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kevin_standleeToday was already scheduled to be the longest (or close to the longest) on the entire trip, at 617 km from the Holiday Inn Express Regina to the HIX Lethbridge AB, but thanks to a boneheaded error on my part, I made it even longer.
Broadly, this was what we ended up driving, not including rest stops along the way. However, we had a diversion, about which I'll write later.
Our first stop was in Moose Jaw, where I got a coffee stop at Starbucks and Lisa got a brief chance to look at the The Lieutenant Colonel D.V. Currie VC Armoury, with its small collection of armor.
We stopped for lunch in Swift Current, getting burgers from A&W, then stopping at a roadside rest area to eat them.
Because we had to push hard to get to Lethbridge, we couldn't stop to look at museums or other roadside diversions, but when we stopped at the Piapot rest area, we snapped photos of the historical placards.
Approaching the Alberta border, a CPKC freight train appeared, and we sort of played tag with it along this stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway.
When we crossed into Alberta, that train passed again.
Outside of Medicine Hat, Lisa and I were swapping drivers in a roadside turnout when the train caught up with us again and I shot this short video.
We continued to Medicine Hat, where we first got me a coffee at Starbucks, then went to the Flying J where we refueled, and then we continued out of town.
I had too many balls in the air as we left Medicine Hat, and gave Lisa the wrong directions. Instead of taking AB-3, the Crowsnest Highway toward Lethbridge, I told her to continue west on highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway toward Alberta. Wrong! About fifteen minutes later I realized that we were going the wrong way. By the time I figured this out, it was faster to cut across on AB-524 and AB-879 than to backtrack to Medicine Hat.
These roads were in good shape (smoother than the TCH), and very quiet. Lisa could keep the speed up.
It it were not for the Service Engine Soon light and the extra noise coming from the engine to worry us, this would have been a more entertaining diversion. Incidentally, Lisa feels more confident that the Service Engine Soon light is probably a vacuum leak, possibly caused by the mechanic not putting back all of the vacuum lines. While this is annoying, and it causes the fuel economy to suffer, it's probably not too big a problem. The noise in the engine compartment is more worrying, and we can but hope that we can get the van home and take it to the dealer for some significant TLC.
We eventually regained the Crowsnest Highway: zoom in on this photo to see how the AB-3 highway marker has special markings to show its identity as the Crowsnest Highway.
We left Regina SK at 11:20 Central Standard Time and arrived at Lethbridge AB at 19:10 Mountain Daylight Time. I was unaware that Saskatchewan doesn't observe Daylight Time and I consequently got confused when we crossed into Alberta. What should have been a trip of around 620 km turned into 690 km.
Fortunately for us, there is a mini-market next to the hotel, so we got some milk and soda, and Pizza Hut delivered quickly. I still couldn't get a soak in the hot tub, though.
This was our final full day in Canada. Tomorrow we cross back into the USA and head for Kalispell MT via Essex. This trip should be shorter in distance. How long it takes in time remains to be seen.
Broadly, this was what we ended up driving, not including rest stops along the way. However, we had a diversion, about which I'll write later.
Our first stop was in Moose Jaw, where I got a coffee stop at Starbucks and Lisa got a brief chance to look at the The Lieutenant Colonel D.V. Currie VC Armoury, with its small collection of armor.
We stopped for lunch in Swift Current, getting burgers from A&W, then stopping at a roadside rest area to eat them.
Because we had to push hard to get to Lethbridge, we couldn't stop to look at museums or other roadside diversions, but when we stopped at the Piapot rest area, we snapped photos of the historical placards.
Approaching the Alberta border, a CPKC freight train appeared, and we sort of played tag with it along this stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway.
When we crossed into Alberta, that train passed again.
Outside of Medicine Hat, Lisa and I were swapping drivers in a roadside turnout when the train caught up with us again and I shot this short video.
We continued to Medicine Hat, where we first got me a coffee at Starbucks, then went to the Flying J where we refueled, and then we continued out of town.
I had too many balls in the air as we left Medicine Hat, and gave Lisa the wrong directions. Instead of taking AB-3, the Crowsnest Highway toward Lethbridge, I told her to continue west on highway 1, the Trans-Canada Highway toward Alberta. Wrong! About fifteen minutes later I realized that we were going the wrong way. By the time I figured this out, it was faster to cut across on AB-524 and AB-879 than to backtrack to Medicine Hat.
These roads were in good shape (smoother than the TCH), and very quiet. Lisa could keep the speed up.
It it were not for the Service Engine Soon light and the extra noise coming from the engine to worry us, this would have been a more entertaining diversion. Incidentally, Lisa feels more confident that the Service Engine Soon light is probably a vacuum leak, possibly caused by the mechanic not putting back all of the vacuum lines. While this is annoying, and it causes the fuel economy to suffer, it's probably not too big a problem. The noise in the engine compartment is more worrying, and we can but hope that we can get the van home and take it to the dealer for some significant TLC.
We eventually regained the Crowsnest Highway: zoom in on this photo to see how the AB-3 highway marker has special markings to show its identity as the Crowsnest Highway.
We left Regina SK at 11:20 Central Standard Time and arrived at Lethbridge AB at 19:10 Mountain Daylight Time. I was unaware that Saskatchewan doesn't observe Daylight Time and I consequently got confused when we crossed into Alberta. What should have been a trip of around 620 km turned into 690 km.
Fortunately for us, there is a mini-market next to the hotel, so we got some milk and soda, and Pizza Hut delivered quickly. I still couldn't get a soak in the hot tub, though.
This was our final full day in Canada. Tomorrow we cross back into the USA and head for Kalispell MT via Essex. This trip should be shorter in distance. How long it takes in time remains to be seen.
