Fort Whoop, Up - Lethbridge, Alberta
We left Libby, MT at 5 pm to head to the great country of Canada the belated wedding reception for my brother, Bryan and his wife, Lisa who were married last November. Crossing the border was a breeze and we began our travels. We drove to Medicine Hat for the first night. It took us quite a while as we
geocached our way across the provinces. The kids loved it as it gave them a chance to stretch their legs and finding treasure was always good motivation.
We arrived in Medicine Hat at a decent hour so the girls were able to swim and we took a small detour to a park hoping to find some play equipment. We didn't find any climbing structures but we did come across this very cool chess set by the town's library and city hall.
A geocache led us to the teeny village of Tompkins, Alberta. We stopped at this sod house and signed the guest book.
We arrived in Montmarte, Saskatchewan at 4:45 pm and then overhauled ourselves in less than 30 minutes for the wedding reception at 5:30. We must of looked like we were going into a Nascar pit stop getting ready. Clothes were flying, make-up was getting thrown on.....it was hilarious. The reception was a ton of fun. Lisa is from a very large family: there was 1 Pepper for every 20 Baumgartners at the party. We ate, drank and were merry for a good while then headed back to our "bartel" - our rooms were in the back of the town bar. You have to love small towns.
We were awakened by the rumbling of thunder and were treated to a fantastic thunderstorm. The breeze felt wonderful after sitting in a car during 90 degree heat. We gathered our stuff after the rain left and went to the Baumgartner farm for a little toast and coffee.
We then went back to the reception area for brunch. Then on to a night in Regina and a more close-knit family dinner at Tony Roma's.
Back in Lethbridge. Above the Fort Whoop Up
As I'm writing this Josie says "No, mom it's not Fort Whoop Up."
"Well, what is it then, Jos?"
"It's Fort Whoop Ass"
"What????"
"Well, that's what Auntie Carrie calls it. I am man enough to say that word now anyway."
Oh dear.....
Canada has many hand painted signs along the road advertising ice cream. I was bound and determined to get my tastbuds on a scoop after reading all these signs. Naturally when I made this decision there wasn't an ice cream cone to be had and DQ and A & W weren't the answer. We finally found a spot in Mountainview. A neat town on a scenic route we took. As you can see we weren't hurting for ice cream. Those are the single scoops! I was in heaven and later on had a tummy ache.
Frank Slide, Alberta - The pictures of this don't do it justice. We couldn't even imagine the sound this must've made when the side of the mountain fell.
What's a road trip without seeing something large, like the World's Largest truck, a tourist trap du joir. This was our last stop before heading back to Libby. We had a great time traveling with Mom, Dad, Carrie, Sydney and India. We put on 1400 miles in 5 days! A new record for me.
Best wishes to Bryan and Lisa. May you live long and prosper together.
