Western Canadian Road Trip (Vol. 1)
Erin’s flight was scheduled to land in Las Vegas on the 25th, my plan was to drive down and meet her. I started my trip about a week before her flight was due to arrive so I could spend the weekend in Calgary with a friend of mine that you might remember from my Buller Pass story. I arrived late Saturday night and he gave me a tour of downtown. It was exciting to see the nightlife, we also got some tasty pub food. I had no idea Calgary was such lively city.
A poor quality picture of downtown
The next day he took me for a real tour. We went to Glenmore park and did a bit of a walk around, we then headed to the Calgary tower and walked on the glass floor… a nerve wracking experience if there ever was one. The day ended with some awesome delicious sushi, it turns out its one of the few restaurant foods allowed in my strict diet.
A lovely view of the park
Adrian at the tower
Me on the glass floor
downtown Calgary from the tower
Bright and early the next morning I hit the road south. I planned on crossing the border and spending the night in glacier national park. I stopped only a few times; once to fuel up, and once to stretch my legs and let my family know I was about to cross the border so they would not be able to reach me on my phone.
Quick picture of southern Alberta
A quick picture of my chariot
As soon as I hit the border, things went south. I explained my plans and told them about how I had quit my job to spend a month or so travelling around the USA…. and they told me they didn’t believe I intended to come back to Canada! They told me to drive back to the nearest town and print off something that would prove my intentions to return, like proof of employment or a mortgage. I told them to call my mother and hear what she would do if I didn’t come back… they didn’t go for it. I stood there for about a half of an hour suggesting things I could show them as proof, such as phone bills or cable contracts. Everything I could possibly show them they kind of shrugged off as not good enough. I could tell they just did not like ME, and had no intention of letting me in. When the border security agent said he believes my wife and I are going to throw away our lives, and her accounting career, so we could wait tables in Vegas for less than minimum wage while living in a Toyota echo, I knew I was done. America is great, but its not THAT great that I would throw away affordable healthcare, careers, family, and my outdoor adventures to wait tables… So, with a lot of cursing under my breath I walked out of the office, I was instructed to turn my car around and he would hand me my passport on the way by, so I don’t “make a run for it”. Once I got my passport back and was on the road, the cursing became much much more audible… I drove all the way home that day, and went to bed. The next morning I called all the places in the US that I had made reservations with and cancelled, Erin booked a connecting flight out of Vegas to Calgary. The plan was to pick her up in Calgary in a few days and then head west instead of south.
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