Yesterday, we made our way from Cabri, Saskatchewan to Calgary, Alberta. Originally, we were going to have to be in Calgary by 11:00am to drop off the car rental, but now that we are not leaving Canada until Monday I managed to extend the car rental until Sunday.
And even with the extension it's still a great deal... $163 CAD ($122 USD) for 11 days. Yes, that's the final total, taxes included.
So now that we didn't have to have the car rental back until Sunday, we could take our time getting to Calgary.
Here's the route we took...
Yesterday's drive, 497 kms (308 miles).
We took the back roads. So much more interesting than the Trans Canada Highway.
Cable ferry across the South Saskatchewan River.
That's us, waiting our turn.
Scenery on the prairies.
Male pronghorn checking us out.
Into the badlands of Alberta.
Drumheller, Alberta is famous for dinosaur remains.
The Atlas Coal Mine operated from 1936 to 1979.
Scenery along the way.
The hoodoos near Drumheller.
We had made arrangements to meet our AirBnb host at 4:00pm, so we didn't have a lot of time to spare. But, we still managed a half hour hike at Horseshoe Canyon Recreation Area. Just enough to get out and stretch our legs.
Ruth, walking through Horseshoe Canyon.
Me!
Yes, it's cold!
The temperature yesterday was about 10C (50F) when we went for our walk. And windy.
People walking through Horseshoe Canyon.
Arrived at our AirBnb in Calgary right on time. Our "shared space" host was there to greet us. The place is a little pricey compared to what we normally try to spend... at $50 CAD ($40 USD) per night, but it's really close to the airport which is convenient for our 6:05am flight to Los Angeles on Monday morning. And, it's a new building and super clean. And, we have a private room with our own bathroom and television and wifi. Not bad.
We had a nap, and then went out to find some dinner and do some grocery shopping.
Pho.
We found a Vietnamese place and each ordered a bowl of Pho. Total of $22 CAD ($16.50 USD) for the two of us with tax and tip included. Not bad, and we left with full stomachs.
Wet, cold, rainy day here in Calgary today. They're calling for a high of 7C (45F). That's okay. We've got to finish up the claim forms for the cancellation insurance and get that off to them. And I've got more travel planning to do. It would seem to be a good morning to take advantage of the fast internet included with our AirBnb!
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And in Canada...
How do you find the cheap car rentals. Is there a web site. Glad you travel arrangements are falling into place. Safe journey
ReplyDeleteI use Autoslash and their price watch program, but I also check back regularly myself because car rental prices change almost every day. You have to be persistent to get the best deals.
DeleteReally good deal on that car rental - and the pho. I love Drumheller, such a weird looking place, would have been perfect for an episode of Star Trek
ReplyDeleteGood call, the Town of Vulcan is between Calgary and Lethbridge and is all Star Trek! https://www.townofvulcan.ca/
DeleteKevin can almost always get a great car rental but he does have to work at it and always keep his eyes open for a good deal.
DeleteWe love pho too and it is normally a fairly inexpensive dish.
Yes, the badlands and the hoodoos around the Drumheller area are really neat formations. Neither of us has been to this area since we were kids, so it was fun to visit there again, we were just disappointed that we didn't have more time. Karyn is right about Vulcan not being all that far from there, so maybe there is a sort of connection to Star Trek and the hoodoos! ;-)
The prairie photo looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell collection.
ReplyDeleteYep, I could see that! There is something special about the scenery on the prairies that has really grown on us.
DeleteThat prairie photo is outstanding, just beautiful. A spontaneous road trip sounds pretty darn nice, and I know you both will enjoy your 'found' time. And even better since defined adventures finally await!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tamara! I love seeing these huge open fields and then a little house or building stuck there in the middle of nowhere, or even a big tree,. Something about it puts the size into perspective.
DeleteWe really do prefer driving on the back roads over the main roads, it is slower going but the scenery is usually so much better.
Yep, we are looking forward to seeing some different places although now, we have cut our time shorter than we thought we were going to do. We just want to get to Australia and to our "new" truck camper and all the adventures that we will have there.
It's too bad you weren't around Drumheller on a Monday, the Royal Tyrrell Museum is free on Mondays :) It's always windy around there! Some great camping though. Lots to do and explore!
ReplyDeleteEven if we had gone through Drumheller on a Monday, we just didn't have time to stop. It will have to wait for another visit. I have no doubt that we will make it back to that area sometime in the future.
DeleteLoved the photos...ferry crossing reminded me of Yukon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rita! We were glad that we didn't have to take Sherman on that ferry though, the getting on and getting off would have been very difficult for him to do, at least at this time of the year with the low water level.
DeleteThe canyon and the Hoodoos look like a great hike. Love Vietnamese food!
ReplyDeleteIt was a nice hike but not very long. It was perfect for us on this drive though because we didn't really have much extra time. It was great to get out and stretch our legs though.
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