crossing. After a brief conversation with the Customs Agent (we declared some wine, no guns, and no tobacco) she kindly wished us well and sent us on our way.

We shut down our cell phones and put away our cash. We’ll use credit cards only in Canada so as to let the bank process the transactions and take the exchange rate into account. Unfortunately the Canadian dollar is worth $1.04 as compared to the US dollar. OUCH.

Before long we were riding alongside the Canadian Rockies and OMG I may have never seen anything like it. My Mom once told me how spectacular they were. They did remind me of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

While in BC and AB we used Highways 95, 3 and 93. There were tunnels, trailer trucks, rocky mountain sheep, rams, elk, and deer to negotiate and avoid along the way as we drove. These were all 2-lane bi-directional highways with the occasional passing lane every 5 or so miles. We literally drove south on one side of this spectacular snow covered mountain range then looped back to head north on the other side. It was a tiring drive though with getting used to the metrics, the wildlife, 18 wheelers, and sweeping hillside turns. At one point we stopped for a 2 pronged ram in the road which had his head down as he looked directly at us coming on.

We went thru towns named Yahk, Moyie, Cranbrook, Jaffray, Galloway, Elko, Fernie, Hosmer, Sparwood, Natal, and Michel. In traveling across just a corner of B.C. though we soon encountered the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass as we entered Alberta, Canada. That's when Hwy 93 took us out of the mountainous region and into what you might call the plains.

We now buy fuel by the litre, at between $1.15 and $1.30 per. AS you know there are 3.8 litres in a gallon.

We finally stopped for 2 nights in Fort MacLeod, AB at Daisy May Campground. Very nice campground hosts there checked us in late. They would turn the park water off at 7pm due to freezing temps. In the morning, SURPRISE, we woke up to 2 inches of fresh white stuff on the ground, and the wind blew about 25 miles (15 km) per hour all day. Good thing we had plenty of water on board. We basically took the day off except for taking a ride to A&W for an ice cream cone.

Tomorrow we drive 135 miles to Medicine Hat, AB. Anne wants to go there to see some giant Moose. I wanted to head to Banff and Calgary, but they had over a foot (35 cm) of snow today.

PS
I will not be able to add pictures till we get a stronger internet connection. I don't know when that will be, but will keep trying. There are lots of cool pictures to add for you to see.