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I was invited to participate on a travel agent Mountain Madness Fam with Anderson Vacations. The following is a review of the whirlwind tour we took to see and do as much as possible in 5 days. This trip would normally be conducted over 7 to 10 days, in order to fully appreciate each location.
I flew Northwest Airlines from JFK via Minneapolis into Calgary. The trip including layover was about 7 ½ hours. Calgary is a moderate size airport with good eating, shopping and free wi-fi. Immigration and customs were quick (less than 10 minutes), but I heard from other travelers that it can be a bear when several flights arrive at the same time.
While I was waiting for my group transfer, I made a quick visit to the Tim Horton’s for one of their cinnamon buns. However, I was disappointed that it didn’t taste as good as what I remembered from my past visits. I found out later, that Tim Horton’s had been bought out by the same conglomerate that owns Wendy’s restaurants and this caused the quality of the product to suffer in some locations.
I found some of the other members of my
15+
Calgarygroup and we ventured out to the pick-up post outside the terminal. Calgary Airport is organized with numbered exit doors and numbered pick-up slots making it easy to find your way around. There are also quite a few friendly volunteers wearing white cowboy hats, at the ready to assist with any information needed.
Our Anderson Vacations bus pulled up on time and we met our hosts Heather, Fern and Seth. We loaded up the luggage and set off for down town Calgary. Our destination was the International Suites Hotel. I checked in and went to my room on the 18th floor, which is the “women’s only” floor. My room mate, Yafa, was already there. I was impressed by the size of our room. It was a 2-bedroom suite with a kitchenette, large dining room table with six chairs and a living room with couch and two comfy chairs. One bedroom had a king size bed and large closet and the 2nd bedroom had two twin beds.
The room had complimentary wi-fi high speed internet access. After a quick check of my emails, Yafa and I took a walk around the hotel area. We walked outside past the Chinese
Cultural Center and over towards Eau Claire market. Town was pretty much deserted since it was after 4 P.M. on a Friday. Most of the market was shuttered up, so we headed up an escalator to the 15+ walkway that connects a number of the buildings downtown. We walked for a ways, but all the cafes and stores along the way, were already closed. We headed back to the hotel to get ready for our group dinner.
Some of the niceties included in the “women’s only” floor rooms, are a pair of panty hose, which came in handy for Yafa, designer bottled water, upgraded toiletries and a magnified lighted make up mirror. We gussied ourselves up and headed down to the hotel’s café restaurant. We met the rest of our group. There were 22 of us including 3 Californians, 1 Virginian, and me from New York. Everyone else was from Canada including Winnipeg, Ontario and Quebec.
We had a delicious dinner of Alberta beef with a nice house Cabernet. Heather and Seth went over our very busy itinerary for the next 6 days. We had nice conversation in getting to know each other and headed up to bed
Polynesian Room
Fantasyland Hotel - Edmonton Mall for a good night’s sleep. The beds were quite comfortable.
The coffee maker in the room was a welcome amenity as I put on a fresh pot of complimentary Starbuck’s coffee. The quick pick me up got me started.
Yafa and I headed down to breakfast to join the group where we were served an a la carte breakfast. There were plenty of choices. I chose an Italian herb and oven roast tomato omelet. It was filled with delicious pesto. It was accompanied by oven roasted potatoes and fresh fruit. It was yummy and provided great fuel for the day. Breakfast items on average cost $15.00 Canadian. It was great value for the amount of food.
The International Hotel did not provide us with bellman service, so we brought down our own luggage. We loaded up the bus and set our course due North to Edmonton.
Heather began the day with a song (literally). We met our drivers, Gary and Brian, who were very knowledgeable and provided us with many details about the area during our trip. We spent the first 90 minutes or so introducing ourselves and talking about our travel service specialties. It made
the time pass by quickly until we hit our first coffee break stop at Red Deer, also known as Gasoline Alley. This is the ½ way point between Calgary and Edmonton and it is filled with gas stations, cafes and truck stops on both sides of the highway. We stopped at the Donut Mill, an old-fashioned donut bakery and coffee shop. I couldn’t resist trying one of their interesting sounding donuts such as pina colada, maple cream, chocolate cream and my choice, chocolate banana cream pie. It was a chocolate covered donut, filled with banana flavored whipped cream. It was mmmm mmmm good !!
We were back on the bus after a 20 minute stop and continued North. Seth filled us in about all the services and tours offered by Anderson Vacations. They offer a large choice of escorted and FIT vacations throughout Canada, in the U.S. and the South Pacific.
We arrived in Edmonton and picked up our city guide, Marilyn and a representative from the Travel Alberta Tourist Board, Karen. They greeted us with a gourmet boxed lunch and handmade soaps, creams and lip balm. My toiletries were blackberry scented and smelled delicious. They came packaged
Goodies
Europa Cafe - Edmonton Mall in a Chinese take-out container, wrapped in ribbon. My lunch box contained a baguette filled with scrumptious chicken salad, a side Greek salad and a maple fudge dessert. A bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice accompanied the lunch.
We set off for a 2-hour tour around the city. We passed the large Edmonton University campus, the medical center, the city view from the river bank and made a photo stop at the Parliament House. Queen Elizabeth visited here last year and the building was spruced up with stain glass windows over the solid oak doors, to commemorate her visit.
We continued on past the glass pyramids of the Muttart Conservatory housing the different flora from different types of areas such as desert, plains, rain forest, etc. We also drove through the old town of Strathcona with its Farmer’s market and learned about the many different cultural festivals held in Edmonton throughout the year.
We pulled up in front of the West Edmonton Mall, the largest indoor mall and entertainment complex in North America. It is the sister to Mall of America in Minneapolis and is owned by the same family.
We started with a site inspection
Edmonton Skyline
View from roof top pool at Sutton Place Hotel of the Fantasyland Hotel with the General Manager. We toured some of the theme suites including the Roman Suite, the Polynesian Suite, the Cowboy Suite and the Imperial Suite. We also saw the regular Superior and King Executive Rooms. The suites all had double Jacuzzis and sitting areas, with beds inside a platform in conjunction with the theme. They were cute and quirky and fun to celebrate a special occasion. Most room rates include complimentary access to the indoor water park, located around the bend from the hotel.
At the conclusion of our hotel site inspection, we were met by the sales rep from the Edmonton Mall who gave us a guided tour of the property. The place is HUGE and contains over 800 stores, cafes and attractions. We started at the Water Cove that contains Seal Rock with trained seal shows twice daily, a replica of the Santa Maria, a rope bridge and bumper boats. There were also now defunct submarines that used to give tours around the lagoon.
We continued on to Bourbon Street and China Town where several restaurants and night clubs are located. There are miniature golf courses, one with glow in the dark
black lights called “Putt and Glow”. There is also a huge arcade and bowling alley. We continued on to view the indoor water park with water slides and wave pool and walked through Galaxyland, an indoor amusement park, jam packed with rides and people. The most interesting ride was a roller coaster with cars that swivel.
Our guide led us off to Café Europa for coffee and tea and bite size treats. We enjoyed ahi tuna bites, sushi rolls with caviar, curried chicken bites and several delicious sweet treats. Delectable chocolates and melt in your mouth meringues with chocolate mousse topped the “hit list”.
After being sufficiently fueled, we were let loose to explore the mall for 45 minutes. I made a bee line for the post office and purchased some stamps and a post card. I window shopped on the way back to our rendezvous point, and admired the live dancing mannequins in the window of Express clothing store that was drawing a crowd. Differentiation in a place with this many stores must play a big role in posting sales profits.
We re-boarded the bus for a quick ride to the Marriot River Cree Resort and
Casino. We were met in the lobby by Joseph, the Sales Manager, who toured us through the banquet room area and the double queen and king rooms. There were nice views in each room. One side has views of the downtown Edmonton Skyline and the other side has country views. The rooms were large and nicely decorated in tune with the earthly colors of the local Indian tribe. The beds were comfortable pillow top mattresses with high thread count linens and comforters.
We continued on to see the casino, which was designed with the Indian tribes local beliefs in mind, based on earth elements and the circle of life. The center of the casino was a large round bar elevated slightly from the gaming floor with lots of comfy leather seating and modernist bar stools. There was a high end restaurant separated from the casino floor by a water wall that muted the sounds of the casino floor from entering the restaurant. There was also a sports bar and a night club that features different cover bands each night. Tonight’s entertainers were billed as “Aeromyth” and I could see why, when I saw some band members walking around the
Float Trip
Me as river guide casino. The Steven Tyler look a like, was a pretty good imitation.
Joseph directed us to the Kitchen Buffet restaurant, where we helped ourselves to a nice assortment of salads, peel and eat shrimp, crab legs and cold oysters. There were also several hot selections including porcini mushroom ravioli, bass in coconut and lemon grass, spring rolls and peppercorn flank steak. The dessert table had fresh fruit, cakes and bread pudding. Dinner was accompanied by a nice glass of house merlot and finished off with bite size dessert selections presented by the chef.
After dinner, it was time to tempt Lady Luck and hit the casino with our $10.00 match play coupon. I placed my coupon and $10.00 on 19 to 36 on the roulette wheel and lost it in a second when 17 came up. A couple of gals won a few dollars, but most of us did our part to help the Indian community economy.
We boarded the bus one last time for the day and drove 30 minutes to down town Edmonton where we checked into the stately Sutton Place hotel. The rooms were quite large with two queen beds and a lounger. Free
Jasper River Brewing Company
Richard, Fern, Me, Yafa and Dragan in-room wi-fi came in handy to check e-mail and then I snuggled down in the very comfy bed with oversize pillows for a fabulous night’s sleep.
I woke well rested, put on a pot of in-room coffee and lingered in the massage pressure shower. I admired the view of the all glass downtown buildings surrounding us as I saw the sunshine begin to reflect off their windows.
We headed downstairs to the Café for a nice buffet breakfast filled with fresh fruits, cheeses and breads. There were also eggs benedict, pancakes, bacon, sausage, potatoes and fluffy scrambled eggs with chives. After fueling with more coffee, I shot up to the pool on the 26th floor. The pool is not accessible for anyone with walking difficulties. After exiting the elevator on 26, you must walk up two flights of stairs to gain pool access. The pool area was light and bright with a great lap pool and Jacuzzi, with floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the city skyline.
I trudged back downstairs and joined the rest of the group for our long trek to Jasper. We drove west and didn’t see much but flat plateaus and
Lakeview
Fairmont Jasper Lake Lodge trees, with an occasional oil well here and there. We also saw two deer about an hour into the trip.
The bus is equipped with a stereo and DVD player, so we watched a Jasper Tourism video and listened to some music. It was a 3-hour drive to Hinton, where we were hosted for a coffee break by Hinton Tourism at Tim Horton’s. I enjoyed a key lime donut and cup of coffee.
We continued on from Hinton and entered Jasper National Park a short while later. We began to see the snow topped foothills and glacial rivers. We drove through some nice scenery and stopped at the Jasper Tramway where we met Brian’s son, who works at the tram.
We boarded the tram for the 7 minute ascent to the top. There were several tram virgins in the bunch, so it took a bit of coaxing to get them to overcome their fears and come aboard. We disembarked the tram and took a walk around the boardwalk that offers various views of the valley. The cloud cover and snow started moving in, and we temporarily ended up in a white out. Luckily, the wind blew some
Gourmet Dinner
Sawridge Lodge of the cloud cover away giving us the chance to get some photos of downtown Jasper and some of the surrounding peaks. Unfortunately, Mt. Robson was obscured in cloud cover.
We were welcomed into the tram restaurant for a delicious lunch they hosted, including soup, sandwiches and dessert bar. There was also a nice little gift shop offering different kinds of Jasper souvenirs.
We rode the tram back down and drove across town towards the river. We pulled up alongside the Athabasca River, where we were greeted by Scott and Robert, our river guides from Jasper Rafting Tours. We were fitted with life jackets and loaded into one of two twenty passenger zodiac rafts. The never before raft people entered the boats gingerly, unsure of what to expect.
We shoved off from shore for a very short float trip, to get a feel for what the float trip is like. The water levels were too low because it hasn’t been warm enough to melt the mountain snows resulting in run-off. We took photo op turns at steering the raft and then headed back to the bus. Scott showed us a video of what the trip normally looks
like.
The bus took us to the center of downtown and set us free for 45 minutes. A number of us zeroed in on the local Jasper Brewing Company, for an ice-cold microbrew. I sampled the red ale, the stout and the black pilsner. All three were quite good.
We loaded back on the bus so we could finally arrive at our hotel, the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. This was the original hotel in Jasper National Park. We were met by the sales manager from Jasper Park Lodge and the sales manager for the Fairmont Alberta properties. We had a quick tour of two room types, the lake view suite and the Deluxe Room. This is a beautiful property spread out over several acres in cabin type accommodations. The lake view suites were two room suites that overlooked the lake, however, they lacked an outdoor porch to sit on and admire the view from. To sit outside, requires a short trek down to the lake to sit on one of several wooden decks with Adirondack chairs.
The Fairmont Rooms, which are the basic rooms with 2 double beds, all have a private porch with 2 Adirondack chairs.
Most rooms do not have views, but some in the 150 and 160 blocks, have partial lake views through the trees.
We headed back to the main lodge and enjoyed a lovely wine and cheese reception with indoor/outdoor seating sporting million dollar views of the lake.
Some of us hopped on a golf cart and headed over to the golf pro shop which was getting ready to open for the season. It was well stocked and we got to see a couple of holes with mountain and lake views.
We had a few minutes for a quick change before we were on the move again, back into Jasper Town Center for a site inspection and dinner at the Sawridge Hotel. We passed several mule deer and elk on our 5 minute trip.
The Sawridge Hotel from the outside, looks like a typical motor lodge hotel. Plain dark wood shingles and a cedar shake roof. But the atrium lobby really packs a surprise. It is filled with live trees and plants and brightly lit by a sky light. There is a cozy entryway and a nice pub style restaurant. Their fine dining restaurant, Walter’s, was situated in
the center of the atrium. The indoor pool is also located here.
We toured a deluxe and standard room. While the rooms were basic, they were modern and up to date with a choice of 2 double beds or 1 king. They have new bedding with comforters. The big difference is the deluxe has an open air balcony and the standard overlooks the atrium.
There is a sports bar in the basement, and it is dedicated to staff itineraries on Sunday nights. They televise all the major sporting events, wii games, billiards and darts.
After the hotel tour, we were escorted to the fine dining restaurant where a special 4-course dinner with wine pairings, was prepared for us by the chef. Dinner was fabulous and the service was superb.
We made a quick pit stop in town for beer, since the Jasper Lake Lodge bar and pool closes at 10:00 PM. We hoped to be able to enjoy the beer in the huge lodge lobby, but the dining room manager made us leave, since Canadian law prohibits open alcoholic beverage containers in public places that do not have a bar.
So, we walked past the
elk outside Fern’s room and headed off to our room for a couple of beers and conversation before turning in about 11:30 PM.
We had a very early start the next morning. We needed to load up the bus by 6:30 AM for a 6:45 AM departure. We were rewarded with spectacular views of the rising sun colors glistening off the tops of the snow covered peaks. There were also several elk out and about, oblivious to our presence.
Our first stop was breakfast at the Lobstick Lodge. They offered us a nice buffet breakfast in a bright, airy room. The rooms were basic doubles or king with interior access, but they offered clean comfortable rooms near the center of town for a moderate price.
We crossed the street to Chateau Jasper, which was a nicer property, offering deluxe rooms and 2-room suites. They had a lovely restaurant on-site called Silver Water, with a large buffet area, good wine selection and a fountain water wall.
Our last inspection was down the block at Best Western Jasper Inn and Suites. They offer standard rooms with 2 double beds and a nice assortment of 1 BR, loft and
Our Group
Athabasca Glacier studio suites sleeping up to 7 people. Most had kitchenettes and wood burning fireplaces. They had a nice pool area and newly remodeled restaurant.
It was time to say goodbye to Jasper as we made our way down the Icefields Parkway. Our first stop was Athabasca Falls, where we followed the footpath around to get some great photos of the recent ice melts beginning to show off the falls and their emerald green pools.
We continued on to Sunwatha Falls for a short walk and photo stop and headed to the icefield information center for our ice-explorer tour on the Athabasca glacier. We boarded the specially designed snow coaches with 5 foot high wheels to take us up the glacier. We were fortunate with blue skies, because in the 20 minutes we were there, the clouds began to roll in again.
We took lots of photos and tossed around a few snowballs, before heading back to the bus. We continued along the ice fields parkway, passing incredible views of glaciers and mountain peaks before arriving at Chateau Lake Louise about 4 PM.
As the bus pulled up, we were greeted by the sales team and Sonny,
the yellow Labrador Retriever. He is available to guests to sign out and take walks around the property. He has a special bed in the central lobby and loves attention from the hotel guests. He was trained to be a guide dog, but had a sudden career change. He is now an ambassador for the Canada Guide Dog Foundation.
We went to our rooms which were a bit of a disappointment since they were the basic twin Fairmont rooms. These are great value for people on a budget who want to experience the overall ambience of this beautiful hotel. We were all laughing since none of us could remember the last time we slept in a twin size bed.
I took a quick trip down to the indoor pool for a few laps and a soak in the Jacuzzi. The water temperature was perfect. The pool locker room area is small but well equipped with a shower, shampoo, conditioner, hair dryer and hair care products.
We rendezvoused in the lobby at 5:45 PM for a tour of the property. We visited the new conference center wing, strolled through the shopping area, past the Aveda Day Spa and
out to the lakeside with the spectacular views.
We visited several different room and suite types including the loft suite with the spiral staircase that leads up to the Master Bedroom. This is one of only 4 suites that have an outdoor balcony to sit on and admire the view. The deluxe rooms offer two doubles or 1 king bed. This is the lowest category room I would recommend at this property.
We also toured the Gold Level lounge offering private check-in and concierge service for guests in the upgraded level accommodations.
The general public areas of this hotel are what really make it special. The lounges and restaurants all have large windows to take in the lake and glacier views.
We were fortunate to be able to have dinner in the formal Fairmont Room that takes full advantage of the lake view. We were served a 4-course dinner with a choice of Alberta Beef Tenderloin, Chicken or Salmon for the main course. We finished with a delectable crème brulee.
A number of us retired to the Glacier Saloon on the main level of the hotel. We watched the big Calgary vs. Chicago hockey game,
and saw Calgary get their butts kicked and eliminated from the play offs. This did not make our bus driver Brian, very happy since he is a Calgary resident. We enjoyed a nice tap beer, compliments of Samantha from the sales department, and then headed up to bed for a good night’s sleep.
We woke up to a cloudy morning that obstructed the early morning sun light from illuminating the mountain tops. We loaded up the bus and headed off to the Lake Louise Inn for a site inspection and breakfast.
We had a lovely buffet breakfast including Belgian waffles and then set off to see the different rooms and suites the hotel offers. This is a nice moderate property, perfect for families, skiers and hikers. It also has a nice pub called the Explorer’s Lounge that offers local entertainment, karaoke and dancing most nights of the week. It is the main pub in town where most of the locals hang out.
We re-boarded the bus and continued down the highway to Banff. Unfortunately, the cloud cover obscured the beautiful views that this stretch of highway is known for.
Our first stop in Banff was the
Sulphur Mountain Gondola. The steady snow fall and cloud cover dampened the trip a bit since visibility was so limited. Each gondola holds 4 people and takes about 9 minutes to climb to the summit. Several people in our group needed hand holding since this was their first gondola experience. We were greeted by Brewster’s activity sales department who hosted us with juice, coffee and cookies in the overlook banquet room. We learned about Lake Minnewanka boat and fishing tours and talked about some of the mountain peaks normally visible from the observation deck.
The gondola/tramway virgins were now fearless, once they realized the experience was a piece of cake. We descended in the gondola and made the short walk up the road to the Rimrock Resort. This is a high end contemporary hotel, with beautiful views and art deco design. We had a tour of the rooms and suites with the sales department. The rooms were comfortably sized with either 2 queens or 1 king bed. The beds had comfortable pillow top mattresses, high thread count linens and duvets. We also toured the restaurants including the wine restaurant that has a $10,000.00 bottle of wine.
We continued
Lake Louise Inn
One Bedroom Suite on to Banff Springs Resort, aka the castle in the mountains. This is an old stately hotel that has been upgraded with several modern amenities over the last few years. The Grand Lobby, the Rundle Lounge, Stephen’s Medieval Hall and the Spanish Alhambra Lounge were some of the historic rooms we visited. We forged ahead to the Great Lounge, the Willow Stream Spa, and the main level shopping mall. We got to see the newly remodeled Fairmont Rooms and Deluxe Rooms, including the Gold Level Service Floor that is a hotel within a hotel. It has a private check-in area and a private lounge with a library, leather seating and a 24-hour honor bar. It also serves a continental breakfast in the morning and late afternoon appetizers. The remodeled Fairmont Rooms here are a big improvement over what they used to be. I would still stick with the deluxe rooms, for all but those on a strict budget.
After our site inspection, we were treated to a tea reception in the wine store. We had a choice of teas along with finger sandwiches, pastries and scones with jam and clotted cream. We also learned about the private chef’s table
dinners that can be served here in addition to cooking classes in its show kitchen.
We bid the staff from the Banff Springs Hotel a fond farewell and met Hugh from Banff Adventures Tour Company. We were originally scheduled to do an Amazing Race type hike, but due to the on going snow storm, the plans were replaced with a sightseeing drive around Banff. We stopped at the Cave and Basin where Banff National Park was founded. It used to be a hot springs attraction, until a tiny snail was discovered. It was cited as the only surviving species of its type, so bathing was banned and it became a protected site.
From here we drove up past Tunnel Rd. to see the HooDoos lime deposit formations in the shadow of Mt. Rundle. We were also able to distinguish the outline of the Banff Springs Hotel as the cloud cover began to lift.
We continued on to Lake Minnewanka and Cascade Mountain, but visibility was extremely limited. The snow started to fall a little heavier and we headed back into town so we could check into our hotel for the night, Caribou Lodge.
The Caribou Lodge
sits at the far edge of town, about a 15 minute walk from the Banff town center. The hotel also supplies free bus tickets that will get you downtown in 5 minutes or up to the hot springs in 10 minutes.
The hotel lobby was warm and inviting with a wood burning fireplace and lots of comfy chairs and couches in a light colored décor. We had a swift check-in and headed up to our newly remodeled room with two queen beds, a table with 2 chairs, dresser and flat screen TV. It was quite roomy and the beds were very comfortable.
I hooked into the free wi-fi and got caught up with my email. That left me just enough time to get to the hotel’s beautiful spa hot pool. I did a few short laps and headed back upstairs to shower and change for our evening activity.
Dragan and Jean-Pierre in our group ventured off to the hot springs and came back looking absolutely radiant!! They said it was like sitting in the fountain of youth.
We drove south about 20 minutes to Canmore to attend the O Canada Eh!! dinner show. We were greeted
by a lumberjack who instructed us that we needed to perfect our Eh!! response in echo to each time someone in the show uttered the word.
We dutifully filed off the bus and were escorted to rows of rectangular wooden tables. Our servers were also singers in the show, so our waitress gave us further instruction that we should cheer loudly every time she appeared on stage.
The overall entertainment was meant to be a spoof of Canadian culture and customs. It featured lots of songs written by Canadian composers, but recorded by Americans.
The kids in the show were quite talented with beautiful voices, but the material they had to work with was sorely lacking. This was one of those shows that really appeal to the
65+ senior set. While the show tried to be contemporary, I think they’d be better off leaning more towards vaudeville style with a lot more audience participation. They need to take a lesson from the Hoop De Doo Review in Disney.
The show did not allow for any conversation during the 2-hour dinner. Salad, bread, fried fish, roast beef and roast chicken were all served family style, followed by
a maple frosted marble cake. After all the gourmet food we had eaten over the last few days, this meal was a bit of a disappointment. It was decent, but average in quality.
The show finally ended and we headed back to the Caribou Lodge. A number of us rendezvoused in the attached Keg lounge and shared some pitchers of Rickard’s Red and White Ales. The staff surprised Yafa with a piece of cake to celebrate her birthday with a candle. We shared a lot of laughs together for our last night on the Fam trip.
I woke up after a great night’s sleep in the very comfy pillow top bed, with four fluffy pillows. We had time to brew a cup of tea and coffee and headed down to the lobby for our last group ride to Calgary.
We were able to glimpse the tops of the three sisters and Mount Rundle as the sun tried hard to break through the clouds. It was a pleasant ride down the Trans Canada Highway. We made a quick coffee stop at Tim Horton’s and I bumped into a couple of Fire-Medics from Canmore. Two nice guys that posed
Hoo Doos
Banff National Park for photos.
We grabbed a quick cup of coffee and loaded up the bus to continue on to Calgary. We enjoyed the views as the sun got brighter and the sky got bluer. We arrived at Calgary Olympic Park about an hour later.
The Director of Sales and his assistant greeted us and we headed off to the only indoor sled track training facility in North America. The most important thing in winning a sled race is perfecting the initial push off at the start line. This special building contained a frozen ice starting track for bob sled, luge and skeleton. Teams from all over the world come here to practice in the off-season. We had fun trying out the different sleds and posing for photos.
Our next destination was a drive up the hill to the 90 meter ski jump observation tower. The tower is no longer used for ski jump competition. They only use the 70 meter tower, so the 90 meter tower has been converted to banquet space at the top and the top of the ramp has been converted into a launch pad for a zip line that sails down the length of
Group Photo
Oh Canada, Eh !! the ski jump at speeds of up to 120 km. per hour. The views provided of the Calgary skyline and surrounding suburbs were impressive. There was also an exhibit dedicated to “Eddie the Eagle” from Great Britain who competed in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic games. Eddie became famous when he made his first actual ski jump at the 90 meter tower during the Olympics and became a media darling during those games.
We continued on towards downtown and stopped at the Calgary Stampede grounds. One of the largest rodeo festivals takes place here every year in early July and lasts for 10 days. We were escorted to the administration offices building and hosted for a pancake breakfast to give us a taste of the type of free breakfasts served all over town during the stampede at the Chuck wagon restaurants. We were shown a DVD of some of the events and then enjoyed blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage.
After breakfast, we had some fun. We began with a hat stomp contest. Myself, Adamo and Dragan were each given a white straw cowboy hat and had 30 seconds to destroy it as best we could and to
Indoor Bobsled Track
Calgary Olympic Center try and be original. Adamo won hands down, since he ripped the hat apart with his teeth and tore it into little shreds. I managed to crush mine flat and Dragan folded his up into a tiny square. I was actually able to reshape my hat and got to keep it as a souvenir. I was also presented with a little stuffed Calgary Stampede horse.
The next event was videos of the chuck wagon races where we were able to bet on our choice for winner and cheer them on to the finish line. The last surprise was a visit from an award winning cowboy who explained how the bucking bronco and bull riding contests are conducted and judged. The riders and horses are scored separately and added together. Horse and rider pairings are decided by luck of the draw. He also spoke about how genetics have contributed greatly to the sport in creating prize winning broncos and bulls. The cowboy then got Walter dressed up in his chaps outfit.
After an autograph signing and photo session, we headed off to the outside of the Saddle Dome, the rodeo stadium and the souvenir shop. The shop owner was
Me and the Cowboy
Calgary Stampede Grounds nice enough to offer us a 20% discount on our purchases.
When everyone completed their little shopping extravaganza, we set our sights on Heritage Park and the new Gasoline Alley Museum. We were met at the park by two costumed characters from the early 1900s who gave us a tour through the area. The new museum was really impressive and colorful with its selection of antique cars, glass (visible) gas pumps and old time advertisement tin and neon signs.
The museum hosted us for a quick snack of coffee and cake before we headed to our horse-drawn wagon ride. We boarded two different horse drawn wagons drawn by Clydesdale horses and ventured off for a tour around Heritage Park, an area filled with original antique buildings between 100 to 200 years old. In the summertime, costumed characters re-enact what life was like at the time. There is even a turn of the century amusement arcade.
After our tour was completed, we headed back to downtown Calgary for our last official site inspection at the Calgary Tower. We sped up the elevator to the top and suffered weak knee syndrome as we stood on the glass floor and
looked down on the city straight below us and enjoyed the 360 degree views from the floor to ceiling windowed observation deck. We could see all the way to Regina, several hundred miles away, thanks to the clear, sunny blue skies.
We descended down to the ground floor for a quick visit to the gift shop. We loaded up the bus one last time for our trip to the Sandman Airport Hotel. I bid a fond farewell to my traveling companions who were continuing on to the airport for their flights and got checked in.
The Sandman Airport Hotel is a nice contemporary hotel with a Moxie’s Grill Restaurant and Bar attached, in addition to a nice indoor pool and Jacuzzi tub and fitness room. The lobby is inviting with nice seating areas and flat screen TVs. There was also a small business center.
I got checked in to my room and enjoyed the complimentary wi-fi that allowed me to get caught up with some business and emails. The room had a comfortable work station with a large desk and comfortable leather chair.
I met Paul and Rich for dinner at Moxie’s Grill; a very contemporary
Heritage Village
Wagon Ride - Calgary restaurant with a mid-priced menu that featured AAA Alberta steaks and wild Alaskan salmon. I enjoyed a frozen bellini special and a main course of Maple glazed salmon with wild rice and cherry tomatoes sautéed with kalamata olives. A delicious glass of Malbec wine accompanied my meal.
I appreciated that they offered a dessert menu with “taste sized” items available. I had the rich chocolate mousse which was a perfect 5 bite size. The entire dinner including drinks and tip was just under $40.00 Canadian.
We all retired to our rooms about 10 P.M. I enjoyed having a quiet evening alone, to watch some TV and curl up in the very comfy bed. I had a great night’s sleep and enjoyed not having to wake up to an alarm clock.
I started my day with a fresh pot of coffee that was brewed complimentary in my room. I hit the pool and Jacuzzi and enjoyed floating around in water with the perfect temperature. A quick shower put me in the mood for breakfast. I ventured back to Moxie’s and enjoyed their signature French toast with a delicious warm syrup, fresh strawberries, and crown royal topping. It was
Calgary Tower View
Check out the glass floor at my feet served with a huge cup of perfectly brewed latte. The bill with tip came to just under $18.00 Canadian.
I met up with Renie and Sue as we boarded the $3.00 shuttle to the airport. Check-in at Northwest was a breeze, but had a surprise when I turned the corner and saw that we would be clearing U.S. Customs in Calgary. I was glad I arrived at the airport early since this process took over 30 minutes.
There are limited food and shopping services inside the secured U.S. Border Customs area. I met up with Paul and Rich who were dropped off after their Anderson Vacations meeting. We shared a quick beverage together and then it was off to the gates for our flights.
All in all, this was a fabulous site inspection trip that allowed us to see and experience a lot of different things in a short period of time. Heather was a great coordinator, who really kept the group on their toes and on-schedule in order to see everything we were supposed to. This review should only be seen as an overview to some highlights the Canadian Rockies has to offer. There are several
Sea Cove Area
Edmonton Mall variations allowing a few days in each location to fully enjoy each area. Please call Toni Tours www.tonitours.net for information on designing a custom tour for yourself or a group.
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