We made it back.
The last day was a bit of an anticlimax. There had been a thunderstorm during the night and it rained all day so we couldn't get out and do a tour of Han's and Kathleen's estate.
We got to the airport without too much difficulty thanks to the excellent instructions from Kathleen, Car drop off was very slick, all done using a wireless handhelp device that printed out the final bill there and then.
We walked into Calgary airport. According to the signs we could have either check-in with Canada Airlines or with a USA airline. We had to ask and then walk a long way to find the 'other' airlines desks tucked away.
We dropped off our bags and and went through security to discover the Duty-free shop was closed. We actually saw the plane we would be flying in arrive while we were in the departure lounge.
We had booked the back pair of seats again. In front of us were three young children, 10ish, 3ish and 18 monthish. The two youngest were crying and screaming. The mother, on her own, was trying her hardest to quieten them down. Luckily by the time we were in the air they were all settled down. Didn't manage to sleep but did watch "Be kind, rewind" which was very funny.
We landed a few minutes ahead of schedule. We were home by half past three.
Well the holiday was over.
But what a holiday. So many memories, so many experiences and so many photos - I have 8,234 of them to check through and discard or catalogue.
Our greatest luck was having a special friend like Kathleen who from the time we told her we were planning the trip has provided us with information, advice and piles of books and pamphlets. We would have missed out on a great deal without her help.
So the last entry of this blog is a special thank you to Kathleen and Hans for their help and making us so welcome in their beautiful home.
Saturday, 12 July 2008
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Last day
I had started to wonder if we would get to the last day. It seems so long ago we caught the taxi to Heathrow.
Today we again set out without Kathleen and drove round an area name Kananaskis Country which contains the Spray Lake and Peter Loughheed Provincial Parks. It is south of Banff and was forecast to have good weather.
Kathleen's still on dial-up which makes the connection very slow. When I was on dial-up most web sites were designed to be viewed on a slow connection. Kathleen has to contend with web sites designed for broadband. It also means that while on line telephone calls cannot be received. Unfortunately while checking my return flight details the guy who was to repair her fridge called and couldn't get through so he didn't come. I feel so guilty and annoyed. The good news is that Alberta has promised that everyone will have access to broadband by early next year.
When we got back from the trip Kathleen told us that the had been a moose and her young one outside the front of her house. The mother was there for the salt lick.
Tomorrow we are staying around the house and I hope to get some shots of the moose.
We fly out at 21:50 and are expecting to land on Friday at 13:15. If all goes well we should be home by 17:00.
Today we again set out without Kathleen and drove round an area name Kananaskis Country which contains the Spray Lake and Peter Loughheed Provincial Parks. It is south of Banff and was forecast to have good weather.
Kathleen's still on dial-up which makes the connection very slow. When I was on dial-up most web sites were designed to be viewed on a slow connection. Kathleen has to contend with web sites designed for broadband. It also means that while on line telephone calls cannot be received. Unfortunately while checking my return flight details the guy who was to repair her fridge called and couldn't get through so he didn't come. I feel so guilty and annoyed. The good news is that Alberta has promised that everyone will have access to broadband by early next year.
When we got back from the trip Kathleen told us that the had been a moose and her young one outside the front of her house. The mother was there for the salt lick.
Tomorrow we are staying around the house and I hope to get some shots of the moose.
We fly out at 21:50 and are expecting to land on Friday at 13:15. If all goes well we should be home by 17:00.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
A quick update
Kathleen has been wonderful today chauffeuring us around the Banff and Yoho National Parks.
We did a great deal of travelling, walking and climbing and it is too late to type it all up now.
More tomorrow...
We did a great deal of travelling, walking and climbing and it is too late to type it all up now.
More tomorrow...
Monday, 7 July 2008
and a few steps more
Today we were off with Kathleen to Drumheller which is to the east of where we are staying. This is the prairie country, a land of few bumps and long straight roads.
Our first stop was Horseshoe Canyon, Canada's answer to the Grand Canyon. It may be smaller but is just as dramatic. The land was originally the sea bed and over millions of years deposits of mud, animal bones and vegetation built up in layers. The sea bed was pushed up at the sand time as the Rocky Mountains and during the last ice age the canyon was formed. The sides of the canyon show the layers as differently coloured rocks and mud.
One of the layers, that formed from the vegetation, was coal and the region was heavily mined. One mine that still exists as a heritage site is the Star Mine. To get to the mine it is necessary to cross the Red Deer river which is wide and very muddy using the 117 metre suspension bridge.
Our third stop was the Hoodoos Recreation Area. Hoodoos are stumps of rock, looking a bit like mushrooms. They are formed when a cap of hard sandstone protects the softer underlying rock from eroding as rapidly as the surrounding rock. Unfortunately these beautiful edifices are being destroyed by thoughtless people climbing all over them.
Our final stop was the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology located just outside Drumheller. It is considered the finest dinosaur museum in the world. The museum is named after Joseph Burr Tyrrell who in 1884 discovers the first dinosaur remains near Drumheller. The find, a skull, was of an undiscovered dinosaur and was given the name Albertosaurus. Many of the exhibits are of fossils found in Alberta. In addition to the extinct exhibits on glass wall opens onto a workshop where you can see technicians working of cleaning and preserving recently received fossils.
We managed to get off on our way home before a major thunderstorm broke over the area.
Only two more full days here before we have to return home.
Our first stop was Horseshoe Canyon, Canada's answer to the Grand Canyon. It may be smaller but is just as dramatic. The land was originally the sea bed and over millions of years deposits of mud, animal bones and vegetation built up in layers. The sea bed was pushed up at the sand time as the Rocky Mountains and during the last ice age the canyon was formed. The sides of the canyon show the layers as differently coloured rocks and mud.
One of the layers, that formed from the vegetation, was coal and the region was heavily mined. One mine that still exists as a heritage site is the Star Mine. To get to the mine it is necessary to cross the Red Deer river which is wide and very muddy using the 117 metre suspension bridge.
Our third stop was the Hoodoos Recreation Area. Hoodoos are stumps of rock, looking a bit like mushrooms. They are formed when a cap of hard sandstone protects the softer underlying rock from eroding as rapidly as the surrounding rock. Unfortunately these beautiful edifices are being destroyed by thoughtless people climbing all over them.
Our final stop was the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology located just outside Drumheller. It is considered the finest dinosaur museum in the world. The museum is named after Joseph Burr Tyrrell who in 1884 discovers the first dinosaur remains near Drumheller. The find, a skull, was of an undiscovered dinosaur and was given the name Albertosaurus. Many of the exhibits are of fossils found in Alberta. In addition to the extinct exhibits on glass wall opens onto a workshop where you can see technicians working of cleaning and preserving recently received fossils.
We managed to get off on our way home before a major thunderstorm broke over the area.
Only two more full days here before we have to return home.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
A step into history
The weather was not looking good for photos at Moraine Lake so we decided to give Kathleen a day off from ferrying us around.
Instead we took a trip out to Heritage Park just south of Calgary. In the park are authentic and reproduction buildings dating from nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There were houses, shops, a hotel, a blacksmith, school and hospital to name but a few. All were from the Calgary area and each had a history.
It took us all day to get round the park and even then there were things we were not able to do, such as a ride on the steam train, or the horse drawn wagon or the paddle steamer.
Many of the exibits had guides dressed in period costume who were able to answer most questions about the building and the people who lived or worked in them.
The park closed at 5pm and we had eaten only an couple of hours earlier so we missed out eating in Calgary and drove back to Cochrane.
The sky was looking rather stormy as we approached Cochrane so we stopped off at a Boston Pizza and had a drink and read our book before having a meal. By the time we were finished it was raining and we had to dash for the car. It got rather heavy at one point but by the time we were about 3km from the house we were through the worst and the sun was causing the roads to steam.
We await tomorrows weather forecast to see what we will be doing.
Instead we took a trip out to Heritage Park just south of Calgary. In the park are authentic and reproduction buildings dating from nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There were houses, shops, a hotel, a blacksmith, school and hospital to name but a few. All were from the Calgary area and each had a history.
It took us all day to get round the park and even then there were things we were not able to do, such as a ride on the steam train, or the horse drawn wagon or the paddle steamer.
Many of the exibits had guides dressed in period costume who were able to answer most questions about the building and the people who lived or worked in them.
The park closed at 5pm and we had eaten only an couple of hours earlier so we missed out eating in Calgary and drove back to Cochrane.
The sky was looking rather stormy as we approached Cochrane so we stopped off at a Boston Pizza and had a drink and read our book before having a meal. By the time we were finished it was raining and we had to dash for the car. It got rather heavy at one point but by the time we were about 3km from the house we were through the worst and the sun was causing the roads to steam.
We await tomorrows weather forecast to see what we will be doing.
Saturday, 5 July 2008
Touring round Banff National Park
Was woken early as the weather looked good for trip to Moraine lake - apparently it is best in the morning in the sunshine.
On the journey we spotted a pelican, two cormorants and an osprey.
Just as we got to Banff Kathleen, our friend and guide, realised that the clouds were too thick in the direction of the lake so we took off towards the sunny area.
We did a lot of walking into various valleys and up pathways to view waterfalls. At one point we arrived at a car park where a sign showed us we were on the border between British Columbia and Alberta. So we had our picture taken sitting back to back with Rita in one state and me in the other. Well you have to don't you.
In Banff we went to see the Bow Falls. It was the deepest Kathleen had ever seen the river. Nearby is a golf course and as well as the usual hazards like bunkers and water features this course is known to have elks and bears. We were lucky to find to female elks wandering across the course.
We arrived back at the house a couple of woodpeckers were having a go at the side of the building. On was having a go at the window frame. All we could see was its head as it looked around into the room.
On the journey we spotted a pelican, two cormorants and an osprey.
Just as we got to Banff Kathleen, our friend and guide, realised that the clouds were too thick in the direction of the lake so we took off towards the sunny area.
We did a lot of walking into various valleys and up pathways to view waterfalls. At one point we arrived at a car park where a sign showed us we were on the border between British Columbia and Alberta. So we had our picture taken sitting back to back with Rita in one state and me in the other. Well you have to don't you.
In Banff we went to see the Bow Falls. It was the deepest Kathleen had ever seen the river. Nearby is a golf course and as well as the usual hazards like bunkers and water features this course is known to have elks and bears. We were lucky to find to female elks wandering across the course.
We arrived back at the house a couple of woodpeckers were having a go at the side of the building. On was having a go at the window frame. All we could see was its head as it looked around into the room.
Friday, 4 July 2008
The Stampede Parade
During last evening we had thunder and lightening nearby but the rain passed us by. The morning started overcast.
We were on our way to Calgary by 6:15. After breakfast in Calgary we found our seats, bleachers on 9th street. We were in row 4 so were quite high up and would be level with the heads of the horse riders. The parade started at 9am but it took some 20 minutes for the front of the parade to reach us.
I took a lot of pictures. I used up two 8GB SD cards (500 images per card) and started on a third. I had to change batteries halfway through.
I have never seen so many horses, or horse riders.
Luckily for those in the parade and those watching the weather was bright and overcast for most of the parade. I was told that last year people were fainting because of the heat. The sun only made an appearance in the last 20 minutes of the parade.
I now have a big task in sifting through all the images to find the best.
We were on our way to Calgary by 6:15. After breakfast in Calgary we found our seats, bleachers on 9th street. We were in row 4 so were quite high up and would be level with the heads of the horse riders. The parade started at 9am but it took some 20 minutes for the front of the parade to reach us.
I took a lot of pictures. I used up two 8GB SD cards (500 images per card) and started on a third. I had to change batteries halfway through.
I have never seen so many horses, or horse riders.
Luckily for those in the parade and those watching the weather was bright and overcast for most of the parade. I was told that last year people were fainting because of the heat. The sun only made an appearance in the last 20 minutes of the parade.
I now have a big task in sifting through all the images to find the best.
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