Official D2 Writeup
What was that? You thought you'd already had your thread clogging, picture-heavy write up for today. Oh no, my friends. I'm just getting started. But first, let's cover the bases of where the rest of our bus tour took us today! What's that, you miss the first person tour guide SAR? Too bad cause I can't channel that tonight so this is what you get. Strap in folks, we about to tour the rest of Alberta in a whirlwind!
Heading north from Waterton will bring you through one of my absolute favourite little town, Mountain View. It's full of Mormons and not really anything else so it's not worth stopping in, but the views are to die for. No, seriously. Just look at this place.
Anyway, driving North again we can hit Lethbridge where SAR spent most of her school years. You'll notice there aren't any pictures of it. Don't get me wrong, it's not hideous. But there's nothing all that special about it except for the fact it has a West Side (one side of the river), and a North and South Side (other side of the river). But no East side. Weird, huh? The river valley is pretty I guess. Oh wait, the high level bridge! Okay yeah fine, you guys can have a picture.
And continuing North once again you'll pass through some small towns. My route is usually Granum (has a 60 zone where the cops like to hide), Claresholm (best spot to stop at a 7/11), and Nanton (home to a candy store, bomber museum, and many antique stores). Once you get past there, you'll hit the largest city in Alberta of Calgary. This is, of course, the home of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the Calgary Stampede. There's also a whole host of sometimes really strange street art. Don't believe me? Google some of it. Another cool fact about Calgary is that you can walk 18km downtown without going outside by using a series of elevated, covered bridges to go from building to building called the +15. Watch out for those Chinooks! The world, which means "snow eater", is used to describe warm winds that come howling over the Rockies to melt winter away, even in the coldest months.
To the east of here, we took an interesting little detour to a place called Drumheller. This is home to not only one of the most prestigious dinosaur museums in the world, but also to a very unique and cool geological formation - hoodoos! These rock formations form when differing densities of rock are worn unevenly - often leaving a large "cap" on a skinny "stalk". You can find these formations in a landscape that's referred to as "The Badlands". Pretty neat, right? If rock formations aren't your thing, there's also a pretty neat restored historic coal mine here that you can visit to get your history fix!
Our final stop for the evening was a quick jaunt through Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. For a very long time this was the home of the world's largest mall. Even today, as far as I know it still houses the world's largest indoor waterpark (it was also the first!). And yes, the waterpark is inside of the mall. The mall runs 48 blocks! This is also the furthest north North American city to have a population over 1 million. The temperature will often reach 40 below here in the wintertime, with only 7 hours of daylight. In the summertime, you can enjoy over 30 species of mosquitos!
The plan with the bus was to spend the night in Lloydminster, a border town that straddled both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, there was a commotion as the group was leaving Edmonton. It seemed that two passengers had boarded a bit late (probably out drinking along Whyte's) and found their seats taken over by baggage! When Dubz and KD (in SAR's absence, also probably drinking at Whyte's) asked the rest of the bus which of the two they'd rather have space for - in the hopes that both would eventually refind their seats - all of a sudden there was silence. Everyone on the bus avoided eye contact with my two co-tourers. Dubz and KD looked at each other and shrugged. "Oh well, no seats no tour. Off the bus with both of you." And just like that, Kras and MsP were left on the side of the road in Edmonton. Oh, and it's still winter. In Edmonton. You heartless bastards.
On a lighter note, please enjoy one of my favourite songs from a great Albertan. Alternative song suggestions below for those who wish to delve deeper into the Canadiana a bit.
(I would also strongly recommend checking out "Hair in My Eyes Like a Highland Steer", "Truck Got Stuck", and "Hurtin Albertan" which I almost chose instead but the vet one is so much funnier. Honorable mention to "Alberta Bound" by Paul Brandt.)
18 players still on board.
Roster:
1.
@Animal Midwife
2.
@mmmdreamerz
3.
@PippyPony
4.
@dolphin106258
5.
@genny
6.
@TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo
7.
@SnowshoeDog143
8.
@johnnaboo
9. BigCats ->
@Lawper
10.
@Doggo Labs
11.
@jenjen2020
12.
@cubsrule4e
13.
@Melchizedek
14.
@alissa14
15.
@holdthemayo
16.
@Miranda Senft
17.
@WonderingStudent
18.
@Zeppelyn
Subs
1.
@Dr. ForgotToFlush
2.
@MrsDrDr
3.
@Barkley13
Left behind in the beauty of Canada:
Sporty -
Stompin' Tom
Kras -
Tim Hortons
MsP -
Sorry, Eh?
