Banff and Calgary -July 2017

BANFF  AND  CALGARY - July 2017

Radium Hot Springs entrance to Kootenay National Park

On Monday we said goodbye to Windermere to drive 100Km through the stunning Rockies from Radium Hot Springs in the Kootenay National Park to Castle Mountain in the Banff National Park.  We were amused to see some big horn sheep grazing on the side of the road as we started. It was an overcast and cooler day so good for travelling. Had been quite a hot 35C in Windermere the day before.  The entrance to the highway at Radium Hot Springs was through an impressive gorge which had been blasted through the rock. You can get an idea of the height of it in adjacent photo, where it dwarfs one of the big semi-trailer trucks There were many stunning views of jagged snow covered mountain peaks, clear streams and tree covered slopes. As we drove across the Rockies we could see all the dead trees on each side of the road in one area which had been gutted by a forest fire several years ago. 

Tree lined hills on highway

Castle Mountain

The recent fires in British Columbia have been a major concern. With over 200 fires at one stage and 14,000 people evacuated from their homes, the province has been in a State of Emergency since 5 July and it has just been extended for the third time to 1 Sept. Very difficult for the fire crews to deal with in hot conditions with winds fanning them. The smoke from a big fire near Princeton (which we had driven through) had closed the highway and was drifting over to Calgary, in Alberta, when we were there. We were very fortunate that our travels and stays in BC preceded all this drama, and we were fully able to appreciate the beauty of this very scenic province.

Craggy Rockies

Banff Springs Hotel

Hotel with mountains behind it

Reg and Sherry

Pat and Paul

Mountain from which stone hewn for hotel building

At Castle Rock we headed south on Hwy 1, the main Trans-Canada Highway to Banff, which is a truly awesome mountain village. It is within the Banff National Park, with the skyline dominated by the peaks of Mt Rundle and Mt Cascade. At 1400 metres above sea level skiing is popular in winter and hiking, camping, and playing golf of an adjacent golf course  in summer. Nearby attractions are hot mineral springs in a cave which has an outdoor mineral pool, and the Bow Falls which is a major waterfall a short distance from the hotel. 

Banff Hotel lobby

Banff Springs Hotel has to be seen to be believed. In the late 1800s William Van Horne, General Manager

of the Canadian Pacific Railway, saw the tourism potential of the Canadian West. To enhance traffic on the railway Van Horne envisaged a series of lavish resort hotels along the railway line through the Rocky and Selkirk Mountains. The first wooden hotel at Banff was completed in 1888, but unfortunately burnt to the ground in a fire in 1926. It was rebuilt larger using rock from an adjacent mountain, and now boasts an astonishing 764 guest rooms and suites. We walked through the impressive foyers, dining area, and historical photo display. All very interesting. 

View of lobby from stairs

Sweeping staircase

Sherry and Paul viewing historic photos

Dining area

View of valley, river & Rockies from hotel deck

View from deck

Facade Banff Hotel

Sherry got Paul to pose beside this bear as she
                                                                                said it would probably be the only one he saw                          in Canada!

Paul admiring bear sculpture

Bow River, Banff

Three Sisters at Canmore

Downtown Banff

Three Sisters at Canmore

From there we stopped for lunch at Tim Hortons in Canmore, from where we had a great view of the Three Sisters, a trio of peaks in the Rockies. They soar 2, 936metres above sea level and are named Faith, Hope and Charity (or Big Sister, Middle Sister and Little Sister). Very impressive.

We arrived in Calgary late afternoon that day. 

 There was a big thunderstorm there on Monday evening which flooded the Stampede Grounds and necessitated the cancellation of the evening's events. Still light rain on Tuesday morning, but cleared by early afternoon, which worked well for us as we were to attend the rodeo events from 1pm on. We went early and viewed the displays, all the side shows, and the astonishing array of food on offer. Reg wryly commented that if it could be put on a stick, someone would be frying it! We did try corn dogs, similar to our hot dogs, but with a thicker, lighter coating. We liked them. We even saw a booth selling Deep Fried Coffee. Go figure that! We couldn’t.

 

Canada Day colours on Stampede stilt walkers

Parks ranger presenting turtle to entranced kids    

One man band!

Stunning horse sculptures

Clydesdales

Display of skilful horsemanship (by women)

100 musicians of Calgary Stampede Band

Sherry's great action photos show the drama

When our friends suggested that we time our Canadian trip to coincide with a visit to the Calgary Stampede, we had some reservations as rodeo events we had attended in the past were country ones in Central Otago, where the horses delighted in bucking off the farm workers trying to stay on top!

However, the rodeo events at the Calgary Stampede were very well organised, and the cowboys very experienced and tenacious. The riders climbed on to the back of the horses in pens, gave a nod when they were ready to go, and the horse or bull exploded out on to the arena, bucking and twisting in its attempt to dislodge the rider. The cowboys could hold on with only one hand and needed to stay on for a minimum of eight seconds. 

Doesn’t sound very long, but those horses and bulls bucked and turned many times and most times these experienced cowboys managed to last the distance before a horn sounded and outriders helped the cowboy to dismount. Scoring was out of 100 – 50 for the cowboy and 50 for the horse or bull. The highest score we saw was 90.5. Sometimes the outriders needed to lasso a horse or bull to lead it in to the holding pen. Sherry got some amazing action photos which you can see here.

Women competed in barrel races – like a slalom, and rode their horses very well. 

Cowgirl barrel racing

 

                 

3 generations of First Nation family

At the end some of the First Nation men competed in a                                                                                                   very fast bareback relay race. 

                         Bareback riding relay

Intense focus

On the Tuesday Reg and Sherry picked us up to visit the Heritage Park Historical Village which is a historical park, on 127 acres of parkland on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, along the city's southwestern edge.

"Main Street"

Heritage house

Wonderful displays in shops

Clydesdales taking people for ride around park

 This was an interesting place with beautifully manicured grounds and period attractions. It is a well planned village with friendly knowledgeable staff. All activities were included in a reasonable entrance price.  We  learnt all about steam trains and that included having a ride on one, farm animals where you can watch the pigs wallow in mud, old style houses where they actually bake goodies, sell sweets, books, soaps etc, There is also an amusement fair with a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and more. Horses pull a cart with its passengers around the park. We had a trip on the paddle boat which took us for a sail around the reservoir - absolutely glorious on a hot day to get a lovely cool breeze, with good views of the city.

About to go for lake tour on paddle boat

View of Calgary skyline

Sherry and Reg enjoying cruise

Gasoline Alley Museum is steeped in automotive tradition and nostalgia, this venue transporting us back to a revolutionary era in western Canada’s history. We were captivated by the stunning vintage vehicles, antique gas pumps and colourful automotive memorabilia. . You can see some in the photos. The truck below is still working removing the rubbish barrels from around the park.

 

Big moose

Elk sculpture

                                                                   

Before we went back to our hotel Reg and Sherry took us on a detour out of town to view one of the strangest geological formations on earth – the Okotoks Glacial Erratic. Erratic refers to material moved by geologic forces. Big Rock is a 16,500-tonne boulder that lies on the otherwise flat, relatively featureless, surface of the Canadian Prairies in Alberta. It was transported there on top of a glacier from 400Km away at Jasper during the Ice Age 12,000 years ago. It is huge and of a very unusual composition. Fascinating to see. Three of the other most interesting geological formations on earth are the Moeraki Boulders, Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, and the Twelve Apostles off the coast of Victoria.

Okotoks Glacial Erratic

On Thursday we went back to the Calgary Stampede, this time to watch the chuck wagon races, stage show and fireworks in the evening. Sherry had chosen our seats when bookings first opened last year, so we were in a great spot in the middle of the grandstand only a few rows up, so prime viewing vantage point.

We spent that afternoon there also, to take in some other shows. The Western Art is defined as art that is visually identifiable depicting themes of western prairie/ mountain culture, lifestyle, heritage, and characters, The art is diverse in medium and subject including, but not limited to the following: ranching, landscapes, rodeo, agriculture, First Nations, florals, portraits, architecture and wildlife. Some stunning paintings and sculptures.

Heritage wagon

Horse paintings

Someone we had spoken to had suggested that an Adrenaline Rush motorcross show was well worth seeing. We wondered about the wisdom of this when we were offered ear plugs as we went in!! Loud music, amazing lighting displays, and the feats performed on motorbikes were mind blowing. They roared up one ramp, sailed across a 23 metre gap, and landed on another ramp, while doing back flips and other gravity defying feats. The blurs you can see in these photos are the riders sailing across the gap on their bikes!

Assorted dogs and handlers at Dog Show

The Dog Show which we went to after that was positively tame, thank goodness! About eight dogs with their handlers obeyed commands to walk on their back legs, catch Frisbees in mid-air, dive across a pool, and skip! All of the dogs had come from shelters or SPCA places, and looked devoted to their handlers.

Dog balancing on handler's feet!

So on to the evening show. Chuckwagon racing is a team event, led by a driver who commands a team of four horses pulling the chuckwagon, and is supported by two outriders, each racing individual thoroughbred horses that follow the chuckwagon. 

The Chuck Wagons first do a circuit of barrels in the arena, and then belt around the track, the first one completing the circuit in 1min.10 seconds. Thrilling stuff. There were several heats.

Clydesdales doing circuit of arena

A stage was then pulled on to the arena and set up for an amazing show of dancing, singing, a trapeze artist, girls balancing on bikes, and the 100 member Stampede Band. It was hosted by popular singer and recording artist Jann Arden.  A truly spectacular show, followed by an awesome fireworks display. An incredible audio and visual treat. Certainly something very special to watch.

Setting up stage for evening show

Lighting effects with band performing

Trapeze artist above flames on bike

A delicate balancing act

                                       Spectacular fireworks

The whole cast on stage for finale

Spectacular aerial display

Enjoyed meeting Sue & Bill at Okotoks

On our last morning in Calgary we met up with a lovely couple, Sue and Bill, from Florida.
Karen had been speaking with them about their forthcoming trip to NZ in February, which Latitude South was arranging. Sue mentioned that in the meantime, they were planning a trip to Canada. Karen said that was a coincidence - so were her parents! This is a very small world, as we were going to be in the same area in July, so we arranged to meet, and had a lovely time together. We look forward to seeing them here in Nelson in February