Calgary, Alberta

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We arrived in Calgary, AB on Wednesday the 18th.  Our intention was to spend a week here.  Now it appears that we have to stay even if we wanted to leave early.  A weather front has moved into the area bringing much needed rain to Alberta.  This should help with the forest fires of Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta.  The real danger, however, that is keeping us here, is the snow falling at higher elevations.  Banff, Jasper and Grand Cache are getting snow and several inches are expected this weekend.  These are the exact towns we need to travel through.

 



















We explored downtown Calgary today.  Learned much about this town's creation when we visited Fort Calgary Museum.  It all began in 1875 with the establishment of Fort Calgary post by the North West Royal Mounted Police (NWRMP) on the banks of the Bow and Elbow Rivers.  The RCMP was needed to control the whisky trade between fur trappers and Indian tribes.
 





















The city skyline and its many modern, high story buildings was unexpected.  Driving downtown today reminded this author of the same look and feel of the New York City streets.



The weekend was a washout.  We went to the CrossIron Mills Mall about 20 minute ride north of the city on Saturday.  This was a huge mall and packed with the multi-cultural population of the city.  After walking the entire mall and dodging shoppers, we went to the movies to see Captain America.  A great entertaining movie.  Afterwards, we had dinner at the food court where we found the food to be as diverse as the population of Calgary.

Snow flakes from our window

An interesting observation:  Calgary appears to be the RVing capital of the world.  Since this was a long holiday weekend,in Canada, it seems that everyone here owns a Travel Trailer, 5th Wheel or rented Class Cs.  The news reported having reserved over 6,000 spots in their provincial parks.  All this with the forecasted bad weather.  Way to go Calgarians!!!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, we hope to continue heading northwest to Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper.  Stay tuned for more to come...

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 24, 2016 at 7:58 AM

    I am so happy that you could continue your trip without waiting on us to catch up. Bobbi goes to her checkup on the 31st. I thought Wendy looked great in the red coat, "Ready for Duty, Sir".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RobertMay 26, 2016 at 2:33 PM

      We talk about you guys all the time. Wish you could have joined us in this adventure of a lifetime.

      Delete
  2. Patrick PecotMay 24, 2016 at 12:35 PM

    I didn't see Robert's picture in the RCMP coat.....

    Just curious though, did you guys not want to go to see the Calgary Tower (space needle look -alike)?

    ReplyDelete

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