Cowboy Country, Canadian Style

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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. So new, in fact, that only one logo was painted on its white surface. Great! I wonder how long the company will put up with that.

Here the air is less humid than in Eastern Canada. But it still rains/snows a lot, especially in June apparently. So we were delighted to get two days of clear blue skies while in the neighbourhood, though the wind was a bit cool. (This year they've had eight months of winter, and, one day, achieved the distinction of being the coldest place on Earth according to one local who, nevertheless, much prefers Calgary to south-east England where she lived for the previous 50+ years!)

Calgary, named after a beach near Oban, incidentally, is currently preparing for the annual Stampede, which brings the rodeo to town. Before the arrival of the white man, the nomadic tribes in the 'hood used to organise a real stampede. They herded the local bison together, then stampeded them over a local cliff selected for its ideal height - just high enough to kill the bison without shattering their bones. Still, it was the white man who hunted the bison to near extinction, not the indigenous tribes!

We visited Fort Calgary where I was privileged to wear an original Mounties uniform. Maybe I was chosen for my ancestral connections as it was definitely Scotsmen who put Calgary on the map. Alas, I only got to wear the red coat and an early-issue pillbox hat, not the broad-brimmed famous hat as you will see. And no breeches or boots! Yes, the 3 chosen ones did look like a comedy act!

The Mounties were very popular in the 19th century. They rid Calgary of wild-west corruption and even sheltered Sitting Bull for a while. In fact, the nomadic tribes were relieved when they encountered the red coats, instead of the blue coats of the US Cavalry further south. I gather the RCMP is not so popular now, with at least one officer being accused of irresponsible behaviour at the moment.

Our hotel had a large central covered concourse (like our hotel in Oslo), with a swimming pool at one end, and dire warnings for any drunken guest who fancied diving into the pool from their balcony. The breakfast was brilliant, with lots of fresh fruit, beautifully served, and plenty of cereals on offer. (A great improvement on Wendy's Chinese breakfast cafe in Toronto, which, though inexpensive, offered a quick fuel injection loaded with cholesterol-enhancing goodies in epic proportions.)

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