Day 9 - blah

Today, we had the terrible task of driving right through Banff to get to Calgary. The smoke was not great. We started in the Kootenay National Forest, where there was definite fire damage, though we are not sure if it is from these recent fires. The forest runs right into Banff National Park along the Trans Canada Highway. The thing is, it's very clear that the smoke is there, but it's still pretty, even though you can't even see all of it. The smoke was bad, and even what was coming into the car via the A/C was giving me a slight headache. We stopped in Canmore (right outside of Banff) for lunch, and I noticed my hair smelled like I'd sat next to a campfire. So I guess it's clear that it's not a great time to visit. But...there were still so many people out and about. And it nearly killed me to drive through to go to the city. 

Our hotel is nice enough. It looks like an embassy suites with a big courtyard in the middle. The pool is on the floor below ours, and I'm not a fan of it being where people can walk out of their rooms and see you. Kind of annoying. The room is nice and updated and somewhat roomy, but it's still two queen beds as opposed to our two bedroom condo in the mountains. 

All four of us were on edge this afternoon, with good reason, as we tried to reconcile being here instead of Banff. I looked again at flights. United has one for $350 on Thursday, I think. It  came out to something like $1400 with taxes and fees piled on, plus the $300 fee for cancelling with West Jet. We have to decide if we just want to end this trip or not. And we have to decide soon because there were only four tickets left. The next best ticket price was $435 and that was for a flight that leaves at 2 pm, makes two stops, and doesn't fly into Chicago until 6am the next day. What?! No thanks. 

There are things to do here. There is a zoo, a bad amusement park, museums, etc. But all these things cost a decent amount for a short amount of time. And there all things that we are just doing to stay busy, not because we really want to. We have better zoos, better amusement parks, and better museums at home. I hate that we are not an hour west in Banff. I don't think I can stay 6 nights in a hotel room. Kids were bananas this afternoon as we tried to figure out what to do. 

We ended up trying to go to an indoor climbing place only to find it was not what we thought. Then, we ended up at a bowling alley. At least we got lucky with an afternoon special. None of us broke 100, so it was pretty terrible bowling, but we had a little fun. We stopped off at Safeway and grabbed some soup and salad for dinner. The kids will go to the pool now and then we will all go to bed. 

There is a chance we will try to go west if we hear the winds have changed but it's not looking good. Really, the stars have aligned in some terrible way to block so many paths. Flights are astronomical. Our car has to be returned at the airport. We honestly thought about dropping off the car, finding transportation to MT, renting another car, and just driving home. Not the most logical. Really wishing we would have driven our own car at this point. I worked so hard and thought I was so clever switching things around and getting our car in Calgary and now we're stuck.

I'm wishing I had pushed harder to go to Coeur d'Alene, but Will just didn't seem to want to. We could have spent three nights there and then made our way back here. Or I wish I had found a place back in Glacier area. But every place we called was booked and terribly expensive. 

I do not have an "oh well, let's make the most of it" attitude. Maybe I'll get there, but not yet. We are ONE HOUR from the place I want to be, the place I planned to be, months ago. I researched and booked near Banff in October. I've looked up hikes and pictures and planned and planned. And now I'm sitting in a hotel in a city, surrounded by buildings. It just sucks, plain and simple. 

Enough of this pity party. Good news: Will just said tomorrow we can walk to a nearby bank, post office, and dollar store. So we have an hour of fun covered. Ugh...