Traffic jams? With cars?

Here’s lookin’ at you

Sitting in busy Friday night rush hour Calgary traffic seemed downright odd to us last night, after four months when the only reasons for slowdowns were bighorn sheep in the middle of the road, a mother bear and cub munching bushes along berm, and nutty tourists (like us!) leaping out of cars to take photos.

Other than waiting for a pilot car to escort us through the occasional construction zone, it has been smooth sailing since we left Seattle four months ago! The traffic congestion is a small price to pay as we spend a few days here to drop off Dave’s brother Jai at the airport, get the RV oil changed, share a meal with Habitat friend Cristabel Sosa, her husband Alistair, and their friends Pedro and Carlos, and explore delightful Calgary.

Jai at Bow River and Castle Mountain beyond

I have thoroughly enjoyed Jasper, the Icefield Parkway, Yoho, Kootenay and Banff together with Jai. We headed out early every morning  (well, late for me, earlier than normal for Jai, the poor fellow) to hike, paint, and photograph our way through these delightful parks. I look forward to a day soon when Dave emerges from his RV computer command center where he’s had fun (for him) writing code to make my website work better on phones and tablets.

As Jai, our third guest on the journey, departs, Dave and I begin the final leg of this Plein Air Odyssey. A few days in Canada’s Waterton National Park, a few more in the USA’s Glacier National Park, and then we’ll zoom across the country with just a quick stop because Dave’s never seen the Badlands of South Dakota. As always on this journey, we live in rapt anticipation of the next beautiful places we’ll visit!

Lake Agnes