Day 7 Lethbridge to Calgary

We are up and ready to hit the road around 9 am.   Again we want to take it slow and the drive to Calgary is not very far.

Today we are at Starbucks.  Our dear friend Katrina gave us a coffee card for Starbucks and we want to thank you for this coffee today.

Now Alberta has this great town called Vulcan.  In 1995 they put up a replica of the Star Ship Enterprise.  Since we are driving near it we detour to get the chance to get some shots.

these are the street light poles

Derrick we are thinking of you.

Boy the scenery is sure different here.

You can see the Rockies in the distance.  They look close but they really are not.

We arrive at Brenda, Bernie’s older sister around 11 am.  So nice to see her again.

After a short visit we drive to Bernie’s younger sister Karen’s home and we bring her back to Brenda’s home.

While Bernie visits with his sisters I take on washing the car.  We have only been on the road for one week but boy is it dirty. Those bugs that have killed themselves on our grill are very determined to come across the country with us.  

But they are staying in Calgary. 

The car looks great now, but give it a few days.

When I get back inside Bernie and the girls are laughing!  We all head out for dinner and then drop Karen off.

It is so great to see them again and really have missed them. 

We now have a clean car, the laundry is done and we feel refreshed.  There is something about being with family again that makes us feel so good.

So here is our list today:

• Moose
• Deer
• Hitchhiker
• Eagle/Hawk
• Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in.  So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta.  British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory
• Skunk
• Sheep
• Beaver
• Goslings
• Buffalo
• Goat
• Owl
• Bear
• Loon
• Crane
• Prairie Dog
• Fisherman fishing
• Canoe
• Hummingbird
• Antique car on the road
• Old VW Bug
• Car broken down on the side of the road
• Helicopter on the ground
• Airplane on the ground
• Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own
• Ambulance with sirens on
• Dump truck
• Line painting crew at work
• Mail delivery person walking their route

If you have any items you think we should add to our scavenger hunt list, let us know.

So Today's Stats 
Driving distance today 223 km  
Total distance 1218 km

Day 6 - Lethbridge Alberta and Lots of Birds

Today is the first time we get to spend the entire day exploring.  I had insisted when we started to plan this trip that there were some places I wanted to spend two night and explore a little bit more.

Lethbridge was one of these spots.  

After waking up and enjoying the complimentary breakfast that the hotel provides we were off.

First stop was The Penny Coffee House.  Again another cute coffee shop.

I then drove to Fort Whoop Up that is very close by.

The site just opened for the season last week and the place is very quiet.  Which kind of surprises me since it is a long weekend here in Canada.

Fort Whoop Up was established in 1869 by Montana traders.  Fort Whoop Up was the earliest and largest American whiskey trading post in southern Alberta.  

The fort traded liquor with Indigenous Peoples after such trade was banned in the United States.  Its notorious nature was one factor that led to the formation of the North West Mounted Police to maintain law and order.

Aaron our guide showed us around explaining each area and really enjoyed his stories and how he imagined it was back then.  

You can see that the site is very educational and worth visiting but it is lacking in some authenticity - for example the tepees are canvas and not made with hides as they would of been.  Visible to the public are areas that have 21st century tools which makes you wonder.  

We both really enjoyed the video at the beginning and the guide Aaron and the wagon ride, that is included in the price of entry.  

We then were back on the road heading a little east to Coaldale to the Alberta Birds of Prey Nature Center. 

Boy did this place impress us.  The site enables you to see hawks, falcons, eagles and owls up close.  

The site is a volunteer wildlife rescue, captive breeding and public education center.  It relies entirely on donations.

We were able to hold an owl!

Then the raptors area was so awe inspiring.   Just check out these birds.  Here is quick shutter shots of the eagle coming in for a landing.

A daily flight demonstration with Lincoln the bald eagle is very impressive.  

Then Lincoln got a bath, which he seemed to really enjoy, and so did the kids that got to spray him.

check out this hawk 

Bernie with Sarah the 32 year old Golden Eagle

Our next stop was the baby burrowing owls.  We got to pet them and oh they were so darn soft.  These two were orphaned and were taken in by the center.

In fact most of the birds here were either found injured, orphaned or had been exposed to the wild so they need to be taken care of.

Often many can be released back into the wild, but those that can not live here.  

Protecting the eggs

I even got two things crossed off my list of things to spot.  Goslings and a canoe!  I did have hawk on my list but we had seen it prior.

beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom

After about two hours at the site we decided to just go for a bit of a drive.  We ended up visiting Taber, Alberta where I got a shot with this huge wheat!

Also got gas - check out the low price of $129.9 a litre.  The lowest we had seen. Lethrbridge had the same price as 150 mile house in B.C. had.

We are starting to get hungry and it is 4 pm and we had not eaten since breakfast so we use the Yelp App again to find someplace.

Two Guys and a Pizza was highly recommended and it was featured in the show You Gotta Eat Here and once again it did not disappoint.  And hey Alberta Beer is half price. 

Here is a link to the episode of You Gotta Eat Here that features the restaurant.  

We are now back in the room and relaxing.  We are talking about going to the movies tonight, we'll see.

So here is our list today:

• Moose
• Deer
• Hitchhiker
• Eagle/Hawk
• Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in.  So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta.  British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory
• Skunk
• Sheep
• Beaver
• Goslings
• Buffalo
• Goat
• Owl
• Bear
• Loon
• Crane
• Prairie Dog
• Fisherman fishing
• Canoe
• Hummingbird
• Antique car on the road
• Old VW Bug
• Car broken down on the side of the road
• Helicopter on the ground
• Airplane on the ground
• Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own
• Ambulance with sirens on
• Dump truck
• Line painting crew at work
• Mail delivery person walking their route

So Today's Stats 
Driving distance today 110 km  
Total distance 1995 km