So being a long weekend (today is apparently heritage day, but so far I haven’t actually found anyone that’s been able to tell me what that means (not that I’ve asked many either)) Caroline decided that we should seize the opportunity to explore Calgary and beyond (particularly the bit of beyond that includes the Rocky Mountains and Banff).
This resulted in her driving from Fort McMurray to Calgary with the four kids whilst I flew down on my own, a trip that I wouldn’t have wished upon anyone in their worst nightmare, but which by all accounts went extraordinarily well, with only 2 stops for toilet breaks. Amazing what good preparation and a DVD player in the car can do (though the kids told me that they only watched 2 and a half movies through the entire journey.
They beat me to the hotel as I had to work for the day (tough for some, I know) though I did manage a very feminine lunch hour in which I bought two pairs of shoes and a new belt (I did only bring one pair of shoes that I could wear with a suit with me, and they were on their last legs).
We spent the evening having a bbq with an Adelaide couple that I used to work with back home which was great. If nothing else, it showed up the difference between what one can get in Fort Mac and what’s available in Calgary ... and we’re definitely on the losing end of that little bargain up here. Hard to believe as you’d expect that housing up here, in a smaller community might be bigger, but the reality is that the infrastructure in Fort Mac is struggling to cope with the massive growth that the region is experiencing.
Saturday we decided that we’d check out the car market in Calgary given the limited options that there are in Fort Mac. I can’t say that we had really done all the homework that we needed to but one of the biggest inhibitors to the process is the simple fact that there’s so many different bloody cars over here that we didn’t even know where to start.
It took a little longer than we thought and probably to our surprise we actually ended the day having put a deposit down on a 2002 Ford Explorer (Eddie Bauer edition). Caroline had started the day keen on something the size of a Ford Expedition where I wasn’t really that excited about having to drive something that large around all the time. In the end, the fact that we could pick up the Explorer at a good price compared to something bigger swung the argument.
Now there’s just the little thing that I have to get back to Calgary sometime in the near future and drive it back here. Now I just have to remember what all the things I was supposed to do before owning a car were!
Sunday was reserved for exploring the mountains. We set off from Calgary with a borrowed park pass for the Banff and hope for a great day.
We managed to navigate our way out of the city without too many dramas and despite the kids being more interested in what was going on on the inside of the car than the outside, Caroline and I stared in wonder as the beauty of the Rockies slowly revealed itself.
Once the mountains really started to reveal themselves, even the passengers towards the back of the vehicle started to take an interest in the scenery, especially when there was a hint of snow in the offing. I don’t know that words or even photos can really do the mountains justice.
We stopped at Canmore for breakfast, to find that there was folk festival on and adding that to the fact that it was a holiday weekend, it was a popular place to be. Despite Thomas being heartbroken over the fact that we went to a bagel place for breakfast rather than the golden arches (to the point that when Emily managed to knock a glass of water over him, he was too busy sulking to even raise a voice of protest) it was a great little spot to have stopped for a first admiration of the area that we were in. It was surreal to walk down the main street and see the towering giants that are the Rockies looming in the background.
But we had Banff on our mind and so it was back to the car. If Canmore was busy, Banff was rush hour in Tokyo. We navigated our way up towards the hot springs to either simply take an admiring look or possibly even an indulgent dip. But as we began the process of disembarking from the car and collecting everything that we need, it started to rain. Good solid, heavy, mountain rain too. We decided that rather than get soaked before we got to the hot springs, we jumped back into the car and head north for Lake Louise, hopefully before the weather beat us there.
We were fortunate and made Lake Louise in fine sunny weather, as did the other thousand people that were trying to find car parks at the same time as us. Fortunately we did find a park before the weather caught up to us!
The colour of the lake is something else. The photos give some indication, but as I said before, it’s really nothing compared to seeing it firsthand. It’s as green as the blue lake is blue. We pulled a tight arse and passed on spending an hour canoeing on the lake, but we did walk along the 1.1km trail to a view point over the lake. Of course at the point that you set out, it doesn’t talk about just how vertical that little stroll would be. And if it was tough for us, it’s a big ask for the tiny legs of a four year old girl. And that’s why she spent most of the time getting piggy-backed by the big fat sucker (yes that would be me). And I think the photo that you can see looking down at the hotel might give you an impression of just how much fun it was to tote the little tike all the way up to the view point.
Despite Caroline’s fears that we were going to be taken by a bear (I don’t think she was that scared, I think she just used it to try and keep Michael and Sam from running too far in front of us) we all made it up and back down again in one piece so that we could make our way a little further to where we anticipated a gondola ride.
Lake Louise ski resort is a beautiful place in the summer and oh how I would like to see it covered in snow. Of course, being in the middle of the Rockies in Canada, it was only natural that about 75% of the staff that we met when we were there were Aussies!
The gondola (aka ski lift) takes 15 minutes to get you to the top of its run and ascends about 450 metres vertically (traversing 1750m) in that time. We sat in the open chairs, Caroline with Michael and Sam and I with Emily and Thomas. And my God, the view from the top was breathtaking. And by saying the top, I just meant the top of that run, because there was another lift that took you even further up the mountain (in winter).
The photo below this paragraph that looks back out over Lake Louise gives an impression of the view, but it is of course only a bit part of the total. We were very blessed to have been there on such a beautiful day.
Then it was time to go home. Driving home gave a different view of the mountains and at times, the sun shining on the bare, sheer rock surfaces left them so pale as to give a wonderful impression of what they could look like covered in snow. I know we’ll be going back. And the train that winds its way along the river through the valley beckons as well.
So we made our way home, stopping for dinner ... Swiss fondue of course. What else would you have in such an alpine setting?!
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