Saturday



Idaho

   A busy day.  Got up in Pocatello and had the compl breakfast at the Best Western hotel, it was very good, bacon, eggs, french toast & all the regular continental b'fast stuff.  We were on the road by 8am and traffic was light.  Perfect day for travelling, cool in the AM & sunny.

Montana

  As we made our way north thru Idaho, it just kept getting cooler.  I think it got down to about 12C by the time we got to the Monida pass.  It sprinkled a bit in the pass, but the roads were good, a bonus with this pass.  This is where the state line into Montana is and as we proceeded north in Montana the winds picked up and they were chilly.  Some of the peaks in the pass were snow covered.  The forecast for the next few days in this area is for snow showers, so we were not looking at hanging around there. When we got to the north end of the pass at Dillion, it was sunny, so we took the Deer Park mountain pass north to Helena.  We had a brief stop in Butte where Marg got to try the new Taco Bell salad, which received a very favourable review.  The wind continued thru the pass and again we saw a bit of drizzle, but nothing serious. This is easily one of the most scenic parts of the drive.  Lots of Alberta & BC license plates along the way, lots of rv's coming south.

Welcome to Canada!

  Got to Sweetgrass in good time, early afternoon and got some scotch & cigs, filled up with that nice low priced Montana petrol.  Got a nice Glenmorangie, Lasanta.  It is very different, but very tasty.  The lines were long and we picked the slow one.  I have a knack for that.  A van load in a Hyundai they probably snuck in from Korea in front of us that took forever with the agent & were finally waved inside.  I did my usual - yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir and we breezed right through.  I never offer any information they do not ask for, that seems to be the only thing that works with these guys.
  When we got in to Lethbridge, we stopped in for a Tim Hortons to go, just to re-affirm our citizenship.  Needed something to warm us up.  We seem to have picked up a flu bug in St G, didn't declare it at the border though.  Anyway the hot drink was very nice, then onward. 
  We thought we might go as far as Claresholm, but when we go there, it was sprinkling and there were snowflakes, so we thought the roads will be bad tomorrow and continued on.  It rained after that & the ditches were white by the time we got to Cowtown [Calgary].  The trip through Calgary was nasty with lots of rainy snowy stuff and road spray, in the dark.  Sort of thought if it continued we would stop, but by the time we got to Airdrie, the roads were dry & we were pretty much out of it.  So we continued on and finally stopped in Red Deer.  1,310 km's today, about 820 miles.  After a dinner at East Side Marios, we were ready to call it a day.