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Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Hello from the Canadian Rockies: Our First
Excursion to Calgary, Banff and Lake Louise
My husband and I try to go skiing for a week at least once a year
and so far we've been to about 15 different ski resorts on the east
coast, anywhere from Ontario to Quebec, New Hampshire, Vermont and
Maine. But we had never been out west in the Rockies. Well, it was
time to change that.....
So we planned a trip to the Canadian Rockies, and for both of us
it was the first time for us to see this majestic mountain range.
Just after we landed on March 4, 2006 we started off with a
whirlwind four-hour tour of Calgary to get a sneak peak at Canada's
Heart of the New West. Our extremely knowledgeable tour guide took
us to the Calgary Tower, Fort Calgary and past the Stampede Grounds
and Calgary's Saddledome. Of course Canada
Olympic Park was one of the main attractions on this tour.
Olympic Cauldron at C.O.P.
The same evening we enjoyed a wonderful Italian feast at Il
Giardino on 4th Street and we had a chance to get to know one
of Calgary's most successful entrepreneurs. We enjoyed the wonderful
hospitality of Deirdre and Henry Brost at the historic
Twin Gables Bed & Breakfast and got a huge surprise at breakfast
when we realized we were enjoying our morning meal with two big
celebrities (you'll have to read the article to find out which famous
people shared the B&B with us....).
After breakfast we walked all the way from the Twin Gables to downtown
from where I took the C-Train to get to the Kensington
area, one of Calgary's main restaurant and shopping areas. I
had a brief lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant called Indochine Bistro
where I found out that the young owner had originally come to Canada
as a refugee from Vietnam. What an amazing success story: from Vietnamese
boat person to successful Calgary restauranteur....
Then it was time to head west on the Transcanada Highway to our
destination for the next week: Banff,
a picturesque town nestled inside the famous Banff National Park,
also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of course we went skiing and
we had a chance to check out 3 major ski resorts: perfectly groomed
Norquay, high altitude Sunshine
Village - located on the Continental Divide, and the unbelievably
huge and scenic ski area of Lake Louise.
Well, there is definitely something to be said for West Coast skiing.....
Two outstanding attractions are the historic Fairmont
Banff Springs Hotel and the Fairmont
Chateau Lake Louise and I had an opportunity to explore both
these magnificent structures in detail. Canada's history is inextricably
intertwined with the history of the railroads. The Canadian Pacific
Railroad played a key role in opening up the west and these castle-like
railway hotels figured prominently in Canada's development of the
West Coast.
Last Friday a wonderful adventure provided the highlight of my
trip: I went dogsledding with
Snowy Owl Adventures on a crisp crystal-blue winter day, high in
the mountains above the town of Canmore.
Our adventure was almost over, but I had one more chance for exploration:
on Saturday I took the gondola up to Sulphur
Mountain from where I got a perfect 360 degree panoramic view
of Banff and the surrounding mountain ranges. I checked out the
Cosmic Ray Station and after a brief forest hike past the Banff
Springs Hotel, I visited the Banff Park Museum, one of Canada's
oldest natural history museums.
Our Alberta explorations were rapidly coming to an end, and just
before we headed to the airport we went on one
final walk through Calgary and explored the famous +15 walkway
system that keeps Calgary visitors sheltered from the harsh winter
air. We also explored a beautiful tropical hideaway called Devonian
Gardens....
Along the way we got to explore some great skiing, magnificent
mountain scenery and historic buildings, the exuberance of a dog-sledding
team raring to go and the outstanding hospitality of the people
of Alberta. We'll be back.....
Related Articles:
An overview of our discovery of the
Canadian Rockies
Arrival in Calgary and our
whirlwind tour of the city
Discovering Canada Olympic Park,
one of Calgary's most visited attractions
Our fabulous dinner at Il Giardino's
and a connection with one of Calgary's most successful entrepreneurs
- an Italian-Canadian immigrant success story
Comfort, luxury and our celebrity
breakfast at the Historic Twin Gables B&B
Calgary's Kensington area and a
meeting with a local entrepeneur who went from Vietnamese boat person
to successful restauranteur
Arrival in Banff & exploring
a local landmark: the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Our first skiing experience: perfectly
groomed trails at Norquay
High altitude skiing on the
Continental Divide: Sunshine Village
Exploring Canadian history: the
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
Skiing in the largest ski resort in
the Canadian Rockies at Lake Louise
A real adventure: dogsledding in
the Canadian Rockies
A gondola trip to the top of
Sulphur Mountain and discoveries of Banff
Our final walk through downtown
Calgary - discoveries of downtown
An interview with Tourism Calgary:
what to see and do in Calgary
An interview with
Tourism Banff Lake Louise
Useful Websites:
Tourism
Calgary
Tourism
Banff Lake Louise
Canada
Olympic Park
Ski the Big 3:
Banff, Lake Louise and Sunshine
Banff
National Park of Canada
Useful books about Calgary and the Canadian Rockies:
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