We made it, eh?

Calgary, Canada

We left South Bend in the early morning hours (Seth drove us to the airport), and flew to Helena, Montana, with one stop in Salt Lake City, Utah. We saved quite a bit on flights and rental car, by flying within the states and then driving to Canada. The flight was uneventful. We found the airport in Helena to be quaint and small, and decorated just as you would expect an airport in Montana to be (rustic, lots of logs, and pictures of wildlife). After arriving a little after noon, we rented a car from Avis (a Corolla), and found a Quizno's for lunch. Then we hit the road and headed up to Calgary (which was supposed to be about a 6.5 hour drive).

We quickly realized that not taking a paper map, and relying solely on phone GPS for directions was a mistake, as we quickly lost our signal out in the uninhabited hills of Montana. We had not printed out the directions before leaving home either, so we wandered a bit aimlessly for awhile. Eventually, when we briefly regained a signal we jotted down our directions and headed up the "scenic route" (Hwy 89) alongside Glacier National Park. It was a beautiful drive with sun, a little rain, and rainbows. We reached the border and sat. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, after about an hour, we were able to cross. Later we found out that the Lethbridge crossing on Hwy 15, was a much faster crossing, and decided that we would take that route on the way home.

We arrived in Calgary around 8:00 p.m., checked into the Sandman Hotel, and walked over to a fast food Greek restaurant that was actually very good. We ate back at the hotel in Brian and Jill's room. It was great to see them again and catch up on the happenings of the past year!