Flying Home

I'm really, really tired so this post may be somewhat incoherent...

I'm on the plane right now - it is just boarding. The seat beside me is still empty but I did have a slight heart attack when a "much larger gentleman" walked on the plane and asked for a seat extender... yikes! Luckily he continued to the back of the plane. I won't feel that I'm really on safely on the flight until the door closes - that's the problem with standby.

a while later... we are high above the clouds. There were some spectacular views of the mountains with light streaming down through the clouds as if from heaven. I hope my pictures turn out (I'll be doing a pictures posts in the next few days once I get them all sorted out).

We had a great day today, starting with an early departure from Medicine Hat (I held back the tears pretty well when I said goodbye to Graham). After a final drive through Medicine Hat were were on the highway towards Calgary. There was fairly heavy traffic today, with lots and lots of campers. That's not surprising as it is the final day of Labour Day long weekend. One stretch that we drove on is the straightest bit of highway ever seen (no exactly, but it is the longest straightest something (have to look that up on google once I'm on firm ground).  Aside from being busy (and nothing compared to the 401), everyone drives the speed limit.

Just north of Bassano we took a right to head east towards Drumheller - our destination for lunch. The land along the road was stunning, but I didn't take any photos as I knew they wouldn't capture the vastness of the land. There were farms there that must have been the size of our township or at least our county. the rolling fields stretched on and on, seemingly forever. The farms had silo after silo for holding the harvested grain.

I'm not sure how long we drove, maybe for an hour or so after we turned off. Signs started appearing about trucks over 4500 going in certain lanes, there were several signs to that effect and it soon became apparent why. As we rounded a curve the canyon of Drumheller came into view. It was a long way down and it was clear that working brakes were in order!

There's not much to be said about Drumheller, but we did pass a few niceish looking campgrounds. And the topography. Out of this world. Definitely worth a visit next summer with Carm. Of course we made a stop in the Royal Tyrell museum and it was well worth it. It is a world class museum with fossils galore and so many impressive reconstructions. Very informative, not to mention awe inspiring. Some of these creatures were big! and scary! A little boys dream come true. I hope my photos turn out...

We eventually headed back towards Calgary, hoping to get to the airport with plenty of time to get checked in and time for shopping - I didn't buy anything, and better still I didn't see any necklaces that I liked better than the one I got (and I got compliments on it already).

The steward has just served drinks and some nuts, and I think I can hear him bustling in the "kitchen" to get our supper ready so maybe I'll just end this here and maybe take a nap (we don't land till 1:15am Ottawa time...).

2:30 am - we made it! I'm home! The dogs went crazy when I got here - they are still milling around wagging their tails and Kabira is crying she's so excited. Off to bed...