The mountains are high, but our spirits are definitely NOT.
Why, you ask?
Because we left Calgary, Alberta precisely 12.5 hours ago.
!!!
Today's drive that supposed to take about eight hours took us 12. We ended up driving in the path of a semi-circle instead of a straight line due to a very confused GPS. ARGH! My legs are a little numb, my stomach is full of nothing but raisins and Ritz crackers, and I have NO idea how Grant and Mike drove the whole time. Kudos to them!!
We stopped only three times today and let me tell you, at some points along the highway we were literally driving on the edge of a cliff. It's tough enough keeping control of a car in that situation - Grant was driving a 48 foot tractor trailer.
"My hands don't normally sweat..." he said jokingly at one point.
We saw these things things called "runaway lanes" which are uphill sand lanes that trucks can pull into in case of break failure while traveling down a mountain. HA! Scary concept. But Grant's the man, and we're all still alive and kickin'.
Despite the hours upon hours we spent in the car, the scenery was absolutely SPECTACULAR!!! It's amazing how fast the flat fields in Alberta turned into mountains.
And gorgeous mountains at that.
We saw many brown and black cows grazing on the hilly terrain surrounding us earlier on in the day. But as we drove on, the mountains got bigger...WAY bigger.
Each one was dotted with blankets of tall, skinny trees looking like pipecleaners springing out of the ground. Every so often, a massive shadow from an overhead cloud would glide across them, each one looking like a giant sea turtle swimming through the sky. We also passed a few lakes sparkling in the hazy sunlight, all while driving down a winding, two-lane road.
I commented at one point that the pictures we were taking looked fake. The colours were SO vibrant and each one looked like it could be a painting.
We didn't see any bears, but we did see plently of deer, plus a herd of mountain goats on the side of the road! I'm also pretty sure I saw Julie Andrews running across one of the mountain sides telling us that the hills are alive.
Today alone, I've taken 162 pictures. It would probably take about 59 blog entries to post them all, and even then I'm not sure if they would truly convey the feeling of AWE that the majestic British Columbia moutains inspire. Thusly! I will leave you with this video I took when we were just entering the province. Again, it really doesn't do it justice, but I hope it gives you at least a taste of the WOW factor we were all experiencing.
(I've asked Michael Jackson to help me do so.)
...when you get past the buggy windshield and the sudden zoom at about :45 seconds - truly the work of James Cameron - you've got yourself a virtual mountain cruise! Oh yeah!
And now, I must bid thee adieu..."adieu, to yu and yu and yu." (HA! You must watch The Sound of Music if you haven't already seen it.)
Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for Langley, a small town in these here parts, but a cool one nonetheless because some other Ivany's reside there. Fam jams ahead! That, and plenty more wrap making!
Goodnight from the Rockies.
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