Minot to Home

We were more than ready to leave Minot on Sunday morning. The hotel had a nice breakfast room and a continental breakfast was included in our room so we had a good start to the day. They even had a self-serve waffle maker! I was laughing at the local newspaper with their photo on the front cover of the arm wrestling championship until I remembered that Calgary is the same during Stampede. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks.

The closest we came to adventure was when we were crossing the border into Canada. There were no cars in site as we approached but we stopped at the window and had to wait for the guard. We told him we had nothing to declare then he asked if we were using a GPS because he says the only people who come through Estevan are those who have a GPS that is trying to get them lost! We had planned to go through Estevan quite deliberately so we were amused. The crossing guard when we entered the US was a character – we weren’t sure if he was trying to be funny or not so we tried to cooperate but it was weird. I was driving at the time and explained that my mother has lost her license so I was driving her car back to Calgary. I said that Ellie was from Toronto and I was from Calgary so he wanted to know how she was going to get home. I said by plane then he asked if we were employed. I said who I worked for and Ellie said that she was self-employed. He said “Legal or not?” Needless to say, we replied “legal”. His comment then was “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me what you do”. Ellie said she is an interior designer and that seemed to satisfy him so off we went. Maybe we should have known at that point that our trip would be interesting.

We arrived in Saskatoon mid-afternoon and had a lovely visit with John and Carley. Their new house is quite cute. We had a nice supper then were on our way early Monday morning.

We drove home through Drumheller – the Dinosaur Capital of the World and home of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. The scenery in the area is spectacular. When you drive through the Badlands, it is like being on another planet.

Steve, James and Willow were all quite enthused to see me again. Within a hour of getting home, Melissa and Ryan arrived as well as David and Maria so we had a great return. Poor Willow was so excited that she hasn’t left my side yet. I guess they missed me!

Now that my vacation is over, it is back to the real world.


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