Saturday, June 4, 2011

Tales From the Trail - Day 20




June 3, 2011

Yesterday was a miserable day (weather wise). Rained on us all day long. We traveled from Great Falls Mt to Lethbridge, Alberta Canada. The countryside was rolling grassland and I could just imagine this country 200 years ago when the Lewis & Clark expedition made their way through here looking for the Northwest Passage. For miles and miles all you can see now is fields under some sort of cultivation. We also saw some cattle ranches with beautiful Black Angus cattle.

When we got to the border it took us about 1/2 hour to get through. There was a family we had seen at a rest area in Montana who were Asian and they were travelling with two children. For some reason they had to go inside and do some sort of paperwork cause we saw them again at the border coming out with a packet of some sort. I know from what I have read when travelling with children you have to have birth certificates and proof that you have legal right to bring the children across the border. Anyway I guess everything was copacetic with them because they finely got in line some cars behind us and came through. The only thing the border person was concerned was if we had weapons and did we understand the Canadian laws concerning carrying weapons. We told him we did not really know the law but didn't have weapons anyway. He asked if we had alcohol and I said "I think we still have a bottle of wine back there somewhere" so we made it past that test.

We have met some incredible people on this trip. Yesterday we met a young couple who are biking across the country moving to California. And I don't mean motorcycles I mean bicycles. The kind you peddle. They tent out most of the time but days like yesterday they hunker down in a motel. They are following the Lewis & Clark trail. I asked them if they were carrying all they owned on the bikes. They said no, his father is driving out to California with their stuff. How cool is that? Then we met a couple the day before who told us about the L & C Interpretive center that we visited and enjoyed. They are traveling the L& C trail from the end back across the country to the beginning. They were really into the whole L&C thing. We saw them at the center and he had a tripod taking picture of all the exhibits. And I do mean all of them. Then there was the sweet little lady who must have been 85 if she was a day. She was a docent at the L&C Interpretive Center and a retired pediatrician. She said the saddest thing about being a retired pediatrician was being a retired pediatrician with no grandchildren. She was a spunky gal who has travelled all over the world and she has beaten us by seeing all 7 of the continents. She has driven the Alaskan Highway 3 times by herself. Boy what an incredible person.

Well this is yesterdays log that I am writing today. Just a bit behind. We are getting ready to eat breakfast and head out to explore Lethbridge.

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