Day 17

Looking back, Day 17 was a rest day within a rest day. I woke up feeling incredibly nauseous—one of those physical walls that forces you to just stay put while the rest of the world moves on. While the others took the LRT back downtown to navigate the Petroleum Conference crowds and the 'Cowtown' art installations, I spent the morning in the quiet of the dorms trying to recover.

By the afternoon, I finally felt human again. I managed to join the group downtown, catching the tail end of their shopping—Wendy had finally tracked down a pair of sandals for our friend—and we capped the evening with a celebratory Alberta steak dinner at The Keg. There was a specific 'last night in the city' energy to that meal; we were trading restaurant menus for camp stoves once more.

The real work happened that night over the maps. We charted a course out of Calgary that avoided the heaviest highway traffic, aiming for Dinosaur Provincial Park and Medicine Hat. Because our friend needs to be back at work by the 23rd, we made the tough call to skip Drumheller to save a few days. Looking at the vastness of the route toward Regina, I felt a mix of nerves and readiness. The mountains are behind us; tomorrow, the Prairies truly begin.

When we wake up this morning, Blue is feeling very nauseous. While he went back to bed to recover, the rest of us get on the elevated train and go back downtown. We return to the market for lunch and some fabulous fruit smoothies from Jugo Juice. After going to see another movie, we give Blue a call and find he is feeling much better. He meets up with us downtown where we wander through some more stores. We take the train back to the university and go to The Keg for supper to try some Alberta steak.

Once we return to the dormitory, we discuss our route for the next few days. At worst, we figure it would be two days to Drumheller, two days to Dinosaur Provincial Park, and two days to Medicine Hat. Since our friend who is with us needs to be back at work by June 23, we decide to save a couple days and not make the trip to Drumheller. Our friend and Blue have come up with numerous routes out of Calgary that follow less busy roads before rejoining the Trans Canada Highway somewhere near the city limits.