Sure, its rather warm in Calgary for this time a year, but let’s not forget the wind howling outside. I HATE wind. I might even hate it more than cold, it kicks up the dry dusty grass and the dirt, attacking your eyes, ears and nose, not to mention its a chilly north wind that cuts through your clothes, and messes your hair. This would happen to be the same wind that the poor VW was fighting against the whole last day of driving, nearly all of Montana brought on this fierce headwind. The surfboards on top definitely didn’t help.
We couldn’t wait to get out of the car, and the last few hours dragged on and on. Our butts were sore, Nixon was restless, and we had already been exposed to the bitter chilliness since Idaho Falls (where some had to scrape their windows in the morning). Many times, I begged Josh to turn the car around, but he wouldn’t listen to me. This started about, well, an hour out of Phoenix, AZ in Flagstaff (our first glimpse of snow). I could live in Phoenix; its’ warm, its clean and neat and tidy. Sure, its desert, but I honestly think Calgary is drier. Plus, Nixon really enjoyed the day care at Second Home Pet Resort. It was absolutely gorgeous, clean and new. Just like the city itself. He had a blast playing with the 30 some big dogs in the water park, but when we came to get him a few hours later, he dragged the poor lady down the hallway Marley-style. Apologies, he’s worried about being left behind. : (
On the way home, we couldn’t decide if we’d go through Vegas (longer) or Flagstaff (to stop at the Grand Canyon). In the end, we went the latter route, but instead of going out of the way to the Canyon we ended up passing over a smaller section called Marble Canyon. We got out for some pictures, and Nixon was not happy when I went out to the middle of the bridge for the photo below, he was “yelling” at me to “get back here, I don’t like it, it’s too high”. But he posed for a picture with Josh when I was making my way back to the safety of land.
We made it home in 4 days going through Flagstaff, AZ instead of through Las Vegas. I don’t think that it would be a good choice in route if the roads were icy, as there was a pretty sketchy section through the mountains between Marble Canyon and Fredonia along highway 89 and then along the I15 through the mountain passes. Otherwise, we had a clear road for the last 2 days of driving. The first was really long, from Phoenix to Idaho Falls, a 13.5 hour day. But, for us, it was the difference between 2 days or 3 to get home from Phoenix.
The three of us are still recovering from the drive, with sore backs, butts, and necks, and the is altitude wreaking havoc on our activity level, requiring daily long naps. The dry air is worse than I remember it being after other lengthy trips to humid climates. Even our stomach’s are feeling a bit achy with the change in food. How strange. With all this complaining, I will say I am happy to be out of the car, and on with the next agenda. First, finding a house, and second, planning our trip to… China or Europe… we haven’t completely decided, but with 5 weeks before we’re supposed to go, we should probably start thinking about it.