Part Seven: In which our weary travelers embark on the long journey back to Minnesota with a few stops along the way.
Day 10 -Saturday, August 6:
Saturday began our long journey home. We got up, packed, ate breakfast, and loaded up the car. Then we drove about an hour to Calgary. On the way into town, we could see the Olympic Park from the 1988 Winter Games.
Our first stop was in downtown Calgary at the Calgary Tower. This tower is similar to the Seattle Space Needle and is 626 feet tall. It was built in 1968.
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| The Calgary Tower |
We rode the elevator up to the observation deck at the top of the tower. From there, we had a great view of the city below. Calgary is an interesting city in that it is relatively new. It didn't really get big until the Oil Boom in the 1970's.
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| Going up in the elevator |
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| View from the top |
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| There was a glass floor section. It was kind of unnerving! |
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| Mom really didn't like the floor |
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| In the observation deck |
After walking around the tower, we took the elevator back down to street level. Then we walked about a block over to the Olympic Plaza. This is where the Olympic Medal Presentations were held for the 1988 Olympic Games. There was a lot of interesting artwork there, the most unique being the pink prairie dogs.
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| The unusual pink prairiedogs |
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| I got a kick out of them |
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| Mom really liked the group of sculptures in the park entrance |
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| We saw the tower again when walking back to the car |
Our next stop in Calgary was at Boston Pizza for lunch. This is a chain that's all over in Canada. We had been eager to get back there after enjoying it in Thunder Bay back in 2007.
The last stop in Calgary was at the Chinook Centre Mall for Build-a-Bear. This was the highlight of the trip for Christine, so I'm glad we made time to do it.
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| An international Build-a-Bear! |
We piled back into the car, and drove three hours to Medicine Hat where we met back up with the group at Coreen's house. There we enjoyed a nice BBQ and met her family.
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| Christine getting her pug fix in with Coreen's pug Ben |
Day 11 -Sunday, August 7:
Sunday was another driving day. We enjoyed breakfast together, said our goodbyes, and we were off. On the way out of Medicine Hat we stopped at the World's Largest Teepee. It was made for the 1988 Olympics in Calgary as a symbol of Canada's native peoples. It was then moved to Medicine Hat where it stands today. It is 20 stories high.
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| Christine inside the teepee |
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| Apparently the top of the teepee blew off in a windstorm a few years prior |
We also made a quick stop at a grocery store to stock up on red cream soda and Crunchie bars that we can't get at home.
It was a long day. We were in the car from 10:30 am (Mountain Time) until 8:20 (Central Time). Our route to Minot took a little longer than planned due to detours from all the flooding.
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| Flooded fields were a common sight on our drive |
Our hotel in Minot had a "waterpark," so Christine, Adam and I enjoyed going down the water slides and relaxing in the hot tub. For dinner we ordered pizza which was delicious.
Day 12 - Monday, August 8:
We had breakfast in the hotel and were on the road by 9:30. It was another long day in the car. We arrived back in the cities around 6, and were met at our house by Curt, Robin, and a very excited Chester. It was so nice to be reunited with our little guy! We sure did miss him, but it helped to know he was in such good hands while we were away.
After visiting for a bit, my parents and Stine got back in the car to drive another 2 1/2 hours home. It must have been a REALLY long day for them.
Overall, we had a great family vacation, but it sure felt good to be home and back with Chester.
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