my trip
Oh boy, can I go on about which part? What a journey. Feels like I've
been gone a month. The trouble is, I have SO much to write and no time to
spare!
Dan's Mother doesn't really like me anymore but that was to be expected. I
knew she wouldn't handle my personality very well. It doesn't mean a lot
though because she's too well raised to get nasty and it's pretty much
just when she irritates Dan with comments about me. So that's behind us.
Mostly I found her to be a pretty nice person and that's enough about my
mother in law. She's done nothing untoward and deserves no cutting words
even if she finds me hard to take.
The wedding was funny, a funny minister and we had to run around the city hall
in our fancies getting congrats from everyone we passed. Sarah was with
us and behaved herself just fine. We haven't got the pictures off Dan's
pc yet so no website with stuff yet.
The days in spokane were mostly a whirlwind of vehicle care. His truck needed
a serious cleaning and wasn't running so needed troubleshooting and repair
and tuneup and my car needed new rear struts. Dan and his father did most
of this and I assisted where possible and generally made myself useful. I
also did a lot of cleanup and packing of his things. Sadly I did not
comprehensively list what we shipped.
Finally by Friday morning we were ready to pack the vehicles and by rush hour
of that day we were off and on the road. We drove hard and crossed the
border that evening.
Dan was supposed to go ahead of me but got confused by the sign for trucks and
alarmed the customs by appearing to drive by when he headed for the semi
truck parking lot. They waved him back and calmed down and shut off the
siren and waved me ahead so I went in first. One of the reciepts for his
things I'd made up had some problems and I stood worrying like crazy while
I overheard them call Dan a "code 67". Dan was brought in and made to
stand around and sit around likewise and we both strove to peek over
without looking like we knew each other. Finally I paid up my tally and
was released without unpacking my car. I wish like crazy now we'd brought
everything with us instead of shipping his good clothes, winter clothes,
and important papers. Dan meanwhile was being harassed about an 8 year
old dui that had been wiped from his american record but not the system.
They finally gave him merely 3 wks permit and made him pay $200 for it. I
anxiously waited outside in the parking lot by walking my dog around in
the grassy areas toodling around like a woman who needs to walk off her
nerves before setting out into the darkening mountains. When Dan finally
drove away I got my car on the road and met up with him at our
pre-determined meeting place. We were so unnerved and just stood hugging
a bit. He ran in and exchanged money and we fled asap and stopped again
further down the road where we felt a bit safer.
As we drove we kept in touch with a pair of walkie talkies. By the time we
got to cranbrook nerves were frayed even closer because in the darkening
twilight there were herds of deer and elk every few minutes climbing up
onto the road. Some truckers at the truck stop there convinced us that
we'd do better to stay at a hotel overnight and miss out on yet more
wildlife coming up.
The morning dawned clear and bright with the land heaved up in tortured spires
all around, towns shuddered in the might of mountains the match of any man.
As we drove on the mountains became ever more aloof as they raised regal heads
crowned in rock and bejewelled with snow high above the fertile green
valleys and winding highways. Dan snapped pictures like the tourist he
was, never having seen this stretch of mountains, more grand than anything
west of the alps. We drove finally into the prairies and caught a last
glimpse of the formiddable wall of rock behind to the west, hills girding
it's loins with bulwarks, coated in windmill farms and cattle ranches.
After hours of endless plains and a brief respite of city, we came to the
alberta badlands where the land drops away into an obscene and tortured
twist of beauty filled with sage brush and rattle snakes and a tired
winding river at it's base which carved the rolls and twists of it's
valley over millenia. We took in the dinosaur town of drumhellar and the
crazy sandstone pillars called hoodoos by twilight then drove back up in
the dark night up again onto the flat endless land.
Exhaustion finally took me down and we stopped again at a motel that stank of
mould and tobacco, surrounded by giant pickups with giant quad 4x4 atvs on
their beds that dwarfed my little vw rabbit. Dan's truck, as big as it
is, was also dwarfed with these albertan oil rigger's trucks!
After all too short a snooze tossing and turning and being disturbed by the
breathing and snores of the strange new feature in my bed we headed back
out on the road. Stop at a truck stop for breakfast and back onto the
endless plains driving, driving, and driving. The land rolls away
relentlessly, grinding along no matter how fast you drive and people drive
very fast. I remarked, as another car passed us while we ran at well over
the speed limit of 110 km and we were around 125km, that with the lack of
speed enforcement this was like the canadian version of the autobahn.
Finally we limped, exhausted and staring, into town, hot cars panting, and had
to go directly to the theatre and put in an hour's work there. Getting
home saw no end to the work.
We had to unpack the cars, cut some grass (lots still waiting) and rustle up
food in a barren kitchen.
Arrange to pick up pets, get ahold of the lawyer, dan's important papers are
being held up at customs, the employers around here are reluctant to hire
a stranger without legal standing.
Oh we're running off our feet and anything not marked "extreme urgency" will
be put off. This includes email, reading the news, giving a damn about
the lawn, calling or chatting with people, etc. Please bear with me in
the next couple of weeks as I'll be putting our house and affairs in order
and scrambling.
About customs: Dan has only 3 weeks to get himself permission to stay longer.
This means we have only 3 wks to pay the lawyer the remaining thousand
dollars. Bills even will have to be put off to cover this bill and keep
ourselves fed.
This letter is going out to anyone and everyone interested in our trip and
marriage and to all of you I beg you please, give us this time without
having to think about your desire to talk with us or share our adventures
or worry about anything to do with you while we scramble to fit the lives
of two into one and at the same time deal with the red tape that threatens
to cut us off at the knees in less than a month.
Thank you, get back to me in a month! :-) Love you all.
