We set up the air mattress in the back of the CR-V. We don’t have any backseats, so we knew it would fit pretty well and seemed like it would be a comfortable bed. Well, that really wasn’t the case. We woke up with the sun around 6 a.m., freezing (the temperature dipped to 40ish degrees overnight) and with back, neck, and leg cramps. We definitely didn’t sleep very well, and you know what that means…cranky Lauren! It wasn’t a very pleasant morning, especially since we both smelled like fire smoke (disgusting!) and I had to eat more tube meat for breakfast. All I really wanted was a nice, long, hot shower. Well, too bad because that was impossible. The day before we were each given a token for a short 5-minute, cold shower. We decided to skip the shower, build our 2nd small fire for warmth, pack the car, and get back to civilization. But first, Jon had to get his fill of water by jumping in Lake McDonald. There was no way I was getting into the 50ish degree water. Instead, I enjoyed skipping rocks and taking in the majestic views.
We started driving down the main road to exit the park and stopped along the way to see raging rapids, large mountains, flying eagles, beautiful waterfalls, and interesting avalanche areas. As we were approaching a humongous mountain, I noticed shiny objects moving along the top, thousands of feet above us. I mentioned this to Jon and he said, “I guess that’s where we’re going!” My mouth dropped open! I couldn’t believe that is how we were getting outta here. Well, we did live to tell about it and it was actually a really amazing drive, a bit scary at times. We were getting hungry for lunch, so we pulled off to the side and made a peanut butter, Nutella, banana dog, one of Jon’s creations. The drive up and down the mountain took us ALL day. We probably left around noon and didn’t get down the mountain until about 5:00 p.m. We weren’t expecting that!
We got into Calgary around 8:30 p.m. and stayed at a Holiday Inn (THANK GOD for a shower and a bed!) It was the best night’s sleep that I can remember.
