Medicine Hat to Nelson then home

We had a really nice stop over in Medicine hat and were well rested for the long drive in front of us.  We were hoping to meet up with my wife, Shauna, who was in Nelson giving a seminar.  To do that, we were looking at about a nine hour driving day.  Not too bad if the weather held out.

Spring was coming earlier to the  western provinces than it was to the eastern provinces.  We left Muncton in several feet of snow, holed up in Winnipeg because of a snow storm, and practically skated to Regina. After Medicine Hat the snow became scarce, replaced with flooding.  In the eastern provinces, the threat of flooding once the snow starts to melt is high.  Essential services such as hospitals are making plans as to how to handle things if and when this occurs. In Vancouver all we have to worry about is a potential radiation cloud.

The drive proved to be very pleasant. A little overcast but no percipitation and the roads, with the execption of the occasional flooded spot, were bare and dry.  I was struck by how the mountains just rose up from the praries.  Your driving along this flat, flat road for a few days and then all of a sudden, their they are. Huge and snow covered.  Ok, we had been through lots snow and ice up to this point, but now we have some mountains thrown in. The truck downshifted as we started to climb into the pass.

Within 15 minutes we were deep in snow country again.  The snow at the side of the road was often higher than the van (which is 6ft 6in high).  In another 10 minutes, it started to snow.  We got through it without incident.  As we descended down the moutain into Nelson the snow stopped coming down and the snow on the ground return to normal levels. We got to the hotel in Nelson and met up with Shauna.  A really nice dinner, a good nights sleep and it was off to Vancouver.

We arrived home at 6:15pm.  Our epic journey complete.