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It really is still the "wild west".
Posing on a stack of hay, my youngest grand son. Undoubtedly one of the finest cities anywhere in the world to live, Calgary is a multi-dimensional, multi-cultural, modern metropolis with very deep roots in the early homesteading of the west. Calgary is the heart of the corporate oil and gas industry and one of the most important financial centres in the country. It's economy is diversified and dynamic, attracting immigrants from elsewhere in Canada and around the world as it seeks to satisfy the growing demand for a wide range of skilled labour.
Lying in southern Alberta about an hour east of the magnificent and mostly snow capped Rocky Mountains, it presents a panorama of orghanized urban sprawl as you observe its length and breath from the air during daylight hours. At night, that same impression is transformed into a spectacle of twinkling lights causing me to recall that first evening my family and I landed here as new immigrants when I commented that , "It looks like a sea of diamonds!"
Almost 4,000 feet above sea level, Calgary's prairie weather can sometimes "turn on a dime". I have experiened snow at some time or another, every month of the year. It can get both very cold and extremely
Where is her Western garb?
Jeanette and I with one daughter-in-law, getting ready to line up for our first Stampede breakfast for 2013. hot. The most common question i get from friends who have never visited is about the weather and their usual remark centers on its unjustified reputation of brutal winters. In reality, we have the most wonderful winters here and while I concede that the temperature sometimes plunges to bone chilling lows for a few days, in winter we are usually blessed with clear blue skies and bright sunshine and unseasonally warm Chinook winds from the west, even as the landscape is covered with sparkling white powder. Unlike the coastal areas and lake districts of our country, our winter is very dry.
Living in this wonderful city is an outdoor enthusiast's dream. Some of the best powder snow lies a comfortable drive away offering some of the best skiing in the world. In the summer, the city is adorned with festivals depicting the varied mosiac of its culture both recent and traditional. White water rafting, canoeing, kayaking, horseback riding, ballooning, gliding, cycling, hiking, fishing and other healthy activity is abundant.
When I first came to live here many years ago, there were only two Indian and one Vietnamese restaurant to vie with the mostly traditional western cuisine. Today, the
Flapjack production line
This breakfast was put on by one of the City's well known investment houses. All free to the public. Here employees prepare the food. city is replete with countless outstanding restaurants to meet every need, from the sophisticated to the laid back, as the new cultures from the entire world make their presence felt. Nevertheless, the frequent aroma of barbecued AAA Alberta beef sweeping the city's residential communities validates the claim of having the world's best beef on our doorstep. Smelling that inviting aroma lets you know that you are in the heart of west. As one drives out of the city in any direction, the herds of black and red Angus cattle litter the prairie landscape as do the rolling fields of canola, wheat and hay, often stretching as far as the eye can see.
The major festival for which visitors come from all parts, now over 100 years old, is the world famous Stampede, usually held annually in early July. The Stampede grounds are located near downtown. In addition to the Grand Stand show, there is rodeo and the famous chuck wagon races. Big name entertainters descend on the city at this time of year.
In this blog I provide a personal insight and "taste" of what our city is like at Stampede time, as I enjoy the ambience of Ready to serve
Breakfast usually comprises some combination of pancakes, sausages, ham, bacon and hash browns. this unique aspect of life here in our great city with some members of my family, I focus on the unique outdoor breakfasts that litter the city. Put on by communities, corporations, churches and others, these flapjack or pancake events are without cost to the public. I remember a nephew of mine visiting from England once remarking, "You mean this is free? There is nothing free in England!"
So, enjoy a taste of Calgary and do come and visit us sometime. Yahoo!
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UDEL
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MOUTH WATERING FOR LONGING
Rog, you can charm the hide off a buffalo without him knowing it. You paint a wonderful way of life.....see ya sometime buddy, my mouth is watering....ciao....U