Covid Adventures.

We had to go to Calgary last week for 3 nights and while we usually go twice a year, it’s not usually for 3 nights and it’s never during a pandemic, so I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out. Now mind you, we did go in March during the “newness” of the pandemic, but it was “drive in...quick doctor visit....overnight, and leave next morning”. We hardly had time to sanitize our hands and no one was wearing masks at that time and everyone was terrified to even leave their house.

This time however, the appointments were scattered all willy-nilly time-wise as well as in different parts of the city, so 3 nights was the only way it would really work. Aaaaannnnd, to be honest, one of the days was for a colonoscopy, so there was a day of prep where highway travel really would not have been a wise idea. 😳. I wasn’t going to mention that, but having regular check-ups is really crucial and nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides, it wasn’t for me. 😉.

So we left here on Wednesday (after rescuing the turtle that I wrote about in my earlier post) and arrived in Calgary around lunch time. His first appointment was in his new doctor’s new clinic (his old doc retired) and to get there we veered off the highway by Calloway Park and took a scenic tour through the countryside, I had no idea that there were so many mansions in that end of the city, all on huge lots looking like Beverly Hills. Anyhow, we arrived at the clinic, and the test took literally, literally, less than a minute and then we had the rest of that day free. We left and decided to go back the way we came and gaze at all the fantastic houses. Since it was an easy road and we had just been there less than 5 minutes ago, we didn’t need the GPS. Of course we promptly got lost and much swearing ensued. Eventually we found our way to the hotel and checked in. Note to self. Use the GPS, that is why you have one.

We always stay at the Best Western Village Park Inn when his appointments are at Foothills, and I really can’t say enough kind things about them. The covid protocols are top notch, and the staff is awesome. We know a few of them by sight now, but due to everyone wearing masks I’m not sure if we actually saw them or not. Hahahahaha. *sigh*. 

Since we had the afternoon and evening free we decided to take the LRT and go to the casino. We felt very pleased with ourselves for managing to buy tickets and not get lost, because honestly, we are such losers when it comes to city stuff. I was surprised at how every single person on the train was wearing a mask, and wearing them properly. They seem to be taking it much more seriously than in BC, even out on the streets the majority of people were wearing their masks. 

The casino was interesting,  a fellow was taking your temperature before you could enter and sanitizing stations were everywhere. About 1 in 4 machines were open, and they had a card stating that they were cleaned and when you left your machine, you tossed the card away and someone raced over and cleaned it and left a new card. I was pretty impressed, but I would have been more impressed if I had won some money. But oh well, it was something to do for the afternoon. We found  a fish & chip joint and had a tasty dinner and then headed back to the hotel to watch the hockey game (Go Vegas!). We did learn that when one gets ON the LRT that one should check the station so that one knows where to get OFF the LRT.  A young kid of about 14 saw us looking bewildered and told us what the name of our stop would be. It’s a sad day when you realize that you are those old & befuddled folks who can’t even navigate a transit system. 

Next day was prep day, so one of us hung out in the hotel room and it wasn’t me. I grabbed my bag-breakfast, due to covid, the buffet wasn’t available and the restaurant wan’t open for breakfast so they provided “Grab & Go” bags and I went walking.

There is a great park right across from the hotel, so I had my breakfast and read my book.

You can see the hotel, so the park is that close.




I walked through McMahon Stadium, and while there wouldn’t have been a game on at that hour anyhow, it just looked so empty and deserted.

I then walked over to the hospital to see exactly where he had to go the next day, we always walk over, it’s only 20-30 minutes (depending on construction) and it saves the hassle and price of parking, plus we get a little exercise. I sat and watched this thing whirl around, construction is pretty amazing.

Getting inside the hospital is an adventure in itself. You have to sanitize, answer the questionnaire, get your temp taken, tell them why you’re there, then throw your mask away (unless it’s your own cloth one, then you just put it in your purse or whatever) and they give you a new one, sanitize again and then they give you a “ticket” to pack around that you have to show if you happen to get stopped, to show that you have been questioned and tested. It was all super quick and efficient and impressive. 

Then I headed back to the hotel, where I read, wandered, watched TV, walked over to the liquor store and contemplated the different types of booze that Alberta has (cherry whiskey!).

The pool was open, but I hadn’t brought a bathing suit, so I’m not sure what the protocol was for using it.

Next day was the hospital visit, all went smoothly (kind of a pun there) and by the time he was out of recovery it was already 5 PM,  which was why we had decided to stay another night, no one wants to travel for 4 hours when you’ve just had a camera up your ass for two hours. Crass, but true.

After a good sleep, we left Saturday morning. We had our Grab & Go breakfast bags, plus I had brought muffins and other odds and ends in a cooler, so we planned to stop somewhere in Banff to eat lunch.

There are six things that I have always wanted to do as we drive through the parks. Some we’ve done; walk to the Paint Pots (they were ok, but not as interesting as the signs lead to believe), stop at the Continental Divide (which fascinates me), eat at the Storm Lodge restaurant (oh my god, its’s fabulous!) and stop at Numa Falls, which is the one we did this time. I figured it was a 20 or 30 minute walk to get there, so we pulled in,  got our water bottles, camera, jackets etc and crossed the parking lot to the bridge...and that was it....the falls are right there. We had to laugh, it takes literally a minute to get there. 

So we “hiked” back and had our lunch with my new friend. I love crows and I like to think that I had a connection with this one as I spoke gently to it, but realistically I know it was just a mooch that was  habituated to people and it wanted my crumbs. It glared at me as I ate and then tried to steal the paper bag of garbage. 

It’s a beautiful spot to stop though, lots of picnic tables and bathrooms as well.

The other two places that I want to stop are Dog Lake for their hike (which is supposed to be an hour or so, but who knows?) and Olive Lake. We wold have stopped there, but there was some sort of construction or accident or something...lots of traffic and nowhere to pull over. Next time. 

Also some day I will stay in a cabin at Vermillion Crossing. I love cabins, the smaller and more 1950’s style the better. The one we stayed at in Glacier National Park was a dream for me....the fact that it was over $200 US for one stay was a nightmare, but that’s besides the point. You only go around once, right? You need to make the best of every day. Sure, this was a hospital/doctor visit, but we still had fun. Some of us had more fun and better meals than others did, but it was still a getaway and I’m appreciative that we are lucky enough to live where our health care is so awesome.

September 2020.

The other day while I was inside, Steven opened the front door and calls “Hey! Come here and see this!” Usually it’s a deer wandering down the street, or sometimes it’s a weird bug. Before I could ask what it was, he adds “There’s a big turtle walking down the road.”. I rolled my eyes, but went to see what it was that he had mistaken for a large turtle. 

Well. It was....a large turtle. Just moseying down the middle of the road, looking dry & dusty and reminding me of an old cowboy on the trail.

Now, we live about a mile from Idlewild Park, where there are turtles in the lake, and about a mile in the other direction from The Alkali Lakes, where there are also turtles, but to get to both of these places you need to walk 3-4 blocks in town, then cross a reasonably busy road and then walk another five or six minutes to get to the actual water. And that’s for humans....who knows how long for a turtle? I was pretty baffled. 

We put him on the front yard, in the grass and he grumpily snapped at me instead of being grateful that he wasn't going to end up as a turtle pancake. Then we set him in the fountain in our yard so that he could cool off and have a drink. He swam around with his mouth open for a minute, so I guess the poor guy was parched. Or he was swearing at me, hard to tell with turtles.

Now, I know that you are never supposed to move a turtle, as their internal compass has them on the right path, but this fellow apparently had a malfunction and there is no way he would have made it safely to water. It was a conundrum, and we were on our way to Calgary so we had no time to make phone calls and wait for answers. No place would have been open yet anyhow, so I went to my go-to-for-all-queries, Mr. Google, and I learned that turtles should normally be left alone unless they are in danger, which this guy most certainly was. If a vehicle didn’t get him, a dog would have. 

So we let him dry his toes on the grass, and then took him to Idlewild Lake. Steven set him on 

shore and he ran on his little turtle legs to the water, swam around for a minute and then dove into the depths of the lake. 

So, if you see a turtle in my neck of the woods, on the road, I guess it means that we took him to wrong place, so you can take him to The Alkali’s. I did the best I could with the knowledge I had.