I made it to Alberta!

After a relatively sleepless night (actually, it was my usual wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-stressing-over-things-that-I-can't-do-anything-about-but-can't-stop-thinking-about night I tend to have while working, but it's the first I've had since I left), I woke up early--REAL early here in the Mountain time zone; the sun comes up at about 5:15am in Malta these days. I fed the cats, listened to a bit of NPR, got everything loaded and dumped the waste tanks (I'm very proud of myself for that, and it went very well with pretty much no mess) then headed out.

Nell was in her carrier and seemed happy (no meowing anyway), but I couldn't get Puck, so I let him ride loose. He roamed about a bit, winding up at various times on my lap, on the dashboard, and trying desperately to get to my feet before I finally got tired and stopped to transfer him back to the kennel (yay for roadside monuments in Montana!). The weather was nice, not too hot and not too windy (yet for both), which is another reason I left so early.

Route 2 across Montana is in really good shape. It's a 2-lane road, but that wasn't a problem because other drivers had absolutely no problem passing me, since there was very little traffic. I did get to see a whole bunch more pronghorns (thankfully running AWAY from the road) plus cattle and such. I stopped in Fort Belknap Agency for an egg-salad sandwich and a Pepsi (which thankfully didn't spill), and then drove through various towns (and Havre, which might be a tiny city) before stopping in Chester to use the restroom and check the oil, although I had to look in the handbook to find out how to open the hood--don't cars normally have these labelled? It's a tiny little handle about where you'd expect it, but I had to really haul on it to pop the hood. The oil is fine, if filthy--I'm going to get it changed here in Lethbridge, as well as get the suspension looked at.

I stopped in Shelby to get diesel before the border. It seems bigger than I remember, but I don't think I've approached it from the west for quite a while. After fueling up and scraping as many dead bugs as possible off the windshield (I've been quite the Grim Reaper for the insect world lately) I headed north.

The wind, which hadn't been too bad, steadily got worse. Part head wind, part broadside, it made driving on the Interstate not particularly fun. The border was no problem, except for the 15-minute or so wait to get to an agent; I've almost never had more than a cursory question/answer from border guards, partly I think because I look innocent and trustworthy. OK, stop laughing. At any rate, it was after the border that the wind got really, really bad. It made the prior windy days seem like nothing. I was swerving all over the place, trying to keep it on the road, with the steering wheel turned what seemed to be an impossible amount to the left considering the rig was driving straight! But I did make it, and made it to Lethbridge to park in front of my parents' house with virtually no trouble.

I unloaded the cats (they are now in my parents' spare bedroom--Nell is still spending much time hiding under the bed (although she did eat voraciously, as usual) and Puck doesn't know why he can't go out of the bedroom--we're not letting them loose until we know that my parents' dog Pennie won't do anything untoward to them), then the things that would be harmed by hot temperatures, plus some clothes. I hope to spend some time poking around the rig, practicing things like lighting the pilot lights and such, as well as get the oil changed and the suspension checked.

I can't say when I'll be updating this; I probably won't be posting again until I head out, and I'm not sure when that will be. Stay tuned!