2nd October 2016

It rained heavily during the night. There were two rumbles of thunder, though there may have been more. When it rains hard on a motorhome, it becomes very noisy, and little else can be heard. Surprisingly, we slept well, particularly Jamie, who confessed he heard nothing at all. We woke to a dismal, dank morning. The hillside above was shrouded in cloud, and our city view, which had sparkled so clearly and brightly the night before, was now a sorry, misty affair.

After showering in the community block, we had breakfast and packed our rucksacks. This was the first site where we had Wi-Fi access, so we took the opportunity to check emails before driving down to the dump pit to offload our waste. After a few attempts, we had mastered this rather unpleasant task without mishap. The drizzle continued.

With the navigation app set on my phone, we set off for the RV Centre in the city. It was rush hour, though not quite to British standards. We made steady, unimpeded progress through the commuter traffic, and in just 30 minutes, we arrived at our destination.

Cruise America lived up to its reputation as one of the largest RV rental companies in North America. Over the course of our week, we’d seen hundreds of their vehicles on the road or parked at various sites. When we parked our ‘home’ for the last time, we were astounded by the sheer number of units they had. A week ago, in our rush to start the adventure, we’d somehow missed seeing so many of these similar vehicles. Despite it being late in the season, there were still people waiting in reception to pick up their vehicles. I hoped they would have the same superb weather we’d enjoyed.

After having the RV checked over, we were delighted to receive refunds for the gas and waste. Emptying the sewerage tank just half an hour earlier had saved us $35, and to our surprise, the gas cylinder was still full, so we got another $35 refund.

The Centre arranged for a taxi to the airport, and we were soon being chauffeured to YYC. The weather continued to be miserable, and with the rain falling, a last-minute diversion into the city seemed pointless. We had 5 hours to kill, though we had been informed that another hour was added to our wait due to a previous delayed flight departure. On arrival at the airport, the check-in desk wasn’t yet open, so we had our final burger and fries in Canada while watching baseball at one of the food outlets.

After check-in and navigating security, we sat in a bar and continued watching the baseball until our flight was called. This time, we flew through the night, which made sleeping a bit easier. The flight wasn’t full, so after another ‘basic’ meal, I found a row of empty seats and managed to grab a few hours of sleep. Jamie, on the other hand, chose to watch films.

To return to the hotel, we reversed our procedure of a week ago, though due to track maintenance, instead of the train, we had to catch a bus from ‘Three Bridges’ station to Crawley. With my parking ticket validated by the hotel, we drove back to Harborough. We both remarked on the difference in the volume of traffic compared to what we’d been enjoying recently!

What a surprise we had at home! Sue had prepared a full Sunday lunch (complete with Yorkshire pudding and apple pie) waiting for us when we arrived. It was our first real intake of vegetables in quite a while!

Having driven up the motorway, I was feeling tired, so freshly satiated I went to bed for a nap, while (believe it or not) Jamie and Sue played cards.

Epilogue: The Canadians seem to lead a similar lifestyle to that discovered on our last road trip to Australia, gentle, laid-back people, polite, and sociable. Yes, this is another country I’m sure we would have enjoyed and flourished in, had Sue and I chosen to emigrate. Of course, the scenery and outdoor lifestyle enjoyed by the population is a huge attraction, but the friendliness and openness of the people are incredibly appealing, as is the slow pace of life. It’s such a contrast to their gun-toting neighbours to the south.

I once moaned at Jamie for his eagerness to ‘get on’ with the trail we were following, stressing that the journey was just as enjoyable, if not more so, than the destination. On many occasions, we came across crowds of tourists who had spent the night in a comfortable hotel, boarded their air-conditioned buses, disembarked briefly for photos, and then moved on or returned to their luxury. Then there were those who had hiked or cycled to one of the many superb geographical features, camped, and truly experienced what it is like to ‘be there’, warts and all. That’s how it’s done, but I guess that’s for the young, or dare I say, the Canadians? I think hiring a motorhome falls somewhere in the middle of the ‘experience scale’, and that will do for me at this stage in life.

Spending time one late afternoon with photographers (who knew what they were doing) above Lake Moraine and slowly watching the colours and shadows emerge from what was already a stunning scene into one of perfection is a memory that will last with us both.