Vacation Postcard #12

Totem at Duncan BC

"Indian Art broadened my seeing, loosened the formal tightness I had learned in England's schools. Its bigness and stark reality baffled my white man's understanding...I had been schooled to see outsides only, not struggle to pierce."  Emily Carr, GROWING PAINS

Vacation Postcard #11

Harbour Seal, Victoria BC

I can think of 100 reasons why I would like to live in Victoria or somewhere on Vancouver Island...

Vacation Postcard #10

Our lodgings on this trip have been comfortable but unremarkable. Yesterday we pulled into 3 Valley Gap Chateau just outside of Revelstoke BC for the night and wished we could have stayed in this scenic spot for a week. The gardens were beautiful and the mountains rose above us on all sides. On a seemingly vertical rise of rock behind the hotel, we spotted a black bear. In the morning there was a female and two cubs in the same spot.

Vacation Postcard #9

We visited Lake Louise AB this morning under heavy, grey skies. The mountains were beautiful and the masses of Icelandic Poppies blooming around the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel caught my attention. I have never seen poppies in so many colours.

Lake Louise AB

Vacation Postcard #8

View from the top of Sulpher Mountain near Banff, Alberta

We finally reached to Canadian Rockies and spent the day around Banff, Alberta. I have never seen these mountains except from an airplane. We took the gondola to the top of Sulpher Mountain. The grey skies finally opened and sunlight illuminated the snow-covered peaks. It is very cold here and I would have welcomed a winter coat. Some people arrived in shorts and t-shirts. My husband walked all the way to the peak of Sulpher Mountain but I turned back after going 3/4 of the way because of the cold wind and freezing drizzle.

The walk to the peak of Sulpher Mountain

Vacation Postcard #7

We are at the Calgary Stampede all day today and I will not be on the internet this evening. We stayed in Medicine Hat, Alberta on Wednesday night and the entire front lawn was taken up by a colony of  "gophers". Gopher is a general term used for a number of burrowing rodents and I do not know what exact species this is. The hotel receptionist told us they were not prairie dogs. They were amusing to watch but I am sure no one would want 100 or so living in their yard.

Vacation Postcard #6

The Calgary Tower

We had dinner tonight in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Calgary Tower. The weather is sunny and warm and the view was beautiful. As we ate we watched the crowds gather to watch William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, leave the nearby Hyatt Hotel and travel the short distance to the BMO Centre near the grounds of the Calgary Stampede. We will spend the day tomorrow at the stampede. And here is a little bonus...

Top left: Yours truly with DH            Top right: BMO Centre, the Royal entourage and welcoming bands
Bottom left: Calgary Saddledome    Bottom right: Glass floor of the Calgary Tower

Vacation Postcard #5

A visit to CFB Moose Jaw - Maryse Carmichael second from the left

It is getting harder to pick one highlight each day for my postcard feature. We saw so many interesting things today and I will write more later. My husband received money for a trip from his workplace as a bonus for 20 years of service.We wanted to go to Western Canada and considered driving ourselves, but the distances are great and it would be very tiring to do the trip in 2 weeks. So we signed up for a bus tour with Great Canadian, a company based in our own city and hoped we would like it. So far we have been very pleased with the tour guide, driver and our accomodations. Today, we had a surprise luncheon at the 15 Wing Moose Jaw, also known as CFB Moose Jaw. One member of the forces sat at each table and discussed their job, answering our questions as we ate our meal. We had the privilege of meeting Maryse Carmichael, the Commanding Officer of the CAF aerobatic team, the Snowbirds. In 2001, she became the first female pilot to fly with the Snowbird team. She spoke to our group and was warm, personable, very intelligent and had a fine sense of humour. We do not live near or know anyone associated with the Canadian Armed Forces and found today's presentation to be very interesting and a highlight of the day.