Canada Part 2: Saskatchewan and Alberta

I drove into Saskatchewan early Monday afternoon and soon learned the correct way to pronounce Regina. I spent the evening in Moose Jaw, solely because it is called Moose Jaw, and it turned out to be the city I liked most. It had a great downtown (actually, a lot of the towns I saw in Canada had thriving downtowns) and seemed to be a place that takes its community seriously without taking itself too seriously. I mean, just look at their crosswalk signs:

The rest of the Province wasn’t so inviting. Rest stops aren’t as prevalent as in Ontario and I spent the night in a field next to a salt mine.

Tuesday morning, I rolled into Alberta! At the visitor center, I learned that I was officially cleared to start working at HMH (yay!) and that I had a bunch training videos and tutorials to complete (boo!). On the advice of the helpful lady at visitor center, I stopped in nearby Medicine Hat, because they have a thriving coffee shop culture and lots of things for travelers to do.

After an hour or so of working, I wandered around downtown Medicine Hat. It was no Moose Jaw, but that’s not its fault. I ate lunch at a place called The Olive Tap. Its walls were lined with barrels and bottles of oils and vinegars. While I ate, I got the free entertainment of watching half a dozen retirees being walked through an olive oil tasting. They took it very seriously.

That evening, I borrowed a free bike from the Visitors Center and rode around a few hours. I'd only been on a bike once since finishing that 100 mile ride last September and I really enjoyed getting back on.

 Prairie and the Saamis Teepee

 Where's Sonia?! 

The moment I realized My Little Pony was MIA

I was really amazed by this lush, green valley.

Then I realized it's a golf course...

That night, I found a hotel and watched a few more training videos. The next day I'd be turning south to Montana and Glacier National Park.