Day 3: July 6, 2019

As indicated, there was no sightseeing today as all we did was drive the Trans Canada Highway to Calgary. 

I cannot help thinking about the agricultural expanse we have seen. From Chicago to Calgary, it was nearly 2,000 miles of agriculture - farming and ranching with a major city and some large towns along the way. You cannot see this and not be wow'd. The agricultural power of the United States and Canada is staggering. 

While the day was boring, several remarkable things happened.  First, I actually used "ain't" in common speech (I'm not sure it is a word), without trying to be funny, making a joke or just being a goof. It just came out in common speech. I think I'm spending too much time with my Southern friends. Second, there has been a role reversal. I'm chill, and Magellan has turned into a Type A personality. To quote Darth Vader: "the transformation is complete." Third, Magellan used an ATM for the first time in his life. Yes, that is true. This is the new Millenium, and he had never used an ATM before today.

We needed some "walking around money," so we went to the bank. Despite my explaining that the best rate he would receive is through an ATM, Magellan was undaunted. He went to the teller to exchange American Dollars for Canadian Dollars. Right now, the exchange rate is 1.33, which is fantastic for Americans. Magellan was looking to turn a profit. 

The Bank wanted a 27% commission. They essentially wanted to exchange dollars for dollars at par. Heck with that, and on that basis, Magellan marched over to the ATM with Brother Larry supervising and made a cash withdrawal. Larry's commission was only 10%. 

This is a picture of Magellan being very happy with himself, after successfully completing his first ATM transaction.

The next hurdle was the Canadian gas pumps. The pumps take and hold your card, you make your grade selection, get your card back, and start pumping: and all-the-while, you have to have a prepaid amount held on your card as security. As ridiculous as this was, this baffled all of us - and Magellan the most. The above photo is Magellan triumphant after his second successful international transaction of the day. 

This is picture of me, very smug, after coaching Magellan through the gas purchase. And with that, it was on to Alberta. Although, as you will see below, this was not the end of the "day of firsts."

When I booked the rooms in Calgary, they were hard to get, very expensive, and our hotel is a dump. Nothing on the walls, cracked porcelain, sheets like sandpaper and no elevator. We had to carry our bags up the stairs.  It is one of those old hotels with the doors facing outside:

It turns out that this is the weekend of the Calgary Stampede, the largest Rodeo in the world. And all of Canada is here. That is the reason for the room issue.

All of this brings us to the Dinner Debacle. One of our group is very chatty, and strikes up conversations with anyone and everyone. He had a "hankering" for ribs, and asked a bunch of 20-somethings where we should go for barbeque. They told us to walk down the street to "Ranchman's." And so we did, walking a mile and a half along the side of a four lane highway in the rain down to what we thought was a barbeque restaurant. It turned out to be a western nightclub, for 20-somethings. 

When we arrived, the line of black Escalades were lined up with young people exiting to get into the bar, dressed in their skimpy, Saturday night party outfits, in Cowboy chic. I was the only one there without a hat. In Cowboy haute couture, you either wear a Cowboy hat or a grain/equipment hat worn beak backwards. I learned that at Ranchmans - and was glad to leave as I felt a little out of place.

After deciding that this was not the place for us, we agreed to go to a real barbeque restaurant. But this required ground transportation - which led to another first. We took an Uber. Neither Magellan nor Brother Larry had ever been in an Uber before. So, in a day of firsts, we added another to the list: they took their first Uber. 

Our driver, Muhammed, has nearly 12,000 Uber rides. I've never seen anyone with so many rides, and Larry and Magellan had no rides. We could not let the importance of the moment pass without some form of memorialization. And in so doing, Muhammed told us that in all of his rides, he never had a passenger request a photograph with him:

He was a very good sport.

We went to a great barbeque restaurant, and ate our fill in ribs, pulled pork and brisket.

Today, we rode 451 miles, for a trip total of 1,748. Tomorrow, it is on to Banff and the Canadian Rockies. I can't wait.