Blogs from Alberta, Canada, North America - page 2

After a lovely dinner, a good sleep and a delicious breakfast, we said cheerio and a massive thank you to Marg and Warren, loaded up Megan and headed south along the road the road back towards Calgary. There was a very faint smell of smoke, in the air, with a slight haze on the distant horizon. Along the road there are a few RV (caravan & camper van) ‘shops’ – one was called RV There Yet– very clever! As we reached the north of Calgary we turned right onto the Trans Canada highway, and soon had the view of the eastern Rockies visible in the distance, shadowy silhouettes behind the grey of the smoke. As we got nearer they mountains became clearer, their craggy peaks towering over the road, some with dots of snow still apparent. ... read more

About twenty minutes from Calgary, the Sheep River curls through the town of Okotoks. With the spring thaw-freeze cycle aggressively underway, we strapped on our icers, essential even on paved paths. Since the temperature was slightly below zero, the run-off melt was slippery from ice accumulated overnight. In the lowest areas, what might have been temporary ponds in the afternoon were veritable skating rinks in the morning. We strolled through the dappled sun of scattered aspens, poplars and evergreens, where snow still covered the undergrowth. A few birds looked at us, and a single Canada Goose stood proud in the centre of the ice-covered river. Several mallards swam in tight circles or snuggled on the stone edge of a tumbling creek, protected by tangled branches put there by human hand. Mounted to delight passers-by, a numbe ... read more

Calgary, Alberta, 3 juillet Après ces deux années où l'exploration était quelque peu limitée géographiquement, il est bon de parcourir à nouveau les vastes étendues du continent. Plus d'une décennie plus tard, je retrouve avec grand bonheur les paysages magnifiques de l'Ouest canadien. C'est par la route, en empruntant en partie le côté américain de la frontière, que nous gagnâmes la métropole albertaine, Calgary. Ces 4 500 kilomètres de route (en cinq petits jours, bonne moyenne!) nous menèrent d'abord aux sources du fleuve Saint-Laurent que sont les Grands Lacs, puis aux immenses plaines du Dakota du Nord et du Montana et finalement aux contreforts des Rocheuses. En chemin, nous fîmes halte au parc National Theodore Roosevelt, dans les "badlands" du Dakota du Nord. L'ancien président des États-Unis (1901-1909) y avait un ranch et y a développé ... read more

Emma and I head out for an early morning breakfast at one of her favourite coffee haunts. We finish eating and she tells me that I now need to clear all the plates from the table, deposit them on a trolley near the kitchen, and then leave the waitress a large tip. I’m just not getting this tipping thing. Does this mean that if we’d also cooked our meals and washed the dishes we would have had to have left an even larger tip? We collect Issy and head out for a stroll around Henderson Lake on the eastern side of Lethbridge. It's man made and massive, and was named after one of the town’s councillors and mayors from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The street along its north side looks like the local ... read more

First stop this morning is the Three Sisters Lookout overlooking Canmore and the surrounding Bow River valley. It sits below the trio of spectacular peaks of the same name which dominate the town’s skyline. Next stop is the Canmore Nordic Centre. This seems to be heavily populated with athletic looking fitness fanatics - hikers, mountain bikers, and Nordic skiers in training. I’m suddenly feeling more than a bit inadequate. Signs tell us that we need to get a Park Pass if we want to do any of the hikes beyond here, but when we try to buy one the lady behind the counter tells us that they’re free "at the moment". She then quickly adds that some of the hiking trails are closed; it seems that there are a few none too friendly grizzly bears on ... read more