Month: September 2024

Banff and Yoho Lakes

On By rrainefioreIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This was the 4th day on my Alaska road trip. Today I did a bus tour of some lakes in Banff and Yoho National Parks. I decided to join a tour because I didn’t feel like driving by myself and dealing with parking. One of the lakes we went to can only be visited by commercial tours so I wouldn’t have been able to drive there anyway. Also, being 3 weeks post ankle surgery, I wasn’t doing any hiking or more active sightseeing than what the tour would offer.

It was a 9.5 hour tour. I’m so glad I didn’t drive. All I had to do was ride and look out the window at the beauty. My tour had 25 people. Each stop we went to had a ton of people so what is 25? Our tour guide was also the bus driver. He was funny and full of great information on history of the area and geology of the area.

This was my first time in the Canadian Rockies and the views were amazing. I’d definately love to come back another time and stay at some of the lodges or campgrounds. We went to Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, Emerald Lake and a place on the Kicking Horse river called Natural Bridge. The lakes were various shades of bright blue from the minerals in the water. The river was a milky white. I had seen the blue alpine rivers in the past, but never milky white. It was mesmerizing.

The people on the tour were interesting. I met a lady as we were waiting for the bus. She was from Mexico and was there with her family. As we talked, she often apologized for her English. Of course, her English was great and we had no problem understanding each other. If I had to have the conversation in Spanish, it would have been a joke and she would have no idea what I was saying. And I would have no idea what I was saying either. I wish I knew more than one language. Within one minute of starting the tour, the guy sitting up front monopolized the conversation with the guide. He was a loud talker too so we could hear everything he was saying. The guide did a good job of steering the conversation to the history and geology he wanted to tell the group about even though the loud talker from Ottawa knew a little about everything and had no problem letting everyone know. I still wonder why Americans get such a bad rap for being loud and talking too much. Most travel I’ve done, it’s not the Americans that are loud and overly friendly. This guy was the epitome of the loud American, only he was Canadian. I sat next to a man that was there with his family. They were all there from the Philippines and had come to Calgary for the funeral of his sister and nephew who had died in an accident recently. On one hand, it was so sad. On the other hand, going to the lake (Lake Louise) that his sister had visited last seemed like a good way to grieve with your family. I also met a young woman from Korea that was in school for English and was traveling because she wanted to practice her English more before going back to school. Her English was perfect. I know no Korean at all. There were a couple of people from the US, a guy from Germany and some people from another Asian country.

I love traveling. I love to see different places, different scenery and to catch a small glimpse into what other people’s lives might be like. Sometimes in the differences, you can see a little about how we are the same.

A Day to Rest

On By rrainefioreIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Yesterday, I took a day to rest. I stayed in Calgary, got a facial and a manicure. In the afternoon I walked to Prince’s Island Park, a great park on an island in the middle of the Bow River. I only enjoyed the park for about an hour. Everywhere I went I was followed by bees. I wonder if they liked the lotion used in the facial as they kept buzzing around my neck. They followed me as I walked along the River Walk to the park, at the park and as I walked back along the River Walk. One even stung me on the hand. He was not a Jolliebee and I wasn’t too jolly after either. The sting wasn’t too much of a problem, more annoying than anything.

It was warm and humid and I saw some people eating ice cream in the park. I asked them where they got it and they said they brought it from home. Huh? Who brings ice cream to the park from home? That did not help me locate ice cream. I did find a place in Chinatown that served Thai rolled ice cream. I never saw rolled ice cream when I lived in Thailand. It was delicious as I could get one of my favorite flavors – Taro!

The walk back from the park was very different than my walk the other evening. Most of the restaurants on the walking street were closed and empty. A night before everything had been so lively. There were still people walking around, but it felt a bit deserted in comparison.

Many Animals

On By rrainefioreIn Beautiful Things, Travel2 Comments

Day 2 of driving to Alaska was almost the same as Day 1. Very little trees, mostly wide open spaces. There were mountains from time to time, way off in the distance – so far off that they were just shadows, suggestions. There were more small towns and farms than the first day which helped break up the vast grasslands. There were more cars on the road which actually was not a plus. I hate passing on 2 lane highways, but had to often.

Both days I saw an alarming number of dead dear on the side of the highway. I know deer or elk crossing the road at dusk or night is a concern where I live. Still, I’m not use to seeing this many. There must be so much wildlife roaming these plains. Today, many porcupines were added to the death toll. I’ve never seen a live porcupine and after today I’ve seen way too many not alive.

Of the live animals, there were many many cows. Still quite a few baby cows – I like seeing those the best. I also saw a sheep farm. It went by too fast for me to get a picture of. But I rolled down the window and Baaa’d at them. I saw antelope – one actually on the pavement. So glad he didn’t try to cross in front of me. I saw a bald eagle on top of an electrical pole. I saw many other suicide birds. I didn’t hit any, but they tempted fate hopping across the road or flying low in front of me. There were also prairie dogs. I saw at least 10 of them sitting upright with their little arms up in front of their chest just watching me drive by. They didn’t move – almost looked like statues.

I got to the Canadian border in the afternoon. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve driven through once before and only remember that it wasn’t much. I should have stopped at the rest stop I saw just before the border. I hoped it wouldn’t take long and that there would be another rest stop on the other side. I only had to wait for one car in front of me. The immigration officer was nice, asked the usual questions plus the “are you bringing _____ in” questions, looked at my passport and sent me on my way. I stopped for the obligatory photo of the “Welcome to Alberta” sign. I wish I had taken a picture of the Wyoming and Montana signs also when I passed them, just for completeness. Oh well, not going back for those.

Shortly after the Alberta sign, I saw a dinosaur. Well, if there is a dinosaur, I’m sure there is a restroom in the building next to it. That was one animal I was not expecting to see on the journey. There was a restroom and just in time! There was also a small museum and a tourist information center. I walked through the museum quickly and saw a bunch of taxidermy animals. The list of dead animals is now way longer than the list of live ones for the day. I have no idea what my animal count is now up to for the day.

I finally get to Calgary. I use to own a truck for many years. I am quickly reminded how much fun it is to drive and park a truck in a city. I will be in Calgary for 3 nights. Since I managed to wedge the truck in a parking space in the garage, I think I will leave it there until I leave Calgary.

After checking in to the hotel, I wandered around Calgary for a bit. I was surprised how warm it is. Isn’t is supposed to get colder the farther north you go? I found the river walk, a nice bike/walking path along the river. There were people just floating down the river in pool rafts, paddle boards and kayaks. There were people everywhere enjoying bikes, scooters or just walking. I went by Olympic Park where there was a Pilipino festival going on. I saw multi colored ground hogs here. I also saw Jolliebee. I’ve never heard of Jolliebee before and had no idea Jolliebee was such a celebrity, but when he was announced, the crowd went wild. He danced to some hip hop music and the crowd lost it. I didn’t get any pictures of Jolliebee because my jaw was on the ground as I stared in amazement.

After leaving the festival, I heard live music somewhere else so I followed it. It was a busker right near my hotel. I found myself on a walking street (no vehicles). I walked several blocks looking at all the restaurants and bars with street side seating. They were all packed with people. The city was alive with energy and people out and about. I always love the energy of a city. The energy of all the people, the excitement, the love, the joy and even the sadness grows and becomes more than the sum of the parts, becomes something different, something all it’s own.

After a bit I decided I had walked more than enough. It’s been only a little over 3 weeks since I had ankle surgery so maybe I should have walked a little less, but it was difficult not to keep going around the next corner to see the thing over there. I found a steak restaurant (duh) for dinner and then went back to my room to ice my ankle.