Alberta Adventure Chapter 11 –Am I in Hell?

Calgary

When the music started playing again in the morning I knew we were off to our next place. It isn't the same music that used to play. Laura must have gotten mad and broken it. We didn't have to drive for a long time, just half a day, but then we started driving through a big city with lots of cars. Laura said that it was Calgary, Alberta, and that this is where she was born.

I didn't think we'd be getting to a campground soon, but even though we were still in the city, we stopped and set up our home. Laura took us for a walk but there wasn't anyplace to go to except a road with really big, scary, trucks driving fast. I didn't think this was much fun and wished we were back in Medicine Hat.

The next morning we all got into the truck, without the camper, and drove around in the city. I didn't know where we were going, but Laura seemed worried. When we got to a place with lots of dog smells I thought we'd be getting out to play, but Laura and Carm said we were at a kennel and left us to go into a building. I didn't know what a kennel was, but I hoped it would be fun. When they came out, Laura looked like she was going to cry and not a happy cry like when we got to Alberta, but an upset one. She put our leashes on me and my sisters and took us into the building. We walked into a room and a million dogs started barking. There was no way I wanted to go in there, and neither did Bella or Kabira. Kabira had to be carried. I pretended that I was brave and walked in, but I wanted to run away. I was so scared.

A strange lady put us into a cage and shut the door. Laura was crying. She told us that she and Carm were going to a wedding and that it wasn’t a place for dogs.

Laura didn't seem happy at all. Then Laura and Carm walked out of the room, leaving us there alone with all those barking dogs. We were terrified. We wondered if we had driven to Alberta so they could leave us there forever. I thought I might throw up. Bella and Kabira didn't help me feel brave because they were as scared as I was.

We stayed there all day, hoping we were wrong and that Laura and Carm would come back, but they didn't. We had to go out of a small door to get outside to do our business. I was almost too scared to go because whenever I did all the other dogs would bark. They seemed to be calling for their families. Had all these dogs been left behind forever? Had they been bad? Had we been bad?

We tried to sleep that night, but it was uncomfortable, there were no soft beds like at home. I thought we might be in hell. The next day was no better. We waited and waited all day. I never thought I'd miss Laura and Carm so much. After we waited forever, the strange lady came to us with our leashes. We wondered where she was taking us to and if it would be even worse. She opened a door and there were Laura and Carm! They came back to get us! We were all so excited we could hardly stand it. Laura was crying again, but this time she seemed happy. When they put us into the truck I thought I'd never complain about driving too long again. I was so relieved.

to be continued…

Alberta Adventure Chapter 12 –I couldn’t See to the Top

Banff

The morning music played the next morning. I hoped we weren't going to the kennel again but Laura seemed happy and excited. When she sang the on the road song, I knew we were going somewhere good. I love that song.

After we drove for a little while I could see tall hills in the distance. My ears started feeling funny and then popped. It was strange. We kept driving and the hills kept getting bigger, Laura said they were mountains. I couldn't believe how high they were. It was very different from Alberta. When we stopped at a town; Laura said we were in Banff, which was still in Alberta! I wondered how could it be flat and then have mountains in the same place? In Banff we got out to stretch our legs, then Laura and Carm left us in the truck while they went for a walk. I wasn't very happy to be left behind,  but then remembered that it was better to stay in the truck than go into the kennel.

When they came back we drove around, then stopped again. This time we got to go for a walk beside a very fast river. It didn't look like a good place to swim. We were right beside one of the mountains and I couldn't get over how high it was. I couldn't look high enough to see the top!  Laura said we'd be coming back here the next  day with the camper, which I thought would be a good idea.

It was a long drive back to our camper home, especially since we stopped and had to have baths. I couldn't believe it. I thought staying in the kennel was enough punishment, and that we didn't need baths too. The bath place had special tubs that were on tall legs, with a ramp to walk up. Carm had to put coins into a machine, and the shampoo came right out of the hose. At least the bath didn't take very long. I do have to admit that I had felt stinky after sleeping in the kennel, and it was nice to smell good again.

Banff camping

The next day we drove back to Banff with our camper, just like Laura promised. There were lots of trails to go walking on, but we also relaxed at the campsite. Sometimes I would lie on the ground and look up at the mountains wondering if I could ever walk so far and climb so high. It seemed like it would be impossible. I thought that maybe if I could, there would be a statue of me.

Bella, Kabira and I got to spend some time resting in the camper home while Laura and Carm went out. One day they talked about being at the top of the world and seeing the tops of mountains all around them. It sounded like a magical place. Maybe next time they'll take me there.

Another time Bjorn and some other cousins came to visit us! They were all from Norway. I remembered that Norway was farther from home than we were. They must have had to drive for days and days. They were really nice and stayed for supper. I was stuck inside though and had to watch them through the door. We had other friends visit too. When Laura found out that Cynthia and Martin were coming she got really excited, which made me excited too. They hugged and hugged when they saw each other, and almost forgot that I was there too.

One of the days we drove to a place called Lake Louise. There were lots of people taking pictures of it. I guess they thought it was beautiful. It was brilliant green colour, which seemed odd. Laura let us dip our toes into the water, but it was far to cold to swim in. We did go for a walk down a trail beside the lake. There were lots of people to walk around, but that was okay because some of them wanted to pet me, which I like. Laura seemed like she was in a rush though, and barely let us sniff around. Still, I really liked it here. I think it is in Alberta too.

After Lake Louise, we drove into B.C. which Carm said it was another province, but I didn't see what the big deal was, we didn't even get out of the truck.
When we were driving back to our camper home, I was looking out of the window and saw the sun jumping into a stream, just like in the Alberta song. Laura saw it too and started jumping in her seat and trying to take pictures. It seems like she is always taking pictures of things. Sometimes she even takes ones of me, but that's no surprise because I'm so cute.

 
to be continued…