CANADA

Gary and I made a trip up to Canada last week. It was really fun and just too short! I have TONS of pictures so I'll make this quick and let the pictures do the talking. I have to say though, I have forgotton just how beautiful Canada is. Well, I haven't really forgotton, but it was a reminder to me that I AM right when I tell people that it's beautiful.

Oh my goodness, this picture just reminded me of a story that I DO have to tell about our drive up. So, we booked a hotel in Helena, MT. which is just past the half way point. We got a late start because some last minute things came up that we had to tend to before we left. With the late start the plan was to arrive at our hotel by about 1:00am. Not too bad. By about 11:00pm I started to get tired and fell asleep. I woke up at 1:00am to Gary muttering to himself under his breath in a frustrated mannor.

After inquiring what was wrong he told me that we were going to run out of gas. I then asked him where we were, he told me that we were about 40 miles past Dillon, MT. For those of you who don't frequent the I-15 in that area, there are certain places you just ALWAYS get gas or you miss your chance. It's not like Utah where you can get gas at any time of day or night off any exit. These are small towns, with those old pumps some of you have probably NEVER seen that don't take cards and are not even digital! Hard to imagine? It's true. So, back to my story. I sort of blow it off and tell him that his tank will go forever (like Gary ALWAYS tells me when I say the same thing to him about running out of gas) and he replies with "No, Tara...I've been driving like this with the light on for a LONG LONG time. We really ARE going to run out of gas." Oh, did I mention that I haven't driven this trip for a long time too? AND that we forgot our map at home? So, in my efforts to calm him down I decide to call my Mom to figure out where the next possible OPEN Gas Station might be and how far away it is. I give her a call and while she figured it out, I told her that Gary and I were going to say a prayer and then give her a call back. We say a prayer during which I begin to cry (oh the drama) and after, I immediately go to call my Mom back and of course now we're out of phone service. Totally on our own.

Right about this time we come to an exit - Divide, Montana. Ever heard of it? Didn't think so! The exit sign had a gas picture on it so, here's the question: do we use our finite fuel to get off the exit and look for this gas station taking the chance that it is most likely closed and we very well might not make it back to the I-15 or do we NOT get off, NOT get gas and keep going? What would YOU do? Hard decision right? We decided to get off and go ONE mile and then turn around if we didn't see anything. We saw a bar (closes) and a post office (closed) and THAT WAS IT! So, we quickly turned around and got back on the I-15 (as if doing it quicker would actually extend the distance the car would travel on fumes). We got about a half a mile up the road and ran out of gas. In the middle of NO WHERE at 1:00am. We put our hazard lights on and decided that the only way out of our current situation would be to actually trust a stranger. Kind of hard to do in a world like today.

After a minute or so, a set of lights came over the hill about a half mile ahead of us. Gary started flashing his brights and turning his lights on and off (to let the driver know that there were actually people in the car). It ended up being a big transport truck and he stoped!!! (Didn't think we'd be so lucky to have someone stop at such a late hour on our first try!) Well, to make a really good and really long story a little bit shorter, our truck driver, Jason, drove us back to Divide telling us that there IS a 24-hour card reader pump there (but there wasn't, it was gone). After that anticipated disappointment we thanked him for his help and asked him if he might drop us back off at our car. As he was pulling back up to our car and gearing down, he suddenly popped his truck into the next gear and took off saying" Awww, I can't just leave you guys here. I'm going to take you to Butte." - It was REDICULOUSLY AWESOME and ANSWER TO PRAYER. During the next hour we got to know Jason quite well and came to realize just how big of a favor this was for him. He had to be back home to drop off his load by 7:00am and then was taking off on his own family vacation. Not to mention the expense of driving an extra 40 miles out of his way. He was SO nice! We were totally blessed and watched over. Good story eh? I don't think Gary will run out of gas ever again! :::wink:::

Canada is amazing. My favorite site is crossing the border! There are tons of these elevators all over the place and everything is just so beautiful! Here are a couple we took on our way in.

Of course, our very first stop in Calgary was Peters! Wonderful, as always! Hmmm, I'm glad I live so far away from that place, because just looking at this picture makes me want some right now. Peters' Drive-In is a burger/fries/shake/etc. place in Calgary. There is only one! That's right...you ALL will have to make the trip up north if you want to taste that yummy Beef! You can't see really well because of the car parked behind Gary but let me tell you (and all you Calgarians can back me up here) it is packed busy 24 hours a day! PROMISE! Don't believe me? Make the drive! I have never been to Peters and had it not be busy, EVER!

We also took a trip to Banff. Just posting this blog makes me miss Canada. This Mountain Sheep walked RIGHT past us. I mean RIGHT RIGHT past us. Kind of freaked me out. But it seemed harmless.

Yes, REAL LIFE PICTURE taken by yours truly. Trust me, it's not really the skill of the photographer because there are none, it's really that pretty!

This is the Banff Springs Hotel. Very grande and very beautiful up high in the mountains!

Gary snowboarding in Banff...

Gary ALWAYS makes fun of me for calling it a "Washroom" but when he actually saw it on a door? That did him in!