Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Dear Kids,
      Dad and I are having a great time on our vacation. Saturday morning we left Great Falls, Montana, and drove up along the east side of Glacier, and who knew it would be an Indian reservation! In the town of Browning we saw a Subway, and it was lunchtime, and we were hungry, so we decided to take our chances. Even through the glass door was cracked, even though it was STILL LOCKED! They unlocked it for us, but we should have worried, being the only customers so far that day. Their toaster oven didn’t work, or their microwave, either, and their meats looked like they had been sitting out for a very long time. But we were hungry, so we ordered anyway. And took our food and ran. We drove to a wide spot in the road that was littered with beer bottles, and we ate our food. And waited to get sick. But we didn’t. Miraculously! We crossed the border into Canada, and drove to Cardston, so we could go to the temple. It’s one-of-a-kind! Lots of dark wood inside, very different. Of course we enjoyed it a lot. And then later we drove on the Calgary, where we’ve been having a great time at Rich and Jeanne’s house.
      Sunday morning we went to Church, which is pretty much the same everywhere, except that Richard is the 1st counselor, and he was conducting. Then, after dinner, we took Jack (their Jack Russell terrier, he looks like “Wishbone”) to the dog park! As soon as Richard let him loose off his leash, he shot off like a bullet, running wide circles around us. The rest of the dogs were walking sedately by their owners, but Jack went crashing through them. He hates wiener dogs, and he knocks them over. We walked 2½ miles, and Jack probably ran 20. When we got home, we all had long naps. Even Jack.
      Monday was a holiday, Victoria Day, and Richard was off work, so we drove up to Banff. All I can say is, it’s the Canadian Rockies. Lots of snow, and spectacular high peaks. In the town of Canmore, (it's like Park City) we walked through a condo project that Richard’s company is building. Farther up, in the park, we went to the old castle-like hotel, Banff Springs. It looks like Hogwarts. We ate lunch in a medieval-looking room, with big windows overlooking the river. Later, we walked down to the falls. And it rained on us. After all, it’s springtime in the Rockies. We drove to Lake Louise, and it was still mostly frozen over, but we wandered through the hotel. There were people from all over the world, and lots of orientals wearing face masks. It’s a strange sight. Richard says Banff has probably the cleanest air in the world.
      Back in Calgary, Richard took us to see a condo tower they’re building. Only now it’s just a hole in the ground. It was 70 feet down, till they started filling it in with parking levels. It’s going to go up 27 stories. You can see Richard’s company does things in a big way. He's the senior vice president there.
      What else? Yesterday afternoon Richard took Dad and me on a bike ride along the river. It goes for miles, but we only did 12. I rode Jeanne’s road bike. OK, I’m converted. I wanted to go back today, but it’s raining and blowing.
      We’ve eaten lots of great meals, slept a lot, taken lots of walks, and ridden lots of miles. We're heading home tomorrow.       Love, Mom