Day 22

Looking back at fifty, I can’t help but laugh at the "eviction" that started Day 22. We’d settled in for a rest day in Medicine Hat, only to have the front desk call at 9:00 AM to tell us our room was already re-booked for full price. There we were, groggy and "rested," scrambling to move all our gear next door to the Trans Canada motel. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise—it was cheaper, nicer, and exactly what we needed.

We spent the day in that hazy, low-stakes rhythm that only a true rest day provides. We walked downtown for lunch, though Medicine Hat’s center didn't have much to offer in the way of excitement back then. Wendy retreated to the library, while Shayne and I eventually just gave up on sightseeing and headed back to the motel to nap and read. It was a day of recovery in every sense.

The best news of the day came through the grapevines: our friend who had left the group in Gleichen made it all the way home to Ontario safely. Knowing he was already back with his family took a weight off our minds as we prepared for the next leg. We finished the evening with one last Alberta steak dinner, fueling up for the push toward the Cypress Hills. Sometimes the most important days on a trip like this are the ones where almost nothing happens.

Not long after waking up at a leisurely hour, the front desk calls and asks when we are leaving. Apparently there are already people waiting for our room at nine o'clock in the morning. Since there are no vacant rooms, we are sent packing. We end up at an even cheaper motel. After settling again, we walk downtown for lunch.

After discovering that there really is not anything very interesting to see or do in downtown Medicine Hat, Blue and I wander back to the motel. For the rest of the afternoon, I catch up on my journal, read a little, and nap. For supper, I have what is probably my last Alberta steak of our trip. Tomorrow we intend to head to Elkwater and see the Cypress Hills.