Road Trip, Day 4

Distance: Around 544 miles (close to 2,300 total - need to double check!)
Time: 11 1/2 hours

The last day of our trip brought a long drive through Montana highways all the way to the Canadian border. Thank goodness we did not have car troubles, because we were in the middle of absolutely nowhere for most of this long day. Turns out we did not have to go to the wildlife park to see nature at its best - we drove right by a herd of wild bison AND a huge, majestic elk just standing on the side of the highway.

We reached the border, hoping we'd make it in, and crossed into Canada without incident - all in all we spent about 15 minutes getting our visas and heading on in. There WAS some unusual signage at the port (see photo). Canada looked a lot like Montana at first, but the speed limit was lower and in kilometers instead of miles. We passed some scenic, but flat, countryside, and finally reached what appeared to be Calgary. We took the wrong exit, and ended up driving into town all the way through the suburbs.

Ben and I were both a bit concerned when we saw McDonald's and Home Depots all along the roads in suburbs that were not unlike Hickory Hollow or Cool Springs, just the lifestyle we had been fleeing! But all the sudden, we went over a hill, and there was Calgary, this glittering mecca of skyscrapers in the middle of the plains. Downtown was tricky, but we finally found our hotel, loaded our belongings into it, and passed out, too tired to figure out yet what we thought of this city.