Goodbye USA.

1. Suburban America - our street "in" Chicago.
2. North Ave beach. A million volleyball games, in front of skyscrapers.
3. Rainclouds over the city.
4. Me at Buckingham Fountain.

A few more photos from Chicago. We are just packing (read: I am on the internet and Seamus is watching a film) after a little trip to the bakery. The suburbs are weird. The neighbourhoods off 95th Ave are really pretty but the main street itself is horrible, an endless parade of Walgreens and takeaways. I would rather live IN a city, or in the country itself, than somewhere like this which has the worst of both worlds (busy, expensive, lack of community, too many cars).

The bakery was good though.

Family barbeques.

It's really nice staying with Seamus' family in Chicago rather than yet another hostel. We have no curfew, our own room, can cook whatever we want, whenever we want, watch tv, no forced conversations with drunk Australians....it's also good seeing people "from home" (even though it's not MY home, and they've all lived here for years), having gone nearly eight months without any familiar people (excluding the two days we spent with Jesse in Milk River). Seamus' dad has eleven brothers and sisters, five of whom live in Chicago, along with thousands of children. Seamus has so many cousins! He doesn't know most of their names, but then, he doesn't know my name half the time. So, yesterday there was a barbeque for everyone, and I was feeling quite crappy (swine flu?), and Uncle Dennis kept apologising for how traumatic the occasion must have been for me (haha, he should meet MY family). All the men in Seamus' family look the same, with identical hairlines and zero baldness. Also, everyone is tall and thin in the Kerlin crew. Maybe if we breed, we will make superhuman babies, what with our very different genetics.

So, last night I listened to an assortment of Kerlins discuss religion and travelling and Ireland and religion and alcohol and Australia and skydiving and religion and family trees and Christmas and poetry and religion and US politics and homosexuality and religion and racial conflict and gangs and religion and education and religion. You get the picture. Fun times, though.

Today was hot and sticky, it was disgusting. We learnt all about ancient Americans in the Field Museum, and I saw the biggest fountain in the world. Tomorrow night, we have another l-o-n-g bus ride to Toronto. Great, an even bigger city. I'd forgotten the delights of hearing sirens all day and night.

Whilst I think of it, here's a quirk of Canadians which I think is adorable: at traffic lights, Canadian pedestrians will ALWAYS wait for the green light before they cross. Even if they can see for miles each way (which you usually can over here, with the roads being so bloody straight) that there's no car coming, they'll patiently wait, like lemmings, rather than daring to cross. It makes sense. Safety first, right? It just surprises me. Americans are not the same. They'll run out in front of cars, buses, fire engines. I don't know why they even bother with the pretence of the traffic light system. Americans are such risk-takers. They all talk on their phones whilst driving! Actually, they all talk on their phones, period. Herds of people walk down the streets, skipping across the roads in front of oncoming traffic, with their phones glued to their ears. I do not have the necessary skills to walk and talk.

...ok, enough unnecessary stereotyping for today. Night xxx

Chicago.

Chicago is lovely, I like it much more than I thought I would. We've done all the touristy things; seen the Bean, gone to the free zoo, had ice-cream on the pier, drank cocktails at the top of the Hancock Tower ($13!). It looks beautiful from everywhere. We went to the Cheesecake Factory in the most bargainous meal of all time, and today I made my triumphant return to Panda Express. It's a little daunting being in a big city after seven months in Waterton/Jasper etc. I can't tell if it's the fact we're in a city, or that we're in the US, that feels so different. Probably a bit of both.

Welcome to the USA.

So, we're finally in Chicago after a terrible 26 hours journey...well, at least we saved $500...

We left Banff on Monday evening, and were overjoyed to find there was free wifi at Calgary Airport (at last, I have found something to like about that city!). Our flight to London was fine. We flew with Westjet, Canada's budget airline. Although, less cheap, and less awful. We even had televisions in the seats! Seamus watched Star Trek and I tried to sleep, but it wasn't proper sleep. Because of the time difference, we got to London at 6am, still feeling like it was the night before, and discovered our snacks had leaked over everything in our bag (seven-grain salad with a very sticky and toxic-coloured vinegarette...). Strike 1.

All we knew about London was that they have a really good public transport system, and it's true! So we took two buses to the Greyhound station for a couple of dollars, thanks to very nice and helpful bus drivers. We had a couple of hours before our bus to Detroit, so we put our stuff in lockers and went for a wander. We got breakfast, the only thing I liked on the menu was pancakes, but all those who've been to North America will know that pancakes over here are not the same. What I got was pretty much cakes in the shapes of pancakes. I hate food which is to be intended to be savoury being sweet, and I can't eat sweet food in the mornings anyway, so I sulked for a bit and then pushed my plate away. Strike two.

So, surprise surprise, London, Ontario has all the same street names as our London. Plus, a Covent Garden, a market a million times better than our one. It was indoors, but filled with gift stalls, cakes, organic produce....wow, I could have stayed forever. But by then, it was time to get our bus to Detroit, so our journey continued...

You will notice that a bus from London, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan crosses the Canada-US border. I had gone to great lengths to ensure we were ready for this border crossing, contacting our visa organisation, the embassy, Greyhound....and was told all we needed was a passport. Luckily, I am effecient, and also carried US money, our flights home from Canada, our train tickets out of the States, our visa info (all of which had a yellow residue from the aforementioned leak). As it turns out, prior to June 1st, it was really easy to cross the border via Greyhound (especially for British holidaymakers) but unfortunately, the regulations changed on June 1st, the day before we travelled.

Here follows ninety minutes of threatening questioning from the US Border Control, who have a big sign claiming they will treat everyone with equal respect and courtesy. Unless you're Seamus and me, apparently. I'm not sure if they were just exercising their power for kicks, or if it was our Canadian visas that confused them, but they were rude, intimidating and very stupid. We told them we were going to Chicago for seven days to visit family, that we have Canadian visas, that we will return to Canada next Wednesday, that we have over $12,000 to support ourselves (plus British accounts, containing more money, and credit cards). It seems they thought it was suspicious that two young people had so much money. Or that we are a couple (because we're from different countries). Or that we have family in Chicago. Or that we went to Russia once. Or that we have Canadian visas (they tried to tell me that we won't get back into Canada next week, because they don't understand our visas). At one point, they'd let Seamus through, but seemed to be backtracking on me. One guy on our bus, Pedro, was taken into a back room and never returned to the bus. I was worried the same thing was going to happen to me, as all around me, chirpy British tourists were let straight through for their week-long holidays in the States. But we weren't. Strike three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

FINALLY, they allowed us through (after demanding my money for a tourist visa...which I am happy to pay for, but would have appreciated a please or thank you somewhere in the transaction) and our bus took us to the Detroit bus station, by which point I was angry and tired. We had to take a train to Chicago, which involved a lot of walking in shady areas, and another bus. Thank goodness Amtrak was good to us. I watched movies on the train, and ate fudge. We got into Chicago ten minutes early, but had to wait an hour for the train to the area Seamus' family live. Strike eleven...I was so tired and cranky and Seamus called me a 'stinkyface'. Eventually, at 12.30am, Wednesday morning, having left our hostel in Banff at 8.30pm, Monday night, we got to bed in a comfy bed in Seamus' uncle's house. I hate travelling.

Bye Rockies.

It's a shame that the last place we're staying in western Canada is Banff since we don't like it very much (whilst we've LOVED everywhere else we've been). It's a weird town. Of course, the mountains are amazing, and it's pretty here, but really, it feels like Disneyworld or some Barbie town. It's just one big resort, aimed at tourists, and tourists with money at that. It's too big, and there's no animals for miles, and no community. It's so PERFECT looking, but not in a good way. Give me Jasper or Waterton anyday. We went to a few pubs last night with some other people, and they were rammed full of Australian/British 18-year-olds getting drunk, and trying to have sex with anything they could find. It was like Freshers' Week, but without the semi-aim of education. Everyone was drunk and rude and embarrassing, and beer cost $7.50 (nearly £4). I just have mixed feelings about it here, because it's beautiful, but just feels a bit unreal.

Another thing about Jasper and Banff is how full they are with RVs. I've never seen so many in my life! The streets are packed with elderly British tourists looking for the gondola and hot springs. There are more RVs than people, unlike Waterton, where there are more deer than people. I am so glad we didn't choose Banff to work in. I love Waterton's close-knit community, and wildlife everywhere, and everything's in walking distance, and there are....fewer tacky gift shops. And I truly think it's more beautiful. Look at that photo of me, at the top of Tunnel Mountain in Banff. It's the most popular hike in Banff, because it's short and easy, and has a good view, but it's nothing compared to the views from Bear's Hump in Waterton.

Anyway, we went for a good walk today, and had a final Rockies meal in an english pub (the chips were terrible). Seamus was overjoyed with the size of his steak and kidney pie though.

Tonight we're taking an epic journey from Banff to Chicago. We leave Banff at 7.30pm tonight (Monday), and are due to arrive in Chicago at 10.40pm Tuesday (although Seamus' uncle says the trains often run five hours late...). First we take a shuttle bus from Banff to Calgary Airport (yay, my least favourite Canadian place!), then fly to London, Ontario. After that, we get a bus from London to Detroit, then finally a train to Chicago. This is less than half of what it would've cost to fly directly from Calgary to Chicago, but it's not going to be much fun.

Camping at Saturday Night Lake.

1)Seamus setting off on the trail to Saturday Night Lake.
2)Our tent!
3)Our fire! We are amazing at making fire. We kept it burning all afternoon and evening. I feel like a proper Canadian now.
4)Along the hike.
5)Me at Saturday Night Lake at 7am.

On Friday, Seamus and I went hiking and camping backcountry in Jasper. We really wanted to do this in the Rockies while we were here, and this was our only chance because Waterton was so snowy. It was such a good (and scary) adventure! This is prime bear country, so I spent the whole time panicking that we were going to be eaten by bears, even though the statistics of getting hit by a falling tree are far greater. So, you'll see dear readers, that I am not complacent about bears per se, just not that excited when I see them now. I'm still really scared of them, and take good precautions to avoid being eaten. I spent our whole camping time terrified a bear would come to the campsite...but it didn't! Unless there were a whole gang of them partying outside our tent during the night.

Anyway, we hiked up the lake in the HOT sunshine, built a fire, cooked a meal, and relaxed (or, as much as I could relax, given my bear concerns). It stayed warm until we went to bed, around 10pm, but unfortunately, we had not anticipated how cold the ground would be (it makes sense given the six months of cold winter we get around here). So, the air temperature wasn't too low (it got to about zero) but the ground was FREEZING. We didn't sleep much, but at least it took away my bear worries. I think I was so cold I was hallucinating. At one point, I asked Seamus if we were dying. But WE DID NOT DIE. Neither bears nor hypothermia could find us. Ha!

Our campsite was semi-primitive, which means it had a drop toilet, fire pit and bear pole. There were no other campers there, so we were all alone. Being at one with nature, and all that. It was good, if a bit scary. Seamus is a good camping partner! He always came to the toilet with me (because being approached by a bear when you have no knickers on is always the worst). He carried all the equipment, sang songs with me all the time (you're meant to make noise so bears know you're there) and did all the manly things around the campsite. I am a good firewood collector though.

More about Jasper tomorrow. Off for breakfast now.

Driving the Icefields Parkway.

On Thursday, we left Banff for Jasper, the "other" national park in the Rockies. We took the trip with Moose Travel, a tour service for budget travellers. They're really good because 1)they're cheap and 2)they take you off the tourist route to see nicer, less crowded things. They were thirteen of us on the bus, and we spent the day driving down the Icefields Parkway, usually considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world. We made stops at some cool stuff on the way; lakes, waterfalls, glaciers. We went to the Columbian Icefield, which is overwhelming. They have these massive ice trucks that can actually drive onto the glacier. It's massive, the size of greater Vancouver.

In Jasper, we were staying the night in a wilderness cabin with the rest of the tour group. The manager, Sacha, was wonderful. There was no running water, and just basic lighting - no other electricity. The toilets were just drop toilets outdoors, and Sacha told us a really gross story about the "poo cones" that build up there in winter (from all the poo freezing into a tower). That's my kind of story. Anyway, we made a delicious dinner, then sat round the campfire playing games. It was such a great place to stay.

The next morning, we left our tour group and headed into Jasper town centre to embark on the next adventure....camping in the backcountry. By ourselves...in an area frequented by bears...