Road to Calgary

So after many goodbyes and a final squeal out of Whitehorse, our long journey back down into the world of telephones that function and free wireless internet began. Just before hitting the road, we visited the deli in town. We had met one of the butchers there at the chicken slaughter a week previous. He was nice enough to show us around, the facility is monstrous, like phenomenally so. For whatever reason, the guy who built it decided he needed a facility that borders on a production only butchery. They do a lot of the meat for the hunters in the area, so it was explained to us that when season is open, moose and deer are coming in so often that the facility serves it's purpose. The Alaska highway was at least as beautiful on the way down as it was coming up. Stunning scenery and a really simple drive. We stopped in Dawson creek to have the car checked over, before buying provisions for lunching and dinner. Moving on, we drove over the border to Alberta, that is where the trouble began. We pulled up in a provincial park to cook caribou patties with a Chateau Lafite red wine glaze. We drove into the park, and pulled up off the road into what looked like parking spots, but alas, were we ever wrong. We had apparently driven "off highway in a provincial park" aka worthy of a 287$ fine. The gentleman who served us the ticket was lovely enough to give us no warning or just tell us to move the vehicle, which was so clearly pulled up just to unload it blows my mind. Regardless, we disputed the ticket and I've officially complained to both his superiors and the Alberta parks department, so hopefully his life is made more difficult because of his immature decision with us. I was astonished by his conduct. In any case, we cooked our dinner, which was amazing, for the record. And just for the safety of my neck and the continued respect of anyone here who likes wine, the Chateau Lafite was corked and good for nothing but cooking. Our trip had it's first bump in the road, which was annoying, but not the worst thing that could have happened. We moved on the Hinton afterward, where we found the travelers dream. Public library that has free wireless and plugs on the outside of the building. That's where I went on a blogging spree and relaxed for a day. Ate goat chops with sauerkraut. Surprisingly goat chops taste exactly like goat. Some people must love the flavour, for me it was definitely worth the experience, but they were so extraordinarily goaty I'm unsure if I would love a second round. The sauerkraut, also generously donated by Tom and Simone, was amazing and rustic and awesome. We got water from the local church, and moved on after Hinton. We maneuvered our way through the Rockies to Jasper. Fabian got hilariously angry about the park fees, because you have to pay just to enter, and it was 40$ for two people for two days. We hit Jasper, I swam in a glacial lake, then we made curry and slept. Bright and early in the morning, we did a huge hike, a little larger than we intended due to poor signage. Post-hike showers were in order, so we went to a local laundry with pay showers. Since we had such a healthy morning, it was fitting to have a few pints. We caught the World Cup final in a bar much divided between the impassioned Spaniards up front and the Dutch folks getting deeper and deeper into beers as the game went on. Spain won of course, but not without a good fight. We moved on to Banff post game, saw lake Louise and the many restaurants of the Fairmont there, then slept in a parking lot of a aboriginal museum by the river. Banff is an interesting enough town, but feels entirely soulless a bit. Reminiscent of Whistler, Tremblant or any other town built expressly for a ski village. From Banff we went to Canmore, visited a microbrewery called Grizzly Paw, hung around with the brew master for a while, and moseyed down the road to Calgary to start some good wholesome Stampeding.