Viewed from 35,000 feet, the prairies didn't look very impressive in early June - lots of flat green patches, interspersed with black patches (which were either lakes or reflections of puffy clouds or a mixture of both). Calgary airport, though, was very cheerful. Clean and modern, with the most attractive baggage carousel area I've ever seen. The central hub of each carousel was adorned with sculptings of Indians in headdress, cowboys with cattle, big buffalo (sorry bison) and settlers in covered wagons, thus setting the tone for the fastest growing city in North America. In Calgary, Shiela, our chief guide and mentor, introduced us to Les (pronounced Less) our coach driver for the rest of the holiday. He brought a shiny new bus to the party, newly minted and retrieved from Florida just 4 days previously.
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